Page 163 - Napoleon Hill Think and Grow Rich Full Book | Success Learned

On one occasion, ideas came through so fast that he was forced to write for almost
three hours. When the thoughts stopped flowing, and he examined his notes, he
found they contained a minute description of principles which bad not a parallel
among the known data of the scientific world.

Moreover, the answer to his problem was intelligently presented in those notes.
In this manner Dr. Gates completed over 200 patents, which had been begun, but
not completed, by "half-baked" brains. Evidence of the truth of this statement is
in the United States Patent Office.

Dr. Gates earned his living by "sitting for ideas" for individuals and corporations.
Some of the largest corporations in America paid him substantial fees, by the
hour, for "sitting for ideas."

165

NAPOLEON HILL THINK AND GROW RICH

The reasoning faculty is often faulty, because it is largely guided by one's accu-
mulated experience. Not all knowledge, which one accumulates through "expe-
rience," is accurate. Ideas received through the creative faculty are much more
reliable, for the reason that they come from sources more reliable than any which
are available to the reasoning faculty of the mind.

The major difference between the genius and the ordinary "crank" inventor, may
be found in the fact that the genius works through his faculty of creative imagina-
tion, while the "crank" knows nothing of this faculty. The scientific inventor (such
as Mr. Edison, and Dr. Gates), makes use of both the synthetic and the creative
faculties of imagination.

For example, the scientific inventor, or "genius, begins an invention by organizing
and combining the known ideas, or principles accumulated through experience,
through the synthetic faculty (the reasoning faculty). If he finds this accumulated
knowledge to be insufficient for the completion of his invention, he then draws
upon the sources of knowledge available to him through his creative faculty. The
method by which he does this varies with the individual, but this is the sum and
substance of his procedure:

1. HE STIMULATES HIS MIND SO THAT IT VIBRATES ON A HIGHER-THAN-
AVERAGE PLANE, using one or more of the ten mind stimulants or some other
stimulant of his choice.

2. HE CONCENTRATES upon the known factors (the finished part) of his inven-
tion, and creates in his mind a perfect picture of unknown factors (the unfinished
part), of his invention. He holds this picture in mind until it has been taken over