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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:40:55 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:40:55 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/12887-0.txt b/12887-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e5680fa --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3322 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12887 *** + +[ILLUSTRATION: _Laugh and Live_] + + +Laugh and Live + +By DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS + + +ILLUSTRATED + +NEW YORK +BRITTON PUBLISHING COMPANY + +1917 + + + + +TO MY MOTHER + + + + +CONTENTS + + I. "Whistle and Hoe--Sing As We Go" + + II. Taking Stock of Ourselves + + III. Advantages of an Early Start + + IV. Profiting by Experience + + V. Energy, Success and Laughter + + VI. Building Up a Personality + + VII. Honesty, the Character Builder + + VIII. Cleanliness of Body and Mind + + IX. Consideration for Others + + X. Keeping Ourselves Democratic + + XI. Self-Education by Good Reading + + XII. Physical and Mental Preparedness + + XIII. Self-indulgence and Failure + + XIV. Living Beyond Our Means + + XV. Initiative and Self-Reliance + + XVI. Failure to Seize Opportunities + + XVII. Assuming Responsibilities + +XVIII. Wedlock in Time + + XIX. Laugh and Live + + XX. A "Close-Up" of Douglas Fairbanks + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + +Laugh and Live +Do You Ever Laugh? +Over the Hedge and on His Way +Preparing to Pair With the Prickly Pear +A Little Spin Among the Saplings +Over the Hills and Far Away--Father and Son +A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers" +A Scene from "The Americano"--Matching Wits for Gold +Taking on Local Color +A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers" +Douglas Fairbanks in "The Good Bad-Man" +Squaring Things With Sister--From "The Habit of Happiness" +A Scene from "In Again--Out Again" +Bungalowing in California +Demonstrating the Monk and the Hand-Organ to a Body of Psychologists +"Wedlock in Time"--The Fairbanks' Family +Here's Hoping +A Close-Up + + + + +LIVE AND LAUGH + + + + +CHAPTER I + +"WHISTLE AND HOE--SING AS WE GO" + + +There is one thing in this good old world that is positively +sure--happiness is for _all_ who _strive_ to _be_ happy--and those who +laugh _are_ happy. + +Everybody is eligible--you--me--the other fellow. + +Happiness is fundamentally a state of mind--not a state of body. + +And mind controls. + +Indeed it is possible to stand with one foot on the inevitable "banana +peel" of life with both eyes peering into the Great Beyond, and still be +happy, comfortable, and serene--if we will even so much as smile. + +It's all a state of mind, I tell you--and I'm sure of what I say. That's +why I have taken up my fountain pen. I want to talk to my friends--you +hosts of people who have written to me for my recipe. In moving pictures +all I can do is act my part and grin for you. What I say is a matter of +your own inference, but with my pen I have a means of getting around the +"silent drama" which prevents us from organizing a "close-up" with one +another. + +In starting I'm going to ask you "foolish question number 1."-- + +Do you ever laugh? + +I mean do you ever laugh right out--spontaneously--just as if the police +weren't listening with drawn clubs and a finger on the button connecting +with the "hurry-up" wagon? Well, if you don't, you should. _Start off +the morning with a laugh and you needn't worry about the rest of the +day._ + +I like to laugh. It is a tonic. It braces me up--makes me feel +fine!--and keeps me in prime mental condition. Laughter is a +physiological necessity. The nerve system requires it. The deep, +forceful chest movement in itself sets the blood to racing thereby +livening up the circulation--which is good for us. Perhaps you hadn't +thought of that? Perhaps you didn't realize that laughing automatically +re-oxygenates the blood--_your_ blood--and keeps it red? It does all of +that, and besides, it relieves the tension from your brain. + +_Laughter is more or less a habit._ To some it comes only with practice. +But what's to hinder practising? Laugh and live long--if you had a +thought of dying--laugh and grow well--if you're sick and +despondent--laugh and grow fat--if your tendency is towards the lean and +cadaverous--laugh and succeed--if you're glum and "unlucky"--laugh and +nothing can faze you--not even the Grim Reaper--for the man who has +laughed his way through life has nothing to fear of the future. His +conscience is clear. + +Wherein lies this magic of laughter? For magic it is--a something that +manufactures a state of felicity out of any condition. We've got to +admit its charm; automatically and inevitably a laugh cheers us up. If +we are bored--nothing to do--just laugh--that's something to do, for +laughter is synonymous with action, and action dispels gloom, care, +trouble, worry and all else of the same ilk. + +Real laughter is spontaneous. Like water from the spring it bubbles +forth a creation of mingled action and spontaneity--two magic potions in +themselves--the very essence of laughter--the unrestrained emotion +within us! + +So, for me, it is to laugh! Why not stick along? The experiment won't +hurt you. All we need is will power, and that is a personal matter for +each individual to seek and acquire for himself. Many of us already +possess it, but many of us do not. + +Take the average man on the street for example. Watch him go plodding +along--no spring, no elasticity, no vim. He is in _check-rein_--how can +he laugh when his _pep_ is all gone and the _sand in his craw_ isn't +there any more? What he needs is _spirit_! Energy--the power to force +himself into action! For him there is no hope unless he will take up +physical training in some form that will put him in normal physical +condition--after that everything simplifies itself. The brain responds +to the new blood in circulation and thus the mental processes are ready +to make a fight against the inertia of stagnation which has held them in +bondage. + +[Illustration: _Do You Ever Laugh?_ (_White Studio_)] + +And, mind you, physical training doesn't necessarily mean going to an +expert for advice. One doesn't have to make a mountain out of a +molehill. Get out in the fresh air and walk briskly--and don't forget to +wear a smile while you're at it. Don't over-do. Take it easy at first +and build on your effort day by day. A little this morning--a little +more tonight. The first chance you have, when you're sure of your wind +and heart, get out upon the country road, or cross-country hill and +dale. Then run, run, run, until you drop exhausted upon some grassy +bank. Then laugh, loud and long, for you're on the road to happiness. + +Try it now--don't wait. _Today is the day to begin._ Or, if it is night +when you run across these lines, drop this book and trot yourself +around the block a few times. Then come back and you'll enjoy it more +than you would otherwise. Activity makes for happiness as nothing else +will and once you stir your blood into little bubbles of energy you will +begin to think of other means of keeping your bodily house in order. +Unless you make a first effort the chances are you will do very little +real thinking of any kind--_we need pep to think_. + +Think what an opportunity we miss when stripped at night if we fail to +give our bodies a round of exercise. It is so simple, so easy, and has +so much to do with our sleep each night and our work next day that to +neglect to do so is a crime against nature. And laugh! Man alive, if you +are not in the habit of laughing, _get the habit_. Never miss a chance +to laugh aloud. Smiling is better than nothing, and a chuckle is better +still--but _out and out laughter_ is the real thing. Try it now if you +dare! And when you've done it, analyze your feelings. + +I make this prediction--if you once start the habit of exercise, and +couple with it the habit of laughter, even if only for one short +week--you'll keep it up ever afterwards. + +And, by the way, Friend Reader,--don't be alarmed. The personal pronouns +"_I_" and "_you_" give place in succeeding chapters to the more +congenial editorial "_we_." I couldn't resist the temptation to enjoy +one brief spell of intimacy just for the sake of good acquaintance. +_Have a laugh on me._ + + + + +CHAPTER II + +TAKING STOCK OF OURSELVES + + +Experience is the real teacher, but the matter of how we are going to +succeed in life should not be left to ordinary chance while we are +waiting for things to happen. Our first duty is to prepare ourselves +against untoward experiences, and that is best done by taking stock of +our mental and physical assets at the very outset of our journey. What +weaknesses we possess are excess baggage to be thrown away and that is +our reason for taking stock so early. It is likely to save us from +riding to a fall. + +There is one thing we don't want along--_fear_. We will never get +anywhere with that, nor with any of its uncles, aunts or cousins--_Envy, +Malice and Greed_. In justice to our own best interests we should search +every crook and cranny of our hearts and minds lest we venture forth +with any such impedimenta. There is no excuse, and we have no one to +blame if we allow any of them to journey along with us. We know whether +they are there or not just as we would know _Courage, Trust and Honor_ +were they perched behind us on the saddle. + +It is idle to squeal if through association with the former we find +ourselves ditched before we are well under way--for it is coming to us, +sooner or later. We might go _far_, as some have done, through the lanes +and alleys of ill-gotten gains and luxurious self-indulgence, but we +would pay in the end. So, why not charge them up to "profit and loss" at +the start and kick them off into the gutter where they belong? They are +not for us on our eventful journey through life, and the time to get rid +of them once and for all is when we are young, and mentally and +physically vigorous. Later on when the fires burn low and we still have +them with us they will be hard to push aside. + +"To thine own self be true," says the great Shakespeare and how can we +be true to our own selves if we train with inferiors? We are known by +our companionships. We will be rated according to association--good or +bad. The two will not mix for long and we will be one sort of a fellow +or the other. We can't be both. + +There was a time, long years ago, in the days of our grandfathers, when +men went to the "bow-wows" and, later on, "came back" as it were, by +making a partial success in life--measured largely by the money they +succeeded in accumulating. That was before the "check-up" system was +invented. Today things are different. Questions are asked--"Where were +you last?"--"Why did you leave there?"--"Have you credentials?"--and +when we shake our weary head and walk away, we fondly wish we had "taken +stock" back there when the "taking" was good. + + "To thine own self be true; and it must follow as the night the + day, thou canst not then be false to any man." + +When we can analyze ourselves and find that we are living up to the +quoted lines above we may safely lift the limit from our aspirations. +Right here it is well to say that success is not to be computed in +dollars and cents, nor that the will to achieve a successful life is to +be predicated upon the mere accumulation of wealth. First of all, good +health and good minds--then we may laugh loud and long--we're safe on +"first." + +So, with these two weapons we may dig down into our aspirations, and, +keeping in view that our policy is that of honesty to ourselves and +toward our fellow man, all we need to do is to go about the program of +life cheerfully and stout of heart--_for now we are in a state of +preparedness_. + +We are at the point where vision starts. Along with this vision must +come the courage of convictions in order that we may feel that our ideas +are important, and because we have such thoughts, _we shall surely +succeed_. It has often been noticed that when we have had a large +conception and have with force, character, and strength of will carried +it into effect, immediately thereafter a host of people have been able +to say: "I thought of that myself!" Most of us have had the same +experience after reading of a great discovery that we had thrown +overboard because it must not have been "worth while" or someone else +would already have thought of it. + +The man who puts life into an idea is acclaimed a genius, because he +does _the right thing at the right time_. Therein lies the difference +between the _genius_ and a _commonplace_ man. + +We all have ambitions, but only the few achieve. A man thinks of a good +thing and says: "Now if I only had the money I'd put that through." The +word "if" was a dent in his courage. With character fully established, +his plan well thought out, he had only to go to those in command of +capital and it would have been forthcoming. He had something that +capital would cheerfully get behind if he had the courage to back up his +claims. To fail was nothing less than moral cowardice. _The will to do_ +had not been efficient. There was a flaw in the character, after all. + +Going back, therefore, to the prescription, we find that a _sound +body_, a _good mind_, an _honest purpose_, and a _lack of fear_ are the +essential elements of success. So, when we have conceived something for +the good of the world and have allowed it to go by default we have +dropped the monkey-wrench into the machinery of our preparedness. We +must look about us for a reason. Have we fallen by the wayside of +carelessness? Have we allowed ourselves to be discouraged by cowardly +"ifs"? _Did we lack the sand_? Exactly so; we didn't have the courage of +our convictions. + +Life is the one great experience, and those who fail to win, if sound of +body, can safely lay the blame to their lack of mental equipment. What +does it matter if disappointments follow one after the other if we can +_laugh and try again_? Failures must come to all of us in some degree, +but we may rise from our failures and win back our losses if we are only +shrewd enough to realize that good health, sound mind, and a cheerful +spirit are necessary adjuncts. As Tennyson says: + + "I held it truth, with him who sings + To one clear harp in divers tones, + That men may rise on stepping-stones + Of their dead selves to higher things." + +All truly great men have been healthy--otherwise they would have fallen +short of the mark. Prisons are filled with nervous, diseased creatures. +There is no doubt but that most of these who, through ignorance, sifted +through to the bottomless pits could have saved themselves had they +realized the truth and "taken stock" of themselves, _in time_--of +course, allowing for those, who are victims of circumstantial evidence. + +The prime necessity of life is health. With this, for mankind, nothing +is impossible. But if we do not make use of this good health it will +waste itself away and never come back. It often disappears entirely for +lack of interest on the part of its thoughtless owner. A little energy +would have saved the day. _A little "pep"--and we laugh and live._ +Laughter clings to good health as naturally as the needle clings to the +magnet. It is the outward expression of an unburdened soul. It bubbles +forth as a fountain, always refreshing, always wholesome and sweet. + +[Illustration: _Over the Hedge and on His Way_] + +In taking stock of ourselves we should not forget that fear plays a +large part in the drama of failure. That is the first thing to be +dropped. Fear is a mental deficiency susceptible of correction, if taken +in hand before it gains an ascendency over us. Fear comes with the +thought of failure. Everything we think about should have the +possibility of success in it if we are going to build up courage. We +should get into the habit of reading _inspirational books_, looking at +_inspirational pictures_, hearing _inspirational music_, associating +with _inspirational friends_ and above all, we should cultivate the +habit of mind of thinking clean, and of doing, wholesome things. + +"Guard thyself!" That is the slogan. Let us "take stock" often and see +where we stand. We will not be afraid of the weak points. We will _get +after them_ and get hold of ourselves at the same time. Some book might +give us help--a fine play, or some form of athletics will start us to +thinking. Self-analysis teaches us to see ourselves in a true light +without embellishments or undue optimism. We can gauge our chances in no +better way. If we grope in the darkness we haven't much of a chance. +"Taking stock" throws a searchlight on the dark spots and points the way +out of the danger zone. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +ADVANTAGES OF AN EARLY START + + +It is the young man who has the best chance of winning. Then why +shouldn't youthfulness be made a permanent asset? We have recovered from +the idea of putting a man into a sanatorium just because a few grey +hairs show themselves in his head. We should not ask him how old he is +... we should ask: "_What can he do_?" The young man may have the +advantage of years but the older one has the advantage of experience and +knowledge. Now if this older man could carry along with him that spirit +of youth which actuated his earlier activities he would be prepared +against incapacity. Our fate hangs on how we conduct ourselves in youth. +The world has great need of the sober, thoughtful men _above the fifty +line_. By right of experience and knowledge they should become our +leaders in the shaping of our policies. It is all a matter of how a man +comes through, mentally, physically and spiritually. Age should not +count against him. + +The first thought is to keep healthy. In fact, we cannot harp on this +too much. The second requirement is confidence in ourselves, without +which our career is short lived. + +Already we perceive that one must keep track of his _inner self_. This +breeds confidence. The very fact that one stops to probe into that +hidden land of thought shows that he is keeping tab on himself with a +sharp eye. That's the stuff! _We mustn't fool ourselves._ The majority +of failures come as a result of not being able to trust one's self. The +moment we doubt, or acknowledge that we cannot conquer a weakness, then +we begin to go down hill. It is a subtle process. We hardly realize it +at the time but as the days go by, the years roll on, the final day of +reckoning draws near and relentlessly we are swept along as driftwood +toward the lonely beaches of obscurity. And all because _we lacked +self-confidence_! We did not realize it until it was too late. We were +too busy with self-indulgence to struggle for success. + +Most of our troubles in later life started with _failure to take hold of +ourselves_ when we were young. It may be that we put off making our +choice of something to do. If we had been companionable to ourselves we +might have thought out the proper course while taking long walks in +pursuit of physical development. That would have been a _fine_ time in +which to fight out the whole problem--the time when optimism and _the +will to do_ are as natural as the laughter of a child, or the song of a +bird. That was the time when the world appeared roseate and beautiful, +when success lay just beyond the turn of the road, when failure seemed +something illusory and improbable. Then was the time to jump in with +both feet and _a big hearty laugh_ to solve the problem of what to do +and how to go about it. It is surprising how readily the world follows +the individual with confidence. It is willing to believe in him, to +furnish funds, to assist in any way within its power. And that is where +the man _with a smile_ is sure to win--for the man who smiles has +confidence in himself. + +So long as we carry along with us our atmosphere of hearty good will and +enthusiasm we know no defeat. The man who is gloomy, taciturn and lives +in a world of doubt seldom achieves more than a bare living. There have +been a few who have groaned their way through to a competence but in +proportion to that overwhelming number of souls who carry cheer through +life they are as nothing--mere drops in the bucket. If the truth were +told their success came probably through mere chance and nothing else. +Such people are not the ones for us to endeavor to follow. _We cannot +afford to allow our visions to sour._ + +Beginning early takes away timidity and builds for success while we are +young enough to enjoy the benefits. Although it is never too late to +start a cheerful life we don't have to kill ourselves in the attempt. +There is no necessity for throwing all caution to the winds, but we +should press our advantages. With _self-analysis_ comes a certain +poise, a certain dignity and kindliness that tempers every move with +precision. + +Once we get the proper start we have only to take stock now and then in +order to keep our machinery in a fine state of repair. If we have chosen +wisely we love our work and stick to it closely--not forgetting the home +duties and our share in its success. Right here we run up against the +danger signal if our business success wins us away from the hearthstone. +_Love of home_ is a quality of the workers of the earth. "What doth it +profit a man to win the whole world if he _loseth_ his own soul?" + +To sum up the case--once we have made up our minds to win and how we are +going to do it, the next step is to act. _Health is synonymous with +action._ The healthy man does things, the unhealthy man hesitates. And +when we get ready to act we will act with the air of a conqueror. We +must supply from our own store our atmosphere of confidence in order to +win confidence. The successful man is the one who _knows he is right_ +and makes us realize it. + +It is always worth while to study the successes among our +acquaintances. Are they gloomy, morose and irritable? If they were to +that extent they would not be successful. On the contrary, they are +robust, confident individuals who have taken advantage of every rightful +opportunity and possessed _the power to smile_ when all about them were +in the dumps. When everyone else thought that there wasn't a chance to +win these fellows stepped in and took charge. + +When we interview the failures we find that all of them give one excuse: +"_I didn't have the confidence._" They may not say it in exactly these +words but the meaning is plain. They ran through the whole gamut of +_self-distrust_ which is the natural result of not having started early +in the study of self--the serious realization of their own capabilities. + +[Illustration: _Preparing to Pair With the Prickly Pear_] + +This makes it easy to understand their plight. If we know ourselves we +are strengthened that much, because we can bolster up our weaknesses. We +will know enough to combat timidity. We can then know what we are +capable of, and thus become conscious of our innate powers that only +need to be called into action in order to become useful. We cannot +imagine for an instant a great violinist going out on the concert +platform in ignorance of the condition of his instrument. And yet +failures go out on the stage of life knowing nothing of their strengths +and weaknesses--_and still expect to win_! + +If we are to become successes we must _keep success in mind_--banish all +thought of losing. Success is just as natural as anything else. It is +only a matter of the mind anyhow. We are all successes _as long as we +continue to think so_. Self-depreciation is a disease. Once it gets a +hold on us--good-bye! + +And that is why it is wise to begin early--to take hold of affairs while +we are young. Superiority over our fellow man comes from a superiority +of mind and body. A healthy mind breeds a healthy body. The most +superficial study will convince us of this fact. + +Appearance counts for much in this world. We judge largely by +appearances. We haven't time to know everyone we meet intimately and as +a result must base our opinions upon _first impressions_. The fellow who +comes in an office with his head hanging down between his shoulders and +a frown upon his face doesn't get far with us. We find ourselves looking +over his sagging shoulders toward the individual behind him who comes in +with a swinging step and the confidence born of health and good spirits. + +Self-confidence in youth makes for self-confidence in after years. This +is far from meaning that one can be brazen and inclined towards +freshness and get away with it. It merely means the marshalling of one's +forces, _the command of one's self_ and the ability to make others +recognize that we are on the map because we belong there. And one of the +quickest ways to accomplish this is to have a smile tucked away for +instant use. Again, this does not mean that we are to carry round a +ready-to-wear grin which we wear only as we are ushered into the +presence of another. _A real smile, or a hearty laugh, is not to be +counterfeited._ We easily know the genuine from the spurious. A real +laugh springs naturally out of a pure, unadulterated confidence and a +good physical condition. What triumphs, what splendid battles, have been +won through the ability to laugh at the right moment. + +Whenever we find that we are losing our ability to smile let's have no +false notions. We are neglecting our physical well being. Let us then +and there drop the sombre thoughts and get out into the open air. Run +down the street and if possible out into the country. If we see a tree +and have the inclination to climb it--well, then, climb it. If we are +sensitive about what our neighbors might say--too bad! But we can romp +with easy grace. If we but knew how gladly our neighbors would emulate +our gymnastics if they knew the value of them the laugh would be on us +for dreading their opinion. One thing we do know--_they will envy us our +good health and spirits_. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +PROFITING BY EXPERIENCE + + +_Experience comes by contact._ There is no way we can have experiences +without passing directly through them. If we are up and doing they come +thick and fast into our lives, some of them weighted down by the +peculiar twists and turns of circumstances, others simple, easily +understood, and still others complicated to the point of not being +understood at all. + +People are divided into two classes--_those who profit by experience and +those who do not_. The unfortunate part of it all is that the latter +class is by far the larger of the two. + +The man of vigorous purpose, fine constitution, and the full knowledge +of self, sees through an experience as clearly as through a window. The +glass may be foggy, but he knows what lies beyond. Self-reliant and +strong he seeks knowledge through experience, while the weak man, the +unhealthy-minded, the inefficient, stands aside and gives him the right +of way. In later years, however, they bitterly complain that they were +not given the same chance to succeed. + +The man of experience having long since passed through the stages of +indecision has, through careful self-analysis learned to bridge +difficulties that would make others tremble with fear. He knows that +every lane has a turning. He may not see it at the moment. He may not +know where it is. _But that doesn't worry him._ He picks up his bundle +and trudges ahead, confident that victory awaits him somewhere along the +line. + +The fact that he believes in himself, sets him apart from ordinary +mankind. Many great men have been at loss to understand why they +attained success. It is well nigh impossible for them to outline the +causes that led them to the top rungs of the ladder. The reason is that +_their lack of fear_ of experiences was an unconscious one, rather than +a conscious one. However, they are willing to admit that acting on the +principle of profiting by experience _loaned them initiative_ with which +to proceed. They soon came to know opportunity at sight and had only to +look around to find it. + +The young man standing on the threshold of life is, from lack of +experience, puzzled over the future. He looks above him and sees the +towering successes. He reads in the papers of the massive characters who +have risen from the bottom to the top. Naturally he would like to meet +one of these giants of success and hear what he has to say. The +interview is quite needless. "_Get busy and profit by experience_," is +about all the advice one man can give to another. There is no way to +profit by experience until we have had experience so there is nothing to +do but get busy and experience will come as fast as we can absorb it. +Our duty is to strive for success and not expect to attain it except by +successive steps. A wholesale consignment would be our undoing. Quick +successes through luck or good fortune have not the lasting value of +those won by virtue of knowing how--of accomplishing what we started +out to do. + +Faith in one's self does not come from the outside--it must spring up +naturally _from within_. A healthy body and a sane mind are the best +foundations for this. The young man who begins his career with these +facts in mind is given a running start over his competitors. Poverty and +failure are the result of _an ignorance of the value of experience_. +Worry, anxiety, fear of not doing the right thing, lack of insight into +character ... these, too, are the result of a lack of experience. + +Good health is necessary to experience, but a majority neglect to take +care of it. If we are to profit by what we learn we _must have the vim_ +with which to push forward. We must have every ounce of vitality we +possess at command--ready for use. This we conserve for the _big +emergency_ which we know is coming. New experiences are pushing us +forward and previous experiences are helping to move the load. +Experience tells us what to do at this point and that--and at last puts +its shoulder to the wheel and "_over she goes_!" + +Every mind is in possession of an enormous amount of dormant power and +only experience can release it into proper action. We often hear a fond +mother say that her son is full to bursting with the _old nick_, which +means that the youngster is overflowing with _pent-up energy_. With +experience he could find good use for it--but without it this surplus +may turn out to be a dangerous possession. Young men of this type should +be guarded most carefully and advised to "get busy" _early in life_ at +something worth while. Many a bright fellow brimming with excess power +has gone as a lamb to the slaughter into the maelstrom of vice because +of being held back from _legitimate occupation_. He just had to blow off +steam so he did it in a gin mill rather than a rolling mill. + +This dynamo called the mind can be trained to do anything. Not only can +it be guided at the start but it can be guided by all that follows. It +can be used for building additional dynamos to be called into action in +times of need. This statement may seem at first far-fetched. If we think +so it is proof that we have not _profited by our experiences_ and should +get down to "stock taking" before it is too late. + +The practical man, after all, is only _one who takes advantage of +opportunities_. He could double and triple his power if he only realized +how superficial the average setback really is. The young man has just as +much chance of being considered practical as the so-called older one, +always provided that he has a store of experiences to profit by. The +first _big experience_ of life usually makes or breaks us. For this +experience we need to be prepared. We must have a _strong heart_ that we +may bear defeat nobly from this is not to be our last kick--our last +breath--_not by a jugful_! + +We are going to start all over again after our setback and we are not +going to wait any longer than it takes to bury the dead. This will be +done decently and in good order--our training will admit of no +indecorum. If the smash was a bad one we will assume the liability, +nevertheless, and get back on the job. We are out to win and +_eventually we will win_. + +And that is what we mean by taking profit from experience. _The powers +that break down are also the powers that build up._ The electrician who +handles the motor could just as well end his own existence by that +mysterious current as he could make use of it for the good of humanity. +He spends years of conscientious study and masters the knowledge of it +so that its uses are as simple as his A B C's. There is no doubt in the +world but that he had to learn by experience. He had to go into the shop +and _climb up from the bottom_. There was no other way by which he could +come to know how to turn a deadly force into a well-trained necessity. + +Yet the average man goes into life with as little knowledge of its +forces as the baby who puts its foot upon the third rail. That fact +keeps the thoughtless man down until experience comes to the rescue. +When it does come, _if he has the sand, the common sense, the will to +do_, there is naught to hold him away from his goal. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +ENERGY, SUCCESS AND LAUGHTER + + +There are many essentials to success, but there is one that is of such +importance that without it all the others become as naught. The man who +wins success is invariably impelled to do the great work allotted him by +_something within_ that tells him _he can_. He may not know exactly what +it is, but he knows he possesses it and is able to _act on that faith_, +accomplishing things which seem utterly impossible to other people. This +_inner determination_, once firmly implanted in one's nature, cannot be +destroyed or conquered. And this element is _energy_--energy of mind, +which rules the body. But where does this come from? How do the great +minds generate this glorious means of self-propulsion? The answer is +that _in a healthy body it is inherent_ from birth, and proper care of +the body therefore accentuates within their minds the will to do. + +If the preceding chapters have been carefully read we may readily +believe that the successful youth must start with a wholesome, generous +viewpoint, a good constitution, and a clean mind. We have had an inkling +by this time of what one must do to achieve success in a world where +competition is keen. We are beginning to realize that these matters are +of vital importance and that we are face to face with a problem. + +Energy is the natural outpouring of a healthy body. It must be directed, +it must be controlled, the same as any other living force. Not only is +it a positive necessity to the winner, but it must grow and become _a +natural quality_. It does not stand after years of abuse. It does not +spring up in the night after a long season of neglect and ill-health. +All of us possess it in varying ways. That fact ought to convince us +that we can get hold of ourselves and build up that which nature has +given us, rather than allow it to die away. We all have a certain amount +of energy ... _why shouldn't we all be successes_? We might to a +certain extent, but that doesn't mean that we shall all get rich in the +money sense of the world. + +When we say: "Why shouldn't we all be successes?" we do not mean that +everybody in the world must be greedy for money, nor for power and +position. It does not mean that we should be selfish and eager to take +everything away from the other fellow. On the contrary, it means that, +with energy, we shall be successful _according to our brain tendency_. + +Going back to our second chapter we find the phrase "taking stock" of +ourselves. Done rightly that alone will inspire success. Now if we are a +little farther along on the way towards sane living and the _ability to +laugh_ and we know that after this struggle is over the battle is won we +must use the powers that self-analysis gives us--_to fight_. The mere +recognition of them is power and we must not let them go to waste. + +Energy is like steam--it cannot be generated under the boiling point. In +other words, _half-heartedness_ never produced it nor made it a +practical working tool. We must be energetic in order to augment +energy. We must have confidence along with it ... the more the merrier. +The greater the confidence in ourselves the greater the energy which +brought it about. Some minds naturally feel confident. These are the +lucky ones, the slender few who have grasped life's meaning at the start +by "_taking stock_" before they were threatened with defeat. Success +comes to them as easily as rolling off the proverbial log. They come +sweeping along, conquering, sure of themselves, confident, aspiring, +true to their inner selves, ready for work, unafraid of experiences, and +_sure of a smile when the clouds are darkest_. + +This does not mean that these successes have exceptional ability. If +that were the case we would not waste time either in reading or writing +about the matter. If we didn't feel that we were potentially able to +become successes and possessed the elements of victory in our present +make-up not another moment would be spent on the subject. The very +simplicity of this use of energy proves to us that it is a quality +bubbling forth _in the least of us_ and the strongest. It only needs to +be put to work and it becomes self-strengthening. _Living in the open +air, sleeping out of doors, taking the proper exercise, looking +wholesomely upon life, believing in ourselves_, are all parts of the +sane existence which leads to success and laughter. + +We ought to feel that everything in life possesses elements akin to +human feeling. We should not arrogate to ourselves the sole right to +rule and reason. And what has this to do with energy? It is only one of +the many vistas that open to us when we learn how to laugh and live. And +man alive! _If we never learn to laugh we will never learn to live._ + +We must not forget that there can be more than one use made of energy. +In the same way that electricity might be misused so might energy be +placed in the wrong service. We must not waste any time, therefore, in +getting this energy of ours worked into _enthusiasm_ ... enthusiasm for +our life work, for our fellow man, _for the zest of life_. We must +throw ourselves into the battle and carry the standard. We must leap to +the front, not waiting for the other fellow to show the way. Spend your +enthusiasm freely and be surprised at how it thrives on usage. + +Enthusiasm being produced by energy must of a necessity depend largely +upon that. Now the point is, how shall we guard and keep fresh this +element in ourselves? We know that the body is producing this quality. +Like the steam engine we are keeping the fires going by exercise, +wholesome thinking and sincerity of purpose. We are the engineers. Our +hand is on the throttle. Sharp turns lie ahead but our eyes look forward +fearlessly. We glance about us to see that we are in the pink of +condition. We know that our mind is functioning properly and that the +awakened confidence is already inherent in our natures and stands beside +us night and day like the officer upon the bridge of the ship. _Indeed +we are on our way!