''The Master Key System'' is a

personal development Personal development or self-improvement consists of activities that develops a person's capabilities and potential, enhance quality of life, and facilitate the realization of dreams and aspirations. Personal development may take place over the ...

book by Charles F. Haanel that was originally published as a 24-week

correspondence course Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

in 1912, and then in book form in 1916. The ideas it describes and explains come mostly from

New Thought The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought) is a new religious movement that coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was seen by its adherents as succeeding "ancient thought", accumulated wisdom and philosophy ...

philosophy. It was one of the main sources of inspiration for

Rhonda Byrne Rhonda Byrne ( ; née Izon; born 1951, Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian television writer and producer. Her book '' The Secret'' is based on the pseudoscientific belief of the law of attraction, which claims that thoughts can change a p ...

's film and book '' The Secret'' (2006).

General description

The book describes many New Thought beliefs such as the law of attraction,

creative visualization Creative visualization is the cognitive process of purposefully generating visual mental imagery, with eyes open or closed, simulating or recreating visual perception, in order to maintain, inspect, and transform those images, consequently mod ...

and man's unity with God, and teaches the importance of truth, harmonious thinking and the ability to concentrate. Each of the 24 chapters contains an introduction, followed by a sequentially numbered section which includes an exercise towards the end, followed by a section with questions and answers. At the beginning of the book is a ''Psychological Chart'' which readers are encouraged to complete, providing a self-evaluation of their creative power, time efficiency, health, mental ability and capacity to concentrate. The book ends with a

glossary A glossary (from , ''glossa''; language, speech, wording), also known as a vocabulary or clavis, is an alphabetical list of Term (language), terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms. Traditionally, a gloss ...

and general question-and-answers section. Every chapter includes a quotation from people such as

Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Edwards may refer to: Musicians *Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, pseudonym of bandleader Paul Weston and his wife, singer Jo Stafford *Jonathan Edwards (musician) (born 1946), American musician **Jonathan Edwards (album), ''Jonathan Edward ...

Lilian Whiting Lilian Whiting (October 3, 1847 – April 30, 1942) was an American journalist, editor, and author of poetry and short stories. She served as literary editor of the '' Boston Evening Traveller'' (1880–1890), editor-in-chief of the ''Boston Bu ...

and

Amos Bronson Alcott Amos Bronson Alcott (; November 29, 1799 – March 4, 1888) was an American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer. As an educator, Alcott pioneered new ways of interacting with young students, focusing on a conversational style, and av ...

Exercises

Each chapter ends with an exercise which the reader is encouraged to undertake every day for the following 4–7 days. The exercises are meditations that require the reader to first sit comfortably in a chair. The sequence of exercises in each chapter is as follows: # Sitting still # Inhibiting all thought combined with previous exercise # Releasing physical tension combined with previous exercises # Letting go of all negative emotions combined with previous exercises # Visualising a pleasant place # Remembering details from a photo of someone # Visualising positive facial expressions on the face of a friend # Visualising everything that leads to the construction of a

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

# Visualising a flower growing from seed # Visualising certain geometric forms # Concentrating on a quote from the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

;

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

11:24 # Contemplating your unity with

Omnipotence Omnipotence is the property of possessing maximal power. Monotheistic religions generally attribute omnipotence only to the deity of their faith. In the monotheistic religious philosophy of Abrahamic religions, omnipotence is often listed as ...

# Contemplating being part of the Whole # Focusing on harmony # Contemplating the fact that knowledge needs to be applied to be useful # Contemplating that happiness and harmony are states of consciousness # Focusing on the object of your desire # Focusing on your power to create – create a logical basis for your faith # Total concentration on what you want # Focusing on "In Him we live and move and have our being" # Focusing on truth # Concentration on a

Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's ...

quote: "Speak to Him, thou, for He hears, and spirit with spirit can meet, Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet." # Contemplating the fact that man is a spirit with a body # Realising that this is a wonderful world

Themes

The ideas behind the book mainly come from New Thought philosophy, but there are influences from other sources such as

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

, Masonism and

Rosicrucian Rosicrucianism () is a spirituality, spiritual and cultural movement that arose in early modern Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts announcing to the world a new Western esotericism, esoteric order. Rosicruc ...

teachings,

Theosophy Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...

, and the

Influence

Along with ''

The Science of Getting Rich ''The Science of Getting Rich'' is a book written by the New Thought Movement writer Wallace D. Wattles and published in 1910 by the Elizabeth Towne Company. The book is still in print. According to ''USA Today'', the text is "divided into 17 ...

