“Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.”
~ John F. Kennedy
Happy President’s Day everyone! And what a beautiful, morning we have here today.
Last night, I had a chance to make my first pass through Napoleon Hill’s chapter on Sexuality & Charisma. The focus is on taking our vital energy, and instead of diffusing it through sexuality, taking that passion, and channeling it (or as he calls it, transmuting it) into a creative channel, using our sixth sense.
In his extensive research, Hill was fascinated by the fact that the vast majority of successful people did not hit their stride until they were beyond the age of 40 or 50. “My investigation disclosed that the major reason why many people do not succeed early in life is their tendency to dissipate their energies through over-indulgence. Most never learn that the vital sexual energy has possibilities other than physical expression.”
It’s a very interesting and insightful chapter, and I have quite a bit to lend on the topic in it’s relation to yoga and meditation.
I touched on the topic last year, when I was recalling my “Yamas and Niyamas” or “Restraints and Observances”, the first of the 8 paths to yoga, or state of oneness. The practice of Brahmacharya also demands that we restrain or “direct our sexual energies to regenerate our connection to our spiritual self.” We use it responsibly, we do not use this energy to harm others.
I’d like to spend some time today, thinking a bit more on the subject, and will provide a summary of the chapter tomorrow.
In the mean time, I’d like to honor some of the most charismatic men of all time … Our Presidents!
And as I was looking through the list of our 44 Presidents, to decide which Presidents to quote, I’m reminded of a quick story which gave me a huge chuckle, as it proves exactly what Napoleon Hill is getting at …. !!
While in 11th grade, we were asked to memorize the list of the Presidents. The night before the quiz, my boyfriend and I broke up. I could not concentrate! Who doesn’t remember how young love can steal our focus !?!? Good grades meant everything to me, and since I seemed incapable of remembering the list, I decided to make a cheat sheet. Of course, since I’d never cheated before in my life, I was caught, and my teacher hauled me out into the hall. Where I proceeded of course to deny it, and suddenly, fear drove me to remember the list without fail. Weew, that was a close one, and I learned never to cheat again. It also taught me how draining a bad relationship can be on creativity and focus!
I hope you have a wonderful holiday! And I hope you too enjoy these pearls of wisdom by our most noted, charismatic leaders 🙂
Pearls of Wisdom by 5 of our Most Memorable Presidents:
#1 George Washington (age 57):
“It has been a maxim with me from early life, never to undertake anything without perceiving a door to the accomplishment, in a reasonable time and with my own resources.”
“Rise early, that by habit it may become familiar, agreeable, healthy, and profitable. It may, for a while, be irksome to do this, but that will wear off; and the practice will produce a rich harvest forever thereafter; whether in public or private walks of life.”
#2 John Adams (age 61):
“Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.”
“Liberty, according to my metaphysics is a self-determining power in an intellectual agent. It implies thought and choice and power.”
“Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order.”
#3 Thomas Jefferson (age 57):
“Determine never to be idle…It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.”
“Do not bite at the bait of pleasure till you know there is no hook beneath it.”
“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.”
#16 Abraham Lincoln (age 52)
First Address: “Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition. Whether it be true or not, I can say for one that I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow men, by rendering myself worthy of their esteem. How far I shall succeed in gratifying this ambition, is yet to be developed.”
“Adhere to your purpose and you will soon feel as well as you ever did. On the contrary, if you falter, and give up, you will lose the power of keeping any resolution, and will regret it all your life.”
#26 Theodore Roosevelt (age 42) (some of the best!)
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
“When you’re at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on”
“Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.”
“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”
“Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.”
“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.”