_ + +[Illustration: _A Little Spin Among the Saplings_] + +Out of energy and enthusiasm comes something else that must not be +neglected ... in fact it must be cultivated and guarded from the very +beginning ... _laughter_. The mere possession of energy and enthusiasm +makes us feel like laughing. We want to leap and jump and dance and +sing. If we feel like that don't let us be afraid to do it. _Get out in +the air and run like a school boy. Jump ditches, vault fences, swing the +arms!_ Never fail to get next to nature when responsive to the call. +Indeed we may woo this call from within ourselves until it comes to be +second nature. And when we rise in the morning let us be determined that +we will start the day with a hearty laugh anyhow. Laugh because you are +alive, laugh with everything. _Let yourself go._ That is the secret--the +ability to let one's self go! + +If we follow this religiously we will be surprised how successful the +day will be. Everything gives way before it. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +BUILDING UP A PERSONALITY + + +More and more personality is coming into its own as man's greatest +asset. There was never a day when it was not, but in former years this +essential quality was not listed under the name ... _personality_. Had +we lived in the days of our fathers' youth we would have heard about +"remarkable men," "men of big caliber," "large character," "splendid +presence," and the like. But it remained for our day and generation to +discover the real word--_personality_--meaning the _most perfect +combination possible of man's highest attributes_. At least that would +be the definition in its fullest sense. + +Of course everyone has a certain personality and, no matter in what +degree, its possession is valuable. Personality is an acorn, so to +speak, which may be cultivated into a sturdy oak. Personality is one's +_inner self outwardly expressed_. It represents the conquest of our +weaknesses and naturally impresses our strength of character upon +others. + +With personality our foundation is firm. On this pedestal we may stand +squarely and face life with equanimity. For such there is no end to +achievement while good health and youthful spirit remain. + +It is impossible to come into the presence of a personality without +becoming immediately aware of it. It is reflected by people of _small +stature ... poor physiques ... homely visages_, as well as men of the +highest physical development. The great Napoleon was just above five +feet while Lincoln towered over the six-foot line. Men of personality +are the last to say die. Their store of _combativeness_ carries them +beyond their real span of existence either in years or achievement. +Thus, the mind shows its mastery over matter. Alexander Pope was still +writing while propped upon the pillows of his death bed. Mark Twain +joked with friends when he knew his hour was at hand. + +_Personality is magnetic._ It can charm the friend or put fear into the +heart of the enemy. Joan of Arc, a frail woman, won battles at the head +of her troops. History is filled with incidents where men of personality +have turned defeat into victory by leading their soldiers back into the +fray. + +Wholesome personality is the fulfillment of +self-development--physically, mentally and spiritually. But all +personality is not wholesome for it often shows in the face of the man +_who is a rogue at heart_. Therefore, all personality is not for the +good of the world. It is only of the wholesome kind that we speak. To +such as possess it the goal is divine. Personality could never be +perfected without living a _life of preparedness_ backed up by our most +earnest and honest convictions. Personality is made up of many qualities +and differs in man only as man is different from his brother man. +Perfect personality requires constant care in its development and +constant guard for its safety. It cannot be purchased in the open +market. It must be built upon piece by piece and everything we are +becomes a part of it. + +Personality would be indeed imperfect if it did not give us _full +poise_. If we neglect our physical poise we pull down our mental poise, +likewise our spiritual poise. That is why personality must be kept +constantly protected against encroachment; but this can be so fixed by +purpose, plan, and power of will that it becomes automatically +safeguarded. Once in possession we have only to make it part of our +natural selves and _wear it unconsciously_ to the last breath of life. + +Then the question is, why should we allow ourselves to be satisfied with +an imperfect personality? It only reflects back upon ourselves. Haven't +we often heard a man say: "_He is all right but_...!" Perhaps the +personality in question was untidy, or that his walk was that of a +laggard, or that he affected an egotistical air of +superiority--whatever the impairment it should have been done away with. + +A man of personality should never be haunted with worry from the sneers +of his inferiors because of their own laxity. Some men perfect their +manner of speech to a degree which takes it above that of their weaker +fellows, others develop fine qualities which are viewed by ordinary +individuals as affectations but which are in reality the result of +_innate refinement_. + +The man of no refinement has indeed an uphill fight but with persistence +and ambition to succeed he can win. Lincoln, the rail splitter, is the +most shining example of _the power to will victory_. For him to have +fallen by the wayside would have caused no comment for it would have +been expected in those early days of struggle, but to those who have the +benefit of inherited tendencies toward personality, to fail in its +development is in the nature of a crime. + +Personality does not mean over-refinement. _Sturdy qualities_ are the +necessary ones. Over-refinement leads to the softer life and ofttimes to +degeneracy. Exalted ego is an indication of degeneracy and may have +been inherited. Of those things we inherit that are good we must hold, +and everlastingly must we watch those which are bad. It is never wise to +wander far away from basic principles into preachment. What we need is +guidance along the road to the goal of personality. First of all we need +_health_ and second, _the will to do_. Next, we must use these weapons +in the right direction, for personality is at its zenith when backed up +by _strong physique and brain power_. + +From previous chapters we have learned that success of any kind is +predicated upon keeping ourselves in trim, and in good humor. Keeping in +trim is no trick at all. We can make it a part of every physical action +and as keeping in trim means perfection of body and soundness of mind we +should never neglect to utilize any effort that will help us toward +bodily efficiency. _There is exercise in stooping over to pick up a pin +if we will go about it the right way. We can correct an ill-formed body +by adopting and maintaining a certain carriage. We may hold our chin in +such a way as to provide against stooped shoulders._ + +We have opportunities both morning and evening to indulge in various +forms of light, systematic exercises which will push forward the day's +work with zest and vim. + +Poise has everything to do with personality, therefore the physical +structure must come in for its share of proper attention. No man of +refined personality would walk the streets with a soiled face or +uncombed hair. Such things do not give poise. They are the evidences of +a laggard spirit. The more we exercise the more energetic we become, the +surer we are of ourselves, the farther we get in the development of our +personality. + +[Illustration: _Over the Hills and Far Away--Father and Son_] + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +HONESTY, THE CHARACTER BUILDER + + +Just as the straight line is the shortest distance between two points so +is honesty the only proper attitude of one person toward another. +Without it there is no understanding possible. It must always remain +supreme as a quality without which character becomes a sham, a +superficial thing that has no basis in fact. _The ability to look the +other fellow in the eye_ is as necessary to character as the foundation +is to a house. It comes out of that "_great within_" which we are now +exploring. It arises from the courageous facing of our weaknesses and +becomes a part of the man _who knows himself and laughs with life_, at +the mere joy of living, doing, accomplishing ... winning against all +odds. + +Honesty accompanies a proper self-esteem and its cultivation should +become a part of our earliest education. It doesn't grow anywhere +except within ourselves and will never be handed to us on a silver +platter. If we fail to find it when we are young it will have small +chance of obtaining a grip on us later. _It is the one quality with +which to crown our highest attributes._ It is final proof that we are +capable of just thought and square dealing, and is proof positive that +we are part and parcel of the wholesome spirit which rules the universe. +Its possession is greater than riches for its dividend is happiness and +contentment and we cannot go wrong if we so live that we can look any +man in the eye and _tell him the truth_. + +To live in the full sense means to be alert. Whatever high moral plane +we shall achieve must be held against all temptation. There is no +compromise. _Self-deceit_ is nothing less than _self-stultification_. We +only fool ourselves and soon find ourselves slipping down hill. It will +be hard climbing getting back. And what of the wear and tear on our +ambitions meanwhile! + +Honesty does not grow naturally out of a dull, uninspired life. It goes +with the energetic, the forceful. The dull soul who is content to plod +along year after year in the same rut may be honest, and this one +redeeming feature may be of such inestimable value to him that it +sweetens and softens his entire days. It will bring him friends ... +true-blue friends, who will excuse all other shortcomings _because of +his honesty_. It gives him the unadulterated trust of his employer and +it arouses a certain admiration among his narrow circle of +acquaintances. If this is true with the dullard, the weakling, then what +must it mean _when possessed by the great_? We know, for instance, how +the nation instinctively turned to General Washington when it came to +choosing their President after the Revolutionary War. He may have been +gifted, he may have been one of the world's greatest captains, but the +one quality which endeared him to his countrymen was a tremendous moral +superiority. "_He never told a lie_" rang around the world. Summed up, +his virtues amounted to those five words. Some statesmen may have been +more astute but Washington was honest--"_he never told a lie_." The +people knew they could trust this man so they elected him to fill the +highest place within their gift. + +Honesty with ourselves is the first thing to remember. Unless we are, it +will be impossible for us to enter into that spiritual contentment +enjoyed by those who _are_ honest with themselves. If we are untrue to +ourselves how can we be true to others? The framework of a man's moral +being must be that of honesty. It must become his very nature and become +automatic in its processes. It belongs to the healthy, those who keep +themselves well through _vigorous exercise and temperate living_. It is +not a quality set aside for the lucky few. Every man, woman and child +possesses it in some degree and only its constant neglect trims it to a +minimum. It is one of those fundamentals of life, one of those powerful +and moving forces that rule society. _We are either honest or we are +not._ We cannot be _nearly honest_ and get away with it. + +When one stops to consider honesty, even for a moment, its full +importance is realized. For example, imagine having a dishonest friend. +Could we go to him with the secrets of our heart? Could we trust him? +Would we trust anyone who might turn traitor? Again: suppose we were +untrue to ourselves, and the fact became known. Could we blame others if +they passed us up as a companion? Never in a thousand years. _We must +sleep in the beds we prepare for ourselves._ + +Men have grown accustomed through the years to certain standards. These +are now the moral laws which control and guide the destinies of entire +races, whole generations. There must have been a good reason for these +laws or they could never have come into being. Society does not adopt +many unnecessary rules, but among the vital laws _honesty stands out in +bold relief_. It has become deeply imbedded in the minds of mankind that +everyone must be true to himself. It is taken for granted that those who +are not would naturally be _false to everybody_. + +The reason for this lies in the fact that society will not proceed with +any course of action without being able to trust its members. The +general in charge of an army would have a hard time of it if he were +unable to place faith in the subordinate to whom he gave instructions +that might lead to a crisis in the battle. Society would dash itself +upon the rocks were it not conscious that certain people are +courageously honest, _and in these it finds its leaders_. + +To rise in life means that our fellow man believes in us and wishes us +to do so. Without his co-operation it would be futile to arouse our own +ambitions. We could not hope to win a victory all alone and against the +great majority who believe in certain standards and conditions. We might +fool ourselves into thinking that because of some stroke of fortune we +had established an immunity for ourselves. But some day _our +consciences_ would tell us how feebly we had succeeded. + +There is only one method, only one way ... rise through honesty and an +optimistic belief in self. And let us not plume ourselves because of +our virtue. _Personal honesty is our due to ourselves and our fellow +man._ + +One of the distinctive elements in the honest man's make-up is that of +laughter. The ones who live up to their ideals, do not feel that life is +such a dark place, after all. It may mean hard work, little play and +often delayed rewards but the fact that there is a world, and that it is +filled with other honest souls is reward enough to give us courage to +laugh as we go along. _We can always afford to laugh--when we're +honest_. + +The man who is innately honest has no reason to fear the snares of +fortune. He knows that he can win the trust of men; he knows that he +already has it. He has no dread of looking into the other fellow's eye. +He knows where he stands in life. He has won that which he has through +struggle, and he does not intend to lose it. He does not intend to fail. +_He cannot fail--he cannot lose._ No matter how things might go at this +moment or that the next will find him on the rising tide of new +opportunities---new chances. His reputation travels before him like the +advance agent. His coming is heralded and he is welcomed into any +community. + +It isn't as though there were only a few honest men. This welcome, this +"glad hand," is always extended by society to the honest man as a token +of approval. The world's work is a tremendous matter. There is always +room for another worker to handle some part of it. And only the true, +the sincere, are capable of doing this in the proper way. The leaders of +society in the broader sense are those _who win the faith of the average +man_. We look up to Lincoln because we know that he was the one man in a +million to accomplish the greatest task ever set before a human being. +We realize that he was honest--_honest in the huge sense_ so necessary +to the accomplishment of big ideals. And we know that in order to win +some part of that great trust we must obey the standards of honesty and +decency that lie below the surface and only need to be called to life +and action in order to be used. + +And laughter will arouse that sense as quickly as anything else. The man +who is capable of laughing heartily is not apt to be the one who +carries some _conscience-stricken thought around with him_. It is the +easiest thing in the world to detect an untrue laugh. The real laugh +springs out of the depths of being and comes with a ringing sense of +security and _faith in one's self_. It goes with the workman in the +early morning when he swings along the road to the factory. It +accompanies the soldier into battle. It arouses the clerk from lethargy. +It brightens the sick room. It raises us all to unexplored heights, and +as evidence of our state of mind it can only mean one thing--honesty and +sincerity. No character can exist without this outward exhibition of an +inward honesty. _The mere cultivation of laughter would eventually lead +to honesty._ The fact that you are laughing, enjoying life, awakens you +to a spirit of security and a feeling of the joy of living. Gloomy men +are the ones whose tendency is toward crime and trouble. Laughing men +are the ones who stir the world with new desires and make life worth +living. Therefore we say--_laugh and live_! + +[Illustration: _A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers"_] + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +CLEANLINESS OF BODY AND MIND + + +If we interview many of life's failures we will find that the +overwhelming majority went down because of their neglect to get out of +an environment that was not stimulating and because their ambitions had +grown rusty and inefficient to cope with depressing circumstances. The +prisons and other institutions are filled with people who did not make +any attempt to get away from the vicious surroundings in which they +lived. They were like tadpoles that had never grown to frogs ... they +just kept swimming around in their muddy puddles and, not having grown +legs with which they could leap out onto the banks and away to other +climes, they continued to swim in monotonous circles until they died. In +other words, the failure is a man who dwells in muddy atmosphere all his +days, who is content to remain a tadpole and who never attempts to take +advantage of any opportunity. He becomes unclean, so to speak. And that +is what we mean by this chapter heading "_Cleanliness of Body and +Mind_." It was not intended to point out the proper way to keep our +faces and hands clean, or as a sermon, but rather to show ourselves that +_the clean body begets the clean mind_, the two together constituting +compelling tendencies toward _the clean spirit_. A move in the direction +of these takes us out of the rut of life. + +No matter what cause we dig up with which to explain our success in life +we cannot neglect this most important one--_the careful selection of our +acquaintances_. And this doesn't mean that one must be a snob. Far from +it. It only means that the successful man, the man who wishes to rise in +life, should not spend his days in the company of _illiterate +companions_ who do not possess _ambition of heart or the will to do the +work of the world_. It means that life is too short to hang around the +loafing places with the driftwood of humanity listening to their stories +of failure and drinking in with liquor some of their bitterness against +those who have toiled and won the fruits of their toil. It means that we +will not go out of our way to seek the friendship of men and women who +are simply endeavoring to gain happiness in life without paying for it. +It means that we will do all in our power to win friends who _aspire +nobly_ and by so doing inspire those with whom they come in contact. +Such men are naturally clean of mind and body. + +We must remember always to live in a world of clear thought that will +_stimulate our ambitions_. Dwelling in the dark corners of life and +traveling with the débris of humanity will not arouse us to action and +give us that swinging vigor of heart and mind so necessary to the +accomplishment of great things. While we will ever lend the helping hand +to those who need it we will naturally associate with those who have vim +and courage. We will not be _dragged down by our associates_. Until we +meet the right kind we will hold aloof, and we will not be morose and +gloomy because it happens that at this moment our acquaintanceship does +not include these successes. When we have succeeded in doing something +big they will come to us and _if we think big things we are likely to do +them_. It is all a matter of the will to do. + +"Nothing succeeds like success," said some very wise man and if there +ever was a phrase that rang with truth this does. It means that the +_thought of success_, the courage that _comes with success_, leads to +_more and more success_. It means that the thinker of these thoughts is +living in a clean, wholesome atmosphere along with those who are +determined and in earnest. It means that they have caught the fervor of +true life ... a healthy, contagious fervor which permeates the blood +swiftly once it gets a hold, and like electricity it vivifies and stirs +the spirit with renewed energy _day after day, year after year_. Once it +wins us it will stick with us. The success of those about us will shake +our lethargic limbs and stimulate us to a desire to do as they do. We +will be in a world of clean thought and action and our lives will mirror +their lives, our thoughts will be filled with wholesome things and with +good health. We will win in spite of all obstacles. + +Cleanliness is _the morale of the body and the mind_. The man who is +careful of his linen and who does not neglect his morning plunge is not +apt to be gloomy and morose. We notice him in the car or on the street +in the morning. He comes striding along, fresh and full of _the zest of +living_. His mind is clear and unclouded. His eyes are full of that +vigorous light of conscientious desire to win and do so honestly. He has +none of the hypocritical elements in his nature strong enough to rule +him. There may be and probably are many weaknesses in his character. His +very strength consists in his ability to _crush them and make them his +slaves_. + +The man who has taken his morning plunge and dressed himself agreeable +to comfort and grace, has his battles of the day won in advance. He +knows the value of keeping himself in trim. He does it for the sake of +_his own_ feelings. Our approval of his appearance goes without saying. +If a man thinks well of himself in matters of appearance his general +deportment is likely to coincide. Such men never overdo. They are at +ease with themselves and thus impart ease to others who come in contact +with them. They have, in other words, a distinction of their own and +_their distinction is their power_. They know that the highest moral law +of nature is that of cleanliness, that filthiness should not be allowed +to dominate any man's ethics or physical condition. They rule such +things out of their lives. + +A vast magnetic force comes out of those friends of ours who are _doing +things_ and making the world _sit up and take notice_. The mere fact +that we live near to them, know them and associate with them is +proof-positive that we, too, shall go through life with clean minds and +bodies. They would not tolerate us if we were to slip into shoddy ways. +Nothing is revealed quicker to our intimates than _the losing of +ambition_ ... the slipping into careless habits. We cannot conceal it +from them. We fool only those who brush by. The loss of this +self-respect has a terrible effect upon the system and every tendency +toward success is thereby stunted and weakened. _We have fallen into +unclean ways!_ It will not be long before we sink to the bottom or else +remain among the vast crowd who have neither the courage to fall nor the +courage to rise. + +Nothing produces failure quicker than filthiness of mind and body. Those +who are successful keep away from the very thought of such a condition. +They live as much as possible _in the open_. They take morning and +evening exercises. They read good books, attend good plays and are +continually in touch with the finer developments of thought and art in +the world. Their faces are open and full of sunlight. They are +determined that life will not beat them in a game that only requires +sureness of aim and the ability to take advantage of the thousand and +one opportunities that surround them on every side. + +Cleanliness stands _paramount_ in its importance to _success_. Perhaps +no other one thing has so vital a hold upon the individual who succeeds. +The general of an army first looks to the _morale_ of his troops. He +knows that with clean minds and bodies his soldiers are capable of doing +big things. The battleship, that efficient and highly-developed +instrument of war, is so immaculate that one could eat his meals on its +very decks. Its officers are wholesome, athletic fellows; its crew +consists of hardy men who live sanely and vigorously and who have plenty +to occupy their minds. And if cleanliness is fundamental in their case +why not in our own? + +When we come to analyze ourselves we find that we are like a great +institution of some kind. Here is the brain, the heart, the lungs, the +stomach, the nerves and the muscles. Each department acts separately and +yet is connected absolutely with all the others. The entire system is +under one supreme department ... _the mind_. Now if this ruling +department is kept clean and full, of kindly, beautiful thoughts does it +not seem natural that the rest will follow its lead being so completely +in its power? We realize this and the mere realization is something done +towards the accomplishment of an ideal life in a world of cleanliness +and beauty. + +System is one of the finest tools in existence with which to build one's +life into something worth while. The _body_ must be run on a system as +well as the _mind_. The stomach must not be overloaded with unnecessary +food. The lungs must not be filled with impure air. The nerves must not +be worn threadbare in riotous and ridiculous living. The muscles must be +kept in trim with consistent exercise of the proper sort. We must +recognize the wants, the needs of the physical system and see that they +are supplied. + +Roosevelt, perhaps more than any other living man today, has given +vitality to the supreme necessity of _cleanliness of mind and body_. He +has, by reason of his great prominence, been able to emphasize these two +vital essentials. He called a spade a spade and his message went far. +From those who knew the value of his words came nods of +approval--_others took heed_. From boyhood he has systematized his life, +taking the exercise needed, filling his mind with the learning of the +world, winning when others would have failed, profiting by experience +allotted to him through fate's kindly offices and association with the +_healthy, true men_. What has been the result? He has risen to the very +pinnacle of human endeavor ... _no honors await him_. He has lived +consistently and cleanly and he can look any man in the eye and say +honestly: "_I have lived as I have believed._" + +It is not necessary to become President in order to live sanely, to gain +from circumstances the fruits that are ours for the asking and which +have fallen into Roosevelt's hands with such profusion. We cannot all +become Presidents but we can all _emulate a shining example of mental +and bodily morale_. + +Just as we plunge into the cold water in the early morning so should we +regularly during the day plunge into the society of those whose splendid +enthusiasm is helping to make the world a better place to live in. They +are the kind who go into the struggle with heads high and with clean +hearts. Their eyes see beyond the daily toil of life. They are in touch +with the big things and it is up to us to keep step with them. They want +us and they will give us the "glad hand." All they want to know is +whether our courage is equal to our ambitions and whether our _house of +life is kept in good order_. And so we journey along together in all +good nature, not forgetting to laugh as we live. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +CONSIDERATION FOR OTHERS + + +Consideration for others is man's noblest attitude toward his fellow +man. For every seed of human kindness he plants, _a flower blooms in the +garden of his own heart_. In him who gives in such a way there is no +hypocritical feeling of charity bestowed. His very act disarms the +thought. It is as natural for an honorable man to show consideration to +others as it is for him to eat and sleep. Acts of kindness are the +_outward manifestations of gentle breeding_--a refinement of character +in the highest sense of the word. + +What would we do in this world without the helping hand, the friendly +word of cheer, the thought that others shared our losses and cheered our +victories? If consideration for our feelings and thoughts did not exist +on this earth we would never know the depths of the love of our friends. +There would be no such thing as an earthly reward of merit. We know that +no matter what happens to us in the battle of life there will be someone +to cheer us on our way. We may be strong and thoroughly able to rely +upon ourselves but there comes a time when we need friendship and +sympathy. Society would crumble into dust without these influences. The +family circle would degenerate into a hollow mockery if consideration +each for the other was absent. It sweetens and makes wholesome what +otherwise might only be an existence of monotonous toil. + +Consideration for others is _the milk of human kindness_. For what we do +for others our recompense is _in the act itself_ ... we should claim no +other reward. Observation brings to view that they who give in real +charity _cloak their acts from the eyes of all save the recipient_. +Givers of this type rise to the supreme heights of greatness. It is a +part of their wisdom to know what is best to be done and they go about +it as a pleasure as well as a duty. + +Consideration for others pays big dividends. It is a virtue that makes +for strong friendships and true affections. Those who possess it have a +hard time hiding their light under a bushel. In teaching fortitude to +others they partake of the same knowledge. In the hours of their own +affliction they retain their courage and keep their minds unsoured. They +are the _sure-enough "good fellows" of life_ and their presence is the +signal for instantaneous good cheer. We all know them by their gentle +knock at the door. In a thousand ways they impress themselves upon our +lives, have entered into our councils, have given us the right advice at +the right time--and when the sad day comes along _their strong shoulders +are there for us to lean upon_. + +Consideration for others is apt to be an inherent quality, but like +everything else it can be accentuated or modified according to our own +determination. It is a growth that should be inculcated _early in the +lives of children_--the earlier the better. A child's most +impressionable age is said to be between its fourth and fifth years. +Then is the time to teach it the little niceties of life--the closing of +a door softly--tip-toeing quietly that mother may not be awakened from +her nap--tidiness--cleanliness--good morals--all of which are to become +vital factors in a life of consideration for others. + +A great many of us have the desire to be of service to others but +_timidity_ holds us back. Say, for instance, one might see a person in +great distress and because of diffidence withhold the proffered +hand--someone we've known who comes to the point of penury but has _too +much pride_ to ask assistance--we pass by fearful that we might offend. +How many times has this happened to us? Who knows but the best friend we +have at this very moment would give anything in the world if his pride +would let him bridge that distance between us. + +[Illustration: _A Scene from "The Americano"--Matching Wits for Gold_] + +Nevertheless the desire to do the right thing was in itself helpful. The +thought of doing something for someone was a correct impulse and +should have been carried into action. Early in life we should have +started our foundation for doing things in the cause of others. Putting +off the time when we shall begin to obey our higher impulses toward +helpfulness to our fellows is but a reaction in our own characters which +_dulls determination_. We want to do but we don't. As time goes on we +just _don't_--that's all. Our good intentions have gone to pave the +bottomless pits containing our unfulfilled heart promptings. We meant +well--_but we failed to act_--we didn't have the courage. Our failures +spread a gloom before us. _We lost our chances for a happy life!