“Our thought force has proved to be a wedge, opening the seemingly inaccessible Wall of Circumstance.”

Using a forceful metaphor for overcoming apparently immovable obstacles · Essay, Invincibility

• Circumstance
• Perseverance
• Thought

“The incessant and persistent demand of our hearts and minds MUST be granted.”

Expressing her strong belief in the eventual power of persistent aspiration · Essay, Invincibility

• Desire
• Hope
• Persistence

“It is he who scatters, instead of concentrates his mind powers, who keeps himself and others in a state of continual irritation.”

Linking mental distraction with practical disorder and irritation · Essay, Concentration

• Attention
• Behaviour
• Concentration

“The New Thought includes concentration of thought, in its teaching.”

Identifying focused attention as a central element of her philosophy · Essay, Concentration

• Concentration
• Discipline
• Thought

“The reverent, wholesome, and beautiful religion of New Thought must be grown into little by little, through patience, faith, and practice.”

Emphasising gradual development rather than instant conversion · Essay, Self-Conquest

• Faith
• Growth
• Patience

“We must change ourselves before we can change material conditions.”

Making personal transformation the starting point for external change · Essay, Self-Conquest

• Change
• Responsibility
• Self Knowledge

“He must illustrate this love and trust by his daily conduct, and in his home circle, and in his business relations.”

Insisting that beliefs must be demonstrated through conduct · Essay, Self-Conquest

• Behaviour
• Faith
• Integrity

“The man who wishes to control circumstances must love better things than money before he can succeed.”

Putting values and character before material ambition · Essay, Self-Conquest

• Money
• Success
• Values

“Good sense, thrift and industry must aid his mental assertion of wealth.”

Arguing that practical effort must accompany optimistic thinking · Essay, Self-Conquest

• Prudence
• Wealth
• Work

“The gourmand does not know that self-indulgence and a gross appetite are incompatible with mental or spiritual growth.”

Linking self-discipline with personal development · Essay, Self-Conquest

• Discipline
• Growth
• Self Control

“Not one of these moth converts realizes that the very first step to take in the direction of New Thought is self-conquest.”

Insisting that self-mastery matters more than fashionable spiritual claims · Essay, Self-Conquest

• Discipline
• Self Control
• Spirituality

“Every New Idea, or supposed New Idea, is a light which attracts the moths.”

A witty warning that fashionable ideas attract both serious seekers and cranks · Essay, Self-Conquest

• Criticism
• Humour
• Ideas

“The New Thought is not a religion of Sundays, but of every day.”

Arguing that beliefs matter only when they shape everyday conduct · Essay, Concentration

• Action
• Integrity
• Religion

“To build character necessitates a constant watch upon ourselves.”

Defining character as the result of continuous self-observation · Essay, Concentration

• Character
• Discipline
• Self Knowledge

“He must carry his religion into his bedroom and his office, and not forget it utterly when he loses his collar-button, or misses his car.”

Insisting that personal philosophy should govern ordinary daily behaviour · Essay, Concentration

• Behaviour
• Patience
• Religion

“The student of the Higher Philosophy must learn to be serene and self-poised when he encounters life's pigmy worries.”

Encouraging calmness in the face of petty frustrations · Essay, Concentration

• Patience
• Resilience
• Serenity

“Wise is the mother, and as sure as wise, who teaches her child to finish each task begun before attempting another.”

Connecting concentration with the habit of completing what one starts · Essay, Concentration

• Children
• Concentration
• Discipline

“Concentration is a most difficult acquirement for the mature mind which has been allowed to grow in the habit of thought scattering.”

Recognising concentration as a skill requiring deliberate cultivation · Essay, Concentration

• Concentration
• Discipline
• Mind

“It cannot be perpetually forgetful and careless of another's wishes and needs, even in the merest trifles.”

Arguing that sustained attentiveness is an essential part of love · Essay, The Important Trifles

• Attention
• Care
• Love

“The kindest and most loving heart will sometimes forget and be careless.”

Acknowledging human imperfection even in loving people · Essay, The Important Trifles

• Imperfection
• Kindness
• Love

“To be kind, means to be thoughtful.”

A particularly concise definition of everyday kindness · Essay, The Important Trifles

• Compassion
• Courtesy
• Kindness

“There are people who bear great sorrows with resignation, and seem to gain a certain dignity and force of character through trouble, but who are utterly vanquished by trivial annoyances.”

Contrasting heroic endurance with failure to manage everyday irritations · Essay, The Important Trifles

• Character
• Difficulty
• Patience

“Home life, like business life, is composed of an accumulation of trifles.”

Observing how small habits and irritations shape daily relationships · Essay, The Important Trifles

• Attention
• Home
• Relationships

“The New Philosophy demands serenity and patience through small trials, as well as fortitude in meeting life's larger ills.”

Arguing that character is revealed by everyday annoyances as well as major crises · Essay, The Important Trifles

• Character
• Patience
• Serenity