ATTRACT PROSPERITY - 7. HOW TO INCREASE YOUR ABILITY - Orison Swett Marden

PROSPERITY – How to Attract It - Chapter 7. HOW TO INCREASE YOUR ABILITY - Orison Swett Marden - HQ Full Book.In Chapter 7 of Prosperity – How to Attract It, Orison Swett Marden delivers a compelling message: our ability is not a fixed asset, but a dynamic force intimately tied to our mental state, attitude, and self-belief. Titled "How to Increase Your Ability," this chapter is both a motivational appeal and a practical blueprint for unlocking personal potential. Marden seeks to destroy the myth of innate limitations, showing instead how prosperity, success, and personal fulfillment are accessible through deliberate mental discipline and emotional mastery.  Marden begins by painting a vivid metaphor: our ability is as responsive to internal emotional states as a weather vane is to external winds. Just as mercury rises and falls in response to changes in temperature, so too does human ability expand or contract based on our moods, hopes, fears, and beliefs. This sets the foundation for the entire chapter: that we are not victims of fixed capacity but agents of elastic potential.  One of the most powerful and painful human experiences, Marden writes, is to feel the weight of untapped potential—to know deep down that we are capable of more, yet remain confined by choices we made in earlier life, or by fears and doubts we never dared challenge. This unfulfilled potential becomes a “hell on earth,” a living frustration that quietly erodes happiness. But instead of resigning ourselves to mediocrity, Marden calls on readers to shift their mindset.  The essence of increasing our ability, he argues, lies in cultivating positive mental and emotional conditions. Faith, enthusiasm, optimism, courage, and joy are “ability enlargers,” which unlock the hidden reserves within us. Conversely, negative attitudes—worry, jealousy, envy, fear, and doubt—function like chains, restricting our ability and diminishing our output. Happiness in one's work, and pride in personal appearance and impression, generate self-respect and confidence, which in turn magnify initiative and performance.  A striking illustration offered by Marden is that of a businessman who, after losing an important contract, embarked on a process of introspection. This failure prompted him to examine his weaknesses and revealed that he was using only a fraction of his true potential. Marden emphasizes that such setbacks can be blessings in disguise—opportunities that force us to unearth and activate dormant strengths.  A key fallacy Marden confronts is the belief that ability is static or predetermined by genetics or early upbringing. He recounts the story of a young stenographer who resigned herself to mediocrity because she believed she lacked the natural talent for excellence. Marden refutes this defeatist outlook. He asserts that human ability is as variable and expandable as an accordion: it can be contracted by destructive thoughts or stretched to its full extent by creative, empowered thinking.  This leads to one of the chapter’s central ideas: the mind is the seat of ability. A negative mental attitude constricts our powers, just as debris would clog a gold mine and make its wealth inaccessible. Our talents are like hidden ore—worthless unless we remove mental obstructions and extract them. Marden implores readers not to waste time wishing for another person’s tools or circumstances, but instead to recognize that the Creator equips each person with precisely the faculties they need to fulfill their unique mission in life.  Helen Keller is held up as the ultimate embodiment of this principle. Deaf, blind, and mute from infancy, she nevertheless became a world-renowned figure of inspiration, a powerful example of what determined self-expression can achieve even under the most limiting conditions. Keller's story proves that there are no absolute barriers to greatness—only self-imposed ones.  Marden also draws a metaphor from nature: the eagle, designed to soar, cannot rise if tethered to a heavy object. So too, people often remain grounded not because they lack wings, but because they are chained by self-doubt, poor habits, or fear of responsibility. Many waste their early years avoiding discomfort and challenge, only to find later that their neglected abilities have withered from disuse.  Bad habits—whether physical, mental, or emotional—drain our energy and sabotage our best efforts. A temperamental flaw, such as jealousy, indecision, or lack of discipline, can quietly but consistently derail a person’s progress. Marden argues that all forms of mental disharmony reduce our personal power. Therefore, if one seeks to increase ability, they must eliminate these “power destroyers” with as much seriousness as avoiding poison.  One of the chapter’s most empowering ideas is that responsibility is a great developer of ability. Marden shares how promotion or challenge often reveals hidden strengths. A young man elevated to a business partnership, for instance, finds himself doing things he never imagined possible—not because he gained new talent overnight, but because his role compelled him to dig deep into his reservoirs of ability. This principle is echoed in times of crisis or necessity when people often rise to the occasion and achieve what previously seemed beyond them.  Self-confidence, Marden insists, is not just helpful—it is essential. A poor opinion of oneself will sabotage the best natural endowment. Those who constantly berate themselves, refuse responsibility, and fear failure create a psychological environment in which success cannot grow. Marden contends that this timid self-deprecation has likely kept more able people in obscurity than any lack of intelligence or opportunity.  The chapter concludes with a bold affirmation: everyone possesses more ability than they use, and often far more than they believe. What they lack is not power, but the correct mental atmosphere to activate it. Marden encourages readers to stop waiting for external tools or validation and instead use the greatest tools already within them: courage, right thinking, and unshakable faith in their potential.  In a rousing final note, he declares that the secret to increasing one’s ability isn’t found in external inventions, but in the mind. Each person already possesses the internal “instrument” that can increase their capacity by 50% or more—if only they would learn to play it through right thinking and decisive action. With disciplined mental effort, any man or woman can unlock the power needed to rise, prosper, and do great things, no matter their starting point.  In sum, Chapter 7 of Prosperity – How to Attract It is a manifesto for self-empowerment. It teaches that ability is elastic, not fixed; that mental attitude is a greater determinant of success than natural talent; and that right thinking can unlock extraordinary personal power. It’s not the quantity of ability that matters most—but whether you dare to believe in it, grow it, and use it.  #Prosperity #PersonalGrowth #SelfImprovement #SuccessMindset #OrisonSwettMarden #LawOfAttraction #MindsetMatters #SelfConfidence #PositiveThinking #BelieveInYourself #UnlockYourPotential #SelfDevelopment #MotivationDaily #AbundanceMindset #InspirationDaily #GrowthMindset #SuccessPrinciples #PowerOfThought #MentalStrength #IncreaseYourAbility