_ + +The man with the ability to laugh has little diffidence about these +matters. Having confidence in himself and being happy and alert he goes +to the friend in need with courage and the kind of help that helps. If +he doesn't do it directly he finds a way to reach him through mutual +friends. He does not go about _parading_ his kindness, either. He has +gained a sincere and beautiful pleasure out of aiding an old friend and +he can go on his way rejoicing that life is worth living when he has +lived up to its higher ideals. + +Consideration for others does not necessarily involve only the big +things. It is the sum and total of numberless acts and thoughts that +make for friendships and kindliness. People who are thoughtful surely +brighten the world. They are ever ready to do some little thing at the +correct moment and after a time we begin to realize how much their +presence means to us. We may not notice them the first time, or the +third, or the fifth, but after a while we become conscious of their +persistence and we esteem them accordingly. Such men are the products of +_clean, straightforward lives._ They are never too busy to exchange a +pleasant word. They do not flame into anger on a pretext. Their code of +existence is well ordered and filled to the brim with lots to do and +lots to think about. The old saying: "_If you want anything go to a busy +man_," applies to them in this regard. The busier men are the more time +they seem to have for _kindliness_. + +Another word for consideration is service. Nothing brings a greater +self-reward than a service done in an hour of need, or a favor granted +during a day's grind. The generous man who climbs to the top of the +ladder helps many others on their way. The more he does for someone else +the more he does for _himself_. The stronger he becomes--the greater his +influence in his community. Doing things for others may not bring in +_bankable dividends_ but it does bring in _happiness_. Such actions +scorn a higher reward. We have only to try out the plan to learn the +truth for ourselves. A good place to begin is _at home_. Then, _the +office_, or wherever life leads us. And in doing these things we will +laugh as we go along--we will laugh and get the most out of living. + +Our little day-by-day kindnesses when added together constitute in time +a huge asset on the right side of our ledger of life. We should start +the day with something that helps another get through his day ... even +if it isn't any more than a smile and a wave of the hand. And he will +remember us for it. + +It is said that advice is cheap and for that reason is given freely. +But the proper kind of advice is about as rare as the proverbial hen's +tooth. In order to give real advice we must understand the man who asks +for it. If what we say to him is to become of value we must see to it +that his mind is put in proper shape to receive advice. Be sure that he +laughs, or smiles at least, before we seriously take up his case. And +when we have done our stunt in the way of advice let's send him away +with a fine good humor. A friendly pat on the back as he goes out our +doorway may mean a bracer to his determination. "_You'll put it over_," +we shout after him--and thus we have been of real help. He needed +sympathy and courage. He needed a cheerful spirit--so came to us and we +didn't let him go away until we gave him all these. Bully for us! + +Consideration for others does not admit of ostentation and hypocrisy. We +never allow our left hand to know what our right hand does in charity, +nor do we _boast of our helpful attitude toward our fellow men_. It is +well to make a point of this fact--in this world are many +"_ne'er-do-wells"_ who fail to profit by advice and thereby become +professional in the seeking of favors. Consideration owes them nothing +and to withstand their persistent appeals would in time _dull our +natural tendencies_ toward helping others. + +The world helps those who help themselves. We have little admiration for +the man who is forever whining. Society has no work for such people as +these. When we have exhausted every means of helping such a man we must +in self-defense pass him up before he contaminates our sense of justice. +_We must keep our visions clear._ + +Consideration for others is a prime refinement of character. To be able +to use it in our daily lives becomes one of our greatest consolations. +Sympathy begets affection and kindly deeds--in a relative sense it binds +together the properties which go to make _the soul within us_. +Browbeating, scolding, irascibility and the like are microbes which +react against the milk of human kindness, to which, if we succumb, +leaves us stranded and alone amid a world of friendliness and good +fellowship. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +KEEPING OURSELVES DEMOCRATIC + + +Big words and pomposity never were designed for the highest types of +men. Our great national figures have almost without exception had one +quality which was a keynote to their ultimate success--this was their +_simplicity_. Next was their _accessibility_. There are numberless +big-hearted and big-brained individuals in the world whose duties are so +manifold that in order to accomplish what has been placed in their hands +they must be saved from interruption, but the truly great individual is +never hidden away entirely from his fellow man. He never becomes such a +slave to detail that he does not find time to fraternize with ordinary +mortals. We do not find him concealed behind impenetrable barriers, +guarded and pampered by courtiers like unto a king on his throne--or +tucked away in some dark office. He wants to know _everybody worth +while_ and everybody worth while is welcomed by him. He doesn't affect +to know so much that he cannot be told something new. He is not the sort +to refuse to see us at any reasonable time. + +We should not confound _greatness_, however, with _notoriety_. A man who +by virtue of large publicity has compelled public notice isn't +necessarily a great man no matter how hard he may strive to make himself +appear so. Especially is this true of the man who does not make a +personal success corresponding to his advertised fame. In time he may +have the "ear-marks" of notability but, as Lincoln said: "_You can't +fool all of the people all of the time._" + +It is to be noted with satisfaction that the big captains of industry +keep themselves free from petty details. "I surrounded myself with +clever men," said Andrew Carnegie in accounting for his success and by +the same token the men who took over his great affairs and gave them +larger scope and power surrounded themselves with still other clever +men, thus reserving their judgment and thought _for the higher policies +of their institutions_. They keep themselves in readiness for +consultation, and having men of _initiative_ and _self-reliance_ +underneath them, they find time to take in hand other affairs than those +of the tremendous businesses they manage. Men of this type often become +prominent in public affairs and develop into highly important citizens. + +The bigger the man, the less he encumbers himself with matters which can +be delegated to others. His desk is clear of all litter and +minutia--_likewise his mind_. Such men keep their physiques and +mentalities in fine working order and are not to be goaded into _ill +temper_. A refinement of mind is supremely essential to the man who +desires to climb to the very top of the ladder. He cannot afford to +close his brain to outside information. He is forced to keep it open in +order to let in continuous currents of new thought. He doesn't want his +visage to "_cream and mantle as a standing pond_" as Shakespeare aptly +puts it--therefore the windows of his thinking department are kept open +for refreshing draughts from the outside. He reasons that always there +are new guests, new faces, new things to talk about at the banquet board +of life. + +[Illustration: _Taking on Local Color_] + +And here is the point--if men who carry on the great industries of the +world find a way to keep themselves democratic surely men of less +importance should be able to do the same? The snob is about as offensive +a person as could be described. He is usually a hypocrite or an +ignoramus--sometimes both. His pomposity is naturally repellent. We +easily become accustomed to dodging such characters. The detriment is +theirs--not ours. They are left by the wayside and sooner or later wake +up to the fact that they stand alone in the world. + +The world loves the man with _an open mind_. This is the usual spirit of +the progressive citizen. _He wants to know_--and by reason of his +accessibility knowledge is brought to him. No one cares to take up the +task of informing the egotist who already knows it all. Such is his +inherent cussedness that we would rather let him warp in the oven of +his own half-baked knowledge. Life is too short to waste our time in +educating him. + +"How can I see Mr. So-and-so?" says one man to another. + +"Don't try," is the answer. "He's not worth seeing. You can't tell _him_ +anything." + +And this sort of a chap misses the big opportunities just because he +chooses to build up a reputation for being exclusive. He digs himself a +hole and crawls into it _and pulls the hole in after him_. We can safely +imagine him treating the members of his family as though they were +servants, and his employees as though they were slaves. He may succeed +in small things but in the big game of life we may write him down as a +failure. + +If we have a big idea we take it to a big man--_the man of vision_. +Anything less is to putter around aimlessly. The bigger he is, the more +democratic. He will not look for imperfections in our personal make-up +when we show him the _new process_ we have discovered. + +To be democratic is a triumph of the soul--tending to bring us in close +touch with the throbbing heart of humanity. There is no isolation for +those of unaffected charm and manner--no barrier in the way of +friendship worth having. It is our lack of judgment if we hide ourselves +so that we cannot be approached. No matter how high we rise, for the +sake of our own brains we must allow _men of ideas_ to get to us. We +must not allow our minds to become stagnant. If we fail to get into +daily contact with other people, we soon grow dull and uninteresting +even to ourselves. Great men may have no time to fritter away but they +have plenty of leisure for men worth while--_the pushers and the +thinkers_. + +A democratic spirit does not come to the selfish man. He is absorbed in +himself and is quite a hopeless case. He is a natural born faultfinder +and grouchy by nature. For him life holds no joy save the one in sight. +Taking the big look at the man of this type we can only be sorry for him +because of his lack of early training. He started off on the wrong foot +and thereafter drifted along. Seldom do we overcome the habits with +which we arrive at man's estate. Those who do are entitled to a right +hand seat among the chosen. + +Being democratic is another phrase for being _human and kind_. It means +that we ought to be able to see behind every face and find the truth of +that individual's existence. It means that life is largely a matter of +how we look at it and being human is one way to get the proper slant at +things. + +The human mind has _great adaptive power_ and can be molded into a +thousand ways of thinking. The intelligent man, the man who has taken +stock of himself, is able to smile and extend a hearty handclasp whether +he feels tip-top or not. He doesn't have to look glum simply because the +world hasn't thrown itself at his feet. He has only to persevere and +success will come eventually. + +We must correct our failings as we go along or we will slip down into +the rut and stay there. It is a simple matter to be good natured and +full of the zest of life if we poise ourselves right--_keep ourselves +democratic_. It is this great soul quality which brings us true friends +and boosts us into the fulfillment of our ambitions. Then we may truly +_laugh and live_. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +SELF-EDUCATION BY GOOD READING + + +The character of a man expresses itself by the books he reads. Every +well-informed man since the invention of printing has been a close +reader of a few books that stand out from among the many. We read of +Lincoln devouring the few books he had, over and over again and studying +from cover to cover and word for word the Webster's dictionary of his +day. We know that Grant had his favorite volumes from which he drew +inspiration and solace. These men made eternal friends of certain great +thinkers and drank in their learning with all the fervor of their +natures. + + "A few good books, digested well, do feed + The mind." + +"Feed the mind!" That's the idea--_but how shall we feed it_? The answer +is easy--with something _worth while_--something that will inform and +inspire. We can cram our minds to the point of indigestion with useless, +frivolous information just as easily as we may cram our stomachs with +certain foods that tear down rather than build up. The habit of reading +the right sort of books should begin early in life and continue +throughout our days. + +Good books are real ... and as we read we feel, hear, see and understand +in the way the author did. If what is said appeals to our way of +thinking _a new world_ is unfolded to our vision filled to the brim with +things we can think about and add to our stock of knowledge. While we +are buried in its leaves we may live over the thoughts that the writer +lived. For the time being he becomes as real and vital to us as the +dearest friend we possess. Gradually, as the time passes by, he creeps +into our affections until our lives would not be complete without the +comradeship of his cherished book. + +Books that become our "pals" are not necessarily books of the so-called +classical type. Little known volumes may prove to have enough thought +stored away between their covers to keep us interested all our days. The +great books will prove their worth in a short time no matter how poor +the binding, how bad the type or how cheap the paper. These things are +after all only the outward manifestations and though we like to see our +friends dressed well yet we know that the clothes do not make character +unless there is character there in the first place. And so it is with +books. These little ungainly volumes which we purchase on the stands may +be the classics of tomorrow ... who knows? + +We select our library carefully. No matter if we live in a tiny hall +bedroom on the top floor of a boarding house we have a shelf somewhere +with a few good books on it. Emerson's "Essays" can be had in one volume +and are well worth having. No other American writer has been so +inspiring, so invigorating as this thinker of Concord. One cannot read +his essays without having a desire to _get up and do_. It is like a +breath of fresh air ... a tonic ... a stiff morning walk. It stirs the +mind to action and inspires us to lift ourselves out of the rut into +which we have fallen. One returns to them time after time, each reading +opening up new vistas of thought, new lines of mental development. + +[Illustration: _A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers"_] + +_As a man's stomach is what he eats, a man's mind is what he reads._ It +goes without saying that no healthy, active mind could exist without the +companionship of Shakespeare. Nowadays it is possible to secure the +entire works of the immortal poet in one volume. There is a special +Oxford University edition which can be had for a small sum. The type is +large, the paper good and there are many notes to help one over the +rocky places. There is no doubt of the truth of the saying that a man +who reads Shakespeare consistently and with understanding needs no other +education. Like the philosopher Emerson he boiled down the world's +thoughts into terse sentences and one goes into a new universe when +reading any of the plays. It is a good thing to learn parts of them by +heart so that we can apply them to our own lives. They strengthen the +mind ... their beauty lifts us into a great realism of splendid thought +... and they fill the heart with a longing to do something great. Such +books should become steady companions through life. No matter where our +duties call us we should see to it that we do not leave behind the +thoughts of this master mind of Shakespeare. The very fact that we have +them near us lifts us out of the monotony of nothing to do. + +Among the books about America for Americans perhaps Roosevelt's "Winning +of the West" is among the best. Not only has he thrown the whole vigor +of his interesting personality into the writing of it, but he has given +us a vivid picture of the conquest of the States by the settlers. No man +could read it without being thrilled at the dangers our forefathers +faced ... at the great courage they possessed ... at their hardihood ... +their bulldog tenacity. The reading of such a book is like going back +over the years and living with them, sharing their troubles and their +enthusiasms. The man who contemplates gathering a small library could +not afford to do without the inspiration of what his countrymen have +done for him. + +In choosing our books we must bear in mind one thing--_let them be +inspiring_. Let them be of such a nature that when we read them we will +feel like going out into the world to accomplish something _big_! + +That is probably the mission of great books--to inspire and uplift. The +world's greatest men have been readers--would they have cared for books +unless they were inspiring? It is said that when Napoleon was being +taken to St. Helena he advised one of the officers never to stop +reading. + +Most of the things worth while are at some time or other stored away in +books by the thinkers. Every phase of history, every movement to better +mankind and lift it above the drudgery of mere toil, every beautiful +thought is to be found in them and the better the book the more will be +found in it of these very things. When we have finished the day's work +we can pull down a volume from the shelf and in a moment be lost in an +entirely different world. The man who neglects to read surely misses the +one best means of broadening his mind. + +All books of the better class furnish food for thought and are excellent +tools for the man of initiative. To read means keeping in touch with the +big visions. We cherish these dreams and make them real in plans of our +own. Aspiration is behind the pages of every worth-while volume. It was +the motive power which drove the author to produce it and it should +become a part of the forces which drive us on to victory. Without such +inspiration we grope as children in the dark. We are without a light to +guide us on our way. + +Books by such men as Marden and Hubbard are great generators of the +electricity of doing things. They have put into words those innermost +emotions which are the instruments of success. They point out a way we +may safely follow. They loan us inspiration which causes us to act for +ourselves. They give us thoughts that are useful and practical which we +never would have gained by virtue of our own reasoning power. They made +it a life work to coin into phrases words that inspire. Out of their +large experience came the logical sequences of cause and effect. Not to +profit by their teachings is a crime against our own prospects--without +them we lag behind. Instead of progressing we look on in wonder at what +is going on in the world. Somehow we cannot connect ourselves with the +big enterprises. And all because we failed to feed our minds properly. + +There is much to be gained both in pleasure and knowledge by reading +historical novels, and the lives of great men. The books of Sir Walter +Scott and James Fenimore Cooper are rated among the best in the world. +Grant's autobiography and the personal stories of other famous Americans +provide fascinating material with which to establish and fortify our +test for good literature. The tales of modern American financiers is +another field of absorbing interest. + +The man with small means can provide himself with a working library for +a very little money. Books are cheap. The public library is always +nearby and there is hardly a town of any size but what has one. When we +purchase a book we should be sure to obtain the best edition and be +careful that it is printed from good type and on clear paper. Books are +likely to become warm friends. We should never purchase an abridged +edition. + +Binding is not such an important factor, although we like to have _our +favorite books_ put up in a handsome fashion. With Shakespeare, Emerson, +Roosevelt, Scott, Cooper, Marden and Hubbard one would have quite a +representative collection for a start. It would be easy to expand the +list into many more. Of course, those collecting a small library who +have a specialty, will want books dealing with the subjects in which +they are interested. However, every practical library includes books of +inspirational character, and if one makes a study of the books written +by great authors it will be found that all of them profited by the +reading of books which caused them to think. _The Bible causes us to +think!--and no library is complete without it._ + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +PHYSICAL AND MENTAL PREPAREDNESS + + +It is not the object of this chapter to deal with a set course of +physical culture, but rather to emphasize the necessity of keeping our +physical house in order. There are plenty of books on physical culture +which can be relied upon and also any number of physical instructors who +are able to advise and help along a set program. There are hundreds of +places, institutions, clubs, Y.M.C.A.'s, and the like, which provide +gymnasiums and every other facility for those who determine to build +themselves up through consistent physical exercise. That is all very +well to begin with, but afterward we must have some simple methods of +our own which will not make it a hardship or a chore to keep ourselves +in trim--_a state of physical preparedness_. It should become a part of +our daily scheme to obey certain, simple rules which tend toward an +_automatic effort_ instead of a discipline, and we should persevere in +these until they become _fixed habits_. + +It is no trouble at all to take exercise unconsciously, and we only +arrive at this by turning into an exercise any of our ordinary physical +actions during the day as we go along. For instance, we can sit down in +a chair and in so doing can add a certain amount of exercise to the +action itself--also in rising. With very little effort we can come into +the habit of sitting correctly--posing the body as it should be--holding +the shoulders in proper position--also the chin so that it becomes a +hardship to sit improperly. + +All of this has to do with _general physique_. In walking we can go +along with a spring, elasticity, and vigor of motion which forces a fine +blood circulation throughout the entire system. We can stoop over in the +act of picking up some object from the floor and at the same time make +it a matter of physical exercise, and we may take a hat from the rack +while standing away from it, thus stretching ourselves, as it were, +into a little needful action. Putting on an overcoat, or any part of our +clothing, may be done in such a way as to set the blood to racing +through the body. Morning and night--upon getting up and upon +retiring--there is every reason to make it a rule to exercise freely. + +The morning exercise wakes us up and sits us down finally at the +breakfast table with a zest for the food set before us. The morning bath +is an agency for good in this direction after we have given ourselves a +good shake-up from head to foot. By the same token, exercises at night +before retiring induces sound sleep and takes away the strain of the +preceding day. + +A very successful system is that of exercising in bed. Instead of +immediately jumping to the floor in the morning it is very inviting to +go through some simple form of gymnastics in which the physical +structure is brought into play. + +Physical exercise is something which can be carried to extremes. We can +go at the work so intensely that we become muscle-bound and develop some +structural enlargements that we do not need. This happens very often +among athletes. The ordinary man should fight shy of such plans. +Superfluous strength is only for those who have need of it. What we +really want is strength enough to carry us through our daily rounds with +comfort and _a feeling of efficiency_. + +In a sense we all live by our wits and these decline when not properly +fed by our general physical organization. Prize fighters are not the +longest lived people, nor are the professional athletes. Their calling +requires extra building up which would be a positive handicap to the +average man whose manner of life doesn't require this super-development. +In other words, there are intemperate methods of exercising just as +there are of eating and drinking. We may easily go too far. Again, we +can sin just as greatly by not going far enough. There was a time when +men of forty were as worn and old as men of sixty-five and seventy are +today. As a matter of fact, nowadays a half-century mark is no longer a +badge of senility when a man has kept himself fit and treated himself +right. + +We all have friends who are pretty well along in years by virtue of +their carefully planned physical training, plus their _cheerful +dispositions_. They are as sprightly and companionable as though they +were many years younger. We should come to know early in life what a +large part _good humor_ plays in _physical fitness_. In previous +chapters hearty laughter was extolled as one of the very best of +exercises. It is an organizer in itself and opens up the heart and lungs +as nothing else will do. It makes the blood go galloping all through the +system. It is one of the best automatic _blood circulators_ in the +business. + +Laughter takes the stress off of the mind, and whatever is ahead of us +for the day that seems likely to become a burden is soon turned into an +ordinary circumstance. We smile as we go about doing it. + +A friend once said to a banker: + +"How do you know when to lend money?" + +The banker replied: + +"I look a man in the eye and then _I do or I don't_." + +The friend said: + +"I would like to borrow ten thousand dollars--now!" + +"You shall have it, Sir," the banker replied. + +This meant that the man who asked for the loan was in a state of +physical and mental preparedness. If he had gone into the banker's +office looking like an animated tombstone he wouldn't have had much of a +chance to borrow the ten thousand. It goes without saying that the +open-faced, hearty fellow inspires confidence. There is nothing coming +to the dried-up, sour chap, and that's what he usually gets. And what we +get is largely a matter of our physical well being. A modern philosopher +observed that "the blues are the product of bad livers"--and there is no +doubt but that he was right. + +The problem of life is to fill our days with sunshine. In so doing we +shall find that the "little graces" are those which will lend us the +most help. Tiny favors extended, words of encouragement, courtesies of +all sorts, unselfish work carried out in an open manner, true +friendships and love, a hearty laugh, a sincere appreciation of the +other fellow's struggle to keep his head above water, the conscientious +carrying out of all tasks assigned us--these are our helpmates and they +are the products of our physical and mental equipment. Through these we +come into our knack of detecting friends among those who are _the salt +of the earth_. + +It is impossible for the person who desires good health to obtain it, or +having it, to retain it, without consistent effort. A watch will not run +without the proper regulation of the mainspring. We must keep up our +activities. We have taken the earth and are turning it into something to +serve us--therefore the need of fine bodily preparedness. Nothing can +take the place of achievement and it comes through physical and mental +efficiency. The one must not be neglected for the other; both must be +cultivated and developed alike in order that each may help the other. + +Happiness comes only to those who take care of themselves. It is the +natural product of _clean-mindedness_. No pleasure can surpass that of a +conscious feeling of our strength of character. It is an all important +element in men who aspire to succeed. The man who rises in the morning +from a healthy slumber and plunges into the bath after some vigorous +exercise is prepared to undertake anything. His world seems fair, and +though the sun may not be shining literally, it is to all intents and +purposes. Thus, we go swinging along with a cheery smile, carrying the +message of hope and joy to all those with whom we come in contact. Oh! +it's fine to be physically and mentally fit! + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +SELF-INDULGENCE AND FAILURE + + +The correct definition of self-indulgence is _failure_--because +self-indulgence is comprised of an aggregation of vices, large and +small, and failure is the logical sequence thereof. Even the habit of +eating may be cultivated into a vice. Indeed, there are those who gorge +without restraint, which in itself is unchaste and immoral. We've often +seen them as, with napkin under foot or tucked under the collar, they +eat their way through mountains of food and wash it down as they reach +for more. + +No use to say how and what we feel when we attend such performances. It +is all right to say "Look the Other Way," _but it can't be done_. It is +human nature to gaze upon horror--sometimes in sympathy, but more often +in amazement. Sometimes a well staged scene of gormandizing viewed from +a seat in the second or third row center of a softly lighted, thick +carpeted food emporium _saves us the price of our own meal_. We no +longer hunger on our own account. Our appetite is appeased by proxy, so +to speak, and we calmly fix our eyes on the "big show" and _sigh for a +baseball bat_. + +No wonder a noted bachelor of medicine declares "People are what they +eat!" The exclamation point is our own. We quite agree with our medical +brother for we have seen people eat until we thought _we_ would never be +hungry again. + +But there is more to self-indulgence than the food specialist has to +answer for, so we will be on our way. For instance, there is _the +spendthrift_; surely he is entitled to a short stanza. We all know him. +He goes on the theory that he has all the spending money in the world, +and that long after he is dead those on whom he spent it will remember +his generosity. Vain hope!--Whatever memory of him remains will be of a +different kind. Those who have been bored by his gratuitous attentions +will take up the threads of their existence where they left off when he +drove them away from their usual haunts. No longer will they have to +dodge down alleys and run up strange stairways in an effort to avoid his +overtures. + +[Illustration: _Douglas Fairbanks in "The Good Bad-Man"_] + +When alive and in full operation he knew more about what was best for us +than we could possibly think of knowing. Left to his own devices he +would have us smoke his particular brands, drink his labels, eat his +selections, wear his kind of a cravat, overcoat, cap, hat, shoes, and +underwear. And to make his proposition sound business like he would +willingly pay the bills! In this little amusement we are supposed to +play the part of receiver and _praise his generosity_. + +Whatever may be our verdict on this chap we must keep in mind that his +inordinate desire to waste his substance was no less than a vice if for +no other reason than its example upon others; it is just as bad to be _a +"receiver"_ as it is to be _a spendthrift_. If we cannot build up a +reputation for generosity without becoming ostentatious we might better +take lessons in refinement from someone "to the manor born." + +There is no desire to single out and set down by name and number every +sort of self-indulgence. _Excesses of any kind are indulgences_, and it +is easy to fall into them if we have not built up our stamina to resist. + +Our failures are usually traceable to ourselves. No matter what excuses +may be offered in our behalf we know in our own minds that we are to +blame. Somewhere along the line of our endeavors we faltered--_then we +fell_. Our conservatism reinforced by our strength of character finally +gave way at a given point and put the whole plant out of business. Our +system of inspection had become cursory instead of painstaking. +Everything had been running along so smoothly we forgot that everything +_must_ wear out in time if it isn't looked after properly. + +A previous chapter entitled, "Taking Stock of Ourselves," has a specific +bearing upon the subject in hand. It emphasizes the necessity of taking +stock of ourselves early in life in order that we may know our weak +spots and take immediate steps to dig them out by the roots and replace +them with "_hardy perennials_" which thrive on and on unto the last day. + +And that reminds us that it is well to take stock of ourselves every +little while. Even "hardy perennials" have to be looked after--the +ground kept fertile and watered against the draughts of forgetfulness +and neglect. And so it must be with our mental and physical processes in +order that each day of our lives we may go forth with renewed +forcefulness--with every atom of character in full working order. + +Having started off on the right foot, we are less likely to have trouble +with our higher resolves during the lean and hungry years of our youth +when we go plunging headlong toward the goal of our ambitions. Usually +it is not until we come into "Easy Street" that we find that we dropped +something somewhere along the line which we must replace at once or we +will be laid up for repairs. But lo and behold! "Easy Street" is fair to +look upon. It dazzles the eye--it takes hold of the sensibilities. +Everybody wears "Sunday clothes" on this street and seems to be +superlatively happy. Surely it wouldn't hurt to linger awhile and see +what is going on. Why, this is the most talked about street in the +world! Some of the people we have dealt with have told us about it. They +said it was _the only street_ for a man of means, for there could be +found the very things for which we strive in life. They told us that the +people we would meet represented the higher order of intelligence, +brainy, alert, accomplished--a grand thoroughfare for those who would +know life in the fullness thereof. + +Now it is a fact that "Easy Street" may be crossed and recrossed in +safety every day of our lives if we do not tarry. Financial competence +might permit of it, but competent efficiency demands that we trot +along--_keep moving_--get away before we settle down into its ways. The +action we need is not along this brilliant lane. + +But suppose we do take a chance just to test the serene confidence which +we think is so safely nailed down within us. The very thought of it +makes the "caution bell" tinkle in our ears--but caution is a species of +cowardice, after all, we say--a man of _courage_ may dare anything +_once_. And just at the moment we waver who comes along but our old +friend _Self-indulgence_!--the well dressed, carefree fellow who once +told us all about "Easy Street" and invited us to look in on him +sometime. Nothing would please him more than to show us the whole +works--and here he is shaking us by the hand and pulling us along--for +he is an affable fellow and will not take "no" for an answer. + +Our struggle is feeble--a huge chunk of our strength of character falls +off into space then and there. Even at the gilded entrance we try again +to beg off--to slip away--but Self-indulgence will not hear. So together +we go through the portals leading into a grandeur we had never +known--beyond our experience and power to believe. _This is likely to +become the turning point in our career._ + +Bill Nye once said "When we start down hill we usually find everything +greased for the occasion." We might add--"_except the bumps_!