A Word from the Author

This revised and greatly enlarged edition of "Pushing to the Front" is the outgrowth of an almost world-wide demand for an extension of the idea which made the original small volume such an ambition-arousing, energizing, inspiring force.

It is doubtful whether any other book, outside of the Bible, has been the turning-point in more lives.

It has sent thousands of youths, with renewed determination, back to school or college, back to all sorts of vocations which they had abandoned in moments of discouragement. It has kept scores of business men from failure after they had given up all hope.

It has helped multitudes of poor boys and girls to pay their way through college who had never thought a liberal education possible.

The author has received thousands of letters from people in nearly all parts of the world telling how the book has aroused their ambition, changed their ideals and aims, and has spurred them to the successful undertaking of what they before had thought impossible.

The book has been translated into many foreign languages. In Japan and several other countries it is used extensively in the public schools. Distinguished educators in many parts of the world have recommended its use in schools as a civilization-builder.

Crowned heads, presidents of republics, distinguished members of the British and other parliaments, members of the United States Supreme Court, noted authors, scholars, and eminent people in many parts of the world, have eulogized this book and have thanked the author for giving it to the world.

This volume is full of the most fascinating romances of achievement under difficulties, of obscure beginnings and triumphant endings, of stirring stories of struggles and triumphs. It gives inspiring stories of men and women who have brought great things to pass. It gives numerous examples of the triumph of mediocrity, showing how those of ordinary ability have succeeded by the use of ordinary means. It shows how invalids and cripples even have triumphed by perseverance and will over seemingly insuperable difficulties.

The book tells how men and women have seized common occasions and made them great; it tells of those of average ability who have succeeded by the use of ordinary means, by dint of indomitable will and inflexible purpose. It tells how poverty and hardship have rocked the cradle of the giants of the race. The book points out that most people do not utilize a large part of their effort because their mental attitude does not correspond with their endeavor, so that although working for one thing, they are really expecting something else; and it is what we expect that we tend to get.

No man can become prosperous while he really expects or half expects to remain poor, for holding the poverty thought, keeping in touch with poverty-producing conditions, discourages prosperity.

Before a man can lift himself he must lift his thoughts. When we shall have learned to master our thought habits, to keep our minds open to the great divine inflow of life force, we shall have learned the truths of human endowment, human possibility.

The Man and the Opportunity

"If we succeed, what will the world say?" asked Captain Berry in delight, when Nelson had explained his carefully formed plan before the battle of the Nile.

"There is no if in the case," replied Nelson. "That we shall succeed is certain. Who may live to tell the tale is a very different question." Then, as his captains rose from the council to go to their respective ships, he added: "Before this time to-morrow I shall have gained a peerage or Westminster Abbey." His quick eye and daring spirit saw an opportunity of glorious victory where others saw only probable defeat.

"Is it POSSIBLE to cross the path?" asked Napoleon of the engineers who had been sent to explore the dreaded pass of St. Bernard. "Perhaps," was the hesitating reply, "it is within the limits of possibility."

"FORWARD THEN," said the Little Corporal, without heeding their account of apparently insurmountable difficulties. England and Austria laughed in scorn at the idea of transporting across the Alps, where "no wheel had ever rolled, or by any possibility could roll," an army of sixty thousand men, with ponderous artillery, tons of cannon balls and baggage, and all the bulky munitions of war. But the besieged Massena was starving in Genoa, and the victorious Austrians thundered at the gates of Nice, and Napoleon was not the man to fail his former comrades in their hour of peril.

When this "impossible" deed was accomplished, some saw that it might have been done long before. Others excused themselves from encountering such gigantic obstacles by calling them insuperable. Many a commander had possessed the necessary supplies, tools, and rugged soldiers, but lacked the grit and resolution of Bonaparte, who did not shrink from mere difficulties, however great, but out of his very need made and mastered his opportunity.

History furnishes thousands of examples of men who have seized occasions to accomplish results deemed impossible by those less resolute. Prompt decision and whole-souled action sweep the world before them.

True, there has been but one Napoleon; but, on the other hand, the Alps that oppose the progress of the average American youth are not as high or dangerous as the summits crossed by the great Corsican.

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great.

"The best men," says E. H. Chapin, "are not those who have waited for chances but who have taken them; besieged the chance; conquered the chance; and made chance the servitor."

The lack of opportunity is ever the excuse of a weak, vacillating mind. Opportunities! Every life is full of them. Every lesson in school or college is an opportunity. Every examination is a chance in life. Every patient is an opportunity. Every newspaper article is an opportunity. Every client is an opportunity. Every sermon is an opportunity. Every business transaction is an opportunity, an opportunity to be polite, an opportunity to be manly, an opportunity to be honest, an opportunity to make friends.

Cornelius Vanderbilt saw his opportunity in the steamboat, and determined to identify himself with steam navigation. To the surprise of all his friends, he abandoned his prosperous business and took command of one of the first steamboats launched, at a salary of one thousand dollars a year.

Young Philip Armour joined the long caravan of Forty-Niners, and crossed the "Great American Desert" with all his possessions in a prairie schooner drawn by mules. Hard work and steady gains carefully saved in the mines enabled him to start, six years later, in the grain and warehouse business in Milwaukee.

John D. Rockefeller saw his opportunity in petroleum. He could see a large population in this country with very poor lights. Petroleum was plentiful, but the refining process was so crude that the product was inferior, and not wholly safe. Here was Rockefeller's chance.

Wanted--A Man

Diogenes sought with a lantern at noontide in ancient Athens for a perfectly honest man, and sought in vain. In the market place he once cried aloud, "Hear me, O men"; and, when a crowd collected around him, he said scornfully: "I called for men, not pygmies."

Over the door of every profession, every occupation, every calling, the world has a standing advertisement: "Wanted--A Man."

Wanted, a man who will not lose his individuality in a crowd, a man who has the courage of his convictions, who is not afraid to say "No," though all the world say "Yes."

Wanted, a man who, though he is dominated by a mighty purpose, will not permit one great faculty to dwarf, cripple, warp, or mutilate his manhood; who will not allow the over-development of one faculty to stunt or paralyze his other faculties.

Wanted, a man who is larger than his calling, who considers it a low estimate of his occupation to value it merely as a means of getting a living. Wanted, a man who sees self-development, education and culture, discipline and drill, character and manhood, in his occupation.

Wanted, a man of courage who is not a coward in any part of his nature.

Wanted, a man who is well balanced, who is not cursed with some little defect of weakness which cripples his usefulness and neutralizes his powers.

Rousseau, in his celebrated essay on education, says; "According to the order of nature, men being equal, their common vocation is the profession of humanity; and whoever is well educated to discharge the duty of a man can not be badly prepared to fill any of those offices that have a relation to him. It matters little to me whether my pupil be designed for the army, the pulpit, or the bar. Nature has destined us to the offices of human life antecedent to our destination concerning society. To live is the profession I would teach him. When I have done with him, it is true he will be neither a soldier, a lawyer, nor a divine. Let him first be a man."

