From James Allen to You 50

From poverty to power; or, the realization of prosperity and peace.
Part 2: The path to prosperity
The way out of undesirable conditions 28

Be it the poverty which galls
(and remember
that the poverty upon which I have been dilating is
that poverty which is a source of misery,
and not that voluntary poverty which is the glory of emancipated souls),
or the riches which burden,
or the many misfortunes, griefs, and annoyances
which form the dark background in the web of life,
you may overcome them
by overcoming the selfish elements
within which give them life.

It matters not that by the unfailing Law,
there are past thoughts and acts
to work out and to atone for,
as, by the same law, we are setting in motion,
during every moment of our life, fresh thoughts and acts,
and we have the power to make them good or ill.

Nor does it follow
that if a man (reaping what he has sown) must lose money or forfeit position,
that he must also lose his fortitude or forfeit his uprightness,
and it is in these that his wealth and power and happiness are to be found.
He who clings to self is his own enemy
and is surrounded by enemies.

to dilate = to become wider or further open
to emancipate = to free a person from another person’s control
to atone = to do something that shows you are sorry for something bad that you did or for something that you failed to do
to forfeit = to lose the right to do or have something because you have broken a rule