Affirmation · “The Subconscious Says Yes”
Segno's Ten Will-Power Resolutions
To strengthen self-command and emotional regulation by reading a fixed set of ten ‘I will’ resolutions every day and progressively living up to them, adding one new self-governing habit at a time.
Segno’s will-power creed in 4 lines: Once a day, read the ten “I will” resolutions — be master of my actions, stay composed, decide deliberately, commit without regret, act on my own judgment, harm no one, be honest, live up to these daily. Resolve to make them your guide at all times. Don’t try to do it all at once — master one, then add a new duty each day.
What it is
In his chapter on cultivating will power, A. Victor Segno gives a fixed ten-line creed of “I will” resolutions to be read once every day and adopted as a standing guide to conduct.
It is not a wishing affirmation about outcomes (wealth, love); it is a set of self-governance commitments — about how you will act and decide — read daily until they become automatic. The distinctive engine is gradual loading: rather than trying to embody all ten at once, you “accomplish one thing at a time, and each day add some new duty.” This makes it closer to a structured habit-formation protocol than to ordinary affirmation.
The Method
Segno instructs, in Chapter V: “Read the following rules once every day and resolve to make them your guide at all times,” followed by the ten resolutions (verbatim):
- “I will be master of my own actions.”
- “I will never permit myself to become confused or excited.”
- “I will never yield to temper nor entertain irritation.”
- “I will never make a decision in haste.”
- “I will never entertain regrets after I have made a decision.”
- “I will make my decisions final and never do anything by halves.”
- “I will never act contrary to my own judgment.”
- “I will never decide to do that which will injure other people.”
- “I will always be honest with myself and in my dealings with others.”
- “I will impress these decisions upon my mind and live up to them every day.” How to work it: - Read all ten once, every day. A short fixed ritual — Segno’s instruction is daily, not occasional.
- Resolve to make them your guide “at all times.” Carry them into actual decisions and reactions through the day, not just the reading.
- Adhere as closely as you can — Segno’s exact framing: “Adhere to these decisions as closely as you can.”
- Don’t try to do everything at once. “Do not attempt to do too much at first. Accomplish one thing at a time, and each day add some new duty.” Build incrementally: master self-command in one situation, then extend it. (Sourcing note: the ten resolutions and the “one thing at a time / add a new duty” instruction are quoted/paraphrased directly from Ch. V of the 1902 edition.)
Source & Lineage
A. Victor Segno (1870–c.1925) ran the American Institute of Mentalism and the Segno Success Club from Los Angeles; The Law of Mentalism (1902) was his flagship text.
The “I will” resolution list sits squarely in the New Thought / success-literature tradition of self-made character (Marden, later Hill’s “definiteness of decision”). Resolutions 4–6 (decide deliberately, then commit without regret) prefigure Napoleon Hill’s “decision” chapter; the daily-reading mechanic parallels Coué’s daily formula.
The Traditions' versions
Affirmations (New Thought) — identity/behavior statements repeated daily; this is a conduct-focused variant.
- Stoic prokopē / Franklin’s 13 virtues — a fixed list of conduct rules, reviewed and worked one at a time. Franklin’s “attend to one at a time” is nearly identical to Segno’s “add one new duty.”
- Implementation intentions (“I will… when…”) — the modern, validated form of “I will” commitments.
- Rule of life / monastic rule — a daily-read standing creed governing behavior.
- Coué’s daily formula — same daily-reading conditioning mechanic.
Common refinements
Reading without applying. The reading is a primer; the work is in real moments of decision and irritation. Pick one resolution to actively practice each week.
- Trying to do all ten at once. Segno explicitly warns against this. Load one, then add.
- Turning “never permit confusion/temper” into suppression. The goal is composure and recovery, not pretending you feel nothing. Notice the feeling, then choose the response.
- Treating “never entertain regrets” as no-reflection. It means don’t ruminate after a sound decision — not “never learn from mistakes.”
- Inconsistency. Daily reading is the conditioning; skipping breaks the salience effect.
- Perfectionism. These are ideals; “adhere as closely as you can” is the realistic bar.