Cultivate decision of character. Learn to say things with promptness and with a calm determination that leaves no room for doubt in regard to your sincerity. Do not vacillate. No vacillating leader very long retains his following. Decide, if you err. Better an error with promptness and positive action, than indecision that allows opportunity to escape. No man can ever be right all the time and succeed. A man who never makes an error is too deliberate to march in the front ranks of the leaders of men. Vacillation militates against leadership; decision nurtures it. Procrastination is the death knell of opportunity; promptness is the corner stone of confidence; it is the capital of hope, the treasury of trust; it keeps opportunity dodging to escape its grasp. Whom would you follow with the greatest confidence, him who decides without delay and executes without misgivings, or him who vacillates, hesitates, procrastinates, defers? The question is absurd; there can be but one answer to it.

Personal magnetism cannot be located on the map of human destiny. Some men carry it in their mien; some express it in their gestures; some disclose it in articulation, accent, intonation; some give it full expression in all these, without emphasizing it in any one.

There is magnetism in the human voice; how much, must be determined by him who uses it. There is no excuse for a voice that does not express it, except to plead neglectful indolence, - criminal inattention. Sound lungs may be an accident of birth, but a good voice is an acquisition. Did you ever listen to yourself talk? Do so; it will interest you. Mark your defects of articulation, of intonation, of accent. Strange that you should talk in your own presence every hour of every day of every week that you live, yet never listen to your own voice.

A good voice, like correct breathing, may be acquired. No other human possession equals it in influencing others. Imagine trying to follow heroically a man who has a weak, piping voice or one whose articulation is indistinct, effeminate, emasculated. Think of the ecstatic thrill caused by listening to the masculine, rancous utterances of some woman whom you know! How often do you see a person who possesses all that is necessary to make him magnetic, save a voice? But, you will say, if a person is naturally endowed with such a voice, how can you criticize him? Permit us to answer that your voice is what you make it; that it is susceptible of cultivation; that a good voice may be acquired by any one who will turn his attention to it and devote the time necessary to acquire it. Cultivate your personal magnetism in all things else, but neglect to cultivate your voice, and it is like turning a wolf into a flock of sheep.

There is character in the human voice. It is an accurate index to the man. It limns his past deeds, portrays his present thought, and circumscribes his destiny. No man who talks incoherently, thinks clearly. The action of his mental machinery may be judged by his articulation. Clear, incisive words fall from the lips of those who think precisely. The drawl of indifference, the loose, disjointed speech of ignorance, the driveling whine of the idiotic, are but descending steps in the scale that ascends from imbecility to the highest order of intelligence.

The human voice is the most delicately attuned musical instrument that God has created. It is capable of a cultivation beyond the dreams of those who have given it no thought. It may be made to express every emotion in the gamut of human sensations, from abject misery to boundless ecstacy. It marks the man without his consent; it makes the man if he will but cultivate it.

Magnetic men and women possess self-control. That is a prerequisite to influencing others. They do not indulge in outbursts of passion. If angered, the eloquence of silence, accented by a very few well-chosen words, suffices to emphasize their self-control. They are always thoughtful of self, yet ever conscious of others, never forgetful, yet never obtrusive; ready to lead or willing to follow. Thus, if you would cultivate personal magnetism, cultivate self-control. Anger destroys reserve energy with the hand of a. prodigal; it saps vitality and visits an awful punishment upon him who indulges it. It never accomplishes anything; its work is destruction; it is a price too dear to be paid for any achievement, and it always hinders success. It is destructive, of life itself. It follows, therefore, that no human possession is of sufficient value to justify its indulgence! If you would be magnetic you must be calmly self-confident, self-centered, sufficient unto yourself and unto others.

The reader of this article is interested more or less in the science of hypnotism. It is not necessary, therefore, to lay emphasis on the fact that hypnotism is, and always must be, in its true nature, the basis of personal magnetism. The successful hypnotist, with a little attention to himself, may develop a personal magnetism that is irresistible. The practice of hypnotism furthers this object and for these reasons: First, it insures a confidence in self. Second, it necesitates an understanding of man's relation to man. Third, it consists of the exercise of influence over others. Fourth, it develops the power to make effective suggestions, to emphasize self-control as a condition precedent to the control of others, to the exercise of influence. It is the visible expression of cultivated personal magnetism.

Hypnotism is but suggestion; therein lies its identity with personal magnetism. If you would influence others, you must be able to plant suggestions in their minds, - suggestions that will bear fruit in action.

The essence of hypnotism is effective suggestion. It is not necessary to say more to emphasize the analogy between hypnotism and personal magnetism, to establish their close identity. The successful hypnotist understands suggestion and knows that through it, he can gain dominion over men. Let him turn his attention to himself and to human nature, and he will soon be able to plant a suggestion in the mind of any person, each according to his kind.

To cultivate your personal magnetism, study those who please you. Discover what elements in their character, attract you. Contrast them with others and find wherein lies their strength. Do not imitate their actions, but emulate their examples. Nor is this all. Lessons just as valuable may be drawn from those who repel you, and there are many such. There is a reason for this repulsion. It does not arise spontaneously and without provocation. Analyze their characters, separating the good from the bad; assimilate the former, avoid the latter.

Another class well worth your study is those who make no impression upon you. The milk and water people whom you ignore inadvertently and notice only when they step on your toes. They have found, without an effort, the dead level of, mediocrity, the commonplace position of the average. There is some reason for their lack of personality. Discover it, if possible, and add it to your list of things to avoid.

The student of hypnotism understands auto-suggestion. Let him practice it to develop his personal magnetism. Determine to be magnetic and the condition is self-induced. Turn your will upon your wants and hold it there as the mariner holds the proud ship upon her course. Imagine a Napoleon without a will, a Grant without self-reliance, a Lincoln without fortitude!

Train your will upon the object of your achievement and do not swerve. Every obstacle may be surmounted, every desire achieved, every worthy wish gratified. Such a will may garner a plentiful harvest where the fields have been devastated by blighting failure. Such a will may unhorse death itself. It is the attribute of kings, yet it is beyond the reach of none'who would acquire it.