What are palaces and equipages; what though a man could cover a continent with his title-deeds, or an ocean with his commerce; compared with conscious rectitude, with a face that never turns pale at the accuser's voice, with a bosom that never throbs with fear of exposure, with a heart that might be turned inside out and disclose no stain of dishonor? To have done no man a wrong; to walk and live, unseduced, within arm's length of what is not your own, with nothing between your desire and its gratification but the invisible law of rectitude--this is to be a man.

Boys with No Chance

"I am a child of the court," said a pretty little girl at a children's party in Denmark; "my father is Groom of the Chambers, which is a very high office. And those whose names end with 'sen,'" she added, "can never be anything at all. We must put our arms akimbo, and make the elbows quite pointed, so as to keep these 'sen' people at a great distance."

"But my papa can buy a hundred dollars' worth of bonbons, and give them away to children," angrily exclaimed the daughter of the rich merchant Petersen. "Can your papa do that?"

"Oh, if I could be one of them!" thought a little boy peeping through the crack of the door, by permission of the cook for whom he had been turning the spit. But no, his parents had not even a penny to spare, and his name ended in "sen."

Years afterwards when the children of the party had become men and women, some of them went to see a splendid house, filled with all kinds of beautiful and valuable objects. There they met the owner, once the very boy who thought it so great a privilege to peep at them through a crack in the door as they played. He had become the great sculptor Thorwaldsen.

This sketch is adapted from a story by a poor Danish cobbler's son, another whose name did not keep him from becoming famous,--Hans Christian Andersen.

"I was born in poverty," said Vice-President Henry Wilson. "Want sat by my cradle. I know what it is to ask a mother for bread when she has none to give. I left my home at ten years of age, and served an apprenticeship of eleven years, receiving a month's schooling each year, and, at the end of eleven years of hard work, a yoke of oxen and six sheep, which brought me eighty-four dollars."

Mr. Wilson determined never to lose an opportunity for self-culture or self-advancement. Few men knew so well the value of spare moments. He seized them as though they were gold and would not let one pass until he had wrung from it every possibility. He managed to read a thousand good books before he was twenty-one--what a lesson for boys on a farm!

James Gordon Bennett had made a failure of his "New York Courier" in 1825, of the "Globe" in 1832, and of the "Pennsylvanian" a little later, and was only known as a clever writer for the press, who had saved a few hundred dollars by hard labor and strict economy for fourteen years. In 1835 he asked Horace Greeley to join him in starting a new daily paper, the "New York Herald." Greeley declined, but recommended two young printers, who formed partnership with Bennett, and the "Herald" was started on May 6, 1835, with a cash capital to pay expenses for ten days.

Humphrey Davy had but a slender chance to acquire great scientific knowledge, yet he had true mettle in him, and he made even old pans, kettles, and bottles contribute to his success, as he experimented and studied in the attic of the apothecary-store where he worked.

A newsboy is not a very promising candidate for success or honors in any line of life. Yet the man who more than any other is responsible for the industrial regeneration of this continent started in life as a newsboy on the Grand Trunk Railway. Thomas Alva Edison was then about fifteen years of age.

Daniel Manning who was President Cleveland's first campaign manager and afterwards Secretary of the Treasury, started out as a newsboy with apparently the world against him. So did Thurlow Weed; so did David B. Hill.

The Country Boy

One of the greatest boons that can ever come to a human being is to be born on a farm and reared in the country. Self-reliance and grit are oftenest country-bred. The country boy is constantly thrown upon his own resources, forced to think for himself, and this calls out his ingenuity and inventiveness.

The sturdy, vigorous, hardy qualities, the stamina, the brawn, the grit which characterize men who do great things in this world, are, as a rule, country bred. If power is not absorbed from the soil, it certainly comes from very near it.

The average country-bred youth has a better foundation for success-building, has greater courage, more moral stamina. He has not become weakened and softened by the superficial ornamental, decorative influences of city life.

Just as sculpture was once carried to such an extreme that pillars and beams were often so weakened by the extravagant carvings as to threaten the safety of the structure, so the timber in country boys and girls, when brought to the city, is often overcarved and adorned at the cost of strength, robustness and vigor.

Much of what we call the best society in our cities is often in an advanced process of decay. The muscles may be a little more delicate but they are softer; the skin may be a little fairer, but it is not so healthy; the thought a little more supple, but less vigorous.

The country boy does not read as many books as the city boy, but, as a rule, he reads them with much better results. The dearth of great libraries, books and periodicals is one reason why the country boy makes the most of good books and articles, often reading them over and over again.

For one thing, the country boy is constantly developing his muscular system. His health is better. He gets more exercise, more time to think and to reflect; hence, he is not so superficial as the city boy.

The farm is a great gymnasium, a superb manual training school, nature's kindergarten, constantly calling upon the youth's self-reliance and inventiveness.

Opportunities Where You Are

"There are no longer any good chances for young men," complained a youthful law student to Daniel Webster. "There is always room at the top," replied the great statesman and jurist.

No chance, no opportunities, in a land where thousands of poor boys become rich men, where newsboys go to Congress, and where those born in the lowest stations attain the highest positions? The world is all gates, all opportunities to him who will use them.

A Baltimore lady lost a valuable diamond bracelet at a ball, and supposed that it was stolen from the pocket of her cloak. Years afterward she washed the steps of the Peabody Institute, pondering how to get money to buy food. She cut up an old, worn-out, ragged cloak to make a hood, when lo! in the lining of the cloak she discovered the diamond bracelet. During all her poverty she was worth $3500, but did not know it.

Many of us who think we are poor are rich in opportunities, if we could only see them, in possibilities all about us, in faculties worth more than diamond bracelets.

In our large Eastern cities it has been found that at least ninety-four out of every hundred found their first fortune at home, or near at hand, and in meeting common every-day wants. It is a sorry day for a young man who can not see any opportunities where he is, but thinks he can do better somewhere else.

Marden provides example after example of people who built fortunes by solving local problems before expanding globally. They didn't start with grand visions of world domination. They started by serving their immediate community exceptionally well.

Possibilities in Spare Moments

The great men of the world have not commonly been great scholars, nor the great scholars great men. The wisest of us would not sacrifice the knowledge gained in spare moments for the knowledge gained in all the schools and colleges. But the habit of using spare moments must be formed early.

Many a young man has gone to the city ruined by the habit formed on the farm or in the village of wasting his evenings, or of spending them in the street, in the corner grocery, in the tavern, or in some other unprofitable way. They have carried this habit to the city, and it has proved their ruin.

Every successful man or woman has made the best use of spare hours. You must learn to bind up the broken fragments of time, and make the most of your spare moments, or you will never accomplish anything worth while.

It is estimated that every business or professional man wastes or throws away enough time every year to give himself a splendid education. Fifteen minutes a day would make a great scholar in ten years.

Most of our modern great men are examples of the result of spare-moment study. The most distinguished American scholars and writers have either been college professors, or men who have earned their living at some trade or occupation, and have studied literature in odd moments.

How Poor Boys and Girls Go to College

Let no young man or young woman, no matter how poor, despair of getting a college education. There is no excuse in this country for any young man or woman who has health, grit, and determination not to get at least a fair education.

