Rosicrucian Writings Online


Around the Triangle to Success

By Brother Joseph
 
[From The Mystic Triangle June 1929]
  
 
AS Rosicrucians we are not primarily concerned with worldly financial success. The fact remains, however, that we are living in an age when financial independence is at least to some extent necessary if we are to serve the world to the best of our God-given ability.
 
While the spiritual realm is a thousand times more important than the material realm, yet for a few minutes we will consider the latter, fitting it into the former in such a way that through the material we will achieve the spiritual.
 
A life that is spent for personal aggrandizement is a selfish one. Likewise, a life that is spent in prayer and supplication for the salvation of the personal individual soul without thought of others is equally selfish.
 
Conversely, when riches are gathered and re-distributed with the idea of making others happy, affording profitable employment to the multitude, enabling perhaps thousands of families to live in comfort and happiness, such a life is successful, such riches are in harmony with the general scheme of the Infinite. Furthermore, the man or woman of small means who works with the idea of serving others is equally in tune with the Infinite.
 
Therefore, our riches--or lack of riches--is not nearly so important as our individual state of mind in doing our work to the best of our individual ability.
 
We all have a right to a few of the comforts of life. How can this be brought about universally? How can every man and woman attract the comforts of life, together with a few occasional luxuries?
 
Regardless of where you live, how poor you are, what your condition of life may be, or what handicaps you may be facing, there is a way to overcome all difficulties, achieve your heart's desire, and live in comfort and plenty. There is a definite formula for accomplishment that will produce results just as surely as two and two make four.
 
This formula is based on the trinity of the triangle, and if you simply make this formula a part of your daily life, you cannot help but become successful, no matter what your handicaps may be. Just consider these three points of the triangle, which are: point number one, GIVE; point number two, GET; and point number three, GROW. What can be more simple? What other three words can have greater meaning?
 
What have you to give? Perhaps you are the owner of a successful business; or you may be one of the millions of workers depending upon a weekly pay envelope for a living.
 
If you are sick in bed you can give love, a few kind thoughts, and express appreciation--express words of encouragement, words of gratitude, words that make the world appear brighter and happier.
 
If you are in business, you can give real value, real satisfaction, real service in every transaction. You can render service with a smile, express appreciation for patronage, aid customers in selecting merchandise or products best adapted to their needs, etc. This does not mean that you are to do business at a loss; you are rightfully entitled to a profit. The success of your business, however, depends far more on your mental attitude than it does on the products manufactured and sold or service rendered.
 
If you are one of the office or factory workers, you can give your services, your knowledge, your co-operation, your friendliness, and your whole-hearted willingness to do your work as efficiently as is humanly possible.
 
Your knowledge, ability, and experience is of absolutely no use except to render service to others. Of what good would it be if you were the world's greatest musician and refused to play for the entertainment of the public? Of what good would it be if you owned the world's greatest factory, if you refused to allow your manufactured products to be sold to the public?
 
Just as an experiment for a few weeks or a month try to get into the spirit of giving. Give something to each and every person you meet, even though it be only a few kind words. Surround yourself with the atmosphere of giving. Live in this atmosphere, think it, act it, dream it. Give--give--give. Not what you cannot afford to give--but give friendship. Give love, give suggestions and ideas, give a helping hand whenever you find an opportunity, give your co-operation. Give a little extra pleasure to your family; even such a little thing as a smile will work wonders at times. Intensify your entire being with the spirit of giving, so that every person coming in contact with you will immediately sense this atmosphere. Once you do this, you need not worry about the getting, for as you give, so will you receive--the getting will take care of itself.
 
Of one thing you can be absolutely certain. All the world is extending open arms to the man or woman who comes laden with gifts. The salesman who has constructive suggestions to give a prospective buyer finds it easy to get business. The employee who renders more service than he is paid for is the one who advances most rapidly. All the world hails the giver. The welcome mat is always ready for him--and people as a rule stand eager to help such a man or woman to the better things in life.
 
"Getting" is the second point of the triangle. What do you want to get? Is it money? You may think you want money, but what you really want are the things that money stands for. Perhaps you want a home of your own; a business; a pleasure trip; or any of a thousand and one possibilities.
 
You need not look far away for these things; you need not go to distant cities; you need not do anything except render the best possible service right here and now, under your present conditions. Once you begin doing this, you will soon feel a return coming to you in proportion to the service you render. To accomplish what you have in mind may mean going to a distant city, but you need not worry; for if this is necessary the way will soon be open so that you can make such a change. The important thing to do is to start right where you are. Make use of the conditions surrounding you. Through them will come your achievement.
 
If you have a definite desire to do something in mind, you can more quickly accomplish it by not worrying about it, but doing everything that comes to your attention, even though at the time it may appear that the particular task is far removed from your desire. Simply rest assured that the Infinite desires you to be happy and successful. The God within you desires you to accomplish your various undertakings--and with this knowledge firmly established in your mind, Heaven and hell cannot keep you from achievement. It is all a matter of your own mental attitude, your willingness to serve, your willingness to "give" in order to "get."
 
"Grow" is the third point of the triangle. If you continually "give," you cannot help but "get" in equal proportions. The combination of these two enable you to grow into any condition you desire--grow in body, mind, and spirit. You grow through experience, study, travel, reading, association with others, discussion, thought, action, and through trying to do things better than you did them before. Each day should bring something new into your life--some experience, some knowledge, some new friendship, some new idea, or some new activity. If you simply try to do each day's work a little better than the day before you will find yourself growing steadily, making yourself more valuable, more useful to yourself and your fellowmen.
 
So you have "give," "get," and "grow," as the three points of the triangle making up a formula for success; but the one thing above all others that makes most for your success is your mental attitude toward your work, your co-workers, yourself, your employer, and the world as a whole. Do everything with the idea that your effort in some way is a step toward something better in the future. Expect advancement. Expect new opportunities. Expect some of the good things in life to come to you.
 
Above all, never forget, deep down in your heart, that the Infinite rules the world through man. Make yourself a center for Divine operation. Give God an opportunity to work through you. Whenever you do anything successfully, do not take credit for yourself, but give thanks to God for having done this work through you--and offer yourself to God for any and all other work.
 
If certain tasks seem hard and thankless, ask your Spirit to do the work for you, using your body for its accomplishment. Then with this thought in mind, go to work as the spirit directs. You'll find the work far easier than you had expected. It was not the hard task you had expected, and you will have found a way to make a pleasure that which you formerly considered a hard, distasteful task.
 
If you are inclined to be jealous of anyone, convert that jealousy into love, and express your love in words and action. If you hold any hatred or ill-feeling toward anyone, tear it out by the roots and cast it away into eternal oblivion. Look upon each man and woman as a representative of God, sent to earth to do certain work. Co-operate with everyone who does good. Extend a helping hand to those not as far advanced as yourself, so that you in turn can grasp the hand of someone farther along on the path of life, success, eternal happiness.
 

Section IndexHome Page
Copyright © 2007 Aswins Rabaq. All Rights Reserved.