Three Feet from Gold

Module 3
Applied
Faith
Reading Assignments
• Review pages 108-119 of Three Feet From Gold
• Read any additional selections your coach recommends:

Primer S e s s i o n O b j e c t i v e s M a s t e r S e s s i o n O b j e ctives
In this session you will learn to: In this session you will learn to:

• Define positive affirmations • Define Your Motives

• Define Higher Power • Revisit Your Fears
• Define Infinite Intelligence • Overcome Temporary Defeat
• Set Your Meditation • Believe Your Beliefs & Doubt Your Doubts
• Formulate Your Personal Prayer
 Three Feet from Gold

Concept Summaries
Introduction
When you think back on Three Feet from Gold, do you remember when Greg
heard the story of Ed Foreman from Charlie “Tremendous” Jones? Ed saw
the movie Giant as a young man and was so inspired that he headed to the oil
fields to strike it rich. With nothing more than the power of enthusiasm and an
unwavering faith in his ability to see a worthwhile opportunity, he ultimately
carved out a fortune in brine water.

That’s why Napoleon Hill called faith “the head chemist of the mind…the
‘eternal elixir,’ which gives life, power, and action to the impulse of thought!”
Without faith, Foreman would never have made his fortune, nor would he have
been able to get elected to Congress from two states.

Without faith Greg would have given up long before he ever made it to the
publishing finish line. Hill called faith “the starting point of all accumulation of
riches!” He also said that faith is the basis of all “miracles,” and all mysteries
which cannot be analyzed by the rules of science.”

You’ll recall when Greg went to Fiji and met John Bryant. One of Greg’s first
statements was “Failure seems to be my middle name.” John’s response was,
“Mine is Hope.”

There is something supremely powerful in the way that faith gives rise to hope.
Faith is the only known antidote for failure.

Faith: A Broad Definition

There are as many definitions of faith as there are people. When we discuss faith
in the context of Three Feet from Gold, we mean the courage to face life with

2
 Three Feet from Gold

your chin up, your eyes bright and a smile on your face. We are talking about an
active, motivating faith that you can put into daily practice, without regard to
any form of theology or religion.

Many people have very strong opinions about religion—and well they should.
While religion is good for many people, we are mostly concerned about the
broad, general religion of right thinking and right living that applies to personal
relationships in the real situations of your life.

People talk about faith all the time, but very few have gone on to explain how
you may get faith and use it to solve life’s problems. You must use your own
mind and reach your own conclusions faith. It’s one of the few things that no
one in this world can give you.

Our true intent is to inspire you to give faith some serious thought and medita-
tion. For a true understanding of faith you will have to become acquainted with
the inner workings of your own mind.

Faith is an everyday fact. You have faith that your car will start when you turn
the key in the ignition. You have faith that your television will turn on and your
favorite show will be ready—either at the time you watch, or when you use your
TiVo.

Faith is that confident assurance that what we hope for is waiting for us even
though we cannot see it. It is holding fast to our expectations. Faith is not naive
superstition. It is not anti-intellectual. Faith is required for every aspect of daily life.

A scientist has to have faith in every physical law ever discovered. A farmer
exercises faith every time he or she plants a seed, believing that with the proper
conditions it will sprout and produce a crop.

The real difficulty in understanding faith is explaining that it is a state of mind.

It is not a passive state of mind where the mind is merely giving assent. It is an
active state of mind.

3
 Three Feet from Gold

Essentially, faith is the activity by which individual minds find themselves and
establish a working association with the power variously referred to as the Uni-
versal Mind, the Great Unseen, the Divine Mind and (by more orthodox and
traditional definitions) as God. In our Mastermind Mentoring program, we will
use the term Infinite Intelligence.

No one may ever reach the state of mind called faith without a positive, definite
belief in some form of higher power. Perhaps that higher power is a person, a
being, an equation, a vibration, a spirit, or a source of abstract energy.

Whatever your belief about a higher power, remember we are referring to some-
thing that governs our natural or external universe. Our knowledge of the forces
of our environment is not limited to the narrow senses of seeing, hearing, tast-
ing, smelling and touching. We have other senses that allow us to contact reality
beyond the reach of the common five senses. We also possess the power to tune
in and receive knowledge from a plane above that of the ordinary senses.

We have been equipped with the ability to enter into a definite, positive relation-
ship with this Infinite Power, and to appeal to it for help in fulfilling our goals.
This relationship is established by Applied Faith.

