INTRODUCTION
By Joel Fotinos
Most people discover this little gem of a book after reading the author Joseph Murphy’s most famous and enduring book, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind. Once readers encounter that particular book, they often seek out all of Murphy’s other titles. Why? Because Joseph Murphy had the gift of taking complicated ideas and making them not just easy to understand, but also easy to practice.
My first introduction to the motivational works of Joseph Murphy wasn’t with The Power of Your Subconscious Mind. Years ago, when I was living in Denver, Colorado, I was browsing in a large bookstore, walking up and down the aisles to see which books caught my attention. It was then that I saw a slim little book with a bright pink cover, with the title in large white type—How to Attract Money. The book itself was less than one hundred pages, and was a small trim size. It had an attractively old-fashioned look to it, like a book from the era depicted in the television show Mad Men. Could such a little book still have information that would be useful to me?
I didn’t buy the book on that visit, or the next, or the next. But every time I went to the bookstore, I would see that book, and think Someday I’ll get that book and see what it has to say. Eventually I bought the book, and it sat on my shelf for a few months before I picked it up. I read a lot of self-help books at that time, and this one—which called to me—always seemed too slight, and therefore didn’t seem like an urgent read.
Eventually I picked up the book, settled in, and began to read. It speaks to how powerful the book is that I can remember where I was when I first read it! Murphy wrote things like Wealth is a state of consciousness; it is a mind conditioned to Divine supply forever flowing, which spoke directly to what I most needed to learn at that moment.
In my experience, the right book will arrive when you most need to read it—and this was no exception. I devoured the book quickly, and then started back on page 1 and reread it. On virtually every page I found little gems of information and inspiration, and I found myself highlighting and underlining whole sections.
After reading it a second time, I decided to read other Murphy books. I picked up Your Power to Be Rich, Believe in Yourself, How to Use the Laws of Mind, The Amazing Laws of Cosmic Mind Power, The Cosmic Power Within You, The Miracle of Mind Dynamics, and several more. And yes, I eventually did get a copy of his magnum opus, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, and I loved it. Over the years I learned that Murphy had been born in Ireland (which might explain all of the stories he fills his books with!) in 1898, moved to the United States, became a noted New Thought minister, and wrote more than 30 books, which were translated all around the world. He died in 1981, but his tremendous legacy continues through his books.
You can tell from the titles that many of his books were about the same core principles in which he believed, each coming from a slightly different angle. Pick up any one of them, including this one, and you’ll get Murphy’s no-nonsense approach to the great laws of the Universe, and how to use them. Don’t let the size fool you. This is vintage Murphy wisdom, distilled and full octane, free of fluff and filler, and straight to the point.
All these years later, I still pick up this book from time to time. My old copy is tattered and falling apart, so I’m glad to have this beautiful new edition available. If this is your first Murphy book—or your thirtieth—I believe it holds some good information that can help to improve your life. Read it with an open mind and an open heart, and see what positive ideas speak to you most. And then try to implement those positive ideas in your life. One final suggestion: keep this book close by. Whenever you feel down, or like life isn’t quite working the way you think it should, or just need a quick jolt of positivity, pick up this book, start flipping through it, and let Murphy’s writings inspire you to the life you have always dreamed of.
Introduction. Copyright © 2022 by Joel Fotinos