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +LIVING BEYOND OUR MEANS + + +Living beyond our means is a big subject that must be treated broadly, +for circumstances alter cases. There is a sane way to look at every +problem, and the matter of living beyond our means is one of the major +problems we have to face. If every man was alike and every avocation in +life was on a parity, it would be possible to dispose of this subject in +a paragraph. But men are not alike. What one could do successfully might +easily baffle another. Therefore, it seems advisable to consider the +subject by looking into its depths. + +To most people debt is terrifying. To some it means nothing--and thus we +have individual temperament as an angle from which to consider. Living +beyond our ability to pay means going into debt via the shortest route. +Getting out of debt means a revision of our code to the extent of +ceasing to live beyond our means and saving something with which to pay +off what we owe. Some men can do this successfully--others fail while +seemingly trying their best to succeed--and still others do nothing to +stem the tide. With these it is a matter of how the tide serves. If +favoring winds should drive them to opulence they would more than likely +pay up, particularly those imbued with _sufficient personal honor_ to +"make good." + +Such are the exigencies of life, we may as well concede that a vast +majority at some time or other find it necessary to owe more than they +can readily pay. Emergencies arise which force us into expenses that +require credit, and if we have so ordered our lives that when the pinch +comes _we have no credit established_ the fact that we pay out our last +dollar and go hungry to bed does not bring us much sympathy. Thus it +would seem that to be able to say: "I pay as I go," or, "I owe no man a +dollar," or, "I never live beyond my means" is not much of a boast, +when, after a death in the family, or other unforeseen circumstances, +we find ourselves broke and nowhere to turn for accommodation. + +It has been aptly said that "_People can save themselves to death._" In +other words, one may develop the saving habit to such an extent that +"Laugh and Live" can find no room beside us on the perch of our +existence. We must admit that the systematic saver of pennies misses a +lot as he goes along, and, with time, degenerates into a sort of "Kill +Joy." In the matter of regulating his family to his way of thinking he +usually has an uphill job. Sons leave home as soon as they can; +daughters marry and breathe a sigh of relief, leaving mother behind to +slave on _in order that the hoard may grow_. + +While all of this is true it only represents extreme cases, therefore it +should not be construed that this chapter is launched against _the habit +of saving_. Rather, its purpose is to suggest the thought of not +"_over-saving_" at the expense of _personal welfare_. Our best plan +would be to save in reason, not forgetting that life is here to enjoy +as we go along. Then, too, we must have a _credit rating_ among our +fellow mortals, just the same as a business person must have credit +rating among financial institutions. + +[Illustration: _Squaring Things With Sister--From "The Habit of +Happiness"_] + +Credit in business is worth more than money because it allows for +expansion whereas money in the bank is only good _as far as it goes_. +Many a merchant who bought and sold for cash all his life found when he +came to enlarge his business that one thing was lacking--_credit_. The +fact that he had always paid cash threw a doubt upon his financial +condition when he proposed to borrow. He had neglected to build up a +credit as he went along. The business world only knew him as a man who +paid cash and exacted cash. Taken at his fullest inventory he had +"scalped" a living out of the world for which he had done but little to +make happier or better. One calamity might easily scuttle his prospects +forever--for instance, a fire, or a bank failure. And without credit it +would be difficult to start over again. + +By all means we must save something for the "rainy day" as we go +along--and our savings can be made up of other things than actual cash +in bank. One item of our savings is the habit of _keeping up our +appearances_. Living beyond our means does not incorporate the thought +that, in order to save every possible cent, we should become slipshod +and shabby. Carelessness in dress takes away from our rating as nothing +else will for it has to do with first impressions of those with whom we +come in contact. Gentility pays dividends of the highest order, being, +as it is, a badge of character. Neatness _bespeaks character_, and it is +just as cheap in dollars and cents to keep ourselves respectably clothed +as to indulge in shoddy apparel under the delusion that we have saved +money on the purchase price. Good clothing, costing more at the start, +lasts long _and looks well as long as it lasts_. Shoddy apparel never is +anything else but shoddy, and well might it proclaim the shoddy man. + +When we throw away our opportunity to present a genteel appearance, just +for the sake of the bank roll, we doom ourselves to defeat in the +pursuit of knowledge. We cannot get all we want to know by the mere +reading of books. We must mingle with people; we must interchange +thought that we may crystallize what we know into practical knowledge so +it can be made into tools to work with. While a man of brains is welcome +everywhere the matter of his appearance has a lot to do with how he is +received and with whom he may fraternize. + +"Isn't it a pity," we hear people say, "that, with all his brains, he +hasn't sense enough to make himself presentable?" But the worst phase of +the situation is that the unkempt man sooner or later loses faith in +himself and either ceases to hoard at the expense of his gentility or he +gives up his opportunity to mingle with others and lapses into habits +consistent with miserly thoughts. + +The phrase "_a happy medium_" is well known and decidedly applicable to +the subject of saving as we go along so that we may avert the sorrows +which follow in the wake of _living beyond our means_. It suggests a +desirable middle course which permits us to adopt a sane policy, rather +than flying to an extreme. + +It cannot be said that we are living beyond our means when by reason of +our association with men of affairs we need to spend more money and +thereby save less in preparing ourselves for the larger opportunities +which will naturally follow. Young men often go through college on their +"uppers," so to speak. There is not a cent which they could honestly +save as they went along without cheating themselves. The point is that +their situations in life force them to spend rather than to save money. +But in so doing the real saving was in the spending thereof. _They +enlarged their knowledge and decreased their bank accounts for the time +being._ What man parts with in an emergency is no license, however, for +him to fall back into profligacy. Never should a man entirely lose the +idea of putting something by. The college boy in this case has simply +invested his money in an education instead of a bank account. + +Once on the highroad of life with a plan of action well defined and a +regular income _the habit of putting money away should become a fixed +procedure_. In no other way do we accumulate except by investment, and +investment means putting away money at interest or in some project which +promises better returns. + +If we were to interview a thousand men on the subject of saving and draw +upon their experiences we would find that by investing money at interest +we pursue the safest course, far safer, in fact, than the seeking of +outside investments that _promise_ greater returns. The latter invites +the mind away from the regular avocation and educates it in time to +_take chances_ that are likely to turn into _setbacks_. The mind, +instead of applying itself to the duty of making the most out of its +regular employment, allows its interest to become scattered over too +broad a field. + +It is not within the province of all men to become wealthy and, after +all, wealth is not the only desideratum; the happiest of mortals are +found in the middle walks of life and not in the extremes. The struggle +should be to escape the life which saps our strength, keeps our nerves +on edge and drives us away from the _green pastures_. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +INITIATIVE AND SELF-RELIANCE + + +The late Elbert Hubbard defined the man with initiative as the one who +did the right thing at the right time without being told. At this point +it may be definitely stated that such a man would naturally be +_self-reliant._ Such a man would not lean on his friends. He would +_stand up_ with them.... He would be found fighting his own battles +without crying for help. + +Once a cub reporter was ordered by his city editor to go and interview a +certain man. After an awkward pause the youngster inquired: "Where can I +find him?" Smiling scornfully into his eyes the city editor replied: +"Wherever he is." + +This would seem to have been the start and finish of this youngster's +newspaper career, but quite the reverse was true. He took the lesson +well to heart, thus starting himself on the road to self-reliance. If +he had repeated the offense it is likely he would have lost his job and +also _his nerve_--thereby spoiling his chances for a successful career. +The fact that he did not, but went on and made of himself a famous +newspaper man, proves that he lost no time in developing _initiative and +self-reliance_. + +There is no questioning the vast importance these two words mean to all +of us. Many a man who did not grasp the significance of initiative +became a "_leaner_" for the rest of his life. Many a man also missed his +chances by doing _just as he was told_ and nothing more. His work ended +there. In due course it is inevitable that such a man should become part +of the great army of discontented ne'er-do-wells who help to block the +pavements in front of the loafing places. + +Hesitation, vacillation and growing diffidence take the place of +self-reliance. He falls to the bottom like a stone. And there he +rests--a drag anchor in the mire. His job gets the best of him because +he lacks initiative. Once stranded he becomes an arrant +coward--_afraid of his own shadow_. + +[Illustration: _A Scene from "In Again--Out Again"_] + +We must _make our own opportunities_ otherwise we are children of +circumstance. What becomes of us is a matter of guesswork. We have no +hand in compelling our own future. _Diffidence is a species of +cowardice._ It causes a man's courage to ooze out at his toes faster +than it comes into his heart. _Such men often have big ideas, but having +no confidence in themselves they lack the power to compel confidence in +others._ When they go into the presence of a man of personality they +lose their self-confidence and all of the pent-up courage which drove +them forward flies out at the window. Their weakness multiplies with +each failure until finally "the jig is up"--_their impotency is +complete_. + +Very largely those who have big ideas to present expect to be taken in +on them and to be given an opportunity to succeed along with their +scheme. When a man becomes so unfortunate as to be unable through +diffidence to explain himself, his big idea goes into the waste basket +and with it all of the hopes he has built upon it. _Another nail has +been driven into his casket of failures._ + +To such a man, all pity, but we will not allow him to escape until we +have given him a pat on the back and pointed out the right road to +travel. We mustn't preach to him or undertake to force him to do +anything, but we will at least give him a helping hand and show him that +there is _a royal road to his goal_. + +This man needs first of all to build upon his physique. Perhaps he has a +_bad stomach_, and likewise _bad teeth_. Exercise--regular exercise, +should be the first thing on his program. Fresh air, long walks, deep +breathing, dumb bells, boxing, rowing, skating in season--_and wholesome +companionship day by day_. In the long run boxing will become his most +efficient exercise. When a man can take a blow between the eyes and come +back for more he has begun to _fortify his own combativeness_. That is +what he needs in life's battles--the nerve to _come back for more_ after +a slam on the jaw that would lay another man low. And when it's all +said and done and the exercise game has become a feature of his day's +work, he must settle down to _good plain food and plenty of sleep_. +There is nothing in all the world like these things combined for the +upbuilding and upholding of health and courage. + +Our success is a matter of our courage. A man who can steel himself to +be knocked down and get up immediately afterwards and hand the other +fellow a ripping punch has added to his own "pep." _All courage is of +the same cloth, whether physical, moral or spiritual._ To build upon one +is to build up the others--the human system being constructed on such a +basis that if one part is affected all the rest follow suit. + +A man who isn't afraid of a physical combat will readily match his wits +with his fellow man. Physical training is therefore all important to +_initiative and self-reliance_. + +Our natural aim is to make for ourselves a true personality that does +not know defeat. When we come to an obstacle we must be able to hurdle +it. It is all very well to say that the longest way around is the +shortest way across, but it doesn't sound like initiative and +self-reliance. There is one thing about men who rely upon +themselves--they make no excuses, nor do they puff up over victory. + +Posing for applause is as distasteful to them as standing for abuse. All +they ask is a square deal and the confidence of their associates. If +they fall down on a proposition they get up and go at it again until +success crowns their efforts. Such men have a way of _turning defeat +into victory_. + +How immeasurably inferior to such a spirit is the fellow who whines and +moans at every evil twist of fortune. He has no confidence in himself +and nothing else to do except confide his woes to all who will listen to +his cowardly story of defeat. Such men are least useful in the important +work of this world. They are the humdrum hirelings--the dumb followers. +The pitiful part of it all is that they could have succeeded had they +but taken stock of themselves when the taking was good. But while there +is life there is hope--likewise a chance. _It is up to us._ + +One of the startling things about men of initiative is the way they +come forward in times of trouble. We don't have to point to Andrew +Jackson in the War of 1812. We can look around us. Take, for example, a +great fire. Haven't we often read of the brave fireman who sprang +forward and by doing the right thing instantly, saved a multitude of +lives? Well, such a man is possessed of self-reliance. He is trained for +the hazardous life he leads. When the emergency arose he was ready in a +jiffy to do the work expected of him. + +It is safe to say that without training such men would have botched the +job and instead of being praised to the skies would have sunk into +oblivion under the heap of public scorn. Sometimes it happens that a man +accidentally becomes a hero, but it was no accident that he was _able to +become one_. He must have had initiative--he must have had +self-reliance. Archibald C. Butt was such a man. He went down on the +_Titanic_. The last act of his life was to help women and children into +the boats and calm their minds as they were lowered away. Astor was of +the same metal--_both sublimely oblivious to the terrible fate which +hung over them_. Here was initiative and self-reliance in its highest +form. + +And this sort of man is everywhere. The car in which we ride to work +every morning contains one or more of them. Let something happen and we +will see them spring forward with a line of action already formed. At +their word of command we automatically obey--and then when the worst is +over a kindly voice reassures us and we go on our way rejoicing. + +What would the world do without these men? History is filled with the +tales of heroes and heroines. And for every Joan of Arc there are +thousands upon thousands who have done heroic things without a word of +praise. Moreover, the really brave soul declines all ovation. No real +hero claims reward. _To have done the right thing at the right time is +reward in itself._ + +This quality of self-strength and self-dependence is not confined to any +race of people, but in nations where personal liberty survives +initiative is at its best. Somehow, whenever the emergency, _the man +comes forth to do and dare_. The great world war, still raging as these +lines are penned, has furnished untold thousands of examples of +courageous action---enough to last until the end of human affairs, but +they will go on and on in multiplied form, each day's score superseding +those of the day before. It would be bully to know that we are doing our +share in _safeguarding the supply_ of Initiative and Self-reliance +needed in this world. + +We must keep moving. The fellow who gets in a rut through lack of +initiative finds that with advancing years it becomes harder and harder +to get out of it, so that the best plan is to make the move now while +there is time to succeed. When we come to think of it, there are plenty +of positions in the world for the right man, and if we have something to +say for ourselves that lends credit to our ability we stand a chance for +the job. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +FAILURE TO SEIZE OPPORTUNITIES + + +There is an old saying to the effect that "opportunity knocks but once +at our door"--and that is all _fol de rol_. Opportunity knocks at some +people's doors nearly every day of their lives and is given a royal +welcome. That's what Opportunity likes--_appreciation_. It goes often to +the home where the latchstring hangs on the outside. It's like a sign +reading "Hot coffee at all hours, day or night"--very inviting. Very +much different, however, from the abode whose windows shed no light and +whose door _is barred from within_. + +"Nobody Home!" that's the sign for this door. + +Mister Numbskull lives here and most of the time _he sleeps_. When +anyone knocks on his door he pulls the covers up over his head to shut +out the noise. He's down on his luck anyhow, therefore it would be a +waste of good shoe leather for him to be up and puttering around. If +Opportunity ever knocked at his door he could say in all truth that _he +never heard it_. He had often heard of Opportunity being in the +neighborhood, but one thing is certain--_someone else had invariably +seen him first_. He felt sure he would know Opportunity if ever he met +him face to face, and if ever he did he would have it out with him then +and there. + +Meanwhile--dadgast the luck!--always the fates pursued him with some +sort of hoodoo. And his neighbors--well, some of them had sense enough +to keep their distance and let him alone. Others, however, had not been +considerate of the fact that a "Jinx" was on his trail, and were given +to making sarcastic remarks concerning him. And thus it was that Mister +Numbskull spent his days, dodging his neighbors, sidestepping the +highways and obscuring himself from the very individual he wanted so +much to behold--_Opportunity_. At last there came a time when, in +despair, _and in disrepute_, he took to the woods and is yet to be +heard from. Opportunity still visits the neighborhood, but the path +leading to Mister Numbskull's home is grown up in weeds. + +The fact is that our real opportunity _knocks from within_. Through +experience, built upon consecutively by continuous effort, our vision +expands and pounds its way out through the portals of our brain. We see +the thing that we ought to do and _we go to it_! To the man who didn't +see it _the opportunity did not exist_. + +"What we don't know doesn't hurt us any"--so runs the old saw. And +here's a case where we who didn't see, _were_ hurt, but we didn't know +it. + +For those of us who have vision there are all sorts of opportunities, +but many of them are not good for us. The ones we make for ourselves are +the healthy ones, and generally they are the best for us. "Our own baby" +is the one we will take the greatest pride in and enjoy the most. Then +we become masters of our own destiny in a sense and can be more +independent through having no senior partners in the enterprise. Often +our dreams bring forth a need for many kinds of special knowledge and +for these we go into the open market offering opportunity to many others +in return for their assistance. Thus we find that everything we do is in +relation to other things and dependent in part on other people. + +This should make us careful and a wee bit wary. Opportunities are widely +divergent in nature--through a stroke of hard luck one might have +difficulty in finding employment. The first opportunity might lead to a +job in a bar-room, but having fortified ourselves by developing our +highest attributes such as honesty, integrity, cleanliness of body and +mind--we are able to somehow or other pinch along until something better +shows itself. First-class principles are not to be thrown away upon the +first provocation, therefore, in order to take away the temptation, we +might as well figure out that a great many employments in the world do +not represent _real opportunities_ and therefore should not be +considered. + +Failure to seize such so-called opportunities becomes a virtue in the +same sense that the failure to seize a decent opportunity becomes a +shame. + +Often opportunity comes through meeting men of affairs who have power +and wealth at their command. These are usually in connection with +enterprises of the greater magnitude. Those of us who have the power to +control our destinies to a reasonable degree should not stand back in +our support of these. If we have carefully built up our initiative, +self-reliance, preparedness in the way of efficiency, good health and +the will to do, there is no reason why we should not aspire to take a +hand in anything in which we are confident we can succeed. Among the men +who control the big affairs of the business world we find a true +democracy--_they want the man_. The fact that he appears before them +neatly attired, bright of eye and ready of wit will surely count in his +favor. + +In other words, we should live up to the opportunity in whatever form it +presents itself after we have accepted its responsibilities. To make +this perfectly plain _we must live up to the job_! If we are to be +superintendent of a coal mine "underneath the ground" we will put on +our overalls and jumpers, but if we are to be manager of a grand opera +house we will appear in our dress suits. The thought is obvious, but as +we journey along we find many of our fellow mortals neglecting to live +in line with what they are doing. + +We mention this fact hopeful that we will not fail to seize our +opportunities by setting up obstacles whereby we may become _persona non +grata_ through lack of discernment. + +Opportunity is within ourselves and when we have seized our rightful +share, then we may look with pride upon our endeavor and proceed to +_laugh and live_! + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +ASSUMING RESPONSIBILITIES + + +Those who fear to assume responsibility necessarily _take orders from +others_. The punishment fits the crime perfectly and being +self-inflicted there is no injustice. It is true that many men possessed +of great brain power play "second fiddle" to shallow-minded men of +inferior wisdom from sheer lack of forcefulness on their own part. They +lack the full quality of leadership while possessing all save one +essential--_courage_. Fear abides in their hearts and spreads itself as +a mantle of gloom over their super-sensitive souls until finally they +struggle no more. Henceforth they are doomed and become the subject of +apology on the part of friends and relations. "He's all right," they +say, "but he suffers from over-refinement." He lacks something--we +cannot make out just what. It is altogether too bad for he is such a +superior man among _his social equals_. + +We must take our hats off to those who have the goodness of heart to +make allowance for our shortcomings. A disinterested listener, however, +is seldom taken into camp by such well intended argument. He knows that +"friend husband" or "friend brother" as the case may be, needs some sort +of swift kick that will stir his combativeness into action--that will +cause him to turn upon his mental inferior and have it out with him then +and there--once and for all. As a courage builder _fighting for justice_ +is not to be sneezed at. + +Courage can be built up just the same as any other soul quality. It is +all a matter of early training as to which we start out with--courage or +fear. Unthinking parents have a lot to do with the propagation of fear +in the hearts of children. A _neglectful father_ plus a _fear-stricken +mother_ constitute the most logical forces which tend toward the +overdevelopment of fear in a child. Once the seed is thoroughly +implanted the growth can be depended upon. How to get rid of it later +is not so easy to figure out. Had the child been born with a "clubfoot" +these same parents would have spent their last dollar in an effort to +straighten it into natural condition. They could see the unshapely foot +day by day with their own eyes--and so could their neighbors. But the +fear-warped little brain struggling for courage with which to combat its +weakness needs must battle alone with chances largely against it. + +The mere thought of what is in store for this little one as it stumbles +along from one period to another, fearful of this, and fearful of that, +is disconcerting to say the least. We can almost trace our friend +"Second Fiddle" directly back to such a childhood. We can almost hear +his fond mother shout, "Keep away from the brook, darling, you might get +your feet wet and _catch your death of a cold_." Another well known and +highly respected admonition belonging to childhood's hour is, "Come in, +deary, it's getting dark--Bogie man will get you if you don't watch +out." + +[Illustration: _Bungalowing in California_] + +Some years later when little son runs breathless into the home portal +after being chased from school by some "turrible" boys we can hear this +same little mother as she storms about the place and tells what "papa +must do" about the matter. According to her notion, if teachers could +not control the "criminal element" among their pupils then it was high +time for the police to step in. Never a word about little son taking his +own part! Father listens in silence and half formulates the notion of +going direct to the parents and laying down the law, while little son +listens in fear and trembling in anticipation of what is coming to him +if father carries out his threat. + +Tall oaks from little acorns grow--_if the twig is not bent in the +sprouting_. + +Little son is bound to grow into manhood some day and when he arrives he +must have one particular attribute--_courage_. Somehow he will get along +if he has that. He may also wear a "clubfoot" or a "hunch back," but +with courage as a running mate he will assume his responsibilities and +become a force in the world. + +Once a great orator sat upon a rostrum listening to a speech by a man +who cautioned his countrymen against taking steps to defend the national +honor. "We'll outlive the taunts of those who would drag us into war!" +he bellowed forth. Whereupon the orator jumped to his feet and with +clarion voice shouted, "God hates a coward!" and then sat down again. + +Dazed at first the vast throng sat stupefied--but only for a moment. +Then as one man they jumped to their feet and by reason of prolonged +cheering gave national impulse to a thought which has since been +sermonized from thousands of pulpits. The orator had simply paraphrased +and put "pep" into the old Biblical slogan: "The Lord helps those who +help themselves." The effect was electrical. The whole country rallied +to the idea with the result that we saved ourselves from war by showing +the solid front of being ready and willing to defend ourselves. + +Everything that tends to build up courage is an asset in life. The more +we have of it the further we go and the more interesting our lives +become. For _the man of the lion heart_ all things unfold and unto him +the timid must bring their offerings. No one of ordinary gumption +consults the human "flivver." Advice from him would be unavailing. His +point of view would be inadequate--his ability to advise, impotent. We +go to the man who does things and say to him: "Here is my little +idea--do you want to help me put it over?" If it is good, he does. If +not, his experience tells him so, for men of courage are naturally +possessed of large vision. Their lack of fear has given them +right-of-way over vast areas of the world of action. They fail only as +"their lights go out forever." + +With courage we order our own lives and take orders only from those of +superior wisdom. This we can never afford _not to do_. The courageous +man of largest vision commands by his power to reason logically and +therefore assumes the air of comradeship rather than "overseer" or +"boss." Only through lack of moral and physical courage are we to +become the slaves of these. + +Courage--the child of _Hope--the despair of Failure_. Born of Good Cheer +it links its fate with the higher attributes and tramples under foot the +fears which spring up before it. When _sown early_ into the hearts of +the young its companionship becomes unerring in its efficiency for good +throughout their lives. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +WEDLOCK IN TIME + + +It is a happy idea to marry while we are young--a fine thing--a good +thing--_a pleasant duty indeed_ to marry the woman of our choice at a +time of life when both are at an age when adjustment is natural and +lasting loyalties are implanted in our hearts and minds for all time. We +make a sad mistake when we postpone so important a step just for the +sake of becoming a rich man first so that our bride-to-be may step into +luxurious quarters and never have to lift her dainty hands except to sip +from the glass of nectar we have set before her. The real facts compiled +by the statistical "System Sams" are against this idea. The balance +comes up in red ink _on the wrong side of the ledger_. + +According to these gentlemen the average mortal is likely to be very fat +and much over forty before he can make an offering according to his +first generous impulses and the chances are he will never reach the goal +in this life. By the time he might be financially ready there is a hard +glint in his eye, and he will be looking for the mote in the eye of his +lady love. The waiting game is a hard one _and it makes us worldly_. +After the lapse of years what once seemed a _rose_ might appear to be +more of a _hollyhock_. + +Naturally we never blame ourselves for the changes. Had we obeyed the +grand impulse in the hour of our youth we might have kept the garden +full of roses and the hollyhocks would never have sprouted there. Then +the home nest would have tinged our sensibilities with its loveliness +and our affections would have been nailed down hard and fast _forever +and a day_. + +Among the many baffling problems which the young man faces, and for that +matter, any man, is marriage. More thought, more energy and more time is +taken up over this one decisive step than over any other. The reasons +are obvious. It involves for life the happiness of the contracting +parties--not only in a direct and personal way, but also in a general +sense. The man's business success largely depends upon the helpmate he +has in his home. _His career is at her mercy._ For example, if the wife +should turn out to be unsympathetic, and uninterested in his ambitions, +this fact might warp his prospects by causing him to _lose heart_ in +facing the large problems awaiting him along the road of opportunity. +However, if she is of a cheerful, energetic disposition and willing to +do all that she can to help him over the rough spots as they travel +along together he will be _inspired into action_ and will do his level +best. He will be conscious as he goes about his work that there is _one_ +person above all upon whom he can depend--_his wife_. + +Marriage is a _serious business_ and usually we concede that point in +the beginning. However, this is not aimed as a blow at life's greatest +romance ... it is merely the recognition of an elemental fact.... +Marriage must have its _practical side_. To become successful in the +highest degree man and wife _must establish a comradeship_. It is not +the part of wisdom that either should rule the other, but rather that +each should have the interest of the other at heart and should strive to +be helpful one unto the other. Two men can go through life the best of +friends, each holding the respect and confidence of the other. So can +two women. _Then, why not a man and wife?