Everyone has two natures. One wants us to advance and the other wants to
pull us back. The one that we cultivate and concentrate on decides what we are
at the end. Both natures are trying to gain control. The will alone decides the
issue. A man by one supreme effort of the will may change his whole career and
almost accomplish miracles. You may be that man. You can be if you Will to be,
for Will can find a way or make one.
I could easily fill a book, of cases where men plodding along in a
matter-of-fact way, were all at once aroused and as if awakening from a slumber
they developed the possibilities within them and from that time on were
different persons. You alone can decide when the turning point will come. It is
a matter of choice whether we allow our diviner self to control us or whether
we will be controlled by the brute within us. No man has to do anything he does
not want to do. He is therefore the director of his life if he wills to be.
What we are to do, is the result of our training. We are like putty, and can be
completely controlled by our will power.
Habit is a matter of acquirement. You hear people say: "He comes by
this or that naturally, a chip off the old block," meaning that he is only
doing what his parents did. This is quite often the case, but there is no
reason for it, for a person can break a habit just the moment he masters the "I
will." A man may have been a "good-for-nothing" all his life up
to this very minute, but from this time on he begins to amount to something.
Even old men have suddenly changed and accomplished wonders. "I lost my
opportunity," says one. That may be true, but by sheer force of will, we
can find a way to bring us another opportunity.
There is no truth in the saying that opportunity knocks at our door but
once in a lifetime. The fact is, opportunity never seeks us; we must seek it.
What usually turns out to be one man's opportunity, was another man's loss. In
this day one man's brain is matched against another's. It is often the
quickness of brain action that determines the result. One man thinks "I
will do it," but while he procrastinates the other goes ahead and does the
work. They both have the same opportunity. The one will complain of his lost
chance. But it should teach him a lesson, and it will, if he is seeking the
path that leads to success.
Many persons read good books, but say they do not get much good out of them.
They do not realize that all any book or any lesson course can do is to awaken
them to their possibilities; to stimulate them to use their will power. You may
teach a person from now until doom's day, but that person will only know what
he learns himself. "You can lead him to the fountain, but you can't make
him drink."
One of the most beneficial practices I know of is that of looking for the
good in everyone and everything, for there is good in all things. We encourage
a person by seeing his good qualities and we also help ourselves by looking for
them. We gain their good wishes, a most valuable asset sometimes. We get back
what we give out. The time comes when most all of us need encouragement; need
buoying up. So form the habit of encouraging others, and you will find it a
wonderful tonic for both those encouraged and yourself, for you will get back
encouraging and uplifting thoughts.
Life furnishes us the opportunity to improve. But whether we do it or not
depends upon how near we live up to what is expected of us. The first of each
month, a person should sit down and examine the progress he has made. If he has
not come up to "expectations" he should discover the reason, and by
extra exertion measure up to what is demanded next time. Every time that we
fall behind what we planned to do, we lose just so much for that time is gone
forever.
We may find a reason for doing it, but most excuses are poor substitutes
for action. Most things are possible. Ours may be a hard task, but the harder
the task, the greater the reward. It is the difficult things that really
develop us, anything that requires only a small effort, utilizes very few of
our faculties, and yields a scanty harvest of achievement. So do not shrink
from a hard task, for to accomplish one of these will often bring us more good
than a dozen lesser triumphs.
I know that every man that is willing to pay the price can be a success.
The price is not in money, but in effort. The first essential quality for
success is the desire to do--to be something. The next thing is to learn how to
do it; the next to carry it into execution. The man that is the best able to
accomplish anything is the one with a broad mind; the man that has acquired
knowledge, that may, it is true, be foreign to this particular case, but is,
nevertheless, of some value in all cases. So the man that wants to be
successful must be liberal; he must acquire all the knowledge that he can; he
must be well posted not only in one branch of his business but in every part of
it. Such a man achieves success.