It is not what a young man or young woman has, it is what they are, that counts. If you have the right stuff in you the path will open somehow, somewhere. Grit is the best capital for young people going through college.

Hundreds of students are this moment working their way through our best colleges and universities. Many are earning their entire expenses, not asking their parents or friends for a dollar. Let any young man or young woman who doubts this go to Williams, Amherst, Yale, Harvard, Smith, Vassar, or any one of hundreds of similar institutions, and see how scores of students are working their way through college.

Great educators say that young people who work their way through college almost invariably stand higher in their classes, have more character, more manhood or womanhood than those who are sent to college and furnished money to pay all expenses.

Young men and young women who are not getting an education because they say they have not the money, simply publish their lack of grit, pluck, and determination. If you want an education badly enough, you can get it. The determination will create the way.

Your Opportunity Confronts You

The time comes to every young man or woman when opportunity knocks at the door. It may come disguised as misfortune or disaster, but it is opportunity nevertheless. It is the critical moment of life. How you meet it will determine your whole future.

The question of the hour with hundreds of thousands of young men and young women standing at the entrance of life's arena is, What shall I do? What can I do? Shall I enter here or there? Shall I choose this or that? Am I adapted to this or that vocation?

No question of life is so momentous as the choosing of one's life-work. Yet how few young people take the right view of it! How seldom they exercise a careful, painstaking judgment in deciding upon the vocation they will follow!

Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it. Work for your work's sake, and the rewards will come in God's good time. Choose a vocation you love, and you will never have to work another day in your life.

When a man loves his work he is usually successful. When he hates it he is a failure. It is not possible to keep discouragement out of an occupation which we detest. We must love our work or it will kill us or we will kill it.

Round Boys in Square Holes

What blunders we make in our life-work! How many square men we find trying to fit themselves into round holes, and how many round men we see trying to fit themselves into square holes!

It is astonishing how many men and women go through life trying to do things for which they have little or no aptitude, and neglecting the very thing which they could do with the greatest ease and efficiency, and which would bring them the greatest success and happiness.

There is no estimating the amount of unhappiness and loss that comes to the individual and to the world from choosing the wrong vocation. Think of the torture of a surgeon who has no nerve, of a lawyer who cannot think logically, of a clergyman who has no sympathy!

Not one young person in a thousand entering upon a career has been carefully studied to see what he is best fitted for. The great majority drift into their life-work without any scientific basis for their choice, and the result is that thousands who might have been very useful members of society, are struggling in vocations unsuited to them.

If we could have a scientific selection of vocations, choosing people for their work as carefully as we choose tools for special uses, what a revolution it would make in human happiness!

What Career?

It is a question of tremendous importance to every young person just starting out in life--What shall I do? How shall I invest my life so as to get the largest possible returns?

There is nothing so pathetic as the spectacle of a youth starting out in life, struggling to get on in a vocation for which he is not adapted, which is repulsive to him, which does not fit him, and which can never bring out his best or express his real self.

If there is anything which will help a young person to make a success of life, it is the consciousness that he is in the right place, doing the right thing, the thing for which Nature intended him.

The young man or woman who decides definitely and with finality upon a career, and makes all their plans accordingly, who holds the goal in the mind persistently, and allows nothing to divert their attention or weaken their resolution, is pretty sure to reach it.

Many a young person who has wavered and changed and spent their youth in uncertainty and anxiety, would have done a thousand times better to have decided definitely and stuck to their decision, even if they had made a mistake in choosing their vocation.

Choosing a Vocation

What mysterious force is it that pulls the boy along through years of struggle and privation, years of rebuffs and disappointment, yet ever holds him steady to his purpose? What is it but the consciousness that he is working out his destiny, that he is doing what he was made to do?

There is no grander sight in the world than that of a young man fired with a great purpose, dominated by one unwavering aim. What a sublime faith he has in himself and his cause! How his eye kindles and his whole soul is in a glow when he talks about his plans!

The consciousness that you are in your right place, doing what you were intended to do, doubles your power. It gives you a sense of harmony with yourself and with the universe which immensely multiplies efficiency.

Many a man gets into a wrong occupation, and struggles through a lifetime without realizing the utter futility of trying to get blood out of a turnip. Many a woman spends her life trying to do something she was never intended to do, something which exhausts instead of develops her.

How can you get on when you detest your work, when you dislike your surroundings? How can you give out your best, when you despise the thing you are doing? No, if you would win, you must love your vocation.

Concentrated Energy

The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus. A magnifying glass will not set fire to a piece of paper until the rays of the sun are concentrated upon one spot. So human energy accomplishes nothing until it is focused upon one object.

What do we mean by concentrating? Bringing all of our faculties and energies to bear on the thing we are doing now. It is doing one thing at a time with all the vim and vigor and enthusiasm at our command.

Concentration is focusing all of your energy, physical, mental, and spiritual, on the task at hand. You must learn to shut out the rest of the world when you are doing a thing if you would do it successfully.

One great trouble in America is that we undertake too much. We do not concentrate enough. We are trying to do a hundred things fairly well, when we might do one thing superbly well.

The man who would succeed must concentrate his energies. The merchant must concentrate his thought on his business. The lawyer must concentrate on his cases. The physician must keep his mind on his profession. Every man must have his north star, and must not be turned aside by any will-o'-the-wisp.

The Triumphs of Enthusiasm

The enthusiasm that carries a man toward his goal like a spirited horse his rider is a priceless quality. Enthusiasm is the genius of sincerity, and truth accomplishes no victories without it.

Enthusiasm imparts life and energy to your effort. It transforms indifference into interest, and interest into enthusiasm. It is the magic touch that changes half-hearted efforts into Herculean accomplishments.

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. A man without enthusiasm is like an engine without steam; he can not move himself or anybody else.

Every great man has been an enthusiast. No man can succeed in anything permanently without enthusiasm. You may be very talented, you may have superior ability, but unless you have enthusiasm you will never make a real success.

Half-hearted effort never won anything worth winning. The lukewarm man never accomplishes anything. Enthusiasm is the propelling power necessary for climbing the ladder of success.

"On Time," or The Triumph of Promptness

Promptness is one of the cardinal business virtues. Always insist upon it in your subordinates. A late employee or a late customer is a thief of other people's time.

It is just as dishonest to steal people's time as it is to steal their money. The employee who is always behind time is a dishonest employee. He steals the time of his employer. The tradesman who does not keep his appointments promptly is a dishonest tradesman.

Promptness is a business principle. It is not merely a personal virtue; it is a business necessity. Promptness is the soul of business. The man who is always behind time, will soon fall behind in everything else.

A man's success in business depends upon his reputation for promptness. The man who can be depended upon, the man whose word is as good as his bond, the man who keeps his appointments to the minute, is the man who succeeds.

There is no habit more useful than that of punctuality. Those who can not be depended upon to meet their appointments promptly will find difficulty in establishing a successful business or a successful career in any direction.

What a Good Appearance Will Do

A gentleman was at a hotel one evening when a very shabbily dressed man came up to him and asked for money to pay his bill. Said the gentleman, "I don't care to lend you any money, but I will gladly pay for you to get a shave, a haircut, and your shoes shined."

