confidence in a customer whom he liked. Mike made this man a substantial loan, and the loan went sour. Although Mike had been with the bank for many years, his superiors felt that, in view of his experience, he had made a stupid decision. So Mike was fired, and he was out of a job for some time.
“I have never seen a more beaten man: his walk...his face...his bearing...his speech... all showed complete discouragement and dejection. He had what you, Clem, term a negative mental attitude,” Ned Dewey said to me. Then he continued:
“Mike made several attempts to get a job, but they were futile. To me it was understandable, because of his attitude. I wanted to help him, so I gave him a book: Pick Your Job and Land It, by Sidney and Mary Edlund. The Edlunds tell how to show your business experience in an attractive manner to the prospective employer of your choice. ‘It’s a must,’ I told him. ‘After you have read it, I want you to see me.’
“Mike read the book and saw me the next day, for he needed a job badly.
“ ‘I’ve read the book,’ he said.
“Then you’ve noticed,’ I said, ‘that the book suggests you list your assets: all the things you have done to make money for your previous employer.’ And I asked him several questions, such as:
1. What profit increases did your bank experience year by year under your supervision as branch manager–increased profits because of something special that you did?
2. How much money did the bank save by eliminating waste through increased efficiency under your administration?
“Mike was smart...and he was ready. He got the idea. “After dinner that night he came over to my house. I was amazed at the transformation! He was a new man: a sincere smile...a firm and friendly handclasp...a voice of assurance–the very reflection of success.
“And I was equally amazed at what he had written on the several pages listing what he considered to be his real assets. For, in addition to outlining the value he had been to his former employer, he made a special listing under the heading: My True Assets.”
When Edward R. Dewey mentioned some of the assets listed by Mike Corrigan, I was unable to resist interrupting him with: “Mike Corrigan recognized the ingredients essential to becoming a self-builder!” And you will see what I meant when you read the chapter titled “The True Riches of Life.”
Mr. Dewey continued. “Among the true assets were:
A wonderful wife who meant the world to him.
An only daughter who brought joy, happiness, and sunshine into his life.
A healthy mind and body.
Many friends–good friends.
A religious philosophy and a church that were a source of inspiration to him.
The privilege of living in America.
A house and a car, each fully paid for.
A few thousand dollars in the bank.
Sufficient youth to have many good years ahead of him.
The respect and esteem of those who knew him.
“It was fun being with Mike that evening,” said Ned. “In fact, he was so enthusiastic that he made me enthusiastic, too. I felt that he was the kind of fellow I’d hire if I were an employer.
“For the next two days, I could hardly get Mike out of my mind. And when the telephone rang at dinner the second evening, I had a feeling it was Mike. It was.
“ ‘I want to thank you, Ned. I’ve got a good job,’ he exclaimed happily.
“And Mike did get a good job, as treasurer of a large hospital in a neighboring city, a position he has now held for many years,” Mr. Dewey concluded.
He Developed a Time Recorder...and Became a Self-Builder
You don’t have to be out of a job to take inventory of yourself. Those who engage in self-inspection are generally those who are seeking self-improvement–and find it. George Severance, who represents the Ohio National Life Insurance Company in Chicago, is such a man.
It was he who invented the Social Time Recorder, which helped him achieve success in reaching his many worthwhile objectives. The principle he used can be applied by anyone who will take the time to develop and follow his own time recorder.
And should you follow the instructions in designing your time recorder–and use it daily, as outlined in detail in Chapter 19–then you, like George Severance, will become a self-builder.
For you, like him, will use his technique to have peace of mind and happiness...get out of debt...save money...eliminate waste of time and money...acquire wealth...eliminate bad habits and develop good ones. Its daily use will motivate you to higher achievement. I guarantee it!
George is a friend of mine. I know his story well. He found his first excitement in sales when he began knocking on back doors selling industrial insurance. Here’s what he says:
“I believe I knocked on every back door in my neighborhood. In fact, I know that at one time or another I have canvassed in every section of the city. As time went on, my sales began to grow in volume; however, I found myself in very serious financial difficulties, for my debts were expanding faster than my income.
“One day, the total amount of these debts struck me like a bolt of lightning. I was faced with a real financial crisis. Then I recalled a statement I had read somewhere:
“If you cannot save money, the seed of success is not in you.
“I wanted desperately to succeed. I wanted to get out of debt. I felt I had the seed of success within me. Then and there, I decided to do something about it.”
If you cannot save money, the seed of success is not in you. This statement indicated that George Severance, like many persons who have achieved success, benefitted from memorizing and responding to self-motivators.
And, therefore, I once asked him: “In addition to the Bible, what self-help book played the most important part in your life?”
“Authors of Portraits and Principles,” he replied. (Designed and arranged by Wm. C. King, King Richardson & Co., Springfield, Mass., 1895)
Now, there is something more to success than reading self-help books and extracting the philosophy contained in them, and that is Action.
George told me that his Social Time Recorder helped him to take inventory of himself–to organize his thinking time, set definite objectives, and select the right track to run on–and motivated him to action. And he also said:
“After I had developed the Social Time Recorder, I found that I had been spending as much as 32 hours in a single month drinking coffee with my friends. I was amazed, for I realized that this was equivalent to four working days. And then I realized that my lunch hours were sometimes a full hour longer than they should have been.” He continued:
“Travel–like a jack rabbit I hopped here, there, and everywhere, rather than working one territory thoroughly.
“Late hours–I
