Yes, 1912.
Five years later it was released in book format.
Years later, Rhonda Byrne quoted Haanel in her bestseller, The Secret.
But you know, sometimes it's best to go right to the source.
Of course I'm not saying that Haanel was new in all of these thoughts.
Some came from centuries before him.
But the Master Key System made such an impact, that in 1919, Napoleon Hill (Think and Grow Rich) wrote Charles a letter thanking him for the book.
You can read a copy of this letter here:
http://members.shaw.ca/themasterkey/Napoleon_Hill_Letter.htm
And there is the rumor that he was attending Harvard University, Bill Gates discovered and read The Master Key System by Charles F. Haanel.
It was this book that inspired Bill Gates to drop out of the University and pursue his dream of "a computer on every desktop."
Now if this is true or not, I have no idea.
Too get you started, here are the first 10 "points" in the first chapter of The Master Key System.
Following them is a link where you can go read the entire book online for free.
1. That much gathers more is true on every plane of existence and that loss leads to greater loss is equally true.
2. Mind is creative, and conditions, environment and all experiences in life are the result of our habitual or predominant mental attitude.
3. The attitude of mind necessarily depends upon what we think. Therefore, the secret of all power, all achievement and all possession depends upon our method of thinking.
4. This is true because we must "be" before we can "do," and we can "do" only to the extent which we "are," and what we "are" depends upon what we "think."
5. We cannot express powers that we do not possess. The only way by which we may secure possession of power is to become conscious of power, and we can never become conscious of power until we learn that all power is from within.
6. There is a world within – a world of thought and feeling and power; of light and life and beauty and, although invisible, its forces are mighty.
7. The world within is governed by mind. When we discover this world we shall find the solution for every problem, the cause for every effect; and since the world within is subject to our control, all laws of power and possession are also within our control.
8. The world without is a reflection of the world within. What appears without is what has been found within. In the world within may be found infinite Wisdom, infinite Power, infinite Supply of all that is necessary, waiting for unfoldment, development and expression. If we recognize these potentialities in the world within they will take form in the world without.
9. Harmony in the world within will be reflected in the world without by harmonious conditions, agreeable surroundings, the best of everything. It is the foundation of health and a necessary essential to all greatness, all power, all attainment, all achievement and all success.
10. Harmony in the world within means the ability to control our thoughts, and to determine for ourselves how any experience is to affect us.
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