"Today I will be master of my emotions.

The tides advance; the tides recede. Winter goes and summer comes. 

Summer wanes and the cold increases.

The sun rises; the sun sets. 

The moon is full; the moon is black.

The birds arrive; the birds depart. 

Flowers bloom; flowers fade.

Seeds are sown; harvests are reaped.

All nature is a circle of moods and I am a part of nature and so, like the tides, my moods will rise; my moods will fall.

Today I will be master of my emotions.

It is one of nature's tricks, little understood, that each day I awaken with moods that have changed from yesterday. 

Yesterday's joy will become today's sadness; yet today's sadness will grow into tomorrow's joy.  Inside me is a wheel, constantly turning from sadness to joy, from exultation to depression, from happiness to melancholy.  Like the flowers, today's full bloom of joy will fade and wither into despondency, yet I will remember that as today's dead flower carries the seed of tomorrow's bloom so, too, does today's sadness carry the seed of tomorrow's joy.

Today I will be the master of my emotions.

And how will I  master these emotions so thaqt each day will be productive? 

For unless my mood is right the day will be a failure. Trees and plants depend on the weather to flourish but I make my ownn weather, yea I transport it with me. 

If I bring rain and gloom and darkness and pessimism to my customers then they will react with rain and gloom and darkness and pessimism and they will purchase naught. 

If I bring joy and enthusiasm and brightness and laughter to my customers,

they will react with joy and enthusiasm,

and brightness and laughter,

and my weather will produce a harvest of sales and a granary of gold for me.

Today I will be master of my emotions. 

And how will I master my emotions

so that every day is a happy day,

and a productive one? 

I will learn this secret of the ages: 

Weak is he who permits his thoughts to control his actions; strong is he who forces his actions to control his thoughts.

Each day, when I awaken, I will follow this plan of battle before I am captured by the forces of sadness, self-pity and failure:

1.  If I feel depressed, I will sing.

2.  If I feel sad, I will laugh.

3.  If I feel ill, I will double my labor.

4.  If I feel fear, I will plunge ahead.

   5. If I feel inferior, I will wear new garments.

6.  If I feel uncertain, I will raise my voice.

7.  If I feel poverty, I will think of wealth to come.

8.  If I feel incompetent, I will remember past success.

9.  If I feel insignificant, I will remember my goals.

Today I will be master of my emotions.

Henceforth, I will know that only those with inferior ability can always be their best, and I am not inferior.  There will be days when I must constantly struggle against forces which would tear me down.  Those such as despair and sadness are simple to recognize,

but there are others which approach with a smile and the hand of friendship and they can also destroy me. 

 Against them, too,

I must never relinquish control:

If I become overconfident, I will recall my failures. 

If I overindulge, I will think of past hungers.

If I feel complacency, I will remember moments of shame.

If I feel all-powerful, I will try to stop the wind.

If I attain great wealth, I will remember one unfed mouth.

If I become overly proud, I will remember a moment of weakness.

If I feel my skill is unmatched, I will look at the stars.

Today I will be master of my emotions.

And with this new knowledge I will also understand and recognize the moods of he on whom I call.  I will make allowances for his anger and irritation of today for he knows not the secret of controlling his mind.  I ccan withstand his arrows and insults,

 for now I know that tomorrow he will change and be a joy to approach. 

No longer will I judge a man on one meeting; no longer will I fail to call again tomorrow  on he who meets me with hate today.  This day he will not buy gold chariots for a penny, yet tomorrow he would exchange his home for a tree.  My knowledge of this secret will be my key to great wealth.

Today I will be master of my emtions.

Henceforth I will recognize and identify the mystery of moods in all mankind, and in me.  From this moment I am prepared to control whatever personality awakes in me each day.  I will master my moods through positive action and when I master my moods,

I will control my destiny.

Today I control my destiny and

my destiny is to become

the greatest salesman in the world!

I will become master of myself.

I will become great!"

Mandino, Og.  The Greatest Salesman in the World. New York:  Bantam, 1968.