Applied Faith gives you the power to put everything we discuss in this program
into action. Faith is the state of mind wherein you temporarily relax your own
reason and will power, and open your mind completely to the inflow of power
from Infinite Intelligence.

When you apply this faith by accepting the guidance of Infinite Intelligence for
the attainment of a Definite Major Purpose or goal, you have acquired Applied
Faith—you have tapped one of the greatest possible resources. Applied Faith is
a belief in yourself, your abilities, your Definite Major Purpose, your goals and
your success, that is translated into action.

4
 Three Feet from Gold

Your mind has been provided with a gateway of approach to Infinite Intelligence
through what is known as the subconscious mind. A continual stream of
intelligence, creativity, love, passion, and inspiration flows from the vast reser-
voir of Infinite Intelligence through the gateway of your subconscious mind.

One of the purposes of our existence seems to be to act as the receiver and
distributor of the power of Infinite Intelligence. We can see that, to the extent
that we cooperate in this purpose, and ally ourselves with the forces behind all
nature, we will prosper.

The power of Infinite Intelligence pours life into us as a flowing stream and
maintains all the functions of our bodies and minds. We can use this power to
guide and govern the circumstances and conditions of our lives. But we must
act as conductors of this energy, and shape it according to our Definite Major
Purpose.

This inflowing power has no limitations. It is limited only by the way in which
we, as individuals, can understand and express.

Faith in Infinite Intelligence is something you must acquire for yourself. One way
to do this is by examining closely the evidences of the existence of Infinite Intel-
ligence as they appear in the physical world around you. Then use this evidence
to power your analysis, meditation and thought.

Faith is a state of mind that you can attain only by properly conditioning your
mind. You can do this by clearing it of all negative thoughts of want, poverty,
fear, ill health and disharmony. When you have cleared your mind of these nega-
tive thoughts, there are three easy steps you can take to create the state of mind
known as faith:

1. Express a burning desire for the achievement of your Definite Major Pur-
pose and relate it to one or more of the basic motives.

5
 Three Feet from Gold

2. Create a definite and specific plan for the attainment of your burning
desire.

3. Start acting upon your plan immediately, putting every conscious effort
behind it.

Do not expect something for nothing. Nature frowns on bargains. You must give
an equivalent value for that which you desire. Anything you happen to gain
unethical means will have no enduring value for you. Like the quick paper mil-
lionaires of stock market speculations, such gains are only loans from the bank
of life. Sooner or later these loans will be called, and you’ll pay dearly.

Examine your motives and desires carefully to be sure that they include no
injustices to others. Unjust motives will set up a force of opposition that may
be stronger than your desire. Be sure that your desires tend toward altruism,
toward giving back to the world and doing good to/for others.

Faith & Fear

Your worst enemy is fear, and that fear can render you powerless to achieve
anything of real value. You cannot exercise the power of faith, which is the ex-
pression of Infinite Intelligence in your life, as long as there is any fear or worry
in your mind. The first step in conditioning your mind for faith, is to get rid of
those ideas that are causing you to be afraid. Faith and fear cannot exist in the
heart at the same time.

6
 Three Feet from Gold

Two Fears That Work Against You Most

Any ghosts of fear in your closet will cause you grief. But there are two fears that
threaten to undermine all of your personal development efforts—fear of poverty
and fear of criticism.

The Fear Of Poverty

One of the most fatal symptoms developed by the fear of poverty is a lack of
ambition. Do you accept whatever life hands out without challenging it? Are
you generally lazy either mentally or physically? If so, adopt a positive, driv-
ing ambition to vanquish this symptom of the fear of poverty.

Have you ever found yourself getting in the habit of making excuses for your
failures? Do you create reasons for why others have passed you up—eco-
nomically, professionally, or socially? Do you envy and criticize the success
of others? Decide immediately to stop procrastinating, blaming others, or
consuming your energy by inventing excuses. Take action immediately that
will lead toward the fulfillment of your goals.

Often the people who suffer from the fear of poverty live beyond their
means. They are intemperate in their personal habits. They lack poise and
self control, wear a frown, and continually find fault with everything and
everyone about them. Fear of poverty breeds within people the habit of
expecting failure instead of success. For those who suffer from extreme fear
of poverty, it’s tough to overcome their general negative mental attitude.
Instead of concentrating on ways to succeed, they fabricate all the reasons
why a given plan or program will not work.