The young man accepted the offer. The next morning he looked so much improved that he was able to get a position. He afterwards said that shave and hair-cut were the turning points in his career.

You may think this trifling, but appearances go a great way. The world judges us largely by appearances. An artist is known by his pictures, an author by his books, a mechanic by the work he turns out, and every man by his general appearance.

Dress decently, if not fashionably. Keep yourself clean. It may be true that "fine feathers do not make fine birds," but they have a great deal to do with the estimation in which the bird is held.

A good appearance is a perpetual letter of recommendation. It helps in every way. It gives one greater confidence in oneself. It inspires respect in others.

Personality as a Success Asset

There is no capital like personality. It is the one thing that carries weight in every market. It is the one thing that will make people overlook your deficiencies and tolerate your shortcomings.

Personality is the one thing that fixes attention, that compels respect, that commands recognition. A man may be poor in purse, but if he is rich in personality, he is rich indeed. Give me personality rather than intellect every time for actual life.

A young man with personality will make his way where the colorless, flavorless individual, though he may have more ability, will fail. Personality is the great force in every profession and in every trade.

You never hear it said of a man who has great personality, "He is unfortunate in his location." Wherever he goes, things come his way. He always finds an opening. Opportunities are constantly presenting themselves to him.

Personality is that indefinable something which marks a man out from the great mass of human beings. It distinguishes him, makes him noticeable, makes him a man of mark and influence.

If You Can Talk Well

The power of speech is one of the most valuable assets a man can possess. Many a man has won his way to fortune and fame solely by his ability to talk effectively.

Nearly everything depends upon the power to express yourself clearly, concisely, and convincingly. The man who can express himself well, who can tell what he knows and what he thinks in such a way as to interest and convince others, has one of the greatest powers known to man.

The ability to speak in public is a wonderful asset. Public speaking is one of the best means of self-development. It develops self-confidence, coolness, courage, and self-mastery. It is a great power-producer.

Every young man and every young woman should train themselves to be able to speak in public. The ability to address an audience, to present your ideas convincingly, is becoming more and more a necessity in almost every calling.

In these days, when competition is so keen, when merit alone is not sufficient, the man who can talk well has a decided advantage over the man who cannot. The ability to talk well is capital that will bear interest in any market.

A Fortune in Good Manners

There is no accomplishment, no great gift, which will atone for the lack of good manners. You may be learned in the sciences, you may be able to talk learnedly on any subject, but if you have not good manners you are not an educated person.

Good manners are the oil that lubricates the friction of human intercourse. They make life smooth and pleasant. They help one to get on in the world. They open doors that would otherwise remain closed.

Many a young man has failed to get a position simply because he lacked good manners. Many a capable man has been rejected because of his awkwardness and lack of polish. Good manners are just as important as good character.

Good manners mean kindness, courtesy, thoughtfulness for others. They mean the ability to do and say the right thing at the right time. They mean consideration for the feelings of others, and a genuine desire to make others comfortable and happy.

Politeness is one of the best investments that any young man or young woman can make. It costs nothing, but it pays big dividends. It smooths the path to success. It makes friends and keeps them.

Self-Consciousness and Timidity

Self-consciousness and timidity are great enemies to success. They paralyze effort, and prevent one from doing oneself justice. Many capable people fail simply because they cannot overcome their self-consciousness.

Nothing will so quickly cure self-consciousness as forgetting yourself in your work. The best way to overcome timidity is to do the thing you fear to do. Face your fears. Do the thing you dread, and the death of fear is certain.

Self-consciousness arises largely from thinking too much about ourselves, and too little about our work and about other people. The remedy is to forget ourselves in the thing we are doing.

Diffidence and self-consciousness are usually the result of an exaggerated idea of our own importance. We think everybody is looking at us, everybody is criticizing us, everybody is thinking about us. As a matter of fact, people are too busy with their own affairs to pay much attention to us.

The cure for self-consciousness is action. Get so busy, get so interested in what you are doing that you forget yourself. Let your mind dwell on the work, not on yourself.

Tact or Common Sense

Tact is one of the most valuable qualities a man can possess. It is the ability to do and say the right thing at the right time. It is common sense applied to the every-day affairs of life.

Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy. It is the ability to tell a man he is wrong without offending him. It is the gift of disagreeing without being disagreeable.

A tactful person is one who can get along with all sorts and conditions of people. He knows how to handle difficult situations. He can smooth out misunderstandings. He can pour oil on troubled waters.

Many a person has failed in business or in social life simply for lack of tact. A thoughtless word, a tactless remark, an ill-timed suggestion has often ruined a man's prospects or broken up a friendship.

Tact is largely a matter of thinking of other people's feelings. It is putting yourself in the other person's place. It is consideration for others. It is the golden rule in action.

Enamored of Accuracy

Accuracy is the twin brother of honesty. The man who is not accurate cannot be thoroughly honest. Inaccuracy is but another name for carelessness, and carelessness is cousin-german to dishonesty.

Many a man has lost a good position through inaccuracy. Many a business has been ruined because of careless, inaccurate work. Accuracy is absolutely essential to success in any line.

The habit of accuracy should be formed early in life. Children should be taught to be exact in their statements, accurate in their work, careful in their methods. Slipshod work should never be tolerated.

Accuracy means thoroughness. It means attention to detail. It means doing things right the first time. The accurate man is the man who succeeds. The careless, inaccurate man is the man who fails.

A passion for accuracy, a love of precision, is one of the marks of the successful man in every calling. The man who is satisfied with "near enough," who is content with "approximately correct," will never reach the top.

Do It to a Finish

The world is full of people who have started things and not finished them. They have begun with enthusiasm, but have not had the persistence to carry their work through to completion.

The man who succeeds is the man who finishes things. He is the man who carries every task through to completion. He does not leave things half done. He does not stop when he gets tired. He keeps at it until the work is finished.

There is no substitute for thoroughness. The half-hearted man, the man who does things by halves, never gets anywhere. The man who succeeds is the man who gives his whole heart to his work, and stays with it until it is finished.

Many a brilliant beginning has come to nothing because of lack of persistence. Many a promising career has ended in failure because the man did not have the stamina to carry his work through to completion.

Do not be satisfied with anything less than the best work you can do. Do not let anything go out of your hands until it is as perfect as you can make it. Make thoroughness your watchword.

The Reward of Persistence

There is no failure except in no longer trying. There is no defeat except from within, no really insurmountable barrier save our own inherent weakness of purpose.

The great lesson of biography is that the men who have achieved greatly, who have become immortal, have won their place by persistent, determined, continuous effort. They may have had talent, they may have had genius, but without persistence they would never have accomplished their work.

Nothing can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts.

History is full of examples of men who have succeeded solely by their persistence. They may not have been brilliant. They may not have had great advantages. But they had the one quality that counts most persistence.

The man who succeeds is the man who keeps at it. He is the man who refuses to quit. He is the man who, when knocked down, gets up and tries again. He is the man who never gives up.

Nerve--Grip, Pluck

Nerve, courage, pluck, whatever you choose to call it, is essential to success. The man without nerve is like a ship without a rudder. He drifts with every current, yields to every pressure, and never reaches port.