_ Needless to say they can, and +do. Such partnerships are sure of success. It is only through lack of +comradeship that love flies out of the window--_and lights on a +sea-going aeroplane_. + +The marriage state is a long contract--it should not be stumbled into by +man or woman. Nor should we become cowardly to the point of backing out +of it altogether. Love is blind _only to the blind_. Either party to the +tie that binds has a chance to know in advance whether the venture is +safe and sane. All a man has to consider after he knows his own heart is +that the woman of his choice is sensible, considerate and healthy. Other +things being equal he can take the leap without hesitancy. We shouldn't +borrow trouble. + +[Illustration: _Demonstrating the Monk and the Hand-Organ to a Body of +Psychologists_] + +Of course there are those who _should never marry_. They do, however, +and when they do they loan themselves to the mockery of the marriage +state. There is no time to dwell on this thought for it is just +something that goes on happening anyway and has no bearing upon the +advisability of "wedlock in time" between _people of horse sense_. + +Given a good wife, after his own heart, no manly man has a righteous +kick coming against the fates. Under such circumstances if things go +wrong he will find the fault within himself. Of course we should, to the +fullest possible extent, be prepared for marriage before assuming its +responsibilities. We should at least have a ticket before embarking--and +it is the _real_ man's duty to provide the ticket. Since it is to be a +long voyage a "round trip" isn't necessary. In other words, a man +needn't be rich when he marries--but he should not be broke, either. +Lack of funds a few days after the honeymoon is too hard a test for +matrimony to bear nobly. It is too much like inviting a catastrophe +through lack of good, hard sense to begin with. It shows poor +generalship at the very start--and there is the liability of causing +great distress and hardship to a tender-hearted little woman. It would +be a sad blow to her to find that the man of her choice was, after all, +just an ordinary fellow--_a man without foresight_. + +There are four seasons in married life--spring, summer, fall and winter, +and we are going to need a comrade as we go through each of them. And +the one we want _is the one we start with_--the gentle partner in all +our joys and sorrows. It is she who will stand back of us when all +others fail. When the children come along to bless our days and inspire +us to greater efforts we are glad to look into their happy, smiling +faces and find that they resemble their mother--their soft cheeks are +like hers, their hands, their dainty ways, their caresses. And when mama +looks into those same bright eyes they make her think of their daddy. +The fond affection bestowed upon the children by both parents is but +another mode of expressing their regard for each other. + +Springtime days, these! When little tots climb up and entwine their +arms about our necks. If this were married life's only compensation it +would not prove in vain--for when the babies enter the home the tie that +binds becomes hard and fast--_if the man is a manly man_. To become the +father of a bright-eyed babe is an experience of the highest importance +to a young man getting started. It reinforces his courage, doubles up +his ambitions and _puts him on his metal_. He has a new responsibility +and it adds to his strength of character to assume it in all its phases. +Another thing it brings comfort and joy to the mother during the long +days while her man is out in the fray. _It drives ennui out of the +household throughout our springtime days._ + +And when summer comes along new hopes dawn within us. Springtime had +found us up and doing and when it merged into the new season we found +our aspirations even stronger than before. Children must be educated and +their futures prepared in advance as far as may be. They must not go +into the world _without tools to work with_. Meanwhile the household +teems with plans and becomes a veritable dreamland of youthful fervor. +We find that having helped our children into attractive personalities +they have become magnets with which to draw about us their comrades. +Thus we hold on to our youth by virtue of our surroundings--creatures of +our thoughtfulness concerning "_wedlock in time_." + +That the fall season is coming has no terrors for us. There will be the +weddings and plannings for new homes _close by_--if we have our say. And +in due course, the grandchildren will come who will favor grandpa and +grandma and once again youth knocks at our door. There will be no dread +winter days for us for we have been forehanded--we have a _new crew on +board to chase away the cares of old age and infirmities_. + +Try how we will there is no way to forestall the operation of the law of +compensation. We reap as we sow. The world will be good to those who +compel its respect by becoming the right sort of citizens. _Wedlock in +time--that's the answer_! + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +LAUGH AND LIVE + + +Again I find it expedient to resort to the personal pronoun and +therefore this final chapter is to be devoted to "_you_ and _me_." There +are facts you may want to know _for sure_ and one of them is whether or +not I live up to my own prescription. + +I do--_and it's easy_! + +I have kept myself happy and well through keeping my physical department +in first class order. If that had been left to take care of itself I +would surely have fallen by the wayside in other departments. Once we +sit down in security the world seems to _hand us things we do not need_. + +Fresh air is my intoxicant--and it keeps me in high spirits. My system +doesn't crave artificial stimulation because _my daily exercise_ +quickens the blood sufficiently. Then, too, I manage to _keep busy_. +That's the real elixir--_activity_! Not always physical activity, +either, for I must read good books in order to exercise my mind in other +channels than just my daily routine--and add to my store of knowledge as +well. + +Then there is my _inner-self_ which must have attention now and then. +For this a little solitude is helpful. We have only to sense the +phenomena surrounding us to know that we must have a _working +faith_--something _practical_ to live by, which automatically keeps us +on our course. The mystery of life somehow loses its density _if we +retain our spark of hope_. + +All of my life since childhood I have held Shakespeare in constant +companionship. Aside from the Bible--which is entirely apart from all +other books--Shakespeare has no equal. My father, partly from his love +for the great poet, and partly for the purpose of aiding me to memorize +accurately, taught me to recite Shakespeare before I was old enough to +know the meaning of the words. I remembered them, however, and in later +years I grew to know their full significance. Then I became an ardent +follower of the Master Philosopher, than whom no greater interpreter of +human emotions ever lived. In the matter of sage advice there has never +been his equal. In "_Hamlet_" we find the wonderful words of admonition +from _Polonius_ in his farewell speech to his son _Laertes_--as good +today as four hundred years ago, and they will continue to be so until +the end of time. + +It matters not how familiar we may be with these lines it is no waste of +time to read them over again once in awhile. They seem to fit the +_practical side of life_ perfectly. If we have any complaint by reason +of their brusqueness we have only to temper our interpretation according +to our own sense of justice. In other words if we wanted to loan a +"ten-spot" now and then we would just go ahead and do it--meanwhile, to +save you the trouble of looking up these lines, here they are in "Laugh +and Live"-- + + And these few precepts in thy memory + See thou charácter--Give thy thoughts no tongue, + Nor any unproportioned thought his act. + Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. + The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, + Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel; + But do not dull thy palm with entertainment + Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged comrade. Beware + Of entrance to a quarrel: but, being in, + Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee. + Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice: + Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment. + Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, + But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy: + For the apparel oft proclaims the man; + And they in France of the best rank and station + Are of a most select and generous sheaf in that. + Neither a borrower nor a lender be; + For loan oft loses both itself and friend, + And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry, + This above all--_to thine ownself be true; + And it must follow, as the night the day, + Thou canst not then be false to any man_. + +[Illustration: "Wedlock in Time"--The Fairbanks' Family] + +The time has come to close this little book. It has been a great +pleasure to write it and a greater pleasure to hope that it will be +received in the same spirit it has been written. These are busy days for +all of us. We go in a gallop most of the time, but there comes the quiet +hour when we must sit still and "take stock." I know this from the +letters that come to me asking my opinion on all sorts of subjects. +People believe I am happy because my laughing pictures seem to denote +this fact--_and it is a fact_! In the foregoing chapters I have told +why. If, in the telling I shall have been instrumental in adding to _the +world's store of happiness_ I shall ever thank my "lucky stars." + + +Very Sincerely + +Douglas Fairbanks + + + + +A "CLOSE-UP" OF DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS + +by George Creel + +Reprinted from Everybody's Magazine by Permission of The Ridgway +Company, New York. + + +CHAPTER XX + +A "CLOSE-UP" OF DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS + + +Young Mr. Douglas Fairbanks, star alike in both the "speakies" and the +"movies," is well worth a story. He is what every American might be, +ought to be, and frequently is _not_. More than any other that comes to +mind, he is possessed of the indomitable optimism that gives purpose, +"punch," and color to any life, no matter what the odds. + +He holds the world's record for the standing broad grin. There isn't a +minute of the day that fails to find him glad that he's alive. Nobody +ever saw him with a "grouch," or suffering from an attack of the +"blues." Nobody ever heard him mention "hard luck" in connection with +one of his failures. The worse the breaks of the game, the gloomier the +outlook, the wider his grin. He has made cheerfulness a habit, and it +has paid him in courage, in bubbling energy, and buoyant resolve. + +We are a young nation and a great nation. Judging from the promise of +the morning, there is nothing that may not be asked of America's noon. A +land of abundance, with not an evil that may not be banished, and yet +there is more whining in it than in any other country on the face of the +globe. If we are to die, "Nibbled to Death by Ducks" may well be put on +the tombstone. Little things are permitted to bring about paroxysms of +peevishness. Even our pleasures have come to be taken sadly. We are +irritable at picnics, snarly at clambakes, and bored to death at +dinners. + +The Government ought to hire Douglas Fairbanks, and send him over the +country as an agent of the Bureau of Grins. Have him start work in +Boston, and then rush him by special train to Philadelphia. If the +wealth of the United States increased $41,000,000,000 during the last +three peevish, whining years, think what would happen if we learned the +art of joyousness and gained the strength that comes from good humor +and optimism! + +"Doug" Fairbanks--now that he is in the "movies" we don't have to be +formal--is the living, breathing proof of the value of a grin. His rise +from obscurity to fame, from poverty to wealth, has no larger foundation +than his ever-ready willingness to let the whole world see every tooth +in his head. + +Good looks? Artistry? Bosh! The Fairbanks features were evidently picked +out by a utilitarian mother who preferred use to ornament; and as for +his acting, critics of the drama, imbued with the traditions of Booth +and Barrett, have been known to sob like children after witnessing a +Fairbanks performance. + +It is the joyousness of the man that gets him over. It's the 100 per +cent interest that he takes in everything he goes at that lies at the +back of his success. He does nothing by halves, is never indifferent, +never lackadaisical. + +At various stages in his brief career he has been a Shakespearean actor, +Wall Street clerk, hay steward on a cattle-boat, vagabond, and business +man, knowing poverty, hunger, and discomfort at times, but never, +_never_ losing the grin. Things began to move for him when he left a +Denver high school back in 1900 for the purpose of entering college. As +he says, "A man can't be too careful about college." + +He started for Princeton, but met a youth on the train who was going to +Harvard. He took a special course at Cambridge--just what it was he +can't remember--but at the end of the year it was hinted to him that +circus life was more suited to his talents, particularly one with three +rings. + +A friend, however, suggested the theatre, and gave him a card to +Frederick Warde, the tragedian. Mr. Warde fell for the Fairbanks grin, +and as a first part assigned him the role of _François_, the lackey, in +"Richelieu." What he lacked in experience he made up for in activity and +unflagging merriment. It got to be so that Warde was almost afraid to +touch the bell, for he never knew whether the amazing _François_ would +enter through the door or come down from the ceiling. + +After the company had done its worst to "Richelieu," it changed to +Shakespearean repertoire, and for one year young Fairbanks engaged in +what Mr. Warde was pleased to term a "catch-as-catch-can bout with the +immortal Bard." When friends of Shakespeare finally protested in the +name of humanity, the strenuous Douglas accepted an engagement with +Herbert Kelcey and Effie Shannon in "Her Lord and Master." + +Five months went by before the two stars broke under the strain, and by +that time news had come to Mr. Fairbanks that Wall Street was Easy +Money's other name. Armed with his grin, he marched into the office of +De Coppet & Doremus, and when the manager came out of his trance +Shakespeare's worst enemy was holding down the job of order man. + +"The name Coppet appealed to me," he explains. + +He is still remembered in that office, fondly but fearfully. He did his +work well enough; in fact, there are those who insist that he invented +scientific management. + +"How about that?" I asked him, for it puzzled me. + +"Well, you see, it was this way: For five days in a week I would say, +'Quite so' to my assistant, no matter what he suggested. On Saturday I +would dash into the manager's office, wag my head, knit my brow, and +exclaim, 'What we need around here is _efficiency_.' And once I urged +the purchase of a time-clock." + +The way he filled his spare time was what bothered. What with his +tumbling tricks, boxing, wrestling, leap-frog over chairs, and other +small gaieties, he mussed up routine to a certain extent. But he was +_not_ discharged. At a point where the firm was just one jump ahead of +nervous prostration, along came "Jack" Beardsley and "Little" Owen, two +husky football players with a desire to see life without the safety +clutch. + +The three approached the officials of a cattle-steamship, and by +persistent claims to the effect that they "had a way" with dumb +animals, got jobs as hay stewards. + +"We found the cows very nice," comments Mr. Fairbanks. "No one can get +me to say a word against them. But those stokers! And those other +stable-maids! Pow! We had to fight 'em from one end of the voyage to the +other, and it got so that I bit myself in my sleep. The three of us got +eight shillings apiece when we landed at Liverpool, and tickets back, +but there were several little things about Europe that bothered us, and +we thought we'd see what the trouble was." + +They "hoboed" it through England, France, and Belgium, working at any +old job until they gathered money enough to move along, whether it was +carrying water to English navvies or unloading paving-blocks from a +Seine boat. After three joyous months, they felt the call of the cattle, +and came home on another steamer. + +Back on his native heath, young Fairbanks took a shot from the hip at +law, but missed. Then he got a job in a machine-manufacturing plant, +but one day he found that his carelessness had permitted fifty dollars +to accumulate, and he breezed down to Cuba and Yucatan to see what +openings there were for capital. Back from that tramping trip, he +figured that since he had not annoyed the stage for some time it +certainly owed him something. + +His return to the drama took place in "The Rose of Plymouth Town," a +play in which Miss Minnie Dupree was the star. Meeting Miss Dupree, I +asked her what sort of an actor Fairbanks was in those days. + +"Well," she said judiciously, "I think that he was about the nicest case +of St. Vitus' dance that ever came under my notice." + +William A. Brady got him next. Mr. Brady is quite a dynamo himself, and +there was also a time in his life when he managed James J. Corbett. The +two fell into each other's arms with a cry of joy, and for seven years +they touched off dramatic explosions that strewed fat actors all over +the landscape and tore miles of scenery into ribbons. + +"Some boy!" was Mr. Brady's tribute. "Put him in a death scene, and +he'd find a way to break the furniture." + +There was never a part that "Doug" Fairbanks lay down on. To every role +he brought joy and interest and enthusiasm, and the night came +inevitably that saw his name in electric letters. + +It is not claimed that his work as a star "elevated" the drama, but it +may safely be claimed that he never appeared in any play that was not +wholesome, stimulating, and helpful. + +Nothing was more natural than that the movies should seek such an actor, +and they set the trap with attractive bait. + +"Come over to us," they said, "and we'll let you do anything you want. +Outside of poison gas and actual murder, the sky's the limit." + +Without even waiting to kick off his shoes, "Doug" Fairbanks made a +dive. + +The movie magnates got what they wanted, and Fairbanks got what he +wanted. For the first time in his life he was able to "let go" with all +the force of his dynamic individuality, and he took full advantage of +the opportunity. + +In "The Lamb," his first adventure before the camera, he let a +rattlesnake crawl over him, tackled a mountain lion, jiu-jitsued a bunch +of Yaqui Indians until they bellowed, and operated a machine-gun. + +In "His Picture in the Papers," he was called upon to run an automobile +over a cliff, engage in a grueling six-round go with a professional +pugilist, jump off an Atlantic liner and swim to the distant shore, mix +it up in a furious battle royal with a half dozen husky gunmen, leap +twice from swiftly moving trains, and also to resist arrest by a squad +of Jess Willards dressed up in police uniforms. + +"The Half-Breed" carried him out to California, and, among other things, +threw him into the heart of a forest fire that had been carefully +kindled in the redwood groves of Calaveras County. Amid a rain of +burning pine tufts, and with great branches falling to the ground all +around him, "Douggie" was required to dash in and save the gallant +sheriff from turning into a cinder. Hair and eyelashes grew out again, +however, his blisters healed, and in a few days he was as good as new. + +"The Habit of Happiness" was rich in stunts that would have made even +Battling Nelson turn to tatting with a sigh of relief. Five gangsters, +sicked on to their work by the villain, waylaid our hero on the stairs, +and in the rough-and-tumble that followed, it was his duty to beat each +and every one of them into a state of coma. He performed his task so +conscientiously that his hands were swollen for a week, not to mention +his eyes and nose. As for the five extra men who posed as the gangsters, +all came to the conclusion that dock-walloping was far less strenuous +than art, and went back to their former jobs. + +"The Good Bad Man" was a Western picture that contained a thrill to +every foot of film. Our hero galloped over mountains, jumping from crag +to crag, held up an express train single-handed in order to capture the +conductor's ticket-punch, grappled with gigantic desperadoes every few +minutes, shot up a saloon, and was dragged around for quite a while at +the end of a lynching party's rope. + +"Reggie Mixes In" was one joyous round of assault and battery from +beginning to end. Happening to fall in love with a dancer in a Bowery +cabaret, _Reggie_ puts family and fortune behind him and takes a job as +"bouncer" so as to be near his lady-love. Aside from his regular duties, +he is required to work overtime on account of the hatred of a +gang-leader who also loves the girl. Five scoundrels jump _Reggie_, and, +after manhandling four, he drops from a second-story window to the neck +of the fifth, and chokes him with hands and legs. After which he carries +the senseless wretch down the street, and gaily flicks him, as it were, +through a window at the villain's feet. As a tasty little finish, +_Reggie_ and his rival lock themselves in an empty room, and engage in a +contest governed by packing-house rules. + +Three days after the combat, by the way, the company heads were pleased +to announce that both men were out of danger unless blood-poisoning +set in. + +[Illustration: _Here's Hoping!_ (_White Studio_)] + +"The Mystery of the Leaping Fish" was what is known as a "water +picture," and "Doug," as a comedy detective, was compelled to make a +human submarine of himself, not to mention several duels in the dark +with Japanese thugs and opium smugglers. + +"Another day of it," he grinned, "and I'd have grown fins." + +"Manhattan Madness" was really nothing more than St. Vitus's dance set +to ragtime. Our hero climbed up eaves-pipes, plunged through trap-doors +down into dungeons, jumped from the roof of a house into a tree, kicked +his way in and out of secret closets, and engaged in hair-raising +combats with desperate villains every few minutes. + +It is not only the case that "Doug" Fairbanks made good with the movie +fans. What is more to the point, he made good with the "bunch" itself. +In nine cases out of ten, the "legitimate" star, going over into +pictures, evades and avoids the "rough stuff." To some humble, hardy +"double" is assigned the actual work of falling off the cliff, riding at +full speed across granite hedges, taking a good hard punch in the nose, +or plunging from the top of the burning building. + +Many an honest cowpuncher, taking his girl to the show with him to let +her see what a daredevil he is, has died the death upon discovering that +he was merely "doubling" for some cow-eyed hero who lacked the nerve to +do the stunt himself. + +"Doug" Fairbanks is one of the few movie heroes who have never had a +"double." He asks no man to do that which he is afraid to do himself. No +fall is too hard for him, no fight too furious, no ride too dangerous. +There is not a single one of his pictures in which he hasn't taken a +chance of breaking his neck or his bones; but, as one bronco-buster +observed, "He jes' licks his lips an' asks for more." + +To be sure, few actors have brought such super-physical equipment to the +strenuous work of the movies. Fairbanks, in addition to being blessed +with a strong, lithe body, has developed it by expert devotion to every +form of athletic sport. He swims well, is a crack boxer, a good polo +player, a splendid wrestler, a skilful acrobat, a fast runner, and an +absolutely fearless rider. + +There is never a picture during the progress of which he does not +interpolate some sudden bit of business as the result of his quick wit +and dynamic enthusiasm. In one play, for instance, he was supposed to +enter a house at sight of his sweetheart beckoning to him from an upper +window. As he passed up the steps, however, his roving eye caught sight +of the porch railing, a window-ledge, and a balcony, and in a flash he +was scaling the facade of the house like any cat. + +In another play he was trapped on the roof of a country home. Suddenly +Fairbanks, disregarding the plan of retreat indicated by the author, +gave a wild leap into a near-by maple, managed to catch a bough, and +proceeded to the ground in a series of convulsive falls that gave the +director heart-failure. + +During "The Half-Breed" picture, some of the action took place about a +fallen redwood that had its great roots fully twenty feet into the air. + +"Climb up on top of those roots, Doug," yelled the director. + +Instead of that, "Douggie" went up to a young sapling that grew at the +base of the fallen tree. Bending it down to the ground, as an archer +bends his bow, he gave a sudden spring, and let the tough birch catapult +him to the highest root. + +"What do you want me to do now?" he grinned. + +"Come back the same way," grinned the director. + +Most "legitimate" actors--the valuation is their own--find the movies +rather dull. Time hangs very heavily upon their hands. As one remarked +to me in tones that were thick with a divine despair: "There's +absolutely nothing for a chap to do. In lots of the God-forsaken holes +they drag you to, there isn't even a hotel. No companionship, no +diversion of any kind, and oftentimes no bathtubs." + +Douglas Fairbanks enters no such complaint. He draws upon the energy and +interest that ought to be in every human being, and when entertainment +is not in sight, he goes after it. When they were making "The +Half-Breed" pictures in the Carquinez woods of Northern California, he +was never seen around the camp except when actually needed by the camera +man. Upon his return from these absences, it was noticed that his hands +were usually bleeding, and his clothing stained and torn. + +"What in the name of mischief have you been doing now?" the director +demanded on a day when Fairbanks's wardrobe was almost a total loss. + +"Trappin'," chirped the star. + +Beating about the woods, Bret Harte in hand, he had managed to discover +an old woodsman who still held to the ancient industries of his youth. +The trapper's specialty was "bob cats," and the bleeding hands and torn +clothes came from "Doug's" earnest efforts to handle the "varmints" just +as his venerable preceptor handled them. Out of the experience, at +least, he brought an intimate knowledge of field, forest, and stream, +for over the fire and in their walks he had pumped the old man dry. + +In the same way he made "The Good Bad Man" hand him over everything of +value that frontier life contained. The picture was taken out in the +Mohave desert; for the making of it the director had scoured the West +for riders and ropers and cowboys of the old school. "He men"--every one +of them, and for a time they looked with dislike and suspicion upon the +"star," but when they saw that Fairbanks did not ask for any "double," +and took the hardest tumble with a grin, they received him into their +fellowship with a heartfelt yell. + +Dull in the Mohave desert? Why, he had to sit up nights to keep even +with his engagements. From one man he learned bronco-busting, from +another fancy roping, and from others all that there is to know about +horses, cattle, mountain, and plain. And around the camp-fires he got +stories of the winning of the West such as never found their way into +histories. + +When one picture called for jiu-jitsu work, he didn't rest satisfied +with learning just enough to "get by." Every spare moment found him in a +clinch with the Japanese expert, mastering every secret, perfecting +himself in every hold. Same way with boxing. When no pugilists came +handy, he put on the gloves with anyone willing to take chances on a +black eye, keeping at it until today they have to hire professionals +when he figures in a movie fight. + +When they made a "water" picture he never stopped until he could +duplicate every trick known to the "professor" who drilled the extra +men. He took advantage of a biplane flight to make friends with the +aeronaut, and by the time the picture was done, he was as good a driver +as the expert. + +No matter where he is, or what the job, he finds something of interest +because he goes upon the theory that every minute is meant to be lived. +Maroon him at a cross-roads, with five hours until train time, and he'd +have the operator's first name in ten minutes and be learning the Morse +alphabet, after which he would rush up to his new friend's house to see +the babies or to pass judgment on a Holstein calf or a Black Minorca +brood. + +It is the tremendously human quality, more than anything else, that gets +him across. People like him because he likes them. He attracts interest +because he takes interest. Talk with any of the big men in the +motion-picture industry, that is, those with brains and education, and +they will tell you that personality counts more in pictures than it does +on the stage. + +H.B. Aitken, president of the Triangle Film Corporation, said to me: +"The screen is intimate. The camera brings the actor right into your +lap. In the speaking drama, make-up and footlights change and hide, but +not the least flicker of expression is lost in the picture. It's a test +of real-ness, and it takes a real man or a real woman to stand it. Art +isn't the thing at all, nor do looks count for half as much as people +suppose. It's what's back of the art and the looks that makes the hit, +and if they haven't got _something_, the artist and the beauty don't +last long. We picked Douglas Fairbanks as a likely film star, not on +account of his stunts, as the majority think, but because of the +splendid humanness that fairly oozed out of him." + +[Illustration: A Close-Up (Lumiere)] + +When he isn't before the camera, or fooling with an airship or a motor, +or playing with children, or "gettin' acquainted" with a tramp or a +trapper, or practising stunts with a rope or a horse, young Mr. +Fairbanks fills in his spare time writing scenarios. As everyone knows, +the motion-picture drama has been a tawdry thing for the most +part--either a rehash of old stage plays, novels, and short stories, or +else mediocre "originalities" that epitomized banality. Young Mr. +Fairbanks dissented from the established custom from the very start. + +"It's all wrong," he declared. "We've got to stand on our own feet. +Develop your own dramatists!" + +Practically every play in which he has appeared sprang from his personal +suggestion, and in many of them he has collaborated with the scenario +writer. The three things that he demands are Action, Wholesomeness, and +Sentiment that rings true. + +Never make the mistake of thinking that Douglas Fairbanks starts and +finishes with mere good humor and physical exuberance. There is more to +him than his grin, for his mind is as strong and vigorous as his body. +He reads and thinks, and behind his smile is a quick and eager sympathy +that takes account of the sadnesses of life as well as its promises. + +"The Habit of Happiness" was very much his own idea, and in it he took +occasion to show a midnight bread-line, the misery of the slums, and +various forms of social injustice. It isn't that he thinks himself +called to uplift and reform, but, as he expresses it, "Every little bit +helps." + +In the last talk that I had with him, he was enthusiastic over the +future of the movies as a world force. He speaks in ideas rather than +words, for when he feels that he has indicated the thought he never +troubles to finish the particular sentence. + +"Pictures are like music," he declared. "They speak a universal +language. Great industry--just in its infancy--before long films will +pass from one country to another--internationalism. Why not? Love, hate, +grief, ambition, laughter--they belong to one race as much as +another--all peoples understand them. It's hard to hate people after you +know them. Pictures will let us know each other. They'll break down the +hard national lines that now make for war and suspicion." + +Other things followed, for we discussed everything from cabbages to +kings, and then I plumped the question at him that I had been waiting to +ask from the first. + +"How do you like the movies as compared to the speaking drama? Come now, +cross your heart and hope to die. When the night comes down and the +lights go up, isn't there a blue minute now and then?" + +"Surest thing you know," he grinned. "It isn't because there's such a +radical difference between the 'talkies' and the movies, however." [He +refers to musical comedy as the "screamies."] "The play in the theatre +is largely a matter of pantomime, you know. Dialogue is employed to +advance the actual plot only when it is impossible or impracticable to +do it with dumb show. And when I think of some of the lines I've been +called upon to spout, I can't say that I regret the movies' lack of +dialogue. + +"What does hurt, though," he admitted, "is the absence of response. I +don't mean applause, but the something that comes up over the footlights +to you from the audience, the big something that tells you instantly +whether you have hit it or missed, whether you are ringing true or +false. You don't get that in the pictures. Your audience is the +director, and you know that it will be weeks or months before your work +is going to get its test. + +"But in everything else, the movie has the talkie skinned a mile. +Instead of mouthing somebody else's words, you are doing the thing +yourself. There's action, and life--one day you are in the forest, the +next in the desert, the next on the sea." + +"Nonsense!" I exclaimed. "I understand that it's all done in a studio." + +"I had the idea myself," he laughed. "But no more. When I was in the +'talkies,' I used to hear a lot about realism. Father must wash in a +real basin with real water and real soap. There had to be two hens at +least in every barnyard scene, and when Lottie came home from the cruel +city, she had to have a real baby in her arms. Lordy, I never knew what +realism was until I struck the movies. They've gone crazy over it. + +"'The Half-Breed,' you know, was adapted from one of Bret Harte's +stories, and nothing would do the director but a trip up to the +Carquinez woods in northern California. A forest fire figured in one of +the scenes, but I never thought much about it until I saw them bringing +up some chemical engines, hose reels, and five or six fire-brigades. + +"'What's the idea?' I asked. + +"'To keep the flames from spreading,' they told me. + +"And let me tell you, it was _some_ fire. After I got out of it I felt +like a shave from a Mexican barber." + +"What effect is the movie going to have on the speaking drama?" was my +next question. + +"Look at the effect it's had already," he said. "Shaw is the only +playwright clever enough to write dialogue that will hold any number of +people in the theatre. The motion picture has made the public demand +_action_. It has changed the plot and progress of the drama completely." + +"Do you think that a good thing? Doesn't it mean the substitution of +feeling for thinking?" + +"Well," he answered slowly, "the world goes forward through the heart +rather than through the head. Happiness, to my mind, is emotional, not +mental. And the movie _has_ brought happiness to millions whose lives +were formerly drab and sordid. I love to go into these little halls in +out-of-the-way places, and see the men, women, and children packed there +of an evening. Theatrical companies never reached the villages, and the +men had no place but the saloon, the women no place but the kitchen or +the front porch. The camera has brought the world to their doors, and +life is richer, happier, and better for it." + +Take him as he stands, and Douglas Fairbanks comes close to being the +"real thing." Men like him as well as women, and, best proof of all, the +"kids" adore him. On a recent visit to Denver, his old home town, +youngsters followed him in droves, clamoring for a chance to "feel his +muscle." The mayor, no less, had him address a public meeting, the +feature of which, by the way, was this piped inquiry from the gallery: + +"Say, Doug, can youse whip William Farnum?" + +And let no one quarrel with this popularity. It is a good sign, a +healthful sign, a token that the blood of America still runs warm and +red, and that chalk has not yet softened our bones. + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Laugh and Live, by Douglas Fairbanks + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12887 *** diff --git a/12887-h/12887-h.htm b/12887-h/12887-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..95403a8 --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/12887-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,3381 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content= + "text/html; charset=UTF-8"> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Laugh And Live, by Douglas Fairbanks. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + P { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + } + HR { width: 33%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + } + BODY{margin-left: 4%; + 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GUTENBERG EBOOK 12887 ***</div> + +<br /> + +<a name='image_1'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-1.jpg' height='80%' alt='A Close-Up (Lumiere)' title=''> +</center> + + +<h1>Laugh and Live</h1> + +<h2>By DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS</h2> +<br /> + +<h4>ILLUSTRATED</h4> + +<h4>NEW YORK<br /> +BRITTON PUBLISHING COMPANY</h4> + +<h4>1917</h4> + +<br /> + +<a name='TO_MY_MOTHER'></a><h3>TO MY MOTHER</h3> + +<br /> + +<a name='CONTENTS'></a><h3>CONTENTS</h3> + +<br /> + +<h4><a href='#CHAPTER_I'><b>CHAPTER I—"Whistle and Hoe—Sing As We Go"</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_II'><b>CHAPTER II—Taking Stock of Ourselves</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_III'><b>CHAPTER III—Advantages of an Early Start</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_IV'><b>CHAPTER IV—Profiting by Experience</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_V'><b>CHAPTER V—Energy, Success and Laughter</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_VI'><b>CHAPTER VI—Building Up a Personality</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_VII'><b>CHAPTER VII—Honesty, the Character Builder</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_VIII'><b>CHAPTER VIII—Cleanliness of Body and Mind</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_IX'><b>CHAPTER IX—Consideration for Others</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_X'><b>CHAPTER X—Keeping Ourselves Democratic</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XI'><b>CHAPTER XI—Self-Education by Good Reading</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XII'><b>CHAPTER XII—Physical and Mental Preparedness</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XIII'><b>CHAPTER XIII—Self-indulgence and Failure</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XIV'><b>CHAPTER XIV—Living Beyond Our Means</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XV'><b>CHAPTER XV—Initiative and Self-Reliance</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XVI'><b>CHAPTER XVI—Failure to Seize Opportunities</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XVII'><b>CHAPTER XVII—Assuming Responsibilities</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XVIII'><b>CHAPTER XVIII—Wedlock in Time</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XIX'><b>CHAPTER XIX—Laugh and Live</b></a><br /> +<a href='#A_quotCLOSE_UPquot_OF_DOUGLAS_FAIRBANKS'><b>CHAPTER XX—A "CLOSE-UP" OF DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS</b></a></h4> + +<br /> + +<a name='LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS'></a><h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + +<br /> + +<h4><a href='#image_1'>Laugh and Live</a><br /> +<a href='#image_2'>Do You Ever Laugh?