The Fear of Criticism

This basic fear of what others will say or think keeps many people from
developing and presenting ideas that would give them independence. The

7
 Three Feet from Gold

fear of criticism can rob us of our individuality. It can undermine our self-
reliance and develop into an inferiority complex. Parents, with good inten-
tions, often do their children a disservice by criticizing them, shaming them,
or making fun of them and their childhood dreams of achievement.

Strangely enough, criticism is one form of service that we all render quite
willingly, and usually without invitation. It is the one type of service with
which we are all very generous.

There is a significant difference between criticism and constructive sugges-

tion. We all need feedback. Often employees, associates, or children need
correction. Some of their habits may be unproductive, wasteful or in bad
taste. A well-balanced person will learn to accept a constructive suggestion
in the spirit in which it is given, and will not brood over mistakes of the past.

Overcome Temporary Defeat

Remember, every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent or greater
benefit. Faith will give you the power to convert adversities and temporary de-
feats into an equal force for good. Go back over your life and analyze everything
that seemed to you to be a defeat. See if you can identify the seed of benefit in
each of those circumstances, which enabled you to carry on to ultimate success.

Respect The Power Of Thought

The universe takes its cues from your thoughts, whether you know you are
thinking them or not. The energy that you put out from your unconscious
thoughts has as much power to determine your future as your conscious ones.
That isn’t to say that you have no control over your destiny. It simply means you
must learn to clear some of your negative thoughts that creep in subconsciously.

8
 Three Feet from Gold

Make up your mind positively about what you want from life, and then get busy
creating something of equal value to give in exchange for it. Plant the seed of
your desire, and start, right where you stand, to do the things you can to deserve
and help its fulfillment.

Be sure that the object of your desire is something you feel you are entitled to. If
it is beyond your present abilities, start qualifying yourself, mentally, spiritually
and physically, so you will grow up to the stature of the demands you make of
yourself.

Act As If
Act as if you were in the physical possession of your desire. Do you have any idea
what it would mean to you right now if you had a million dollars in the bank?
Do you know what it would do to your courage?

Once you express your desire, you must have faith in the result. You cannot ac-
complish anything by expressing a desire and then spending your time worrying
that you will not find the work you seek, or have the money to pay your bills, or
that some other evil will happen to prevent good from coming to you.

Write out a list of all the advantages of living out your Definite Major Purpose,
and call these into your mind often. This will make you success conscious by the
power of self-suggestion. This is one way of feeling really happy, even though
your major purpose may be to get out of the negative environment of your pres-
ent employment. You can put a smile on your face just by thinking of what you
will be doing when you are in the new place you envision for yourself.

Then make it a habit to associate with people who are supportive of you and
your Definite Major Purpose. Be quick to accept their encouragement. This is
one of the most legitimate uses of the Master Mind Alliance. Be careful about
taking your relatives into your confidence, as they are notoriously fond of

9
 Three Feet from Gold

discouraging members of their own family who are trying to grow beyond their
former limits.

Do not let a single day pass without making at least one explicit move toward
the attainment of your goals. Keep up persistent action.

Next, choose a prosperous, self-reliant person who is obviously successful as your

inspiration. Make up your mind not only to catch up with, but also to surpass
this person. Do your work silently, without mentioning to anyone what you’re
doing. If you pick a person who is traveling the same road you have chosen, you
may be able to avoid the leader’s pitfalls. Remember to carry your share of the
load, however, and when you have passed your first pacemaker, assume the role
for someone else.

Next, surround yourself with books, pictures, wall mottoes and other suggestive
evidences of achievement and self-reliance as they have been expressed by oth-
ers. Build an atmosphere of achievement and success around yourself. You will
see these on the walls of offices of great leaders, and in pictures in their homes.

Make it a habit never to run away from disagreeable circumstances. Fight out
all such circumstances, with yourself, right where you stand, and right now,
before they become inferiority complexes or something worse. Acquire the habit
of looking directly at yourself for some of the causes of your disagreeable cir-
cumstances. Often it is a characteristic of your personality that is a contributing
factor.

Finally, recognize that everything worth having has a price tag. Anything worth
having is worth working for.

10
 Three Feet from Gold

Remember Darby
Napoleon Hill said, “more gold has been mined from the brains of men than
has ever been taken from the earth.” Before great success comes, you will surely
meet with temporary defeat.

Though R.U. Darby missed out on great wealth in gold, he created his own from
his ideas. He was able to create a fortune in insurance. By his example, there’s a
difference between dig and grow rich and think and grow rich. In other words,
Darby mined his mind for golden ideas and struck gold. He didn’t let defeat get
the best of him. Let that serve as the greatest inspiration to you.

