Make Confidants of Air and Exercise.
Everybody is quickened and inspired by the vibrating Health and warm Magnetism that is felt instantly from the Healthy man. He is the man who does things. He is the man who is a Success. He is the fellow who has time to take on Air and Exercise and grasp Health. Also he is the one who accomplishes twice the work of the weakling and has the MOST time.
Make Confidants of Air and Exercise.
If you aspire for large jobs, of necessity you must aspire for — and get — a vigorous Body, filled to the brim with Health. Half of Health is in the Mind. The rest is in getting into the Air and giving every Muscle of the body and every organ a good daily stirring tip with use and Exercise. Let this thought radiate from your face and bearing toward every man, woman, or child that you meet: “I am a Happy, Healthy Human Being!”
Make Confidants of Air and Exercise.
Character
Character is the stun total, worthwhile, of what a man has after he has won all and the sole thing he has left after he has lost all.
Character is Power.
J. Pierpont Morgan, the greatest single power in Finance in all the world, at the time of his death, once stated under oath, that “Character is the only gauge of a man, or the only rule by which he can be gauged in business, and that physical assets are therefore of secondary importance.”
Character is Power.
The walls of Character that a man builds will withstand the most merciless assaults that any man can direct at them. A man’s or a woman’s good Character is absolutely unassailable. Reputation may be besmirched — but not Character. For Reputation is what people may say a man is, but Character is. what he really is.
Character is Power.
Character is greater than talent, genius, fame, money, friends — there is nothing to compare with it. A man may have all these and yet remain comparatively useless — be unhappy — and die a bankrupt in Soul. But — Character pay’s out endless Dividends, molds a man into a mighty Deed-doer, and builds for him a deathless Name.
Character is Power.
Character is Power in Business, in the Home, on the Street — everywhere. And it’s free for the asking to the man willing to be kind, honest, square, broad, generous, loyal, fearless — Big! Stamp your Character deeper on people to-day and make it rule your work. Let it lead you on. But fight every hour to make it stronger, for —
Character is Power.
Mistakes
Study your Mistakes.
There are two kinds of Mistakes. Those that happen from ordinary human mis-thinking and those that come from carelessness and petty un-thinking.
Study your Mistakes.
No one ever gets too big to make Mistakes. The secret is that the big man is greater than his Mistakes, because he rises right out of them and passes beyond them.
After one of Henry Ward Beecher’s sermons in Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, a young man came up to him and said: “Mr. Beecher, did you know that you made a grammatical error in your sermon this morning?”
“A grammatical error,” answered Beecher, “I’ll bet my hat that I made forty of them.”
Half of the power of the forceful man springs out of his Mistakes of one sort or another. They help to keep him human.
Study your Mistakes.
But the Mistakes that tear away the power of a man, weaken him, and make him flabby, are the stupid, the reckless Mistakes. The Clerk who forgets, the Stenographer that doesn’t care, the Worker who neglects — these are the ones whose life blood and vitality is sapped and sucked away into failure.
Study your Mistakes.
One of the great things of each day for you is to do your best — unmindful of Mistakes. But after your work is done and you realize your blunders, don’t shirk, don’t whine, don’t despond, but —
Study your Mistakes.
Then profit from them — and go ahead!
Ruts
One of the important lessons of this life is to learn to keep out of Ruts. Everyone is bound to strike them at times. But they should be gotten out of — immediately. For to stay in a Rut is to stick still — and stagnate, while others pass you and forget you.
Keep your eyes Open and your Mind Awake.
Watch out for the Imitation Rut — the Rut that takes you away from your own Work and your own Ideas and makes a Duplicate out of you instead of an Original. Creators stand in a class by themselves. Pay tribute to the Head cm your own shoulders. Get the habit of Initiation.
Keep your Eyes Open and your Mind Awake.
Think. Get together new Ideas. Welcome them. Read. Profit from the Minds of past ages. Compare them with the advancing Thought and Experiences of your own age. Delve into the Mysteries. Seek out the Truths they hold. Learn SOMETHING new each day — and you will be ready armed against getting into Ruts.
Keep your Eyes Open and your Mind Awake.
Vary your Work each day as greatly as possible. Think out new ways of doing old Tasks. The Brain acts spryest when it is most interested. Love your Work. If you don’t, find Work that you do.
Keep your Eyes Open and your Mind Awake.
And be kind to your own human Machine. Give it Rest. Occasionally dip away into new Surroundings, see new Faces, mid meet new Scenes. Find delight among those who Do and Dare. Lock arms with the Smilers — pass by the Frowners. Now, read this little talk over again — resolving that you will from this time on stay out of the Rut business.
Together
For the sake of this little Talk, let us suppose that the one word Together is derived from the three words — TO GET THERE. It is quite possible, anyway. For when people get themselves Together, or you collect all your individual forces Together, the thing aimed at usually happens.
TO GET THERE is to get Together.
Analyze a Human Failure. Here is what you learn. He is all apart — all unhitched. His Brain is without organization. Most of his fine sensibilities are stunned or dead. His Will isn’t Landlord any more. It’s just a Boarder — and half-starved at that. His original farce of Executives and assistants — once alert and healthy and willing — have all gone out into the yard to Doze. Confusion and Ruin is everywhere. Chaos reigns. What is the Remedy? This —
TO GET THERE is to get Together.
It’s marvelous the change that comes about when a man gets Together all his Forces and centers them upon the doing of ONE thing at a time. The Together idea is the progressive idea. “Where there is a Will, there is a Way.’’ But the Will is of no use without the Plan back of the Will. Plan, Will — Way. All Together and things are accomplished.
TO GET THERE is to get Together.
When you begin to Divide your interests or to Distribute your forces, you begin to lose your Grip. As you draw all your Forces Together, you increase your Power. Big things are done on the Together plan. Bird shot will kill small game but it takes the angle Rifle balls to bring down the big game.
TO GET THERE is to get Together.
Weigh and consider this thought as you face