The world is looking for men with nerve. The man who has nerve enough to try, nerve enough to persist, nerve enough to stick to his purpose through thick and thin, is the man who succeeds.

Nerve is not rashness. It is not foolhardiness. It is not taking unnecessary risks. Nerve is cool courage. It is the ability to keep your head in an emergency. It is the power to act promptly and decisively when action is needed.

Many a man has failed simply because he lacked nerve. Many a golden opportunity has been lost because the man did not have the courage to seize it. Many a victory has been thrown away because the man lost his nerve at the critical moment.

The man with nerve is the man who does things. He is the man who acts while others are planning. He is the man who seizes opportunities while others are hesitating.

Clear Grit

Grit is the grain of character. It may almost be described as the ability to stick. It is the quality that enables a man to hold on and hold out. It is persistence crystallized. It is endurance consolidated.

Grit is what the old Romans called "bottom." It is what the English call "pluck." It is what Americans call "backbone." It is the quality that enables a man to keep going when everybody else has stopped.

Many a man has succeeded simply because he had grit. Many a battle has been won by sheer grit. Many an impossible task has been accomplished by grit.

The man with grit is the man who never knows when he is beaten. He is the man who comes up smiling after every knockdown. He is the man who turns stumbling-blocks into stepping-stones.

Grit is the difference between the man who succeeds and the man who fails. It is the difference between the man who gets to the top and the man who stays at the bottom.

Success Under Difficulties

It is easy to succeed when everything is in your favor, when the tide is running your way, when fortune smiles upon you. But the real test of character comes when things go against you, when obstacles pile up in your path, when difficulties seem insurmountable.

The men who have achieved the greatest things in this world have been the men who have succeeded under difficulties. They have been the men who have triumphed over obstacles. They have been the men who have turned disadvantages into advantages.

History is full of examples of men who have won success under the most adverse circumstances. They have been poor, they have been friendless, they have been handicapped in every way. But they had one thing obstacles could not overcome - determination.

Do not be discouraged by difficulties. Do not be daunted by obstacles. Remember that the men who have achieved the greatest things have been the men who have had the greatest difficulties to overcome.

Your difficulties may be your opportunities. Your obstacles may be your stepping-stones. Your handicaps may be the very things that will develop your strength and your character.

Uses of Obstacles

Obstacles are what develop us. They are the rough surfaces that sharpen our tools. They are the weights that develop our muscles. They are the opposition that brings out our strength.

Without obstacles, there could be no development. Without opposition, there could be no growth. Without difficulties, there could be no character-building.

Every obstacle has a lesson to teach. Every difficulty has a message to give. Every hardship has a blessing in disguise. The question is, will we learn the lesson, receive the message, find the blessing?

Do not try to avoid obstacles. Do not try to go around difficulties. Face them. Grapple with them. Overcome them. This is the way to develop strength and character.

The man who has never faced difficulties, who has never overcome obstacles, who has never struggled with adversity, is weak and inefficient. He has no strength, no character, no power.

Decision

The power of decision is one of the most important qualities a man can possess. It is the ability to make up your mind and act upon your decision. It is the quality that distinguishes the man of action from the man of words.

Many a man has failed simply because he could not make up his mind. Many an opportunity has been lost through indecision. Many a battle has been lost because the commander hesitated and could not decide what to do.

The man of decision is the man who acts. He is the man who seizes opportunities. He is the man who accomplishes things. The undecided man is the man who drifts. He is the man who lets opportunities slip. He is the man who accomplishes nothing.

Learn to make decisions quickly. Once you have made your decision, act upon it. Do not waver. Do not change your mind without good reason. Stick to your decision until you have carried it through.

The man who succeeds is the man who can decide and who can stick to his decisions. The man who fails is the man who cannot make up his mind, or who changes his mind at every obstacle.

Observation as a Success Factor

The majority of people go through the world with their eyes half shut. The habit of observation is the foundation of success. The man who observes is the man who learns. The man who learns is the man who succeeds.

Observation is the art of seeing things as they are. It is the ability to notice the little things that others overlook. It is the power to read character, to understand human nature, to see opportunities where others see nothing.

The power of observation has been the making of many successful men. They have succeeded simply because they have been alert, watchful, observant. They have seen things that others have missed. They have noticed opportunities that others have overlooked.

Learn to observe. Train yourself to notice things. Watch people. Study human nature. Look for opportunities. The world is full of lessons for the man who has eyes to see.

The habit of observation will help you in every walk of life. It will make you more intelligent, more alert, more successful. It will give you an advantage over those who go through life with their eyes half shut.

Self-Help

The doctrine of self-help is one of the greatest forces in human progress. It is the principle that has made America what it is. It is the spirit that has built up our great fortunes, developed our industries, and made our nation prosperous.

Self-help means depending upon yourself. It means relying upon your own efforts. It means making your own way in the world. It means standing on your own feet and fighting your own battles.

The man who helps himself is the man who succeeds. The man who depends upon others is the man who fails. The man who waits for somebody to help him never gets anywhere.

Do not expect other people to help you. Do not wait for fortune to favor you. Do not depend upon luck. Make your own opportunities. Create your own luck. Help yourself.

The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine growth in the individual. It is the foundation of all real success. Without it, no man can rise to any position of eminence or influence.

The Self-Improvement Habit

The habit of self-improvement is one of the most valuable habits you can form. It is the habit of constantly trying to improve yourself, to develop your powers, to increase your knowledge, to strengthen your character.

The man who stops learning stops growing. The man who stops growing begins to die. The man who does not improve himself falls behind. In this age of progress, the man who stands still goes backward.

Make self-improvement a habit. Set aside a certain time every day for study, for reading, for self-development. Use your spare moments. Make every moment count.

Read good books. Study your profession. Learn new things. Develop new skills. Cultivate your mind. Strengthen your character. Improve yourself in every way possible.

The habit of self-improvement will make you more valuable, more useful, more successful. It will open up new opportunities for you. It will give you power and influence.

Raising of Values

The raising of values is one of the most important things in life. By raising of values, I mean increasing your own value, making yourself more valuable to your employer, to your community, to the world.

Every man should aim to make himself worth more. He should constantly strive to increase his value. He should add to his knowledge, develop his powers, strengthen his character, improve his methods.

The man who is worth more gets more. The man who makes himself more valuable commands higher wages. The man who increases his value rises in the world.

Do not be satisfied with what you are. Strive to become more. Aim to increase your value. Study, work, improve yourself. Make yourself worth more to your employer, to your family, to your community.

The man who is constantly increasing his value is the man who is constantly rising in the world. He is the man who is constantly improving his position, increasing his income, extending his influence.

Public Speaking

The ability to speak in public is one of the most valuable accomplishments a man can possess. It is an accomplishment that will serve you well in almost any calling. It is a power that will give you influence and authority.

Public speaking is not a natural gift. It is an art that can be learned. It is a power that can be developed. Any man or woman of ordinary intelligence can learn to speak in public if they will pay the price of study and practice.

The fear of public speaking is one of the most common fears. But it can be overcome. The way to overcome the fear is to face it. The way to learn to speak in public is to speak in public.

