Hourly thousands of human wrecks topple heedlessly over the Niagara of a Ragged Point-Of-View, and strew the Rapids of Failure into a pitiful sight. The reason? Rudder out of Setting!
Set YOUR Rudder before Sailing.
The boy in School who has as his end but the fitting of his Lesson to the mere Classroom hour, the Clerk who but dreams of his day as done with the end of his eight hours, the man who measures his Success by the weight of his Dollars — these are but illustrations of the Point-Of-View in Life — turned backward — out of Kink. There is but one way to reach the real Port of real Success and that is to —
Set YOUR Rudder before Sailing.
For a Point-Of-View is just plain Purpose. And there is just one kind of Purpose worth any man’s or woman’s Salt — the Purpose that tends to some USEFUL end.
Set YOUR Rudder before Sailing.
If you start this day with a healthy Point-Of-View, you will end it a happier, healthier, broader, bigger person. How wonderful, too, the individual effect that a high, square Point-of-View has, not upon yourself alone but on your whole environment. In fact, how it makes Environment!
Set YOUR Rudder before Sailing.
Get the right Point-Of-View upon Life. Then it will permeate your Work — make rich the lives of your Friends and your Achievements, bringing at the same time to you a rounded Success. Search out the proper Point-of-View for each task DAILY. In other words —
Set YOUR Rudder before Sailing.
Wait
Learn to Wait.
Not idly, but with the spirit of Busyness in your system working itself out into some useful Endeavor. For to know HOW to Wait is to master one of the greatest secrets of Success.
Learn to Wait.
The parents of Balzac were wealthy. The son at the age of twenty announced his determination to become an Author. “But,” urged his Father, “do you not know that in literature a man must be either king or hodman?” “Very well,” replied the young man, “I’ll be king!” He was, therefore, abandoned to a rude garret, where for ten years he labored against the fiercest poverty and obstacles. But his Waiting and Work won. Balzac’s name will remain among the greatest in the literature of all time.
Learn to Wait.
To Wait, intelligently, is ability in itself of the rarest sort. For it is a quality imbedded in Fortitude, Self-Mastery and Will.
Learn to Wait.
You hold a humble position. You are restless. You see others of less ability and brains passing you. Wait. The prizes of life seem to you to be unevenly distributed. Wait. The click and glare of Gold and Silver play songs to your senses. But Wait. Do more than you are paid for in real work and conscientious Effort. Conquer the Trifles. Reap the respect of your Superiors. Wait. And your rise to power shall be as the rise to power of the men and women who have made this world what it is.
Learn to Wait.
Stomachs
The Stomach is the Firebox of the Body. Its simple construction, patterned by a Supreme Master, is imitated by the human makers of the greatest Engines in the world — Engines that have knit Civilization and populated Nations.
Respect your Stomach.
Every human Stomach is from the same mold. But never has there been bora a human being that took care of his Stomach in quite the same way. In real importance, greater than any other organ of the human Body, it is least respected — it is most neglected.
Respect your Stomach.
For your Stomach is your Success. Nothing can replace a ruined Stomach. Think seriously of this as you burn its walls with the beautifully colored contents of dainty Glasses. Think of this when you hurriedly throw into its marvelous pocket, ill selected and quickly masticated Food. Think of this as you neglect its call for regular Fuel and regular Care. Think of this when it begs for Rest.
Respect your Stomach.
No Stomach ever turned Traitor to a good Caretaker. A companionable Stomach will work wonders for its Master. It will build Power for scores of years. It will knit Strength and Elasticity into Bones and Muscles. It will create unfailing Nerve Centers. It will pump a great Heart. It will give an iron Will and a masterful Brain. Kind Stomachs are more than Coronets, and simple care to them, than Norman Blood.
Respect your Stomach.
Morning, Noon and Night — and between times —
Respect your Stomach.
To-Day
This is the most important day in the history of the world. Because it is the Latest Day — and the only Day of its kind that shall ever dawn again.
There is no To-morrow — To-day.
Worry shall have no part of this Day. Disappointment, Fear, Envy, Bitterness, Regret, Anger, Selfishness, and their like — they are of the Past a part. They must have naught of standing or of voice in this Day. For, as already said, THIS Day shall never come around again. Its reception must be Royal and the works in its twenty-four hours must be performed with serious consideration and under the bearing of Responsibility and Appreciation.
There is no To-morrow — To-day.
Your Smile To-day will be worth the millions in the To-morrow. Your Efforts, your Deeds, your Courtesies, your Words, your written Thoughts, your ALL, will count for more To-day than all your mapped out plans of twenty years to come.
There is no To-morrow — To-day.
What odds if your ancestors were Monkeys a few years back — so you are a Man to-day! Whether or no you shall be the Great man or woman ten years from To-day shall depend on what manner of acting man or woman you are To-day. There are no accidents of Destiny. The Big Thing to be is the Little Thing to do — To-day.
There is no To-morrow — To-day.
Manners
It is inferred that Manners make the Man. No — the Man makes the Manners. For Manners are the Man. And they point the path of Interpretation to a Character as surely as does the weather-vane tell exactly the direction of the wind.
Be your Best Self always.
You enter a car, an office, a home, pace a street. People — your like and image — you meet everywhere. Your Manners in their presence mark your standing and your own enjoyment. Your smile, your graciousness, your courtesy, change the gruff attitude of a clerk or the cold reception of the one you face whether it be for your profit or his.
Be your Best Self always.
“Sir,” once said Dr. Johnson, “a
