39 Best Elsie Lincoln Benedict Quotes of All Time

5 QUOTES
Fundamental Traits Can Be Perceived From the Outside: Elsie Lincoln Benedict believed that we can understand a person almost instantly by practical analysis of their traits, features and expressions.

"Modern science has proved that the fundamental traits of every individual are indelibly stamped in the shape of his body, head, face and hands—an X-ray by which you can read the characteristics of any person on sight."

Navigating Relationships as a Means for Success in Life: The core principle of “How to Analyze People on Sight” is that successfully reading other people is key to get what you want out of life.

"Whether you are a blade of grass on the Nevada desert or a man in the streets of London, you can win only as you adapt yourself to your environment. Today our environmental problem consists largely of the other fellow. Only those who learn to adapt themselves to their fellows can win great or lasting rewards."

Achievement as a Result of Finding Yourself: Elsie Lincoln Benedict was one of the first people to connect success with a passion for your work, and that by understanding yourself and others you can find your true self.

"The reserved seat in the tip-top peak of the pyramid is procured only by him who has found his real vocation.

Success Comes After Failure: Benedict regularly reminds the reader that the difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that the former held on in adversity.

"Each one of the world's great successes was a failure first."

Passion for Your Work is What Makes You Rich: If you can determine what you’re passionate about, and produce things that others want, you can become rich.

"Any man who will do efficiently any one of the many things the world is crying for can place his own price upon his work and get it…You will never do anything with that brilliant efficiency save what you LIKE TO DO. Efficiency does not come from duty, or necessity, or goading, or lashing, or anything under heaven save ENJOYMENT OF THE THING ITSELF.”"

12 QUOTES
Predominant Moods as the Creators of Our Lives: The core of the book is about our moods and feelings being directly responsible for our present situations.

"The moods that PREDOMINATE deep, deep inside our hearts are living, vital forces and they create actualities in our lives which exactly correspond to their own nature."

Difference Between Conscious and Subconscious Minds: Benedict distinguishes the powerful subconscious mind (which she calls the ‘cannon’) from the conscious mind.

"The subconscious and conscious minds differ in that the subconscious points your cannon in the exact direction of your predominant FEELINGS while the conscious mind deals in THOUGHTS that fill it until ultimately it explodes."

Knowing Your Subconscious Through Feelings: While you may not be aware of your moods towards something, you can quickly find out by becoming aware of how you feel about something.

"The force that turns your subconscious cannon toward the desirable or undesirable is the INNER FEELING you maintain concerning what You want."

The Power of the Subconscious: It’s probably the last thing you would expect, but Elsie Lincoln Benedict taught that your subconscious mind was key to achieving success.

"Your great subconscious will get for you THE THINGS YOU WANT MOST IN LIFE. It will do so more completely and more quickly than you can believe. It will do so with unerring accuracy and unfaltering, unswerving perfection."

Taking Responsibility for Our Situation: It follows that any undesirable thing in your result is ultimately linked to your predominant moods.

"The person who is constantly meeting unhappiness, poverty, disease and failure in his life is creating these things for himself."

You Reap What You Sow: Elsie Lincoln Benedict constantly reminds readers to be aware of the thoughts and feelings they allow to pass through their minds.

"Every thought-seed sown or permitted to take root in the mind produces its own harvest."

Giving in to Low Moods: It is so easy to fall prey to frustration and low moods, but you are doing more and more damage to your chances of success.

"When you ‘give in’ to an unhappy experience, when you brood over it, you are deliberately TAKING HOLD of this unhappy experience, turning around and DIPPING it into your subconscious content and thereby HURTING YOURSELF in the ONLY place where it counts."

Training the Subconscious: This is the surest way to get what you want in life.

"The greatest step is taken toward what you want when you begin to TRAIN THE SUBCONSCIOUS. To take this step toward what you want, first KNOW WHAT YOU WANT, second, AFFIRM THAT YOU ARE GOING TO GET IT; third, consciously STUDY toward it; fourth, BEGIN TO DWELL UPON this great thing you want, by letting your inner mind have charge of it."

Preparing Your Subconscious With Your Conscious Mind: As soon as you’re aware of the power of your subconscious mind, you can begin to train it with your conscious mind.

"I mean FILLING your subconscious with your desires, FAITHFUL PREPARATION for getting, recognizing, using and capitalizing the thing you want, by faithfully filling your subconscious with expectant, constructive success-thoughts about the particular and specific thing you are interested in."

Transformation Through Mood Improvement: Benedict assures that by improving our moods, we can bring about significant positive changes in our lives.

"From the hour when we begin to reverse these attitudes – to feel courage instead of fear, love instead of hate, forgiveness instead of resentment – the conditions around us begin to reverse themselves and soon comes a decided change for the better."

Fear vs Faith: Our lives are a constant battle to keep the faith and fight against fear.

"Fear of any kind is a depressant to both mind and body, while faith stimulates us to attempt and finally accomplish the impossible."

Never Give In: Success is only reached by handing on in the face of adversity.

"If you would rise, if you would attain success, fame, love or any other thing, you must give a new set of orders to your subconscious mind BY NOT YIELDING INWARDLY when trouble comes."

