How to Become Mentally Superior

What Makes One Rise Above the Average

Henry M. Le Chatelier

(Translated from the French by Ralph E. Oesper)

HALDEMAN-JULIUS PUBLICATIONS

GIRARD, KANSAS

Copyright, 1929,

Haldeman-Julius Company

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

HOW TO BECOME MENTALLY SUPERIOR

Every school gains renown not only through the scientific achievements of its professors, but also because of the industrial successes of its former students. Schools have been a potent factor in the development of an intellectual elite, the class responsible for the progress of civilization in any country. If Europe is superior to Africa, the sole cause lies in the possession of leaders. The blacks of savage countries may be good manual laborers, but they lack a select class to direct them, either as governing officials, as officers in warfare, as scholars, as engineers or as organizers of their industries. The formation of an intellectual superior class should be the dominant preoccupation of any country that expects to cut a figure in world affairs.

The geologist, de Lapparent, in a didactic statement declared that every terrain is, of necessity, divided into three strata; the upper, the middle and the lower. The intellectuals likewise may be placed on three levels; the men of genius, whose fame and influence extend throughout the world for many centuries; the great men, whose renown, however great at a given time, is finally eclipsed by that of their successors, and lastly, the lower elite, who temporarily exert a useful influence within rather narrow boundaries, but never attain far-reaching notability. Each of these three categories of intellectual superiors renders about the same value of service to humanity; the men of genius are certainly the greatest benefactors, but they also occur most seldom. In algebraic terms, the product of the number in each class multiplied by each individual’s usefulness gives a constant.

In a talk to the students of an American university Carnegie said: “I am speaking only to those of you who are ambitious to become millionaires; the others do not interest me.” The present speaker wishes to emphasize a parallel thought: “I am speaking only to those of you who have an ambition to raise yourselves above the average, and I believe this will include all of you.” It would surely be folly for anyone to deliberately set out to become a genius, because this goal can only be reached through exceptional qualities, but we all can and should strive to be numbered among the elite, to use this term in its proper sense. With the exception of certain afflicted individuals, fortunately not numerous, all of us from birth have the requisite qualities. The rest is dependent on will power and on the method of developing and applying our natural endowments.

Let us examine together, using the experimental method, the conditions attendant upon the recruitment of the intellectual elite. For this purpose we need not distinguish the levels of attainment, for they do not differ in nature, but only in degree. We can then cite as examples great men with whose lives you are more familiar, and from these we may draw conclusions applicable to the formation of the ordinary elite. What qualities are essential and how may these be developed?