Then Bill glanced again at his wrist watch.Seven minutes to eleven.He had missed his appointment.No use going on down to Wall Street.His prospect wouldn't see him.If it had been almost anyone else but Bill he would have said： "That's what I get for being a Good Samaritan ...lost a chance to sell a fifty-thousand-dollar annuity." He confessed to having felt a stab of bitter disappointment.He had planned on making this contact for weeks，and it was hard to understand why he had been waylaid.No doubt someone else would eventually have come to this old lady's rescue，someone who hadn't been so pressed for time.But for some reason he couldn't figure out，he just hadn't been able to continue on his way without doing what he could for her.Perhaps it was because the thought had occurred to him，"That's someone's mother.If it were my mother，wouldn't I appreciate any help that might be extended to her？"
Oh，well，it was all over now—and he was glad he had done what he did.He would always have been haunted by that appealing look she had cast at him as he passed，that desperate，poignant reaching out for human aid ...if he had gone on about his business.Still，you didn't line up good prospects like this man every day....
As he was about to board a subway train for his uptown office，it suddenly occurred to Bill that he was in the vicinity of Fifth Avenue and Forty-Second Street，the business address of another prospect，with whom he had left the figures on a hundred-thousand annuity six weeks before.This man had been in Europe and Bill had read in the papers that he had recently returned.Wouldn't hurt，since he was so near，to drop in on the chance of saying " hello."
The prospect's reception room was jammed with people waiting to see him and Bill turned away.He didn't have an appointment，and it wouldn't do him any good to wait，with a line-up like that ahead of him.But as he stepped toward the elevator，he noticed that the man's private office door was open into the corridor.It was a hot August day and he apparently needed cross-ventilation.
Acting on impulse，Bill walked down the hall and looked in.To his amazement，the man was seated in his office alone，studying some papers on his desk.He looked up and both men saw each other at the same moment.
"Bill McDaniel！" exclaimed the man."Come on in！ ...This is a coincidence！ I was just going to phone you！ I've been studying your annuity proposition.I was in a car accident last night and I decided I'd like to have some more coverage."
"But you've got an office full of people！" said Bill.
"Let them wait，" said the man，"this is more important."
Forty minutes later，Bill McDaniel walked out with a hundred-thousand-dollar annuity sale under his belt.Had it not been for this little old lady....Yes，you get the point...."
"That taught me one of the biggest lessons of my life，" Bill said to me，as he related this experience."'Cast your bread upon the waters'—and it comes back cake？"
There is a lesson in this for you.Visualize，as best you can，what you desire； do your darndest to help bring what you are picturing to pass through your own efforts，when things seemingly go bad have faith that they will lead to something just as good or better—and they often will！
Thought，contacting "that something，" brings everything，with nature's exceptions，into manifestation.A single thought not followed up—a flash dismissed or lost—may be compared to a bobbing cork，aimless and without purpose.However，the same thought，the picture of the thing you want，kept constant，will attract its object，just as a magnet attracts.The larger and more powerful the magnet，the greater its drawing force，and so it is with sustained thought.The more powerful it becomes the more it attracts.
Just as a huge magnifying glass drawing the sun's rays and kept focused on a certain spot will burn a hole，so will powerful sustained thought（the vivid mental picture） directed to or on its object correlate.However，you must mentally see the picture of your object or ideal as a reality ...see every detail of.the picture as being in existence just as you want the object or ideal actually to be ...then，as if by magic，the chain will link itself together.
Now go back and reread this again until it is permanently impressed upon you.