4 QUOTES
A New Kind of Science: The popularity of Elsie Lincoln Benedict in her day is linked with the emergence of psychoanalysis.

"Now comes a new human science called Psychoanalysis – a science destined to do for mankind far greater things than medical science has ever done; to cure not only the mind, which the physician overlooks, but physical ailments the physician has never been able to reach."

Pride as the Obstacle to Success: A core theme of the book is about achieving success through adversity, humility and sacrifice.

"People miss success because they want to eat their cake and have it too. They won’t do this and they are too good to do that; they are above this and superior to that.

Making Money: You won’t make money by wanting it badly enough, you have to earn it.

"If you want money you must do what every person did who ever made money: produce something the world wants and knows it wants."

The Power of the Subconscious: You create your reality through your subconscious thoughts.

"Whatever your conscious mind affirms, visualizes and suggests to the subconscious, the subconscious will build into your life."

"If you want to make money, don’t apologize for it."

Money as Service: In this section Elsie Lincoln Benedict talks about your ability to make money being directly related to your ability to help solve people’s problems.

"The money a man makes is one of the truest measures of his service to mankind."

Healthy Egotism: We all need a little egotism to get what we want in life – without being unkind to others.

"A certain amount of good healthy egotism is necessary to the success of any man or woman. As long as it is not used to belittle others it is a good thing. It acts as the spur without which few great steps would have been made in the world’s progress."

Self-confidence is the Key to Success: If you want to be successful you must develop a strong mind and a strong attitude to reach your goals.

"Most people do not realize that it is a creative force. It is not only a creative force but one of the greatest in man – so great, in fact, that man accomplishes in almost exact proportion to his self-confidence."

Don’t Doubt: Keeping faith in your ability to achieve your goals is the biggest determiner of a successful person.

"Opportunities always come, doors are always opening, the road is always made clear to the man or woman who trusts and works. They seldom open in just the way or at just the time he expects, but they open often to bigger things than he ever dreamed of. Nothing comes to the weak, doubting hearts save the crumbs of existence."

Using Desire to Reach Your Goals: Wanting money badly enough can actually be the precise motivation you need to reach success.

"If you really want money, and want it badly enough, that desire will kindle the fire necessary to burn your way to it.

Keep Focused on What You Want: If you have a goal you want to reach, then do not get distracted for a moment.

"Do not allow yourself to waste time, strength or energy reading things that cannot service your purpose. Do not make engagements that will dissipate your powers. Be jealous of your time.”"

Don’t Give Up: A rich man is only made by surviving tough challenges.

"The difference between the poor man and the rich man is usually just that. One gives up when things look dark. The other shuts his eyes, grits his teeth, clenches his fists and hangs on."

10 QUOTES
Reading Other People Well: This book is all about learning to read people so well that it becomes addictive.

"Learning to read men and women is a more delightful process than learning to read books, for every person you see is a true story, more romantic and absorbing than any ever bound in covers."

Mind-Body Connection: Benedict discusses how thoughts and emotions physically manifest, affecting our physiology.

"Every thought, however transitory, causes muscular action, which leaves its trace in that part of the physical organism which is most closely allied to it."

Understanding the Core Problem: Elsie Lincoln Benedict believed that we can instantly achieve more success by getting clearer on what our current setbacks are.

"To know what has been holding us back is always fifty percent of the victory."

The Three Temperaments: Benedict introduces three main types of personality.

"Feelers, who react emotionally; Thinkers, who approach life methodically; and Doers, who are action-oriented. Each temperament has its strengths and weaknesses, and understanding these can lead to personal growth and better decision-making​​."

Success is Directly Connected to Health in All Areas: We can’t be successful in life without working at something that improves our physical, spiritual and emotional health.

"A long day of hard work if successful does not tire us as much as an hour of work that ‘didn’t go right’."

Inspiration Brings out the Best in Us: Elsie Lincoln Benedict was a strong believer in the interconnection between mind and body, and regularly repeats that the more inspired you feel the better you will perform.

"One of the most common errors of the average unthinking person is failure to appreciate the power and the indispensability of the things, people, ideas, etc., which inspire us. Nothing less than inspiration brings out the best that is in us."

Choose Your Friends Wisely: We must do all we can to maintain positive moods and feelings, and this means choosing friends and acquaintances carefully.

"Seek everything and everybody that helps you to feel your best, think your best, long for your best or do your best."

Your Subconscious Mind is the Creator of Your Reality: You can’t allow fear or doubt to creep in, otherwise you will be creating the very situations you wish to avoid.

"If you would build the things you desire you must allow the great architect of the brain, your Imagination, to draw plans for just these things and leave it free of all the opposite orders which Worry and Fear give."

Make Your Life Difficult: You can only reach success by pushing through tough challenges in life, so why not create those challenges for yourself?

"The body and brain can do ANYTHING when faced with a crisis sufficiently significant if we really desire to win. Create emergencies, make promises to the right people, put yourself into a hole so deep that you have GOT to grow to climb out! You will always get out—and receive the world’s rewards for doing so."

Self-Education vs College Education: Even 100 years ago there was a stigma attached to not going through college, but Elsie Lincoln Benedict’s belief was that anyone could reach success if they wanted to.

"The achieving 'self-educated' man usually KNOWS from ten to a thousand times more than the salaried college graduate."