'', by Wallace D. Wattles, ''The Master Key System'' inspired much of the content of

's film '' The Secret'' (2006), which was later followed by a book of the same name.'' The Secret of The Secret: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Runaway Bestseller, page 91'' (2007) Kelly, Karen, Macmillan, It is claimed on the website haanel.com that Charles Haanel received a letter in 1919 from

Napoleon Hill Oliver Napoleon Hill (October 26, 1883 – November 8, 1970) was an American self-help author. He is best known for his book ''Think and Grow Rich'' (1937), which is among the best-selling self-help books of all time. Hill's works insisted tha ...

, who later went on to write one of the best-selling books of all time, ''

Think and Grow Rich ''Think and Grow Rich'' is a book written by Napoleon Hill and Rosa Lee Beeland released in 1937 and promoted as a personal development and self-improvement book. He claimed to be inspired by a suggestion from business magnate and later-philanthr ...

'', saying that his own success was due to the principles laid down in ''The Master Key System''. Actor

Terry Crews Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, television host, and former professional American football, football player. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/The CW Television Network, CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', which air ...

has described ''The Master Key System'' as his favorite book among hundreds of personal development books, saying that it showed him "how to visualize, contemplate, and focus on what I really wanted" and that he rereads it "probably once a month to keep my vision clear".

Variations

There are many editions of the book. Modern editions mostly do not include the three-part introduction, the psychological chart, the question-and-answers section at the end of the book, or the glossary. Some modern editions also include 4 additional chapters which come from chapters 11–14 of another book Haanel wrote called ''A book about you''. The first

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

edition, printed in 1933 by The Master Key Publishing Company, is called ''The Master Key'' with no mention of the word "system".

Quotations

The book contains many quotations. Some are printed at the end of chapters while others are in the main body of the text. This list shows all the people quoted in the 1919 edition, and the chapter or part of the book in which the quotes are found. Some editions arrange the quotations in slightly different orders and some have quotes that do not appear in the 1919 edition; for example, many have a quote by

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

at the end of chapter 23. *

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People, fictional characters and language * Seneca (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname : :* Seneca the Elder (c. 54 BC – c. AD 39), a Roman rhetorician, writer and father ...

, Introduction *

James J. Hill James Jerome Hill (September 16, 1838 – May 29, 1916) was a Canadian-American railway director. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest ...

, Introduction *

Elbert Gary Elbert Henry Gary (October 8, 1846August 15, 1927) was an American lawyer, county judge and business executive. He was a founder of U.S. Steel in 1901 alongside J. P. Morgan, William H. Moore, Henry Clay Frick and Charles M. Schwab. The city ...

, Introduction *

Walter Colton Reverend Walter Colton (May 7, 1797 – January 22, 1851) was an American clergyman and writer from Vermont who served as the first American Alcalde (mayor) of Monterey, California. He worked as an editor for newspapers in Washington, D.C., and P ...

, 1 * Professor Davidson, 2 * James Allen, 2,7 *

Prentice Mulford Prentice Mulford (April 5, 1834 – c. May 30, 1891) was an American literary humorist, philosopher, and early figure in the development of the New Thought movement. Many of the principles that would become standard in the movement, including th ...

, 2,16 *

Thomas Troward Thomas Troward (14 October 1846 – 18 May 1916) was an English author whose works influenced the New Thought Movement and mystic Christianity. Background Troward was a divisional Judge in Punjab in British-administered India. His avocation ...

, 3 *

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...

, 3,5,10,17 & 19 * Walker, 3 *

Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English polymath active as a philosopher, psychologist, biologist, sociologist, and anthropologist. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest", which he coined in '' ...

, 4 * Lyman Abbott, 4 * Helen Wilmans, 4 *

Christian D. Larson Christian Daa Larson (1874–1954) was an American New Thought leader and teacher, as well as a prolific author of metaphysical and New Thought books. He was credited by Horatio Dresser as being a founder in the New Thought movement. Many of Lars ...

, 6 *

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, 6 *

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...

, 7 * George Matthew Adams, 8,14 *

Kālidāsa Kālidāsa (, "Servant of Kali (god), Kali"; 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on Hindu Puranas and philosophy. ...

, 8 * Frederick Andrews, 9 *

James McCosh James McCosh (April 1, 1811 – November 16, 1894) was a philosopher of the Scottish School of Common Sense. He was president of Princeton University 1868–88. Biography McCosh was born into a Covenanter, Covenanting family in Ay ...

, 9 * A. B. Alcott, 9 * Henry Drummond, 10 *

Thomas Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist who specialized in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stor ...

, 10 *

John Tyndall John Tyndall (; 2 August 1820 – 4 December 1893) was an Irish physicist. His scientific fame arose in the 1850s from his study of diamagnetism. Later he made discoveries in the realms of infrared radiation and the physical properties of air ...

, 10 * Lillian Whiting, 10 *

Floyd Baker Wilson Floyd may refer to: As a name * Floyd (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Floyd (surname), a list of people and fictional characters Places in the United States * Floyd, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Floyd, Iowa ...