The secret of success is to try always to improve yourself no matter
where you are or what your position. Learn all you can. Don't see how little
you can do, but how much you can do. Such a man will always be in demand, for
he establishes the reputation of being a hustler. There is always room for him
because progressive firms never let a hustler leave their employment if they
can help it.
The man that reaches the top is the gritty, plucky, hard worker and never
the timid, uncertain, slow worker. An untried man is seldom put in a position
of responsibility and power. The man selected is one that has done something,
achieved results in some line, or taken the lead in his department. He is
placed there because of his reputation of putting vigor and virility into his
efforts, and because he has previously shown that he has pluck and
determination.
The man that is chosen at the crucial time is not usually a genius; he
does not possess any more talent than others, but he has learned that results
can only be produced by untiring concentrated effort. That
"miracles," in business do not just "happen." He knows that
the only way they will happen is by sticking to a proposition and seeing it
through. That is the only secret of why some succeed and others fail. The
successful man gets used to seeing things accomplished and always feels sure of
success. The man that is a failure gets used to seeing failure, expects it and
attracts it to him.
It is my opinion that with the right kind of training every man could be
a success. It is really a shame that so many men and women, rich in ability and
talent, are allowed to go to waste, so to speak. Some day I hope to see a
millionaire philanthropist start a school for the training of failures. I am
sure he could not put his money to a better use. In a year's time the science
of practical psychology could do wonders for him. He could have agencies on the
lookout for men that had lost their grip on themselves; that had through
indisposition weakened their will; that through some sorrow or misfortune had
become discouraged.
At first all they need is a little help to get them back on their feet,
but usually they get a knock downwards instead. The result is that their latent
powers never develop and both they and the world are the losers. I trust that
in the near future, someone will heed the opportunity of using some of his
millions in arousing men that have begun to falter. All they need to be shown
is that there is within them an omnipotent source that is ready to aid them,
providing they will make use of it. Their minds only have to be turned from
despair to hope to make them regain their hold.
When a man loses his grip today, he must win his redemption by his own
will. He will get little encouragement or advice of an inspiring nature. He
must usually regain the right road alone. He must stop dissipating his energies
and turn his attention to building a useful career. Today we must conquer our
weakening tendencies alone. Don't expect anyone to help you. Just take one big
brace, make firm resolutions, and resolve to conquer your weaknesses and vices.
Really none can do this for you. They can encourage you; that is all.
I can think of nothing, but lack of health, that should interfere with
one becoming successful. There is no other handicap that you should not be able
to overcome. To overcome a handicap, all that it is necessary to do is to use
more determination and grit and will.
The man with grit and will, may be poor today and wealthy in a few years;
will power is a better asset than money; Will will carry you over chasms of
failure, if you but give it the chance. The men that have risen to the highest
positions have usually had to gain their victories against big odds. Think of
the hardships many of our inventors have gone through before they became a
success. Usually they have been very much misunderstood by relatives and
friends. Very often they did not have the bare necessities of life, yet, by
sheer determination and resolute courage, they managed to exist somehow until
they perfected their inventions, which afterwards greatly helped in bettering
the condition of others.
Everyone really wants to do something, but there are few that will put
forward the needed effort to make the necessary sacrifice to secure it. There
is only one way to accomplish anything and that is to go ahead and do it. A man
may accomplish almost anything today, if he just sets his heart on doing it and
lets nothing interfere with his progress. Obstacles are quickly overcome by the
man that sets out to accomplish his heart's desire. The "bigger" the
man, the smaller the obstacle appears. The "smaller" the man the
greater the obstacle appears.
Always look at the advantage you gain by overcoming obstacles, and it
will give you the needed courage for their conquest.
Do not expect that you will always have easy sailing. Parts of your
journey are likely to be rough. Don't let the rough places put you out of
commission. Keep on with the journey. Just the way you weather the storm shows
what material you are made of. Never sit down and complain of the rough places,
but think how nice the pleasant stretches were. View with delight the smooth
plains that are in front of you.
Do not let a setback stop you. Think of it as a mere incident that has to
be overcome before you can reach your goal.
