I haven’t always been a believer in the Law of Attraction. There was a time, of course, I’d never even heard of it. Even after I’d heard of it, I wasn’t an instant believer. Ironically, it was that initial scepticism that turned me into one.
And in doing so, introduced me to the story of an incredible person.
If you’re not familiar with the name WH Murray, you’re probably not alone; I wasn’t either until I read about him in a book by Paul McKenna. If you’ve never heard of Paul McKenna, you’re probably not alone there either; most of his work concerns self-hypnosis and self-improvement. If you haven’t heard of self-hypnosis and self-improvement, you’re probably in trouble…
I’m just messing! ;)
Born in March 1913, WH (William Hutchison) Murray was a proud Scot whose love of his country’s rugged mountains would later lead to his becoming an expert mountaineer, writer and adventurer. As a mountain enthusiast myself, though solely a hiker as opposed to a mountaineer, it was pretty easy for me to understand the man’s passion for challenge and nature. After spending much of the 1930s conquering the Highlands, following the outbreak of World War Two, Murray, like many of his associates from Clydesdale, signed up with the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders and was posted to North Africa and the Middle East where he would serve in the first part of the Western Desert Campaign. After two years stationed in the desert, his lifelong love of mountains would ironically play a key role in how Murray would spend the rest of the war.
Even in spite of spending most of it as a PoW.
On being captured by the Nazis in Egypt in the summer of 1942, it was within the cold confines of his various prisons that Murray became an unlikely war hero. Deprived of his freedom, and even proper paper, Murray set to work on composing what would later become his first book, Mountaineering in Scotland, writing everything on toilet paper. Though his sleep-deprived efforts were discovered and destroyed by the SS, his brave decision to begin from scratch was eventually rewarded with the work’s publication in 1947. In 1951, the world was also blessed by its sequel, Undiscovered Scotland.
Murray’s story is undoubtedly a powerful one, not only for climbing enthusiasts. Besides the obvious message of perseverance in the face of stiff adversity, what struck me deepest was one outstanding quote:
‘Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets: Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!’
For those of you unfamiliar with either man, Goethe himself is undoubtedly also worthy of study. As time has gone by, I’ve found myself revisiting Murray’s quote often: for me, not only does it sum up the power of the law of attraction, but looking back I can often find striking similarities regarding many of my own experiences.
When starting out as a writer, one of my first plans had been to make connections with other writers and, where possible, seek endorsements from established authors in my field. Hoping for the best but expecting little, not only did this prove one of the most worthwhile and meaningful elements of my own journey so far, but as more time has passed I never cease to be amazed how many of my, now cherished, friendships and acquaintances have a habit of somehow just showing up without prior warning or effort. One of my favourite Steve Jobs’ quotes similarly tells that it’s often not obvious till many years later how the dots in life join together, further highlighting why it’s so important to persist.
While many successful people attribute goal setting, visualisation and perseverance as key reasons for their success, for me, perhaps equally important is the definite decision to make a long term commitment to a definite plan. At no point during his harsh incarceration could Murray have known the success that would follow.
As the great man himself highlighted in his autobiography, Faith Is The Evidence of Things Unseen!