How to Own Your Own Mind

by Napoleon Hill

Now let me shift the scene from the camera to the human brain and see how perfectly the two resemble one another in the manner of their operation. The individual chooses the subject he wishes to register in the cells of his brain, the brain serving as the plate of the camera. He calls the subject chosen a Definite Major Purpose. He wants the brain to pick up a clear picture of the object of that purpose, register it, and turn it over to his subconscious mind for translation into its physical reality. Therefore, he proceeds, through the principle of controlled habit, to place in his conscious mind a picture of that which he wants. Day by day, he recreates that picture (through controlled habit), recognising, as the skilled thinker does, that the mental impulse of thought through which he is painting the picture in his brain must be given the right amount of time (through repeated exposures) to register, and it must also be accompanied by the proper proportion of ‘light’ (emotional feeling) to enable the brain to pick up a clear outline of the thought.