</a><br /> +<a href='#image_3'>Over the Hedge and on His Way</a><br /> +<a href='#image_4'>Preparing to Pair With the Prickly Pear</a><br /> +<a href='#image_5'>A Little Spin Among the Saplings</a><br /> +<a href='#image_6'>Over the Hills and Far Away—Father and Son</a><br /> +<a href='#image_7'>A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers"</a><br /> +<a href='#image_8'>A Scene from "The Americano"—Matching Wits for Gold</a><br /> +<a href='#image_9'>Taking on Local Color</a><br /> +<a href='#image_10'>A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers"</a><br /> +<a href='#image_11'>Douglas Fairbanks in "The Good Bad-Man"</a><br /> +<a href='#image_12'>Squaring Things With Sister—From "The Habit of Happiness"</a><br /> +<a href='#image_13'>A Scene from "In Again—Out Again"</a><br /> +<a href='#image_14'>Bungalowing in California</a><br /> +<a href='#image_15'>Demonstrating the Monk and the Hand-Organ to a Body of Psychologists</a><br /> +<a href='#image_16'>"Wedlock in Time"—The Fairbanks' Family</a><br /> +<a href='#image_17'>Here's Hoping</a><br /> +<a href='#image_18'>A Close-Up</a></h4> + +<br /> + +<a name='LIVE_AND_LAUGH'></a><h2>LIVE AND LAUGH</h2> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_I'></a><h3>CHAPTER I</h3> + +<h4>"WHISTLE AND HOE—SING AS WE GO"</h4> +<br /> + +<p>There is one thing in this good old world that is positively +sure—happiness is for <i>all</i> who <i>strive</i> to <i>be</i> happy—and those who +laugh <i>are</i> happy.</p> + +<p>Everybody is eligible—you—me—the other fellow.</p> + +<p>Happiness is fundamentally a state of mind—not a state of body.</p> + +<p>And mind controls.</p> + +<p>Indeed it is possible to stand with one foot on the inevitable "banana +peel" of life with both eyes peering into the Great Beyond, and still be +happy, comfortable, and serene—if we will even so much as smile.</p> + +<p>It's all a state of mind, I tell you—and I'm sure of what I say. That's +why I have taken up my fountain pen. I want to talk to my friends—you +hosts of people who have written to me for my recipe. In moving pictures +all I can do is act my part and grin for you. What I say is a matter of +your own inference, but with my pen I have a means of getting around the +"silent drama" which prevents us from organizing a "close-up" with one +another.</p> + +<p>In starting I'm going to ask you "foolish question number 1."—</p> + +<p>Do you ever laugh?</p> + +<p>I mean do you ever laugh right out—spontaneously—just as if the police +weren't listening with drawn clubs and a finger on the button connecting +with the "hurry-up" wagon? Well, if you don't, you should. <i>Start off +the morning with a laugh and you needn't worry about the rest of the +day.</i></p> + +<p>I like to laugh. It is a tonic. It braces me up—makes me feel +fine!—and keeps me in prime mental condition. Laughter is a +physiological necessity. The nerve system requires it. The deep, +forceful chest movement in itself sets the blood to racing thereby +livening up the circulation—which is good for us. Perhaps you hadn't +thought of that? Perhaps you didn't realize that laughing automatically +re-oxygenates the blood—<i>your</i> blood—and keeps it red? It does all of +that, and besides, it relieves the tension from your brain.</p> + +<p><i>Laughter is more or less a habit.</i> To some it comes only with practice. +But what's to hinder practising? Laugh and live long—if you had a +thought of dying—laugh and grow well—if you're sick and +despondent—laugh and grow fat—if your tendency is towards the lean and +cadaverous—laugh and succeed—if you're glum and "unlucky"—laugh and +nothing can faze you—not even the Grim Reaper—for the man who has +laughed his way through life has nothing to fear of the future. His +conscience is clear.</p> + +<p>Wherein lies this magic of laughter? For magic it is—a something that +manufactures a state of felicity out of any condition. We've got to +admit its charm; automatically and inevitably a laugh cheers us up. If +we are bored—nothing to do—just laugh—that's something to do, for +laughter is synonymous with action, and action dispels gloom, care, +trouble, worry and all else of the same ilk.</p> + +<p>Real laughter is spontaneous. Like water from the spring it bubbles +forth a creation of mingled action and spontaneity—two magic potions in +themselves—the very essence of laughter—the unrestrained emotion +within us!</p> + +<p>So, for me, it is to laugh! Why not stick along? The experiment won't +hurt you. All we need is will power, and that is a personal matter for +each individual to seek and acquire for himself. Many of us already +possess it, but many of us do not.</p> + +<p>Take the average man on the street for example. Watch him go plodding +along—no spring, no elasticity, no vim. He is in <i>check-rein</i>—how can +he laugh when his <i>pep</i> is all gone and the <i>sand in his craw</i> isn't +there any more? What he needs is <i>spirit!</i> Energy—the power to force +himself into action! For him there is no hope unless he will take up +physical training in some form that will put him in normal physical +condition—after that everything simplifies itself. The brain responds +to the new blood in circulation and thus the mental processes are ready +to make a fight against the inertia of stagnation which has held them in +bondage.</p> + +<a name='image_2'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-2.jpg' width='378' height='600' alt='Do You Ever Laugh? (White Studio)' title=''> +</center> + +<p>And, mind you, physical training doesn't necessarily mean going to an +expert for advice. One doesn't have to make a mountain out of a +molehill. Get out in the fresh air and walk briskly—and don't forget to +wear a smile while you're at it. Don't over-do. Take it easy at first +and build on your effort day by day. A little this morning—a little +more tonight. The first chance you have, when you're sure of your wind +and heart, get out upon the country road, or cross-country hill and +dale. Then run, run, run, until you drop exhausted upon some grassy +bank. Then laugh, loud and long, for you're on the road to happiness.</p> + +<p>Try it now—don't wait. <i>Today is the day to begin.</i> Or, if it is night +when you run across these lines, drop this book and trot yourself +around the block a few times. Then come back and you'll enjoy it more +than you would otherwise. Activity makes for happiness as nothing else +will and once you stir your blood into little bubbles of energy you will +begin to think of other means of keeping your bodily house in order. +Unless you make a first effort the chances are you will do very little +real thinking of any kind—<i>we need pep to think</i>.</p> + +<p>Think what an opportunity we miss when stripped at night if we fail to +give our bodies a round of exercise. It is so simple, so easy, and has +so much to do with our sleep each night and our work next day that to +neglect to do so is a crime against nature. And laugh! Man alive, if you +are not in the habit of laughing, <i>get the habit</i>. Never miss a chance +to laugh aloud. Smiling is better than nothing, and a chuckle is better +still—but <i>out and out laughter</i> is the real thing. Try it now if you +dare! And when you've done it, analyze your feelings.</p> + +<p>I make this prediction—if you once start the habit of exercise, and +couple with it the habit of laughter, even if only for one short +week—you'll keep it up ever afterwards.</p> + +<p>And, by the way, Friend Reader,—don't be alarmed. The personal pronouns +"<i>I</i>" and "<i>you</i>" give place in succeeding chapters to the more +congenial editorial "<i>we</i>." I couldn't resist the temptation to enjoy +one brief spell of intimacy just for the sake of good acquaintance. +<i>Have a laugh on me.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_II'></a><h3>CHAPTER II</h3> + +<h4>TAKING STOCK OF OURSELVES</h4> +<br /> + +<p>Experience is the real teacher, but the matter of how we are going to +succeed in life should not be left to ordinary chance while we are +waiting for things to happen. Our first duty is to prepare ourselves +against untoward experiences, and that is best done by taking stock of +our mental and physical assets at the very outset of our journey. What +weaknesses we possess are excess baggage to be thrown away and that is +our reason for taking stock so early. It is likely to save us from +riding to a fall.</p> + +<p>There is one thing we don't want along—<i>fear</i>. We will never get +anywhere with that, nor with any of its uncles, aunts or cousins—<i>Envy, +Malice and Greed</i>. In justice to our own best interests we should search +every crook and cranny of our hearts and minds lest we venture forth +with any such impedimenta. There is no excuse, and we have no one to +blame if we allow any of them to journey along with us. We know whether +they are there or not just as we would know <i>Courage, Trust and Honor</i> +were they perched behind us on the saddle.</p> + +<p>It is idle to squeal if through association with the former we find +ourselves ditched before we are well under way—for it is coming to us, +sooner or later. We might go <i>far</i>, as some have done, through the lanes +and alleys of ill-gotten gains and luxurious self-indulgence, but we +would pay in the end. So, why not charge them up to "profit and loss" at +the start and kick them off into the gutter where they belong? They are +not for us on our eventful journey through life, and the time to get rid +of them once and for all is when we are young, and mentally and +physically vigorous. Later on when the fires burn low and we still have +them with us they will be hard to push aside.</p> + +<p>"To thine own self be true," says the great Shakespeare and how can we +be true to our own selves if we train with inferiors? We are known by +our companionships. We will be rated according to association—good or +bad. The two will not mix for long and we will be one sort of a fellow +or the other. We can't be both.</p> + +<p>There was a time, long years ago, in the days of our grandfathers, when +men went to the "bow-wows" and, later on, "came back" as it were, by +making a partial success in life—measured largely by the money they +succeeded in accumulating. That was before the "check-up" system was +invented. Today things are different. Questions are asked—"Where were +you last?"—"Why did you leave there?"—"Have you credentials?"—and +when we shake our weary head and walk away, we fondly wish we had "taken +stock" back there when the "taking" was good.</p> + +<div class='blkquot'><p>"To thine own self be true; and it must follow as the night the + day, thou canst not then be false to any man."</p></div> + +<p>When we can analyze ourselves and find that we are living up to the +quoted lines above we may safely lift the limit from our aspirations. +Right here it is well to say that success is not to be computed in +dollars and cents, nor that the will to achieve a successful life is to +be predicated upon the mere accumulation of wealth. First of all, good +health and good minds—then we may laugh loud and long—we're safe on +"first."</p> + +<p>So, with these two weapons we may dig down into our aspirations, and, +keeping in view that our policy is that of honesty to ourselves and +toward our fellow man, all we need to do is to go about the program of +life cheerfully and stout of heart—<i>for now we are in a state of +preparedness</i>.</p> + +<p>We are at the point where vision starts. Along with this vision must +come the courage of convictions in order that we may feel that our ideas +are important, and because we have such thoughts, <i>we shall surely +succeed</i>. It has often been noticed that when we have had a large +conception and have with force, character, and strength of will carried +it into effect, immediately thereafter a host of people have been able +to say: "I thought of that myself!" Most of us have had the same +experience after reading of a great discovery that we had thrown +overboard because it must not have been "worth while" or someone else +would already have thought of it.</p> + +<p>The man who puts life into an idea is acclaimed a genius, because he +does <i>the right thing at the right time</i>. Therein lies the difference +between the <i>genius</i> and a <i>commonplace</i> man.</p> + +<p>We all have ambitions, but only the few achieve. A man thinks of a good +thing and says: "Now if I only had the money I'd put that through." The +word "if" was a dent in his courage. With character fully established, +his plan well thought out, he had only to go to those in command of +capital and it would have been forthcoming. He had something that +capital would cheerfully get behind if he had the courage to back up his +claims. To fail was nothing less than moral cowardice. <i>The will to do</i> +had not been efficient. There was a flaw in the character, after all.</p> + +<p>Going back, therefore, to the prescription, we find that a <i>sound +body</i>, a <i>good mind</i>, an <i>honest purpose</i>, and a <i>lack of fear</i> are the +essential elements of success. So, when we have conceived something for +the good of the world and have allowed it to go by default we have +dropped the monkey-wrench into the machinery of our preparedness. We +must look about us for a reason. Have we fallen by the wayside of +carelessness? Have we allowed ourselves to be discouraged by cowardly +"ifs"? <i>Did we lack the sand?</i> Exactly so; we didn't have the courage of +our convictions.</p> + +<p>Life is the one great experience, and those who fail to win, if sound of +body, can safely lay the blame to their lack of mental equipment. What +does it matter if disappointments follow one after the other if we can +<i>laugh and try again?</i> Failures must come to all of us in some degree, +but we may rise from our failures and win back our losses if we are only +shrewd enough to realize that good health, sound mind, and a cheerful +spirit are necessary adjuncts. As Tennyson says:</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"I held it truth, with him who sings<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>To one clear harp in divers tones,<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>That men may rise on stepping-stones<br /></span> +<span>Of their dead selves to higher things."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>All truly great men have been healthy—otherwise they would have fallen +short of the mark. Prisons are filled with nervous, diseased creatures. +There is no doubt but that most of these who, through ignorance, sifted +through to the bottomless pits could have saved themselves had they +realized the truth and "taken stock" of themselves, <i>in time</i>—of +course, allowing for those, who are victims of circumstantial evidence.</p> + +<p>The prime necessity of life is health. With this, for mankind, nothing +is impossible. But if we do not make use of this good health it will +waste itself away and never come back. It often disappears entirely for +lack of interest on the part of its thoughtless owner. A little energy +would have saved the day. <i>A little "pep"—and we laugh and live.</i> +Laughter clings to good health as naturally as the needle clings to the +magnet. It is the outward expression of an unburdened soul. It bubbles +forth as a fountain, always refreshing, always wholesome and sweet.</p> + +<a name='image_3'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-3.jpg' width='600' height='417' alt='Over the Hedge and on His Way' title=''> +</center> + +<p>In taking stock of ourselves we should not forget that fear plays a +large part in the drama of failure. That is the first thing to be +dropped. Fear is a mental deficiency susceptible of correction, if taken +in hand before it gains an ascendency over us. Fear comes with the +thought of failure. Everything we think about should have the +possibility of success in it if we are going to build up courage. We +should get into the habit of reading <i>inspirational books</i>, looking at +<i>inspirational pictures</i>, hearing <i>inspirational music</i>, associating +with <i>inspirational friends</i> and above all, we should cultivate the +habit of mind of thinking clean, and of doing, wholesome things.</p> + +<p>"Guard thyself!" That is the slogan. Let us "take stock" often and see +where we stand. We will not be afraid of the weak points. We will <i>get +after them</i> and get hold of ourselves at the same time. Some book might +give us help—a fine play, or some form of athletics will start us to +thinking. Self-analysis teaches us to see ourselves in a true light +without embellishments or undue optimism. We can gauge our chances in no +better way. If we grope in the darkness we haven't much of a chance. +"Taking stock" throws a searchlight on the dark spots and points the way +out of the danger zone.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_III'></a><h3>CHAPTER III</h3> + +<h4>ADVANTAGES OF AN EARLY START</h4> +<br /> + +<p>It is the young man who has the best chance of winning. Then why +shouldn't youthfulness be made a permanent asset? We have recovered from +the idea of putting a man into a sanatorium just because a few grey +hairs show themselves in his head. We should not ask him how old he is +... we should ask: "<i>What can he do?</i>" The young man may have the +advantage of years but the older one has the advantage of experience and +knowledge. Now if this older man could carry along with him that spirit +of youth which actuated his earlier activities he would be prepared +against incapacity. Our fate hangs on how we conduct ourselves in youth. +The world has great need of the sober, thoughtful men <i>above the fifty +line</i>. By right of experience and knowledge they should become our +leaders in the shaping of our policies. It is all a matter of how a man +comes through, mentally, physically and spiritually. Age should not +count against him.</p> + +<p>The first thought is to keep healthy. In fact, we cannot harp on this +too much. The second requirement is confidence in ourselves, without +which our career is short lived.</p> + +<p>Already we perceive that one must keep track of his <i>inner self</i>. This +breeds confidence. The very fact that one stops to probe into that +hidden land of thought shows that he is keeping tab on himself with a +sharp eye. That's the stuff! <i>We mustn't fool ourselves.</i> The majority +of failures come as a result of not being able to trust one's self. The +moment we doubt, or acknowledge that we cannot conquer a weakness, then +we begin to go down hill. It is a subtle process. We hardly realize it +at the time but as the days go by, the years roll on, the final day of +reckoning draws near and relentlessly we are swept along as driftwood +toward the lonely beaches of obscurity. And all because <i>we lacked +self-confidence!</i> We did not realize it until it was too late. We were +too busy with self-indulgence to struggle for success.</p> + +<p>Most of our troubles in later life started with <i>failure to take hold of +ourselves</i> when we were young. It may be that we put off making our +choice of something to do. If we had been companionable to ourselves we +might have thought out the proper course while taking long walks in +pursuit of physical development. That would have been a <i>fine</i> time in +which to fight out the whole problem—the time when optimism and <i>the +will to do</i> are as natural as the laughter of a child, or the song of a +bird. That was the time when the world appeared roseate and beautiful, +when success lay just beyond the turn of the road, when failure seemed +something illusory and improbable. Then was the time to jump in with +both feet and <i>a big hearty laugh</i> to solve the problem of what to do +and how to go about it. It is surprising how readily the world follows +the individual with confidence. It is willing to believe in him, to +furnish funds, to assist in any way within its power. And that is where +the man <i>with a smile</i> is sure to win—for the man who smiles has +confidence in himself.</p> + +<p>So long as we carry along with us our atmosphere of hearty good will and +enthusiasm we know no defeat. The man who is gloomy, taciturn and lives +in a world of doubt seldom achieves more than a bare living. There have +been a few who have groaned their way through to a competence but in +proportion to that overwhelming number of souls who carry cheer through +life they are as nothing—mere drops in the bucket. If the truth were +told their success came probably through mere chance and nothing else. +Such people are not the ones for us to endeavor to follow. <i>We cannot +afford to allow our visions to sour.</i></p> + +<p>Beginning early takes away timidity and builds for success while we are +young enough to enjoy the benefits. Although it is never too late to +start a cheerful life we don't have to kill ourselves in the attempt. +There is no necessity for throwing all caution to the winds, but we +should press our advantages. With <i>self-analysis</i> comes a certain +poise, a certain dignity and kindliness that tempers every move with +precision.</p> + +<p>Once we get the proper start we have only to take stock now and then in +order to keep our machinery in a fine state of repair. If we have chosen +wisely we love our work and stick to it closely—not forgetting the home +duties and our share in its success. Right here we run up against the +danger signal if our business success wins us away from the hearthstone. +<i>Love of home</i> is a quality of the workers of the earth. "What doth it +profit a man to win the whole world if he <i>loseth</i> his own soul?"</p> + +<p>To sum up the case—once we have made up our minds to win and how we are +going to do it, the next step is to act. <i>Health is synonymous with +action.</i> The healthy man does things, the unhealthy man hesitates. And +when we get ready to act we will act with the air of a conqueror. We +must supply from our own store our atmosphere of confidence in order to +win confidence. The successful man is the one who <i>knows he is right</i> +and makes us realize it.</p> + +<p>It is always worth while to study the successes among our +acquaintances. Are they gloomy, morose and irritable? If they were to +that extent they would not be successful. On the contrary, they are +robust, confident individuals who have taken advantage of every rightful +opportunity and possessed <i>the power to smile</i> when all about them were +in the dumps. When everyone else thought that there wasn't a chance to +win these fellows stepped in and took charge.</p> + +<p>When we interview the failures we find that all of them give one excuse: +"<i>I didn't have the confidence.</i>" They may not say it in exactly these +words but the meaning is plain. They ran through the whole gamut of +<i>self-distrust</i> which is the natural result of not having started early +in the study of self—the serious realization of their own capabilities.</p> + +<a name='image_4'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-4.jpg' width='411' height='600' alt='Preparing to Pair With the Prickly Pear' title=''> +</center> + +<p>This makes it easy to understand their plight. If we know ourselves we +are strengthened that much, because we can bolster up our weaknesses. We +will know enough to combat timidity. We can then know what we are +capable of, and thus become conscious of our innate powers that only +need to be called into action in order to become useful. We cannot +imagine for an instant a great violinist going out on the concert +platform in ignorance of the condition of his instrument. And yet +failures go out on the stage of life knowing nothing of their strengths +and weaknesses—<i>and still expect to win!</i></p> + +<p>If we are to become successes we must <i>keep success in mind</i>—banish all +thought of losing. Success is just as natural as anything else. It is +only a matter of the mind anyhow. We are all successes <i>as long as we +continue to think so</i>. Self-depreciation is a disease. Once it gets a +hold on us—good-bye!</p> + +<p>And that is why it is wise to begin early—to take hold of affairs while +we are young. Superiority over our fellow man comes from a superiority +of mind and body. A healthy mind breeds a healthy body. The most +superficial study will convince us of this fact.</p> + +<p>Appearance counts for much in this world. We judge largely by +appearances. We haven't time to know everyone we meet intimately and as +a result must base our opinions upon <i>first impressions</i>. The fellow who +comes in an office with his head hanging down between his shoulders and +a frown upon his face doesn't get far with us. We find ourselves looking +over his sagging shoulders toward the individual behind him who comes in +with a swinging step and the confidence born of health and good spirits.</p> + +<p>Self-confidence in youth makes for self-confidence in after years. This +is far from meaning that one can be brazen and inclined towards +freshness and get away with it. It merely means the marshalling of one's +forces, <i>the command of one's self</i> and the ability to make others +recognize that we are on the map because we belong there. And one of the +quickest ways to accomplish this is to have a smile tucked away for +instant use. Again, this does not mean that we are to carry round a +ready-to-wear grin which we wear only as we are ushered into the +presence of another. <i>A real smile, or a hearty laugh, is not to be +counterfeited.</i> We easily know the genuine from the spurious. A real +laugh springs naturally out of a pure, unadulterated confidence and a +good physical condition. What triumphs, what splendid battles, have been +won through the ability to laugh at the right moment.</p> + +<p>Whenever we find that we are losing our ability to smile let's have no +false notions. We are neglecting our physical well being. Let us then +and there drop the sombre thoughts and get out into the open air. Run +down the street and if possible out into the country. If we see a tree +and have the inclination to climb it—well, then, climb it. If we are +sensitive about what our neighbors might say—too bad! But we can romp +with easy grace. If we but knew how gladly our neighbors would emulate +our gymnastics if they knew the value of them the laugh would be on us +for dreading their opinion. One thing we do know—<i>they will envy us our +good health and spirits</i>.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_IV'></a><h3>CHAPTER IV</h3> + +<h4>PROFITING BY EXPERIENCE</h4> +<br /> + +<p><i>Experience comes by contact.</i> There is no way we can have experiences +without passing directly through them. If we are up and doing they come +thick and fast into our lives, some of them weighted down by the +peculiar twists and turns of circumstances, others simple, easily +understood, and still others complicated to the point of not being +understood at all.</p> + +<p>People are divided into two classes—<i>those who profit by experience and +those who do not</i>. The unfortunate part of it all is that the latter +class is by far the larger of the two.</p> + +<p>The man of vigorous purpose, fine constitution, and the full knowledge +of self, sees through an experience as clearly as through a window. The +glass may be foggy, but he knows what lies beyond. Self-reliant and +strong he seeks knowledge through experience, while the weak man, the +unhealthy-minded, the inefficient, stands aside and gives him the right +of way. In later years, however, they bitterly complain that they were +not given the same chance to succeed.</p> + +<p>The man of experience having long since passed through the stages of +indecision has, through careful self-analysis learned to bridge +difficulties that would make others tremble with fear. He knows that +every lane has a turning. He may not see it at the moment. He may not +know where it is. <i>But that doesn't worry him.</i> He picks up his bundle +and trudges ahead, confident that victory awaits him somewhere along the +line.</p> + +<p>The fact that he believes in himself, sets him apart from ordinary +mankind. Many great men have been at loss to understand why they +attained success. It is well nigh impossible for them to outline the +causes that led them to the top rungs of the ladder. The reason is that +<i>their lack of fear</i> of experiences was an unconscious one, rather than +a conscious one. However, they are willing to admit that acting on the +principle of profiting by experience <i>loaned them initiative</i> with which +to proceed. They soon came to know opportunity at sight and had only to +look around to find it.</p> + +<p>The young man standing on the threshold of life is, from lack of +experience, puzzled over the future. He looks above him and sees the +towering successes. He reads in the papers of the massive characters who +have risen from the bottom to the top. Naturally he would like to meet +one of these giants of success and hear what he has to say. The +interview is quite needless. "<i>Get busy and profit by experience</i>," is +about all the advice one man can give to another. There is no way to +profit by experience until we have had experience so there is nothing to +do but get busy and experience will come as fast as we can absorb it. +Our duty is to strive for success and not expect to attain it except by +successive steps. A wholesale consignment would be our undoing. Quick +successes through luck or good fortune have not the lasting value of +those won by virtue of knowing how—of accomplishing what we started +out to do.</p> + +<p>Faith in one's self does not come from the outside—it must spring up +naturally <i>from within</i>. A healthy body and a sane mind are the best +foundations for this. The young man who begins his career with these +facts in mind is given a running start over his competitors. Poverty and +failure are the result of <i>an ignorance of the value of experience</i>. +Worry, anxiety, fear of not doing the right thing, lack of insight into +character ... these, too, are the result of a lack of experience.</p> + +<p>Good health is necessary to experience, but a majority neglect to take +care of it. If we are to profit by what we learn we <i>must have the vim</i> +with which to push forward. We must have every ounce of vitality we +possess at command—ready for use. This we conserve for the <i>big +emergency</i> which we know is coming. New experiences are pushing us +forward and previous experiences are helping to move the load. +Experience tells us what to do at this point and that—and at last puts +its shoulder to the wheel and "<i>over she goes!</i>"</p> + +<p>Every mind is in possession of an enormous amount of dormant power and +only experience can release it into proper action. We often hear a fond +mother say that her son is full to bursting with the <i>old nick</i>, which +means that the youngster is overflowing with <i>pent-up energy</i>. With +experience he could find good use for it—but without it this surplus +may turn out to be a dangerous possession. Young men of this type should +be guarded most carefully and advised to "get busy" <i>early in life</i> at +something worth while. Many a bright fellow brimming with excess power +has gone as a lamb to the slaughter into the maelstrom of vice because +of being held back from <i>legitimate occupation</i>. He just had to blow off +steam so he did it in a gin mill rather than a rolling mill.</p> + +<p>This dynamo called the mind can be trained to do anything. Not only can +it be guided at the start but it can be guided by all that follows. It +can be used for building additional dynamos to be called into action in +times of need. This statement may seem at first far-fetched. If we think +so it is proof that we have not <i>profited by our experiences</i> and should +get down to "stock taking" before it is too late.</p> + +<p>The practical man, after all, is only <i>one who takes advantage of +opportunities</i>. He could double and triple his power if he only realized +how superficial the average setback really is. The young man has just as +much chance of being considered practical as the so-called older one, +always provided that he has a store of experiences to profit by. The +first <i>big experience</i> of life usually makes or breaks us. For this +experience we need to be prepared. We must have a <i>strong heart</i> that we +may bear defeat nobly from this is not to be our last kick—our last +breath—<i>not by a jugful!</i></p> + +<p>We are going to start all over again after our setback and we are not +going to wait any longer than it takes to bury the dead. This will be +done decently and in good order—our training will admit of no +indecorum. If the smash was a bad one we will assume the liability, +nevertheless, and get back on the job. We are out to win and +<i>eventually we will win</i>.</p> + +<p>And that is what we mean by taking profit from experience. <i>The powers +that break down are also the powers that build up.</i> The electrician who +handles the motor could just as well end his own existence by that +mysterious current as he could make use of it for the good of humanity. +He spends years of conscientious study and masters the knowledge of it +so that its uses are as simple as his A B C's. There is no doubt in the +world but that he had to learn by experience. He had to go into the shop +and <i>climb up from the bottom</i>. There was no other way by which he could +come to know how to turn a deadly force into a well-trained necessity.</p> + +<p>Yet the average man goes into life with as little knowledge of its +forces as the baby who puts its foot upon the third rail. That fact +keeps the thoughtless man down until experience comes to the rescue. +When it does come, <i>if he has the sand, the common sense, the will to +do</i>, there is naught to hold him away from his goal.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_V'></a><h3>CHAPTER V</h3> + +<h4>ENERGY, SUCCESS AND LAUGHTER</h4> +<br /> + +<p>There are many essentials to success, but there is one that is of such +importance that without it all the others become as naught. The man who +wins success is invariably impelled to do the great work allotted him by +<i>something within</i> that tells him <i>he can</i>. He may not know exactly what +it is, but he knows he possesses it and is able to <i>act on that faith</i>, +accomplishing things which seem utterly impossible to other people. This +<i>inner determination</i>, once firmly implanted in one's nature, cannot be +destroyed or conquered. And this element is <i>energy</i>—energy of mind, +which rules the body. But where does this come from? How do the great +minds generate this glorious means of self-propulsion? The answer is +that <i>in a healthy body it is inherent</i> from birth, and proper care of +the body therefore accentuates within their minds the will to do.</p> + +<p>If the preceding chapters have been carefully read we may readily +believe that the successful youth must start with a wholesome, generous +viewpoint, a good constitution, and a clean mind. We have had an inkling +by this time of what one must do to achieve success in a world where +competition is keen. We are beginning to realize that these matters are +of vital importance and that we are face to face with a problem.</p> + +<p>Energy is the natural outpouring of a healthy body. It must be directed, +it must be controlled, the same as any other living force. Not only is +it a positive necessity to the winner, but it must grow and become <i>a +natural quality</i>. It does not stand after years of abuse. It does not +spring up in the night after a long season of neglect and ill-health. +All of us possess it in varying ways. That fact ought to convince us +that we can get hold of ourselves and build up that which nature has +given us, rather than allow it to die away. We all have a certain amount +of energy ... <i>why shouldn't we all be successes?