Join a debating society. Take every opportunity to speak in public. Practice, practice, practice. The more you speak, the easier it will become. The more you practice, the better you will become.

Public speaking will develop your self-confidence. It will improve your powers of expression. It will increase your influence. It will give you power.

The Triumphs of the Common Virtues

It is not the brilliant, the spectacular, the extraordinary things that count most in life. It is the common virtues, the every-day qualities, the simple, homely things that make the real difference between success and failure.

Honesty, industry, punctuality, accuracy, thoroughness, faithfulness--these are the common virtues that win success. They may not be brilliant, they may not be spectacular, but they are the solid foundation upon which all real success is built.

The world is looking for men with the common virtues. It wants men who are honest, faithful, industrious, accurate, punctual. These qualities may seem commonplace, but they are the qualities that count.

Do not despise the common virtues. Do not underestimate the value of the simple, every-day qualities. They are the things that win in the long run. They are the things that bring lasting success.

Cultivate the common virtues. Practice them every day. Make them a part of your character. They will serve you better than any amount of brilliance or talent.

Getting Aroused

Most people go through life half asleep. They never wake up to their real possibilities. They never arouse themselves to put forth their best efforts. They live on the surface, never going down to the depths of their being to find the great powers that lie dormant within them.

The great need of the world today is for men and women who are aroused, who are awake, who are putting forth their full power. The trouble with most people is not lack of ability, but lack of arousal.

What we need is something to wake us up, to stir us up, to arouse us to put forth our best efforts. We need something to kindle the fire within us, to set us aflame with enthusiasm and determination.

Get aroused! Wake up to your possibilities! Stir up the gift that is within you! Put forth your full power! Do not be satisfied with half-way measures. Give your best.

When you are fully aroused, when you are putting forth your full power, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish. You will do things you never dreamed possible.

The Man with an Idea

The man with an idea is a power in the world. He is the man who moves things. He is the man who makes things happen. He is the man who changes the world.

Ideas are the most powerful forces in the world. They are more powerful than armies, more influential than wealth, more enduring than monuments. The man who has an idea has something that cannot be taken from him.

Every great achievement, every great invention, every great discovery, every great movement, began with an idea in the mind of one man. The idea came first, the achievement followed.

If you have an idea, work it out. Develop it. Make it grow. Do not let it die. Many a great idea has perished because the man who had it did not have the courage or the persistence to develop it.

The world is waiting for men with ideas. It wants men who can think, who can plan, who can create. The man with an idea is the man the world is looking for.

Dare

The world belongs to the man who dares. It is the daring man who wins. It is the man who has the courage to try who succeeds. The timid, the hesitating, the fearful, never accomplish anything worth while.

Dare to attempt great things. Dare to try what others say is impossible. Dare to go where others fear to go. Dare to do what others say cannot be done.

Most people fail, not because they lack ability, but because they lack daring. They have the power, but they lack the courage to use it. They could succeed if they would only dare to try.

Do not be afraid to dare. Do not be afraid to attempt great things. Do not be afraid of failure. The man who never fails is the man who never tries.

Dare to be yourself. Dare to stand alone. Dare to think for yourself. Dare to act on your convictions. This is the way to success.

The Will and the Way

Where there is a will, there is a way. This is one of the great truths of life. The man with a strong will always finds a way. The man with a weak will always finds an excuse.

The will is the great driving power of life. It is the force that overcomes obstacles, that conquers difficulties, that achieves the impossible. Nothing can stand before a strong will.

Most people fail because their will is weak. They give up too easily. They are discouraged by obstacles. They are defeated by difficulties. They lack the will-power to persist, to persevere, to keep going until they succeed.

Cultivate your will-power. Strengthen your will. Train yourself to persist, to persevere, to keep going no matter what obstacles you meet. A strong will is the greatest asset you can have.

The man with a strong will finds a way or makes one. He does not wait for the way to open. He opens it himself. He cuts his way through obstacles. He makes his own opportunities.

One Unwavering Aim

One of the great secrets of success is to have one unwavering aim. The man who succeeds is the man who knows what he wants and who bends all his energies toward getting it.

Most people fail because they have no definite aim. They scatter their energies. They try to do too many things. They have no fixed purpose, no steady goal.

The successful man is the man with a purpose. He knows where he is going. He has a definite objective. He has one great aim that dominates his life, that absorbs his energies, that controls his efforts.

Choose your aim carefully. Make sure it is worthy. Then pursue it with all your might. Let nothing turn you aside. Let nothing discourage you. Keep your eye on the goal and press forward.

Do not scatter your energies. Do not try to do too many things. Concentrate on one thing. Have one great aim and pursue it with unwavering determination.

Work and Wait

Success does not come overnight. It is the result of patient, persistent effort continued over a long period of time. The man who succeeds is the man who can work and wait.

Most people are too impatient. They want success immediately. They want to reap before they have sown. They want the reward without the effort. They want the prize without the struggle.

But success does not come that way. Success requires time. It requires patience. It requires persistent, continued effort. You must work and wait.

Work today. Work tomorrow. Work every day. And wait patiently for results. Do not be discouraged if success does not come quickly. Keep working. Keep waiting. Your time will come.

The man who can work patiently and wait patiently is the man who wins in the end. He is the man who achieves lasting success.

The Might of Little Things

Life is made up of little things. Success is the result of attention to little things. Character is built by little acts. Reputation is made by little deeds.

Most people make the mistake of despising little things. They think only of great things, spectacular things, extraordinary things. But it is the little things that count.

The great man is the man who is faithful in little things. The successful man is the man who attends to details. The man of character is the man who does little things well.

Do not despise little things. Do not overlook details. Do not neglect the small duties. They are the things that make the difference between success and failure.

Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves. Be faithful in little things and you will be trusted with great things.

The Salary You Do Not Find in Your Pay Envelope

Your real salary is not the money you receive in your pay envelope. Your real salary is the experience you gain, the knowledge you acquire, the character you build, the habits you form, the discipline you receive.

Many a young man makes the mistake of working only for the money he receives. He does not realize that the real value of his work lies not in the wages he gets, but in the training he receives.

Every job is a school. Every task is a lesson. Every difficulty is a teacher. Every experience adds to your capital of knowledge and power.

Do not work merely for money. Work for the experience, for the training, for the development. This is the salary that will serve you all your life.

The man who works only for money gets only money. The man who works for development gets money plus power, plus character, plus success.

Expect Great Things of Yourself

What you expect of yourself largely determines what you will become. If you expect little, you will achieve little. If you expect much, you will achieve much.

Most people expect too little of themselves. They underestimate their own powers. They sell themselves short. They do not realize what they are capable of accomplishing.

Expect great things of yourself. Believe in your own powers. Have faith in your own abilities. Do not limit yourself by low expectations.

Set high standards for yourself. Aim high. Expect to succeed. Expect to achieve great things. This attitude will help to make it so.

The man who expects great things of himself usually achieves them. The man who expects little usually gets little. Your expectations largely determine your achievements.

The Next Time You Think You Are a Failure

The next time you think you are a failure, remember that some of the world's greatest men have been considered failures by their contemporaries. Remember that many men who have achieved the greatest things have failed many times before they succeeded.

