It is very often the attitude of mind which makes right and wrong; at the same time it is the attitude of mind which draws friends to one or gives one a repelling influence; also, it is the attitude of mind which brings happiness or unhappiness. It is true that there is the influence of time; there is a certain time in our life which has an influence for good or bad, for rise or fall, for happiness or unhappiness; yet it is our attitude which either controls it or is controlled by it. If our attitude is controlled by it, then the situation at that time conquers us; but if our attitude is under control then there is a chance of conquering the situation.

Mostly our failure, our unhappiness, and our disagreements with friends come from a wrong attitude. When a person starts an enterprise and doubts whether he will have success or not, doubts whether his partners in business will help him or not, his attitude will create in that situation all that he imagines. His partners in business will act wrongly and perhaps unjustly towards him, and the situation will follow the attitude; for the attitude is the current which molds the situation. Therefore however promising a business or a work may be, if our attitude is not right it must go wrong; it cannot come right. It is a hidden influence, and yet a most powerful influence underlying all circumstances of life.

It is the same with our attitude towards our friends. Whether we feel that our friend will prove to be kind and faithful and constant, or whether we think, "I doubt if I can hold his friendship; I feel this friend will one day deceive me; I think he will disappoint me one day", in either case we are creating that thought in the friend, we are inspiring him; and the friend without knowing it will act accordingly. In any enterprise or in anything we wish to accomplish, what is most wanted is the right attitude.

If a person thinks, "Everything I touch and everything I do and everywhere I look, it is all wrong", certainly it is wrong, there is no doubt about it; but it is his attitude that is wrong, and therefore whatever he does is wrong. It is just like taking a red lantern and throwing its light upon everything: every object in that light will appear red, and one will become frightened oneself and see danger everywhere. But the danger is in one's own hand; it is the red lantern.

Sometimes a person gets into a wrong attitude out of humbleness. By correcting oneself one can arrive at correcting too much, and then one calls oneself wrong. With every move such a person then makes he thinks that he has done something wrong, something dangerous, and that may result in a great danger too.

Very often people do not progress in their lives because of their attitude towards life. They are their own enemies, and they themselves are the hindrance to their progress. They might think that that one thing or another is the reason: lack of money, unkindness of friends, lack of acquaintances, a thousand things. They may say that the planets are against them; but what is most against them is themselves. They cannot progress. Once one has analyzed and understood attitude, and has controlled oneself so as to be able to take any attitude one wishes, then the latent influence in man naturally begins to manifest.

There are three gifts of God given to some in this world, and these gifts are greater than jewels, gems, wealth, or anything else in the world, and nothing can buy them. One may be born with them, yet not know it.

One gift is the influence to progress,
another gift is the influence to attract, and
the third gift is the influence to make difficult situations easy.