</i> We might to a +certain extent, but that doesn't mean that we shall all get rich in the +money sense of the world.</p> + +<p>When we say: "Why shouldn't we all be successes?" we do not mean that +everybody in the world must be greedy for money, nor for power and +position. It does not mean that we should be selfish and eager to take +everything away from the other fellow. On the contrary, it means that, +with energy, we shall be successful <i>according to our brain tendency</i>.</p> + +<p>Going back to our second chapter we find the phrase "taking stock" of +ourselves. Done rightly that alone will inspire success. Now if we are a +little farther along on the way towards sane living and the <i>ability to +laugh</i> and we know that after this struggle is over the battle is won we +must use the powers that self-analysis gives us—<i>to fight</i>. The mere +recognition of them is power and we must not let them go to waste.</p> + +<p>Energy is like steam—it cannot be generated under the boiling point. In +other words, <i>half-heartedness</i> never produced it nor made it a +practical working tool. We must be energetic in order to augment +energy. We must have confidence along with it ... the more the merrier. +The greater the confidence in ourselves the greater the energy which +brought it about. Some minds naturally feel confident. These are the +lucky ones, the slender few who have grasped life's meaning at the start +by "<i>taking stock</i>" before they were threatened with defeat. Success +comes to them as easily as rolling off the proverbial log. They come +sweeping along, conquering, sure of themselves, confident, aspiring, +true to their inner selves, ready for work, unafraid of experiences, and +<i>sure of a smile when the clouds are darkest</i>.</p> + +<p>This does not mean that these successes have exceptional ability. If +that were the case we would not waste time either in reading or writing +about the matter. If we didn't feel that we were potentially able to +become successes and possessed the elements of victory in our present +make-up not another moment would be spent on the subject. The very +simplicity of this use of energy proves to us that it is a quality +bubbling forth <i>in the least of us</i> and the strongest. It only needs to +be put to work and it becomes self-strengthening. <i>Living in the open +air, sleeping out of doors, taking the proper exercise, looking +wholesomely upon life, believing in ourselves</i>, are all parts of the +sane existence which leads to success and laughter.</p> + +<p>We ought to feel that everything in life possesses elements akin to +human feeling. We should not arrogate to ourselves the sole right to +rule and reason. And what has this to do with energy? It is only one of +the many vistas that open to us when we learn how to laugh and live. And +man alive! <i>If we never learn to laugh we will never learn to live.</i></p> + +<p>We must not forget that there can be more than one use made of energy. +In the same way that electricity might be misused so might energy be +placed in the wrong service. We must not waste any time, therefore, in +getting this energy of ours worked into <i>enthusiasm</i> ... enthusiasm for +our life work, for our fellow man, <i>for the zest of life</i>. We must +throw ourselves into the battle and carry the standard. We must leap to +the front, not waiting for the other fellow to show the way. Spend your +enthusiasm freely and be surprised at how it thrives on usage.</p> + +<p>Enthusiasm being produced by energy must of a necessity depend largely +upon that. Now the point is, how shall we guard and keep fresh this +element in ourselves? We know that the body is producing this quality. +Like the steam engine we are keeping the fires going by exercise, +wholesome thinking and sincerity of purpose. We are the engineers. Our +hand is on the throttle. Sharp turns lie ahead but our eyes look forward +fearlessly. We glance about us to see that we are in the pink of +condition. We know that our mind is functioning properly and that the +awakened confidence is already inherent in our natures and stands beside +us night and day like the officer upon the bridge of the ship. <i>Indeed +we are on our way!</i></p> + +<a name='image_5'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-5.jpg' width='390' height='600' alt='A Little Spin Among the Saplings' title=''> +</center> + +<p>Out of energy and enthusiasm comes something else that must not be +neglected ... in fact it must be cultivated and guarded from the very +beginning ... <i>laughter</i>. The mere possession of energy and enthusiasm +makes us feel like laughing. We want to leap and jump and dance and +sing. If we feel like that don't let us be afraid to do it. <i>Get out in +the air and run like a school boy. Jump ditches, vault fences, swing the +arms!</i> Never fail to get next to nature when responsive to the call. +Indeed we may woo this call from within ourselves until it comes to be +second nature. And when we rise in the morning let us be determined that +we will start the day with a hearty laugh anyhow. Laugh because you are +alive, laugh with everything. <i>Let yourself go.</i> That is the secret—the +ability to let one's self go!</p> + +<p>If we follow this religiously we will be surprised how successful the +day will be. Everything gives way before it.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_VI'></a><h3>CHAPTER VI</h3> + +<h4>BUILDING UP A PERSONALITY</h4> +<br /> + +<p>More and more personality is coming into its own as man's greatest +asset. There was never a day when it was not, but in former years this +essential quality was not listed under the name ... <i>personality</i>. Had +we lived in the days of our fathers' youth we would have heard about +"remarkable men," "men of big caliber," "large character," "splendid +presence," and the like. But it remained for our day and generation to +discover the real word—<i>personality</i>—meaning the <i>most perfect +combination possible of man's highest attributes</i>. At least that would +be the definition in its fullest sense.</p> + +<p>Of course everyone has a certain personality and, no matter in what +degree, its possession is valuable. Personality is an acorn, so to +speak, which may be cultivated into a sturdy oak. Personality is one's +<i>inner self outwardly expressed</i>. It represents the conquest of our +weaknesses and naturally impresses our strength of character upon +others.</p> + +<p>With personality our foundation is firm. On this pedestal we may stand +squarely and face life with equanimity. For such there is no end to +achievement while good health and youthful spirit remain.</p> + +<p>It is impossible to come into the presence of a personality without +becoming immediately aware of it. It is reflected by people of <i>small +stature ... poor physiques ... homely visages</i>, as well as men of the +highest physical development. The great Napoleon was just above five +feet while Lincoln towered over the six-foot line. Men of personality +are the last to say die. Their store of <i>combativeness</i> carries them +beyond their real span of existence either in years or achievement. +Thus, the mind shows its mastery over matter. Alexander Pope was still +writing while propped upon the pillows of his death bed. Mark Twain +joked with friends when he knew his hour was at hand.</p> + +<p><i>Personality is magnetic.</i> It can charm the friend or put fear into the +heart of the enemy. Joan of Arc, a frail woman, won battles at the head +of her troops. History is filled with incidents where men of personality +have turned defeat into victory by leading their soldiers back into the +fray.</p> + +<p>Wholesome personality is the fulfillment of +self-development—physically, mentally and spiritually. But all +personality is not wholesome for it often shows in the face of the man +<i>who is a rogue at heart</i>. Therefore, all personality is not for the +good of the world. It is only of the wholesome kind that we speak. To +such as possess it the goal is divine. Personality could never be +perfected without living a <i>life of preparedness</i> backed up by our most +earnest and honest convictions. Personality is made up of many qualities +and differs in man only as man is different from his brother man. +Perfect personality requires constant care in its development and +constant guard for its safety. It cannot be purchased in the open +market. It must be built upon piece by piece and everything we are +becomes a part of it.</p> + +<p>Personality would be indeed imperfect if it did not give us <i>full +poise</i>. If we neglect our physical poise we pull down our mental poise, +likewise our spiritual poise. That is why personality must be kept +constantly protected against encroachment; but this can be so fixed by +purpose, plan, and power of will that it becomes automatically +safeguarded. Once in possession we have only to make it part of our +natural selves and <i>wear it unconsciously</i> to the last breath of life.</p> + +<p>Then the question is, why should we allow ourselves to be satisfied with +an imperfect personality? It only reflects back upon ourselves. Haven't +we often heard a man say: "<i>He is all right but</i>...!" Perhaps the +personality in question was untidy, or that his walk was that of a +laggard, or that he affected an egotistical air of +superiority—whatever the impairment it should have been done away with.</p> + +<p>A man of personality should never be haunted with worry from the sneers +of his inferiors because of their own laxity. Some men perfect their +manner of speech to a degree which takes it above that of their weaker +fellows, others develop fine qualities which are viewed by ordinary +individuals as affectations but which are in reality the result of +<i>innate refinement</i>.</p> + +<p>The man of no refinement has indeed an uphill fight but with persistence +and ambition to succeed he can win. Lincoln, the rail splitter, is the +most shining example of <i>the power to will victory</i>. For him to have +fallen by the wayside would have caused no comment for it would have +been expected in those early days of struggle, but to those who have the +benefit of inherited tendencies toward personality, to fail in its +development is in the nature of a crime.</p> + +<p>Personality does not mean over-refinement. <i>Sturdy qualities</i> are the +necessary ones. Over-refinement leads to the softer life and ofttimes to +degeneracy. Exalted ego is an indication of degeneracy and may have +been inherited. Of those things we inherit that are good we must hold, +and everlastingly must we watch those which are bad. It is never wise to +wander far away from basic principles into preachment. What we need is +guidance along the road to the goal of personality. First of all we need +<i>health</i> and second, <i>the will to do</i>. Next, we must use these weapons +in the right direction, for personality is at its zenith when backed up +by <i>strong physique and brain power</i>.</p> + +<p>From previous chapters we have learned that success of any kind is +predicated upon keeping ourselves in trim, and in good humor. Keeping in +trim is no trick at all. We can make it a part of every physical action +and as keeping in trim means perfection of body and soundness of mind we +should never neglect to utilize any effort that will help us toward +bodily efficiency. <i>There is exercise in stooping over to pick up a pin +if we will go about it the right way. We can correct an ill-formed body +by adopting and maintaining a certain carriage. We may hold our chin in +such a way as to provide against stooped shoulders.</i></p> + +<p>We have opportunities both morning and evening to indulge in various +forms of light, systematic exercises which will push forward the day's +work with zest and vim.</p> + +<p>Poise has everything to do with personality, therefore the physical +structure must come in for its share of proper attention. No man of +refined personality would walk the streets with a soiled face or +uncombed hair. Such things do not give poise. They are the evidences of +a laggard spirit. The more we exercise the more energetic we become, the +surer we are of ourselves, the farther we get in the development of our +personality.</p> + +<a name='image_6'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-6.jpg' width='378' height='600' alt='Over the Hills and Far Away—Father and Son' title=''> +</center> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_VII'></a><h3>CHAPTER VII</h3> + +<h4>HONESTY, THE CHARACTER BUILDER</h4> +<br /> + +<p>Just as the straight line is the shortest distance between two points so +is honesty the only proper attitude of one person toward another. +Without it there is no understanding possible. It must always remain +supreme as a quality without which character becomes a sham, a +superficial thing that has no basis in fact. <i>The ability to look the +other fellow in the eye</i> is as necessary to character as the foundation +is to a house. It comes out of that "<i>great within</i>" which we are now +exploring. It arises from the courageous facing of our weaknesses and +becomes a part of the man <i>who knows himself and laughs with life</i>, at +the mere joy of living, doing, accomplishing ... winning against all +odds.</p> + +<p>Honesty accompanies a proper self-esteem and its cultivation should +become a part of our earliest education. It doesn't grow anywhere +except within ourselves and will never be handed to us on a silver +platter. If we fail to find it when we are young it will have small +chance of obtaining a grip on us later. <i>It is the one quality with +which to crown our highest attributes.</i> It is final proof that we are +capable of just thought and square dealing, and is proof positive that +we are part and parcel of the wholesome spirit which rules the universe. +Its possession is greater than riches for its dividend is happiness and +contentment and we cannot go wrong if we so live that we can look any +man in the eye and <i>tell him the truth</i>.</p> + +<p>To live in the full sense means to be alert. Whatever high moral plane +we shall achieve must be held against all temptation. There is no +compromise. <i>Self-deceit</i> is nothing less than <i>self-stultification</i>. We +only fool ourselves and soon find ourselves slipping down hill. It will +be hard climbing getting back. And what of the wear and tear on our +ambitions meanwhile!</p> + +<p>Honesty does not grow naturally out of a dull, uninspired life. It goes +with the energetic, the forceful. The dull soul who is content to plod +along year after year in the same rut may be honest, and this one +redeeming feature may be of such inestimable value to him that it +sweetens and softens his entire days. It will bring him friends ... +true-blue friends, who will excuse all other shortcomings <i>because of +his honesty</i>. It gives him the unadulterated trust of his employer and +it arouses a certain admiration among his narrow circle of +acquaintances. If this is true with the dullard, the weakling, then what +must it mean <i>when possessed by the great?</i> We know, for instance, how +the nation instinctively turned to General Washington when it came to +choosing their President after the Revolutionary War. He may have been +gifted, he may have been one of the world's greatest captains, but the +one quality which endeared him to his countrymen was a tremendous moral +superiority. "<i>He never told a lie</i>" rang around the world. Summed up, +his virtues amounted to those five words. Some statesmen may have been +more astute but Washington was honest—"<i>he never told a lie</i>." The +people knew they could trust this man so they elected him to fill the +highest place within their gift.</p> + +<p>Honesty with ourselves is the first thing to remember. Unless we are, it +will be impossible for us to enter into that spiritual contentment +enjoyed by those who <i>are</i> honest with themselves. If we are untrue to +ourselves how can we be true to others? The framework of a man's moral +being must be that of honesty. It must become his very nature and become +automatic in its processes. It belongs to the healthy, those who keep +themselves well through <i>vigorous exercise and temperate living</i>. It is +not a quality set aside for the lucky few. Every man, woman and child +possesses it in some degree and only its constant neglect trims it to a +minimum. It is one of those fundamentals of life, one of those powerful +and moving forces that rule society. <i>We are either honest or we are +not.</i> We cannot be <i>nearly honest</i> and get away with it.</p> + +<p>When one stops to consider honesty, even for a moment, its full +importance is realized. For example, imagine having a dishonest friend. +Could we go to him with the secrets of our heart? Could we trust him? +Would we trust anyone who might turn traitor? Again: suppose we were +untrue to ourselves, and the fact became known. Could we blame others if +they passed us up as a companion? Never in a thousand years. <i>We must +sleep in the beds we prepare for ourselves.</i></p> + +<p>Men have grown accustomed through the years to certain standards. These +are now the moral laws which control and guide the destinies of entire +races, whole generations. There must have been a good reason for these +laws or they could never have come into being. Society does not adopt +many unnecessary rules, but among the vital laws <i>honesty stands out in +bold relief</i>. It has become deeply imbedded in the minds of mankind that +everyone must be true to himself. It is taken for granted that those who +are not would naturally be <i>false to everybody</i>.</p> + +<p>The reason for this lies in the fact that society will not proceed with +any course of action without being able to trust its members. The +general in charge of an army would have a hard time of it if he were +unable to place faith in the subordinate to whom he gave instructions +that might lead to a crisis in the battle. Society would dash itself +upon the rocks were it not conscious that certain people are +courageously honest, <i>and in these it finds its leaders</i>.</p> + +<p>To rise in life means that our fellow man believes in us and wishes us +to do so. Without his co-operation it would be futile to arouse our own +ambitions. We could not hope to win a victory all alone and against the +great majority who believe in certain standards and conditions. We might +fool ourselves into thinking that because of some stroke of fortune we +had established an immunity for ourselves. But some day <i>our +consciences</i> would tell us how feebly we had succeeded.</p> + +<p>There is only one method, only one way ... rise through honesty and an +optimistic belief in self. And let us not plume ourselves because of +our virtue. <i>Personal honesty is our due to ourselves and our fellow +man.</i></p> + +<p>One of the distinctive elements in the honest man's make-up is that of +laughter. The ones who live up to their ideals, do not feel that life is +such a dark place, after all. It may mean hard work, little play and +often delayed rewards but the fact that there is a world, and that it is +filled with other honest souls is reward enough to give us courage to +laugh as we go along. <i>We can always afford to laugh—when we're +honest</i>.</p> + +<p>The man who is innately honest has no reason to fear the snares of +fortune. He knows that he can win the trust of men; he knows that he +already has it. He has no dread of looking into the other fellow's eye. +He knows where he stands in life. He has won that which he has through +struggle, and he does not intend to lose it. He does not intend to fail. +<i>He cannot fail—he cannot lose.</i> No matter how things might go at this +moment or that the next will find him on the rising tide of new +opportunities—-new chances. His reputation travels before him like the +advance agent. His coming is heralded and he is welcomed into any +community.</p> + +<p>It isn't as though there were only a few honest men. This welcome, this +"glad hand," is always extended by society to the honest man as a token +of approval. The world's work is a tremendous matter. There is always +room for another worker to handle some part of it. And only the true, +the sincere, are capable of doing this in the proper way. The leaders of +society in the broader sense are those <i>who win the faith of the average +man</i>. We look up to Lincoln because we know that he was the one man in a +million to accomplish the greatest task ever set before a human being. +We realize that he was honest—<i>honest in the huge sense</i> so necessary +to the accomplishment of big ideals. And we know that in order to win +some part of that great trust we must obey the standards of honesty and +decency that lie below the surface and only need to be called to life +and action in order to be used.</p> + +<p>And laughter will arouse that sense as quickly as anything else. The man +who is capable of laughing heartily is not apt to be the one who +carries some <i>conscience-stricken thought around with him</i>. It is the +easiest thing in the world to detect an untrue laugh. The real laugh +springs out of the depths of being and comes with a ringing sense of +security and <i>faith in one's self</i>. It goes with the workman in the +early morning when he swings along the road to the factory. It +accompanies the soldier into battle. It arouses the clerk from lethargy. +It brightens the sick room. It raises us all to unexplored heights, and +as evidence of our state of mind it can only mean one thing—honesty and +sincerity. No character can exist without this outward exhibition of an +inward honesty. <i>The mere cultivation of laughter would eventually lead +to honesty.</i> The fact that you are laughing, enjoying life, awakens you +to a spirit of security and a feeling of the joy of living. Gloomy men +are the ones whose tendency is toward crime and trouble. Laughing men +are the ones who stir the world with new desires and make life worth +living. Therefore we say—<i>laugh and live!</i></p> + +<a name='image_7'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-7.jpg' width='600' height='425' alt='A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers"' title=''> +</center> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_VIII'></a><h3>CHAPTER VIII</h3> + +<h4>CLEANLINESS OF BODY AND MIND</h4> +<br /> + +<p>If we interview many of life's failures we will find that the +overwhelming majority went down because of their neglect to get out of +an environment that was not stimulating and because their ambitions had +grown rusty and inefficient to cope with depressing circumstances. The +prisons and other institutions are filled with people who did not make +any attempt to get away from the vicious surroundings in which they +lived. They were like tadpoles that had never grown to frogs ... they +just kept swimming around in their muddy puddles and, not having grown +legs with which they could leap out onto the banks and away to other +climes, they continued to swim in monotonous circles until they died. In +other words, the failure is a man who dwells in muddy atmosphere all his +days, who is content to remain a tadpole and who never attempts to take +advantage of any opportunity. He becomes unclean, so to speak. And that +is what we mean by this chapter heading "<i>Cleanliness of Body and +Mind</i>." It was not intended to point out the proper way to keep our +faces and hands clean, or as a sermon, but rather to show ourselves that +<i>the clean body begets the clean mind</i>, the two together constituting +compelling tendencies toward <i>the clean spirit</i>. A move in the direction +of these takes us out of the rut of life.</p> + +<p>No matter what cause we dig up with which to explain our success in life +we cannot neglect this most important one—<i>the careful selection of our +acquaintances</i>. And this doesn't mean that one must be a snob. Far from +it. It only means that the successful man, the man who wishes to rise in +life, should not spend his days in the company of <i>illiterate +companions</i> who do not possess <i>ambition of heart or the will to do the +work of the world</i>. It means that life is too short to hang around the +loafing places with the driftwood of humanity listening to their stories +of failure and drinking in with liquor some of their bitterness against +those who have toiled and won the fruits of their toil. It means that we +will not go out of our way to seek the friendship of men and women who +are simply endeavoring to gain happiness in life without paying for it. +It means that we will do all in our power to win friends who <i>aspire +nobly</i> and by so doing inspire those with whom they come in contact. +Such men are naturally clean of mind and body.</p> + +<p>We must remember always to live in a world of clear thought that will +<i>stimulate our ambitions</i>. Dwelling in the dark corners of life and +traveling with the débris of humanity will not arouse us to action and +give us that swinging vigor of heart and mind so necessary to the +accomplishment of great things. While we will ever lend the helping hand +to those who need it we will naturally associate with those who have vim +and courage. We will not be <i>dragged down by our associates</i>. Until we +meet the right kind we will hold aloof, and we will not be morose and +gloomy because it happens that at this moment our acquaintanceship does +not include these successes. When we have succeeded in doing something +big they will come to us and <i>if we think big things we are likely to do +them</i>. It is all a matter of the will to do.</p> + +<p>"Nothing succeeds like success," said some very wise man and if there +ever was a phrase that rang with truth this does. It means that the +<i>thought of success</i>, the courage that <i>comes with success</i>, leads to +<i>more and more success</i>. It means that the thinker of these thoughts is +living in a clean, wholesome atmosphere along with those who are +determined and in earnest. It means that they have caught the fervor of +true life ... a healthy, contagious fervor which permeates the blood +swiftly once it gets a hold, and like electricity it vivifies and stirs +the spirit with renewed energy <i>day after day, year after year</i>. Once it +wins us it will stick with us. The success of those about us will shake +our lethargic limbs and stimulate us to a desire to do as they do. We +will be in a world of clean thought and action and our lives will mirror +their lives, our thoughts will be filled with wholesome things and with +good health. We will win in spite of all obstacles.</p> + +<p>Cleanliness is <i>the morale of the body and the mind</i>. The man who is +careful of his linen and who does not neglect his morning plunge is not +apt to be gloomy and morose. We notice him in the car or on the street +in the morning. He comes striding along, fresh and full of <i>the zest of +living</i>. His mind is clear and unclouded. His eyes are full of that +vigorous light of conscientious desire to win and do so honestly. He has +none of the hypocritical elements in his nature strong enough to rule +him. There may be and probably are many weaknesses in his character. His +very strength consists in his ability to <i>crush them and make them his +slaves</i>.</p> + +<p>The man who has taken his morning plunge and dressed himself agreeable +to comfort and grace, has his battles of the day won in advance. He +knows the value of keeping himself in trim. He does it for the sake of +<i>his own</i> feelings. Our approval of his appearance goes without saying. +If a man thinks well of himself in matters of appearance his general +deportment is likely to coincide. Such men never overdo. They are at +ease with themselves and thus impart ease to others who come in contact +with them. They have, in other words, a distinction of their own and +<i>their distinction is their power</i>. They know that the highest moral law +of nature is that of cleanliness, that filthiness should not be allowed +to dominate any man's ethics or physical condition. They rule such +things out of their lives.</p> + +<p>A vast magnetic force comes out of those friends of ours who are <i>doing +things</i> and making the world <i>sit up and take notice</i>. The mere fact +that we live near to them, know them and associate with them is +proof-positive that we, too, shall go through life with clean minds and +bodies. They would not tolerate us if we were to slip into shoddy ways. +Nothing is revealed quicker to our intimates than <i>the losing of +ambition</i> ... the slipping into careless habits. We cannot conceal it +from them. We fool only those who brush by. The loss of this +self-respect has a terrible effect upon the system and every tendency +toward success is thereby stunted and weakened. <i>We have fallen into +unclean ways!</i> It will not be long before we sink to the bottom or else +remain among the vast crowd who have neither the courage to fall nor the +courage to rise.</p> + +<p>Nothing produces failure quicker than filthiness of mind and body. Those +who are successful keep away from the very thought of such a condition. +They live as much as possible <i>in the open</i>. They take morning and +evening exercises. They read good books, attend good plays and are +continually in touch with the finer developments of thought and art in +the world. Their faces are open and full of sunlight. They are +determined that life will not beat them in a game that only requires +sureness of aim and the ability to take advantage of the thousand and +one opportunities that surround them on every side.</p> + +<p>Cleanliness stands <i>paramount</i> in its importance to <i>success</i>. Perhaps +no other one thing has so vital a hold upon the individual who succeeds. +The general of an army first looks to the <i>morale</i> of his troops. He +knows that with clean minds and bodies his soldiers are capable of doing +big things. The battleship, that efficient and highly-developed +instrument of war, is so immaculate that one could eat his meals on its +very decks. Its officers are wholesome, athletic fellows; its crew +consists of hardy men who live sanely and vigorously and who have plenty +to occupy their minds. And if cleanliness is fundamental in their case +why not in our own?</p> + +<p>When we come to analyze ourselves we find that we are like a great +institution of some kind. Here is the brain, the heart, the lungs, the +stomach, the nerves and the muscles. Each department acts separately and +yet is connected absolutely with all the others. The entire system is +under one supreme department ... <i>the mind</i>. Now if this ruling +department is kept clean and full, of kindly, beautiful thoughts does it +not seem natural that the rest will follow its lead being so completely +in its power? We realize this and the mere realization is something done +towards the accomplishment of an ideal life in a world of cleanliness +and beauty.</p> + +<p>System is one of the finest tools in existence with which to build one's +life into something worth while. The <i>body</i> must be run on a system as +well as the <i>mind</i>. The stomach must not be overloaded with unnecessary +food. The lungs must not be filled with impure air. The nerves must not +be worn threadbare in riotous and ridiculous living. The muscles must be +kept in trim with consistent exercise of the proper sort. We must +recognize the wants, the needs of the physical system and see that they +are supplied.</p> + +<p>Roosevelt, perhaps more than any other living man today, has given +vitality to the supreme necessity of <i>cleanliness of mind and body</i>. He +has, by reason of his great prominence, been able to emphasize these two +vital essentials. He called a spade a spade and his message went far. +From those who knew the value of his words came nods of +approval—<i>others took heed</i>. From boyhood he has systematized his life, +taking the exercise needed, filling his mind with the learning of the +world, winning when others would have failed, profiting by experience +allotted to him through fate's kindly offices and association with the +<i>healthy, true men</i>. What has been the result? He has risen to the very +pinnacle of human endeavor ... <i>no honors await him</i>. He has lived +consistently and cleanly and he can look any man in the eye and say +honestly: "<i>I have lived as I have believed.</i>"</p> + +<p>It is not necessary to become President in order to live sanely, to gain +from circumstances the fruits that are ours for the asking and which +have fallen into Roosevelt's hands with such profusion. We cannot all +become Presidents but we can all <i>emulate a shining example of mental +and bodily morale</i>.</p> + +<p>Just as we plunge into the cold water in the early morning so should we +regularly during the day plunge into the society of those whose splendid +enthusiasm is helping to make the world a better place to live in. They +are the kind who go into the struggle with heads high and with clean +hearts. Their eyes see beyond the daily toil of life. They are in touch +with the big things and it is up to us to keep step with them. They want +us and they will give us the "glad hand." All they want to know is +whether our courage is equal to our ambitions and whether our <i>house of +life is kept in good order</i>. And so we journey along together in all +good nature, not forgetting to laugh as we live.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_IX'></a><h3>CHAPTER IX</h3> + +<h4>CONSIDERATION FOR OTHERS</h4> +<br /> + +<p>Consideration for others is man's noblest attitude toward his fellow +man. For every seed of human kindness he plants, <i>a flower blooms in the +garden of his own heart</i>. In him who gives in such a way there is no +hypocritical feeling of charity bestowed. His very act disarms the +thought. It is as natural for an honorable man to show consideration to +others as it is for him to eat and sleep. Acts of kindness are the +<i>outward manifestations of gentle breeding</i>—a refinement of character +in the highest sense of the word.</p> + +<p>What would we do in this world without the helping hand, the friendly +word of cheer, the thought that others shared our losses and cheered our +victories? If consideration for our feelings and thoughts did not exist +on this earth we would never know the depths of the love of our friends. +There would be no such thing as an earthly reward of merit. We know that +no matter what happens to us in the battle of life there will be someone +to cheer us on our way. We may be strong and thoroughly able to rely +upon ourselves but there comes a time when we need friendship and +sympathy. Society would crumble into dust without these influences. The +family circle would degenerate into a hollow mockery if consideration +each for the other was absent. It sweetens and makes wholesome what +otherwise might only be an existence of monotonous toil.</p> + +<p>Consideration for others is <i>the milk of human kindness</i>. For what we do +for others our recompense is <i>in the act itself</i> ... we should claim no +other reward. Observation brings to view that they who give in real +charity <i>cloak their acts from the eyes of all save the recipient</i>. +Givers of this type rise to the supreme heights of greatness. It is a +part of their wisdom to know what is best to be done and they go about +it as a pleasure as well as a duty.</p> + +<p>Consideration for others pays big dividends. It is a virtue that makes +for strong friendships and true affections. Those who possess it have a +hard time hiding their light under a bushel. In teaching fortitude to +others they partake of the same knowledge. In the hours of their own +affliction they retain their courage and keep their minds unsoured. They +are the <i>sure-enough "good fellows" of life</i> and their presence is the +signal for instantaneous good cheer. We all know them by their gentle +knock at the door. In a thousand ways they impress themselves upon our +lives, have entered into our councils, have given us the right advice at +the right time—and when the sad day comes along <i>their strong shoulders +are there for us to lean upon</i>.