11
 Three Feet from Gold

Primer Session Assignments:

Discuss with your mentor which of the following assignments would best suit
your needs, progress, and development:

____ Your Affirmations

____ Define Higher Power
____ Define Infinite Intelligence
____ Your Meditation
____ Your Personal Prayer

Master Session Assignments:

Discuss with your mentor which of the following assignments would best suit
your needs, progress, and development:

____ Your Motives

____ Revisit Your Fears
____ Overcome Temporary Defeat
____ Believe Your Beliefs

12
 Primer Session

Exercises

YO U R AFFIRMATIONS

You’ve probably heard of positive affirmations. These are the building blocks of faith and the path to
the unconscious. Here is an example of a positive affirmation: I am happy. I am capable. I am power-
ful. I am worthwhile.

Take some time to write three different positive affirmations for yourself in the space provided:

1.

2.

3.

13
 Primer Session

Exercises

D E F I N E HIGHER POWER

What is a higher power to you?

What are your thoughts on how humanity came to be?

How do you gain purpose from these thoughts? In other words, how do your creation thoughts inspire
your abilities, potential, achievement, and performance?

Do these thoughts serve you well, or are they a source of negativity? Why or why not?

14
 Primer Session

Exercises

D E FINE INFINITE
I N TELLIGENCE
What you believe about Infinite Intelligence?

Why you believe it?

Where do your beliefs come from?

Do they serve you well?

What do you gain from these beliefs?

15
 Primer Session

Exercises

YO U R MEDITATION

There are various steps you will want to practice as you adopt your own style of meditation:

First, clear yourself of negativity. My personal meditative statement for clearing negativity is:

Second, visualize infinite possibility. My personal meditative statement for visualizing infinite possibil-
ity is:

Third, see yourself as capable. My personal meditative statement for seeing myself as capable is:

16
 Primer Session

Exercises

YO U R MEDITATION (cont)

Fourth, see yourself as deserving. My personal meditative statement for seeing myself as deserving is:

Fifth, express gratitude. My personal meditative statement for expressing gratitude is:

Sixth, see defeat as a numbers game. My personal meditative statement for seeing defeat as a numbers
game is:

17
 Primer Session

Exercises

YO U R P ERSONAL PRAYER
(CONNECTION TO INFINITE INTELLIGENCE)

1. Express a burning desire for the achievement of your Definite Major Purpose and relate it to one or
more of the basic motives:

2. Create a definite and specific plan for the attainment of your burning desire. Appeal to the Infinite
for help in overcoming obstacles and in finding the inner strength to push through by saying:

3. Start acting upon your plan immediately, putting every conscious effort behind it. Appeal to the
Infinite for the strength to overcome procrastination and to remain disciplined by saying:

18
 Master Session

Exercises

YOUR MOTIVES

Consider your Definite Major Purpose. Now list your 3 most selfish motives:
1.

2.

3.

Now take a step back. Define the most altruistic motives that would be possible as you puruse your
Definite Major Purpose:

19
 Master Session

Exercises

YO U R MOTIVES (cont)

Now transform your selfish motives into motives that include the whole human family, that benefit as
many people as possible:

20
 Master Session

Exercises

R E V I SIT YOUR FEARS

What obstacles do you see getting in the way of your lifelong DMP?

What makes those obstacles difficult? (Which of the 6 fears might be contributing to such obstacles—
giving them power?) Why?

21
 Master Session

Exercises

R E V I SIT YOUR FEARS

Have you recently identified any fears that may be getting in your way—fears you haven’t recongized
before? If so, what are they?

What can you do to change the fear into courage?

22
 Master Session

Exercises

OVERCOME
T E M P ORARY DEFEAT
Go back over your life and analyze everything that seemed to you to be a defeat. See if you can identify
the seed of benefit in each of those circumstances, which enabled you to carry on to ultimate success.

Defeat:

Seed of Benefit:

Defeat:

Seed of Benefit:

Defeat:

Seed of Benefit:

23
 Master Session

Exercises

B E L I E V E YOUR BELIEFS
(& DOUBT YOUR DOUBTS)

Think about the ways in which you are skeptical. Why?

Where does the skepticism come from?

24
 Master Session

Exercises

B E L I E V E YOUR BELIEFS
(& DOUBT YOUR DOUBTS)

Does the skepticism help you as you pursue your Definite Major Purpose?

Does the skepticism protect you from your fears? How?

How can you change the skepticism to faith?

25