Failure is not final. It is not fatal. It is simply a temporary setback. The man who never fails is the man who never tries. Every successful man has failed many times.

Do not be discouraged by failure. Do not let it defeat you. Learn from it. Let it teach you. Let it strengthen you. Then try again.

Lincoln failed many times before he became President. Edison failed thousands of times before he succeeded in inventing the electric light. Every great man has known failure.

The next time you fail, remember that failure is not the end. It is simply a stepping-stone to success. Get up and try again.

Stand for Something

The man who stands for nothing will fall for anything. The man who has no principles, no convictions, no standards, is a weak man who will be carried along by every wind that blows.

Stand for something. Have definite principles. Have strong convictions. Have high standards. Let the world know what you stand for.

The world respects the man who has the courage of his convictions. It respects the man who stands for something. It has no respect for the man who trims his sails to every wind, who changes with every fashion, who has no fixed principles.

Decide what you believe in. Decide what you stand for. Then stand for it. Let nothing move you from your principles. Let nothing shake your convictions.

The man who stands for something is a man of power. He is a man of influence. He is a man whom others respect and follow.

Nature's Little Bill

Nature keeps a record of everything we do. She presents her bill sooner or later. We cannot cheat nature. We cannot escape the consequences of our acts.

Every violation of nature's laws brings its penalty. Every indulgence has its price. Every excess must be paid for. Nature's books are always balanced.

The man who burns the candle at both ends must pay for it in broken health. The man who dissipates his energies must pay for it in weakened powers. The man who violates nature's laws must pay the penalty.

Live in harmony with nature's laws. Obey the laws of health. Conserve your energies. Take care of your body. You will have to pay for every violation, sooner or later.

Nature is patient, but she always collects her bills. You may escape for a time, but the reckoning will come. Be wise and pay as you go.

Habit--The Servant, The Master

Habit is either your best servant or your worst master. Good habits are the servants that will carry you to success. Bad habits are the masters that will drag you to failure.

We are what our habits make us. Our character is the sum of our habits. Our destiny is determined by our habits. Form good habits and they will serve you well. Form bad habits and they will ruin you.

The formation of good habits should be the first business of life. Good habits formed in youth will serve you all your life. Bad habits formed in youth will plague you all your life.

Guard your habits carefully. Form good habits deliberately. Break bad habits promptly. Your future depends upon your habits.

The man with good habits has a tremendous advantage over the man with bad habits. Good habits multiply your powers. Bad habits paralyze your powers.

The Cigarette

The cigarette habit is one of the most insidious and harmful habits a young man can form. It weakens the will, impairs the memory, dulls the mind, and undermines the health.

Many a promising young man has been ruined by the cigarette. Many a bright career has been blighted by this pernicious habit. Many a strong constitution has been weakened by cigarette smoking.

If you value your health, if you value your success, if you value your future, leave cigarettes alone. They will do you nothing but harm.

Employers are learning to discriminate against cigarette smokers. They know that the cigarette weakens the will, impairs the efficiency, and lowers the standard of work.

If you are smoking cigarettes, stop now. If you have not begun, never begin. This is one habit that can do you nothing but harm.

The Power of Purity

Purity is power. A clean life is a strong life. The man who keeps himself pure has a tremendous advantage over the man who does not.

Purity of thought, purity of word, purity of deed--these are the foundation of character. They are the sources of strength. They are the secrets of power.

The impure man is a weak man. He has dissipated his energies. He has wasted his powers. He has undermined his constitution. He cannot do his best work.

Keep yourself pure. Guard your thoughts. Control your passions. Master your appetites. This is the way to power, to strength, to success.

The pure man is the strong man. He is the man who can do his best work. He is the man who can achieve the greatest success.

The Habit of Happiness

Happiness is a habit. It is not a condition that depends upon circumstances. It is a state of mind that can be cultivated.

Most people think happiness depends upon what they have, where they are, what they are doing. But true happiness is independent of circumstances. It comes from within.

Cultivate the habit of happiness. Look on the bright side. Count your blessings. Be grateful for what you have. Find joy in your work. Take pleasure in little things.

The happy man is the successful man. Happiness multiplies power. It increases efficiency. It attracts success. Learn to be happy.

Make happiness a habit. Practice being happy. Look for the good in everything. Find reasons to be cheerful. This will make you strong, efficient, successful.

Put Beauty Into Your Life

Beauty is not a luxury. It is a necessity. We need beauty as much as we need bread. Beauty feeds the soul as food feeds the body.

Surround yourself with beautiful things. Fill your home with beauty. Put beauty into your work. Let beauty into your life.

Beauty refines character. It elevates the soul. It ennobles the mind. The man who lives with beauty becomes beautiful in character.

Do not live in ugly surroundings. Do not work in sordid conditions. Do not neglect beauty. Beauty is power. Beauty is inspiration. Beauty is life.

Cultivate an appreciation for beauty. Train your eye to see beauty. Develop your taste for the beautiful. This will enrich your life and increase your power.

Education by Absorption

We are educated not only by what we study but by what we absorb from our environment. We learn not only from books but from the atmosphere in which we live.

If you live in an atmosphere of high thinking, of noble purpose, of lofty ideals, you will unconsciously absorb these qualities. If you associate with successful people, you will absorb their success qualities.

Choose your environment carefully. Associate with people who will help you, who will inspire you, who will elevate you. Avoid people who will drag you down.

Read good books. Study the lives of great men. Associate with people of character and achievement. This is education by absorption.

You cannot help absorbing the qualities of your environment. Make sure your environment is worthy. Surround yourself with the best influences.

The Power of Suggestion

We are all subject to the power of suggestion. What we hear, what we see, what we read, all make their impression upon us. We are constantly being influenced by suggestions from our environment.

Surround yourself with positive suggestions. Fill your mind with success thoughts. Read success literature. Associate with successful people. This will help to make you successful.

Avoid negative suggestions. Do not listen to croakers and pessimists. Do not read literature that is depressing. Do not associate with failures. These things will drag you down.

Use the power of suggestion for your own benefit. Suggest success to yourself. Tell yourself you can do it. Affirm your ability. This will help to make it so.

Be careful what suggestions you accept. Guard your mind against negative suggestions. Fill it with positive, constructive, success-building suggestions.

The Curse of Worry

Worry is one of the greatest curses of modern life. It kills more people than work. It causes more suffering than disease. It is the enemy of health, happiness, and success.

Worry never helped anybody. It never solved a problem. It never removed an obstacle. It only makes things worse.

Learn to conquer worry. Stop worrying about things you cannot control. Stop worrying about the past--it is gone. Stop worrying about the future--it is not here yet. Live in the present.

Do your best, then leave the results to God. Do what you can, then stop worrying. Trust that things will work out.

The man who conquers worry has conquered one of life's greatest enemies. He has freed himself from a terrible bondage. He has opened the door to health, happiness, and success.

Take a Pleasant Thought to Bed with You

The last thought you have before going to sleep is very important. It influences your sleep. It affects your subconscious mind. It helps to determine your mental attitude the next day.

