“This experience taught me a lasting lesson. Now， whenever Iface a pressing problem that threatens to worry me， I give it whatI call ‘the old Willis H. Carrier formula’.”
At just about the same time Willis H. Carrier was worryingover the gas-cleaning equipment he was installing in a plant inCrystal City， Missouri， a chap from Broken Bow， Nebraska， wasmaking out his will. His name was Earl P. Haney， and he hadduodenal ulcers. Three doctors， including a celebrated ulcerspecialist， had pronounced Mr. Haney an “incurable case”. Theyhad told him not to eat this or that， and not to worry or fret—tokeep perfectly calm. They also told him to make out his will！
These ulcers had already forced Earl P. Haney to give up a fineand highly paid position. So now he had nothing to do， nothing to look forward to except a lingering death. Then he made adecision： a rare and superb decision. “Since I have only a littlewhile to live，” he said， “I may as well make the most of it. I havealways wanted to travel around the world before I die. If I amever going to do it， I’ll have to do it now.” So he bought his ticket.
The doctors were appalled. “We must warn you，” they saidto Mr. Haney， “that if you do take this trip， you will be buried atsea.” “No， I won’t，” he replied. “I have promised my relatives thatI will be buried in the family plot at Broken Bow， Nebraska. So Iam going to buy a casket and take it with me.”
He purchased a casket， put it aboard ship， and then madearrangements with the steamship companyin the event of hisdeath—to put his corpse in a freezing compartment and keep itthere till the liner returned home. He set out on his trip.
“I drank highballs， and smoked long cigars on that trip，” Mr. Haney says in a letter that I have before me now. “I ate all kindsof foods—even strange native foods which were guaranteed tokill me. I enjoyed myself more than I had in years！ We ran intomonsoons and typhoons which should have put me in my casket，if only from fright—but I got an enormous kick out of all thisadventure.
“I played games aboard the ship， sang songs， made newfriends， stayed up half the night. When we reached China andIndia， I realised that the business troubles and cares that I hadfaced back home were paradise compared to the poverty andhunger in the Orient. I stopped all my senseless worrying and feltfine. When I got back to America， I had gained ninety pounds.
I had almost forgotten I had ever had a stomach ulcer. I hadnever felt better in my life. I promptly sold the casket back to theundertaker， and went back to business. I haven’t been ill a daysince.”
At the time this happened， Earl P. Haney had never even heardof Willis H. Carrier and his technique for handling worry. “But Irealise now，” he told me quite recently， “that I was unconsciouslyusing the selfsame principle. I reconciled myself to the worst thatcould happen-in my case， dying. And then I improved upon it bytrying to get the utmost enjoyment out of life for the time I hadleft.... If，” he continued， “if I had gone on worrying after boardingthat ship， I have no doubt that I would have made the returnvoyage inside of that coffin. But I relaxed—I forgot it. And thiscalmness of mind gave me a new birth of energy which actuallysaved my life.”
Now， if Willis H. Carrier could save a twenty-thousand-dollarcontract， if a New York business man could save himself fromblackmail， if Earl P. Haney could actually save his life， by usingthis magic formula， then isn’t it possible that it may be the answerto some of your troubles？ Isn’t it possible that it may even solvesome problems you thought were unsolvable？
So， the rule is： If you have a worry problem， apply the magicformula of Willis H. Carrier by doing these three things—1. Ask yourself， “What is the worst that can possibly happen？”
2. Prepare to accept it if you have to.
3. Then calmly proceed to improve on the worst.