, 12 *

Herbert Kaufman Herbert Kaufman (March 6, 1878 – September 6, 1947) was an American writer and newspaperman whose editorials were widely syndicated in both the United States and Canada. During World War I, Kaufman regularly contributed articles and editorials ...

, 13 *

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

, 13 *

Charles Mackay Charles MacKay (born May 1950, Albuquerque, New Mexico) is an American arts administrator, known for leadership roles at the Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Spoleto Festival USA/ Festival of Two Worlds. Early experience MacKay i ...

, 13 *

Jacques Loeb Jacques Loeb (; ; April 7, 1859 – February 11, 1924) was a German-born American physiologist and biologist. Biography Jacques Loeb, born Itzak, firstborn son of a Jewish family from the German Eifel region, was educated at the universities of ...

, 15 * Horatio Bonar, 15 *

Henry Flagler Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder ...

, 16 * H. W. Beecher, 16 * William Dunkerley, 16 * Christian Bovee, 17 *

John Ambrose Fleming Sir John Ambrose Fleming (29 November 1849 – 18 April 1945) was an English electrical engineer who invented the vacuum tube, designed the radio transmitter with which the first transatlantic radio transmission was made, and also established ...

, 18 * G. A. Sala, 18 *

Marcus Antonius Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the ...

, 18 * South, 19 * Johann Lavater, 20 *

Johann Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

, 20 *

Orison Swett Marden Dr. Orison Swett Marden (1848–1924) was an American inspirational author who wrote about achieving success in life and founded '' Success'' magazine in 1897. His writings discuss common-sense principles and virtues that make for a well-r ...

, 21 * Frank Haddock, 21 *

Alfred T Shofield Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

, 22 *

Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...

, 22 *

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...

, 22 * William Channing, 22 *

William Walker Atkinson William Walker Atkinson (December 5, 1862 – November 22, 1932) was an attorney, merchant, publisher, and writer, as well as an occultist and an American pioneer of the New Thought movement. He is the author of the pseudonymous works attribute ...

, 23 *

Francis Larimer Warner Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie29 ...

, 23 *

Samuel Smiles Samuel Smiles (23 December 1812 – 16 April 1904) was a British author and government reformer. Although he campaigned on a Chartist platform, he promoted the idea that more progress would come from new attitudes than from new laws. His prim ...

, 24 * Isaac Funk. Glossary *

Alexander Winchell Alexander Winchell (December 31, 1824, in North East, New York – February 19, 1891, in Ann Arbor, Michigan) was an American geologist who contributed to this field mainly as an educator and a popular lecturer and writer. His views on evolutio ...

. Glossary * G. C. Robertson. Glossary *

William Inge William Motter Inge (; May 3, 1913 – June 10, 1973) was an American playwright and novelist, whose works typically feature solitary protagonists encumbered with strained sexual relations. In the early 1950s he had a string of memorable Broad ...

. General questions & answers *

Joseph Joubert Joseph Joubert (; 6 May 1754 in Montignac, Dordogne, Montignac, Périgord – 4 May 1824 in Paris) was a French moralists, French moralist and List of essayists, essayist, remembered today largely for his ''Pensées'' (''Thoughts''), which w ...

. On 'Go Slow' page, printed 12 times throughout book. In addition to these quotations, the book quotes the

23 times.

Derivative works

* ''Abundance and Prosperity - The Master Key System Decoded'', by Prof. C. W. Haanel Mentz * ''The Electronic Master Key System in 24 Parts - Re-Edited'', by Anthony R. Michalski. * ''Master Key Arcana'', by Anthony R. Michalski. * ''Master Key System (28 Part Complete Deluxe Edition)'' - Ishtar Publishing (July 2007) * ''The Master Key System 2012 Centenary Edition'', edited, illustrated and annotated by Helmar Rudolph (January 2011) . * ''Tapping the Source'' (2010), by William Gladstone, Richard Greninger, John Selby and

Jack Canfield Jack Canfield (born August 19, 1944) is an American author and motivational speaker. He is the co-author of the '' Chicken Soup for the Soul'' series, which has more than 250 titles and 500 million copies in print in over 40 languages. In 2005 ...

, * ''The Master Key System Summarized & the Science of Getting Rich Decoded'', by George Mentz. * ''Masters of the Secrets Expanded'', by Wallace Wattles, Charles Haanel,

, C. Wattles Haanel Mentz.

Other books by Haanel

''Master Key System'' and ''Mental Chemistry'', being published prior to 1923, are considered to be in

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

, but several of his other books, being currently in distribution, are still covered by

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

law timeframe. *''Mental Chemistry'' *''The New Psychology'' *''A book about You'' *''The Amazing Secrets of the Yogi''

References

External links

The Master Key System, in free weekly lessons
Psi-Tek {{DEFAULTSORT:Master Key System, The New Thought literature Self-help books 1912 non-fiction books 1916 non-fiction books