Never go to bed with a worry on your mind. Never go to bed with an angry thought. Never go to bed with a fear. These thoughts will poison your sleep and rob you of rest.

Take a pleasant thought to bed with you. Think of something beautiful. Think of something you are grateful for. Think of your blessings. This will give you peaceful, refreshing sleep.

Make it a habit to review the good things of the day before going to sleep. Think of your successes, not your failures. Think of your blessings, not your troubles.

This habit will improve your sleep, improve your health, improve your mental attitude, and improve your whole life.

The Conquest of Poverty

Poverty is not a virtue. It is not something to be proud of. It is something to be conquered, to be overcome, to be left behind.

You were not meant to be poor. You were meant to have abundance. You were meant to have enough and to spare. Poverty is not the will of God for you.

Conquer poverty by developing your powers, by increasing your value, by making yourself more useful. The world always makes room for the useful man.

Do not accept poverty as your lot. Do not resign yourself to being poor. Fight poverty. Conquer it. Rise above it.

You can conquer poverty if you will pay the price. The price is self-development, increased efficiency, greater usefulness. Pay the price and poverty will disappear.

A New Way of Bringing Up Children

The old way of bringing up children was the way of repression, of suppression, of "breaking the will." The new way is the way of development, of encouragement, of bringing out the best that is in the child.

Do not break the child's will. Develop it. Do not suppress the child's spirit. Encourage it. Do not repress the child's individuality. Let it unfold.

The object of education is not to make all children alike, but to help each child to develop according to his own nature, to bring out his own best qualities, to make the most of his own powers.

Treat children with respect. Recognize their rights. Listen to their opinions. Give them freedom to develop in their own way.

The new education aims at developing the whole child--body, mind, and spirit. It aims at making the child strong, intelligent, and good.

The Home as a School of Good Manners

The home is the first and best school of good manners. It is in the home that children learn courtesy, kindness, consideration for others--or fail to learn them.

If children are to have good manners in society, they must practice them at home. If they are to be courteous to strangers, they must first be courteous to their family.

Parents should insist upon good manners at home. Children should be taught to be polite to their parents, courteous to their brothers and sisters, considerate of servants.

Make the home a school of courtesy. Teach children good manners by example. Practice good manners yourself. Insist upon them in your children.

The child who learns good manners at home will have them all his life. They will serve him well in society, in business, in all his relations with others.

Mother

All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my mother. These words, spoken by Abraham Lincoln, express the feeling of every noble man. The mother is the greatest influence in life.

The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. The mother shapes the destiny of nations. The mother makes the man.

No influence in life is so powerful as the influence of a good mother. Her teaching, her example, her love, her prayers--these shape character and determine destiny.

Honor your mother. Respect her. Cherish her. Remember all she has done for you. Remember her sacrifices, her love, her devotion.

The greatest tribute you can pay to your mother is to live a worthy life, to be the kind of person she would want you to be.

Why So Many Married Women Deteriorate

It is a sad fact that many women deteriorate after marriage. They lose their freshness, their charm, their attractiveness. They become careless in their dress, slovenly in their habits, dull in their conversation.

This need not be. Marriage should improve a woman, not deteriorate her. It should make her more attractive, more interesting, more charming.

The married woman should take care of herself. She should keep herself attractive. She should cultivate her mind. She should maintain her interests. She should not let herself go.

Keep yourself fresh and attractive. Maintain your interests. Cultivate your mind. Do not become a drudge. Do not let yourself deteriorate.

The woman who keeps herself attractive, who maintains her interests, who cultivates her mind, will not deteriorate. She will continue to grow and develop all her life.

Thrift

Thrift is one of the cardinal virtues. It is the foundation of prosperity. The man who cannot save is the man who will always be poor.

Learn to save. Put aside a portion of your income every week or month. No matter how small your income, you can save something. Make saving a habit.

The habit of saving will do more for you than almost any other habit. It will give you independence. It will give you security. It will give you peace of mind.

Do not spend all you earn. Live within your income. Avoid debt. Save for the future. This is the way to prosperity and independence.

The man who saves is the man who succeeds. The man who spends all he earns is the man who always remains poor.

A College Education at Home

You do not need to go to college to get an education. You can get an education at home. You can educate yourself in your spare time, if you have the will to do it.

Read good books. Study systematically. Follow a course of reading. Spend an hour every day in study. In ten years you can give yourself a college education.

Many of the world's greatest men have been self-educated. They have educated themselves in their spare time. They have become scholars without going to college.

Do not make excuses. Do not say you have no time. You have time if you will use it. An hour a day will work wonders.

Begin now. Start a course of reading. Study systematically. In a few years you will be amazed at the knowledge you have acquired.

Discrimination in Reading

Not all reading is good reading. Much that is printed is worthless. Much is positively harmful. You must learn to discriminate in your reading.

Read good books. Read books that will help you, that will inspire you, that will make you better. Avoid trashy literature. Avoid sensational reading. Avoid books that will do you harm.

A few good books, thoroughly read, are worth more than a library of poor books hastily skimmed. Quality is more important than quantity in reading.

Make a list of the best books in your field. Read them systematically. Read them thoroughly. Master them. This will give you a real education.

Avoid promiscuous reading. Be selective. Read with a purpose. Read the best books. This is the way to profit from reading.

Reading a Spur to Ambition

Good reading is one of the best spurs to ambition. The lives of great men, properly presented, kindle the fire of ambition in young hearts.

Read the lives of successful men. Read how they overcame obstacles. Read how they conquered difficulties. Read how they rose from poverty to prosperity. This will inspire you to do likewise.

Every young person should read biography. It is the most inspiring kind of reading. It shows what others have done and thereby shows what you can do.

Let the lives of great men inspire you. Let their example encourage you. Let their achievements show you what is possible.

Reading the right kind of books will kindle your ambition, strengthen your determination, and inspire you to achieve great things.

Why Some Succeed and Others Fail

Why do some men succeed while others fail? Why do some men rise to the top while others remain at the bottom? Why do some men make fortunes while others remain poor?

The answer is not difficult to find. The men who succeed are the men who have the qualities that make for success. The men who fail are the men who lack these qualities.

Success does not depend upon luck or chance or circumstances. It depends upon character, upon qualities, upon habits. The man who has the right qualities will succeed. The man who lacks them will fail.

What are these qualities? Industry, persistence, determination, honesty, thoroughness, concentration--these are some of the qualities that make for success.

Cultivate these qualities. Make them a part of your character. Build them into your life. This is the way to success.

Rich Without Money

A man may be rich without money. He may possess treasures that money cannot buy. He may have wealth that no financial panic can take away.

What are these treasures? A good name, a clean conscience, a healthy body, a cultivated mind, loving friends, a happy home--these are treasures greater than gold.

Many a poor man is richer than many a millionaire. He may have little money, but he has treasures that the millionaire lacks. He has health, he has happiness, he has peace of mind.

Do not measure your wealth by money alone. Measure it by all the good things you have. Count your blessings. You may be richer than you think.

The richest man is not the man who has the most money, but the man who has the most of the things that make life worth living.

You can be rich without money if you have health, happiness, friends, love, a clear conscience, and peace of mind. These are the true riches.