</p> + +<p>Consideration for others is apt to be an inherent quality, but like +everything else it can be accentuated or modified according to our own +determination. It is a growth that should be inculcated <i>early in the +lives of children</i>—the earlier the better. A child's most +impressionable age is said to be between its fourth and fifth years. +Then is the time to teach it the little niceties of life—the closing of +a door softly—tip-toeing quietly that mother may not be awakened from +her nap—tidiness—cleanliness—good morals—all of which are to become +vital factors in a life of consideration for others.</p> + +<p>A great many of us have the desire to be of service to others but +<i>timidity</i> holds us back. Say, for instance, one might see a person in +great distress and because of diffidence withhold the proffered +hand—someone we've known who comes to the point of penury but has <i>too +much pride</i> to ask assistance—we pass by fearful that we might offend. +How many times has this happened to us? Who knows but the best friend we +have at this very moment would give anything in the world if his pride +would let him bridge that distance between us.</p> + +<a name='image_8'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-8.jpg' width='600' height='423' alt='A Scene from "The Americano"—Matching Wits for Gold' title=''> +</center> + +<p>Nevertheless the desire to do the right thing was in itself helpful. The +thought of doing something for someone was a correct impulse and +should have been carried into action. Early in life we should have +started our foundation for doing things in the cause of others. Putting +off the time when we shall begin to obey our higher impulses toward +helpfulness to our fellows is but a reaction in our own characters which +<i>dulls determination</i>. We want to do but we don't. As time goes on we +just <i>don't</i>—that's all. Our good intentions have gone to pave the +bottomless pits containing our unfulfilled heart promptings. We meant +well—<i>but we failed to act</i>—we didn't have the courage. Our failures +spread a gloom before us. <i>We lost our chances for a happy life!</i></p> + +<p>The man with the ability to laugh has little diffidence about these +matters. Having confidence in himself and being happy and alert he goes +to the friend in need with courage and the kind of help that helps. If +he doesn't do it directly he finds a way to reach him through mutual +friends. He does not go about <i>parading</i> his kindness, either. He has +gained a sincere and beautiful pleasure out of aiding an old friend and +he can go on his way rejoicing that life is worth living when he has +lived up to its higher ideals.</p> + +<p>Consideration for others does not necessarily involve only the big +things. It is the sum and total of numberless acts and thoughts that +make for friendships and kindliness. People who are thoughtful surely +brighten the world. They are ever ready to do some little thing at the +correct moment and after a time we begin to realize how much their +presence means to us. We may not notice them the first time, or the +third, or the fifth, but after a while we become conscious of their +persistence and we esteem them accordingly. Such men are the products of +<i>clean, straightforward lives.</i> They are never too busy to exchange a +pleasant word. They do not flame into anger on a pretext. Their code of +existence is well ordered and filled to the brim with lots to do and +lots to think about. The old saying: "<i>If you want anything go to a busy +man</i>," applies to them in this regard. The busier men are the more time +they seem to have for <i>kindliness</i>.</p> + +<p>Another word for consideration is service. Nothing brings a greater +self-reward than a service done in an hour of need, or a favor granted +during a day's grind. The generous man who climbs to the top of the +ladder helps many others on their way. The more he does for someone else +the more he does for <i>himself</i>. The stronger he becomes—the greater his +influence in his community. Doing things for others may not bring in +<i>bankable dividends</i> but it does bring in <i>happiness</i>. Such actions +scorn a higher reward. We have only to try out the plan to learn the +truth for ourselves. A good place to begin is <i>at home</i>. Then, <i>the +office</i>, or wherever life leads us. And in doing these things we will +laugh as we go along—we will laugh and get the most out of living.</p> + +<p>Our little day-by-day kindnesses when added together constitute in time +a huge asset on the right side of our ledger of life. We should start +the day with something that helps another get through his day ... even +if it isn't any more than a smile and a wave of the hand. And he will +remember us for it.</p> + +<p>It is said that advice is cheap and for that reason is given freely. +But the proper kind of advice is about as rare as the proverbial hen's +tooth. In order to give real advice we must understand the man who asks +for it. If what we say to him is to become of value we must see to it +that his mind is put in proper shape to receive advice. Be sure that he +laughs, or smiles at least, before we seriously take up his case. And +when we have done our stunt in the way of advice let's send him away +with a fine good humor. A friendly pat on the back as he goes out our +doorway may mean a bracer to his determination. "<i>You'll put it over</i>," +we shout after him—and thus we have been of real help. He needed +sympathy and courage. He needed a cheerful spirit—so came to us and we +didn't let him go away until we gave him all these. Bully for us!</p> + +<p>Consideration for others does not admit of ostentation and hypocrisy. We +never allow our left hand to know what our right hand does in charity, +nor do we <i>boast of our helpful attitude toward our fellow men</i>. It is +well to make a point of this fact—in this world are many +"<i>ne'er-do-wells"</i> who fail to profit by advice and thereby become +professional in the seeking of favors. Consideration owes them nothing +and to withstand their persistent appeals would in time <i>dull our +natural tendencies</i> toward helping others.</p> + +<p>The world helps those who help themselves. We have little admiration for +the man who is forever whining. Society has no work for such people as +these. When we have exhausted every means of helping such a man we must +in self-defense pass him up before he contaminates our sense of justice. +<i>We must keep our visions clear.</i></p> + +<p>Consideration for others is a prime refinement of character. To be able +to use it in our daily lives becomes one of our greatest consolations. +Sympathy begets affection and kindly deeds—in a relative sense it binds +together the properties which go to make <i>the soul within us</i>. +Browbeating, scolding, irascibility and the like are microbes which +react against the milk of human kindness, to which, if we succumb, +leaves us stranded and alone amid a world of friendliness and good +fellowship.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_X'></a><h3>CHAPTER X</h3> + +<h4>KEEPING OURSELVES DEMOCRATIC</h4> +<br /> + +<p>Big words and pomposity never were designed for the highest types of +men. Our great national figures have almost without exception had one +quality which was a keynote to their ultimate success—this was their +<i>simplicity</i>. Next was their <i>accessibility</i>. There are numberless +big-hearted and big-brained individuals in the world whose duties are so +manifold that in order to accomplish what has been placed in their hands +they must be saved from interruption, but the truly great individual is +never hidden away entirely from his fellow man. He never becomes such a +slave to detail that he does not find time to fraternize with ordinary +mortals. We do not find him concealed behind impenetrable barriers, +guarded and pampered by courtiers like unto a king on his throne—or +tucked away in some dark office. He wants to know <i>everybody worth +while</i> and everybody worth while is welcomed by him. He doesn't affect +to know so much that he cannot be told something new. He is not the sort +to refuse to see us at any reasonable time.</p> + +<p>We should not confound <i>greatness</i>, however, with <i>notoriety</i>. A man who +by virtue of large publicity has compelled public notice isn't +necessarily a great man no matter how hard he may strive to make himself +appear so. Especially is this true of the man who does not make a +personal success corresponding to his advertised fame. In time he may +have the "ear-marks" of notability but, as Lincoln said: "<i>You can't +fool all of the people all of the time.</i>"</p> + +<p>It is to be noted with satisfaction that the big captains of industry +keep themselves free from petty details. "I surrounded myself with +clever men," said Andrew Carnegie in accounting for his success and by +the same token the men who took over his great affairs and gave them +larger scope and power surrounded themselves with still other clever +men, thus reserving their judgment and thought <i>for the higher policies +of their institutions</i>. They keep themselves in readiness for +consultation, and having men of <i>initiative</i> and <i>self-reliance</i> +underneath them, they find time to take in hand other affairs than those +of the tremendous businesses they manage. Men of this type often become +prominent in public affairs and develop into highly important citizens.</p> + +<p>The bigger the man, the less he encumbers himself with matters which can +be delegated to others. His desk is clear of all litter and +minutia—<i>likewise his mind</i>. Such men keep their physiques and +mentalities in fine working order and are not to be goaded into <i>ill +temper</i>. A refinement of mind is supremely essential to the man who +desires to climb to the very top of the ladder. He cannot afford to +close his brain to outside information. He is forced to keep it open in +order to let in continuous currents of new thought. He doesn't want his +visage to "<i>cream and mantle as a standing pond</i>" as Shakespeare aptly +puts it—therefore the windows of his thinking department are kept open +for refreshing draughts from the outside. He reasons that always there +are new guests, new faces, new things to talk about at the banquet board +of life.</p> + +<a name='image_9'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-9.jpg' width='356' height='600' alt='Taking on Local Color' title=''> +</center> + +<p>And here is the point—if men who carry on the great industries of the +world find a way to keep themselves democratic surely men of less +importance should be able to do the same? The snob is about as offensive +a person as could be described. He is usually a hypocrite or an +ignoramus—sometimes both. His pomposity is naturally repellent. We +easily become accustomed to dodging such characters. The detriment is +theirs—not ours. They are left by the wayside and sooner or later wake +up to the fact that they stand alone in the world.</p> + +<p>The world loves the man with <i>an open mind</i>. This is the usual spirit of +the progressive citizen. <i>He wants to know</i>—and by reason of his +accessibility knowledge is brought to him. No one cares to take up the +task of informing the egotist who already knows it all. Such is his +inherent cussedness that we would rather let him warp in the oven of +his own half-baked knowledge. Life is too short to waste our time in +educating him.</p> + +<p>"How can I see Mr. So-and-so?" says one man to another.</p> + +<p>"Don't try," is the answer. "He's not worth seeing. You can't tell <i>him</i> +anything."</p> + +<p>And this sort of a chap misses the big opportunities just because he +chooses to build up a reputation for being exclusive. He digs himself a +hole and crawls into it <i>and pulls the hole in after him</i>. We can safely +imagine him treating the members of his family as though they were +servants, and his employees as though they were slaves. He may succeed +in small things but in the big game of life we may write him down as a +failure.</p> + +<p>If we have a big idea we take it to a big man—<i>the man of vision</i>. +Anything less is to putter around aimlessly. The bigger he is, the more +democratic. He will not look for imperfections in our personal make-up +when we show him the <i>new process</i> we have discovered.</p> + +<p>To be democratic is a triumph of the soul—tending to bring us in close +touch with the throbbing heart of humanity. There is no isolation for +those of unaffected charm and manner—no barrier in the way of +friendship worth having. It is our lack of judgment if we hide ourselves +so that we cannot be approached. No matter how high we rise, for the +sake of our own brains we must allow <i>men of ideas</i> to get to us. We +must not allow our minds to become stagnant. If we fail to get into +daily contact with other people, we soon grow dull and uninteresting +even to ourselves. Great men may have no time to fritter away but they +have plenty of leisure for men worth while—<i>the pushers and the +thinkers</i>.</p> + +<p>A democratic spirit does not come to the selfish man. He is absorbed in +himself and is quite a hopeless case. He is a natural born faultfinder +and grouchy by nature. For him life holds no joy save the one in sight. +Taking the big look at the man of this type we can only be sorry for him +because of his lack of early training. He started off on the wrong foot +and thereafter drifted along. Seldom do we overcome the habits with +which we arrive at man's estate. Those who do are entitled to a right +hand seat among the chosen.</p> + +<p>Being democratic is another phrase for being <i>human and kind</i>. It means +that we ought to be able to see behind every face and find the truth of +that individual's existence. It means that life is largely a matter of +how we look at it and being human is one way to get the proper slant at +things.</p> + +<p>The human mind has <i>great adaptive power</i> and can be molded into a +thousand ways of thinking. The intelligent man, the man who has taken +stock of himself, is able to smile and extend a hearty handclasp whether +he feels tip-top or not. He doesn't have to look glum simply because the +world hasn't thrown itself at his feet. He has only to persevere and +success will come eventually.</p> + +<p>We must correct our failings as we go along or we will slip down into +the rut and stay there. It is a simple matter to be good natured and +full of the zest of life if we poise ourselves right—<i>keep ourselves +democratic</i>. It is this great soul quality which brings us true friends +and boosts us into the fulfillment of our ambitions. Then we may truly +<i>laugh and live</i>.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_XI'></a><h3>CHAPTER XI</h3> + +<h4>SELF-EDUCATION BY GOOD READING</h4> +<br /> + +<p>The character of a man expresses itself by the books he reads. Every +well-informed man since the invention of printing has been a close +reader of a few books that stand out from among the many. We read of +Lincoln devouring the few books he had, over and over again and studying +from cover to cover and word for word the Webster's dictionary of his +day. We know that Grant had his favorite volumes from which he drew +inspiration and solace. These men made eternal friends of certain great +thinkers and drank in their learning with all the fervor of their +natures.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"A few good books, digested well, do feed<br /></span> +<span>The mind."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>"Feed the mind!" That's the idea—<i>but how shall we feed it?</i> The answer +is easy—with something <i>worth while</i>—something that will inform and +inspire. We can cram our minds to the point of indigestion with useless, +frivolous information just as easily as we may cram our stomachs with +certain foods that tear down rather than build up. The habit of reading +the right sort of books should begin early in life and continue +throughout our days.</p> + +<p>Good books are real ... and as we read we feel, hear, see and understand +in the way the author did. If what is said appeals to our way of +thinking <i>a new world</i> is unfolded to our vision filled to the brim with +things we can think about and add to our stock of knowledge. While we +are buried in its leaves we may live over the thoughts that the writer +lived. For the time being he becomes as real and vital to us as the +dearest friend we possess. Gradually, as the time passes by, he creeps +into our affections until our lives would not be complete without the +comradeship of his cherished book.</p> + +<p>Books that become our "pals" are not necessarily books of the so-called +classical type. Little known volumes may prove to have enough thought +stored away between their covers to keep us interested all our days. The +great books will prove their worth in a short time no matter how poor +the binding, how bad the type or how cheap the paper. These things are +after all only the outward manifestations and though we like to see our +friends dressed well yet we know that the clothes do not make character +unless there is character there in the first place. And so it is with +books. These little ungainly volumes which we purchase on the stands may +be the classics of tomorrow ... who knows?</p> + +<p>We select our library carefully. No matter if we live in a tiny hall +bedroom on the top floor of a boarding house we have a shelf somewhere +with a few good books on it. Emerson's "Essays" can be had in one volume +and are well worth having. No other American writer has been so +inspiring, so invigorating as this thinker of Concord. One cannot read +his essays without having a desire to <i>get up and do</i>. It is like a +breath of fresh air ... a tonic ... a stiff morning walk. It stirs the +mind to action and inspires us to lift ourselves out of the rut into +which we have fallen. One returns to them time after time, each reading +opening up new vistas of thought, new lines of mental development.</p> + +<a name='image_10'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-10.jpg' width='600' height='463' alt='A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers"' title=''> +</center> + +<p><i>As a man's stomach is what he eats, a man's mind is what he reads.</i> It +goes without saying that no healthy, active mind could exist without the +companionship of Shakespeare. Nowadays it is possible to secure the +entire works of the immortal poet in one volume. There is a special +Oxford University edition which can be had for a small sum. The type is +large, the paper good and there are many notes to help one over the +rocky places. There is no doubt of the truth of the saying that a man +who reads Shakespeare consistently and with understanding needs no other +education. Like the philosopher Emerson he boiled down the world's +thoughts into terse sentences and one goes into a new universe when +reading any of the plays. It is a good thing to learn parts of them by +heart so that we can apply them to our own lives. They strengthen the +mind ... their beauty lifts us into a great realism of splendid thought +... and they fill the heart with a longing to do something great. Such +books should become steady companions through life. No matter where our +duties call us we should see to it that we do not leave behind the +thoughts of this master mind of Shakespeare. The very fact that we have +them near us lifts us out of the monotony of nothing to do.</p> + +<p>Among the books about America for Americans perhaps Roosevelt's "Winning +of the West" is among the best. Not only has he thrown the whole vigor +of his interesting personality into the writing of it, but he has given +us a vivid picture of the conquest of the States by the settlers. No man +could read it without being thrilled at the dangers our forefathers +faced ... at the great courage they possessed ... at their hardihood ... +their bulldog tenacity. The reading of such a book is like going back +over the years and living with them, sharing their troubles and their +enthusiasms. The man who contemplates gathering a small library could +not afford to do without the inspiration of what his countrymen have +done for him.</p> + +<p>In choosing our books we must bear in mind one thing—<i>let them be +inspiring</i>. Let them be of such a nature that when we read them we will +feel like going out into the world to accomplish something <i>big!</i></p> + +<p>That is probably the mission of great books—to inspire and uplift. The +world's greatest men have been readers—would they have cared for books +unless they were inspiring? It is said that when Napoleon was being +taken to St. Helena he advised one of the officers never to stop +reading.</p> + +<p>Most of the things worth while are at some time or other stored away in +books by the thinkers. Every phase of history, every movement to better +mankind and lift it above the drudgery of mere toil, every beautiful +thought is to be found in them and the better the book the more will be +found in it of these very things. When we have finished the day's work +we can pull down a volume from the shelf and in a moment be lost in an +entirely different world. The man who neglects to read surely misses the +one best means of broadening his mind.</p> + +<p>All books of the better class furnish food for thought and are excellent +tools for the man of initiative. To read means keeping in touch with the +big visions. We cherish these dreams and make them real in plans of our +own. Aspiration is behind the pages of every worth-while volume. It was +the motive power which drove the author to produce it and it should +become a part of the forces which drive us on to victory. Without such +inspiration we grope as children in the dark. We are without a light to +guide us on our way.</p> + +<p>Books by such men as Marden and Hubbard are great generators of the +electricity of doing things. They have put into words those innermost +emotions which are the instruments of success. They point out a way we +may safely follow. They loan us inspiration which causes us to act for +ourselves. They give us thoughts that are useful and practical which we +never would have gained by virtue of our own reasoning power. They made +it a life work to coin into phrases words that inspire. Out of their +large experience came the logical sequences of cause and effect. Not to +profit by their teachings is a crime against our own prospects—without +them we lag behind. Instead of progressing we look on in wonder at what +is going on in the world. Somehow we cannot connect ourselves with the +big enterprises. And all because we failed to feed our minds properly.</p> + +<p>There is much to be gained both in pleasure and knowledge by reading +historical novels, and the lives of great men. The books of Sir Walter +Scott and James Fenimore Cooper are rated among the best in the world. +Grant's autobiography and the personal stories of other famous Americans +provide fascinating material with which to establish and fortify our +test for good literature. The tales of modern American financiers is +another field of absorbing interest.</p> + +<p>The man with small means can provide himself with a working library for +a very little money. Books are cheap. The public library is always +nearby and there is hardly a town of any size but what has one. When we +purchase a book we should be sure to obtain the best edition and be +careful that it is printed from good type and on clear paper. Books are +likely to become warm friends. We should never purchase an abridged +edition.</p> + +<p>Binding is not such an important factor, although we like to have <i>our +favorite books</i> put up in a handsome fashion. With Shakespeare, Emerson, +Roosevelt, Scott, Cooper, Marden and Hubbard one would have quite a +representative collection for a start. It would be easy to expand the +list into many more. Of course, those collecting a small library who +have a specialty, will want books dealing with the subjects in which +they are interested. However, every practical library includes books of +inspirational character, and if one makes a study of the books written +by great authors it will be found that all of them profited by the +reading of books which caused them to think. <i>The Bible causes us to +think!—and no library is complete without it.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_XII'></a><h3>CHAPTER XII</h3> + +<h4>PHYSICAL AND MENTAL PREPAREDNESS</h4> +<br /> + +<p>It is not the object of this chapter to deal with a set course of +physical culture, but rather to emphasize the necessity of keeping our +physical house in order. There are plenty of books on physical culture +which can be relied upon and also any number of physical instructors who +are able to advise and help along a set program. There are hundreds of +places, institutions, clubs, Y.M.C.A.'s, and the like, which provide +gymnasiums and every other facility for those who determine to build +themselves up through consistent physical exercise. That is all very +well to begin with, but afterward we must have some simple methods of +our own which will not make it a hardship or a chore to keep ourselves +in trim—<i>a state of physical preparedness</i>. It should become a part of +our daily scheme to obey certain, simple rules which tend toward an +<i>automatic effort</i> instead of a discipline, and we should persevere in +these until they become <i>fixed habits</i>.</p> + +<p>It is no trouble at all to take exercise unconsciously, and we only +arrive at this by turning into an exercise any of our ordinary physical +actions during the day as we go along. For instance, we can sit down in +a chair and in so doing can add a certain amount of exercise to the +action itself—also in rising. With very little effort we can come into +the habit of sitting correctly—posing the body as it should be—holding +the shoulders in proper position—also the chin so that it becomes a +hardship to sit improperly.</p> + +<p>All of this has to do with <i>general physique</i>. In walking we can go +along with a spring, elasticity, and vigor of motion which forces a fine +blood circulation throughout the entire system. We can stoop over in the +act of picking up some object from the floor and at the same time make +it a matter of physical exercise, and we may take a hat from the rack +while standing away from it, thus stretching ourselves, as it were, +into a little needful action. Putting on an overcoat, or any part of our +clothing, may be done in such a way as to set the blood to racing +through the body. Morning and night—upon getting up and upon +retiring—there is every reason to make it a rule to exercise freely.</p> + +<p>The morning exercise wakes us up and sits us down finally at the +breakfast table with a zest for the food set before us. The morning bath +is an agency for good in this direction after we have given ourselves a +good shake-up from head to foot. By the same token, exercises at night +before retiring induces sound sleep and takes away the strain of the +preceding day.</p> + +<p>A very successful system is that of exercising in bed. Instead of +immediately jumping to the floor in the morning it is very inviting to +go through some simple form of gymnastics in which the physical +structure is brought into play.</p> + +<p>Physical exercise is something which can be carried to extremes. We can +go at the work so intensely that we become muscle-bound and develop some +structural enlargements that we do not need. This happens very often +among athletes. The ordinary man should fight shy of such plans. +Superfluous strength is only for those who have need of it. What we +really want is strength enough to carry us through our daily rounds with +comfort and <i>a feeling of efficiency</i>.</p> + +<p>In a sense we all live by our wits and these decline when not properly +fed by our general physical organization. Prize fighters are not the +longest lived people, nor are the professional athletes. Their calling +requires extra building up which would be a positive handicap to the +average man whose manner of life doesn't require this super-development. +In other words, there are intemperate methods of exercising just as +there are of eating and drinking. We may easily go too far. Again, we +can sin just as greatly by not going far enough. There was a time when +men of forty were as worn and old as men of sixty-five and seventy are +today. As a matter of fact, nowadays a half-century mark is no longer a +badge of senility when a man has kept himself fit and treated himself +right.</p> + +<p>We all have friends who are pretty well along in years by virtue of +their carefully planned physical training, plus their <i>cheerful +dispositions</i>. They are as sprightly and companionable as though they +were many years younger. We should come to know early in life what a +large part <i>good humor</i> plays in <i>physical fitness</i>. In previous +chapters hearty laughter was extolled as one of the very best of +exercises. It is an organizer in itself and opens up the heart and lungs +as nothing else will do. It makes the blood go galloping all through the +system. It is one of the best automatic <i>blood circulators</i> in the +business.</p> + +<p>Laughter takes the stress off of the mind, and whatever is ahead of us +for the day that seems likely to become a burden is soon turned into an +ordinary circumstance. We smile as we go about doing it.</p> + +<p>A friend once said to a banker:</p> + +<p>"How do you know when to lend money?"</p> + +<p>The banker replied:</p> + +<p>"I look a man in the eye and then <i>I do or I don't</i>."</p> + +<p>The friend said:</p> + +<p>"I would like to borrow ten thousand dollars—now!"</p> + +<p>"You shall have it, Sir," the banker replied.</p> + +<p>This meant that the man who asked for the loan was in a state of +physical and mental preparedness. If he had gone into the banker's +office looking like an animated tombstone he wouldn't have had much of a +chance to borrow the ten thousand. It goes without saying that the +open-faced, hearty fellow inspires confidence. There is nothing coming +to the dried-up, sour chap, and that's what he usually gets. And what we +get is largely a matter of our physical well being. A modern philosopher +observed that "the blues are the product of bad livers"—and there is no +doubt but that he was right.</p> + +<p>The problem of life is to fill our days with sunshine. In so doing we +shall find that the "little graces" are those which will lend us the +most help. Tiny favors extended, words of encouragement, courtesies of +all sorts, unselfish work carried out in an open manner, true +friendships and love, a hearty laugh, a sincere appreciation of the +other fellow's struggle to keep his head above water, the conscientious +carrying out of all tasks assigned us—these are our helpmates and they +are the products of our physical and mental equipment. Through these we +come into our knack of detecting friends among those who are <i>the salt +of the earth</i>.</p> + +<p>It is impossible for the person who desires good health to obtain it, or +having it, to retain it, without consistent effort. A watch will not run +without the proper regulation of the mainspring. We must keep up our +activities. We have taken the earth and are turning it into something to +serve us—therefore the need of fine bodily preparedness. Nothing can +take the place of achievement and it comes through physical and mental +efficiency. The one must not be neglected for the other; both must be +cultivated and developed alike in order that each may help the other.</p> + +<p>Happiness comes only to those who take care of themselves. It is the +natural product of <i>clean-mindedness</i>. No pleasure can surpass that of a +conscious feeling of our strength of character. It is an all important +element in men who aspire to succeed. The man who rises in the morning +from a healthy slumber and plunges into the bath after some vigorous +exercise is prepared to undertake anything. His world seems fair, and +though the sun may not be shining literally, it is to all intents and +purposes. Thus, we go swinging along with a cheery smile, carrying the +message of hope and joy to all those with whom we come in contact. Oh! +it's fine to be physically and mentally fit!</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_XIII'></a><h3>CHAPTER XIII</h3> + +<h4>SELF-INDULGENCE AND FAILURE</h4> +<br /> + +<p>The correct definition of self-indulgence is <i>failure</i>—because +self-indulgence is comprised of an aggregation of vices, large and +small, and failure is the logical sequence thereof. Even the habit of +eating may be cultivated into a vice. Indeed, there are those who gorge +without restraint, which in itself is unchaste and immoral. We've often +seen them as, with napkin under foot or tucked under the collar, they +eat their way through mountains of food and wash it down as they reach +for more.</p> + +<p>No use to say how and what we feel when we attend such performances. It +is all right to say "Look the Other Way," <i>but it can't be done</i>. It is +human nature to gaze upon horror—sometimes in sympathy, but more often +in amazement. Sometimes a well staged scene of gormandizing viewed from +a seat in the second or third row center of a softly lighted, thick +carpeted food emporium <i>saves us the price of our own meal</i>. We no +longer hunger on our own account. Our appetite is appeased by proxy, so +to speak, and we calmly fix our eyes on the "big show" and <i>sigh for a +baseball bat</i>.</p> + +<p>No wonder a noted bachelor of medicine declares "People are what they +eat!" The exclamation point is our own. We quite agree with our medical +brother for we have seen people eat until we thought <i>we</i> would never be +hungry again.</p> + +<p>But there is more to self-indulgence than the food specialist has to +answer for, so we will be on our way. For instance, there is <i>the +spendthrift;</i> surely he is entitled to a short stanza. We all know him. +He goes on the theory that he has all the spending money in the world, +and that long after he is dead those on whom he spent it will remember +his generosity. Vain hope!—Whatever memory of him remains will be of a +different kind. Those who have been bored by his gratuitous attentions +will take up the threads of their existence where they left off when he +drove them away from their usual haunts. No longer will they have to +dodge down alleys and run up strange stairways in an effort to avoid his +overtures.</p> + +<a name='image_11'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-11.jpg' width='399' height='600' alt='Douglas Fairbanks in "The Good Bad-Man"' title=''> +</center> + +<p>When alive and in full operation he knew more about what was best for us +than we could possibly think of knowing. Left to his own devices he +would have us smoke his particular brands, drink his labels, eat his +selections, wear his kind of a cravat, overcoat, cap, hat, shoes, and +underwear. And to make his proposition sound business like he would +willingly pay the bills! In this little amusement we are supposed to +play the part of receiver and <i>praise his generosity</i>.</p> + +<p>Whatever may be our verdict on this chap we must keep in mind that his +inordinate desire to waste his substance was no less than a vice if for +no other reason than its example upon others; it is just as bad to be <i>a +"receiver"</i> as it is to be <i>a spendthrift</i>. If we cannot build up a +reputation for generosity without becoming ostentatious we might better +take lessons in refinement from someone "to the manor born."</p> + +<p>There is no desire to single out and set down by name and number every +sort of self-indulgence. <i>Excesses of any kind are indulgences</i>, and it +is easy to fall into them if we have not built up our stamina to resist.</p> + +<p>Our failures are usually traceable to ourselves. No matter what excuses +may be offered in our behalf we know in our own minds that we are to +blame. Somewhere along the line of our endeavors we faltered—<i>then we +fell</i>. Our conservatism reinforced by our strength of character finally +gave way at a given point and put the whole plant out of business. Our +system of inspection had become cursory instead of painstaking. +Everything had been running along so smoothly we forgot that everything +<i>must</i> wear out in time if it isn't looked after properly.</p> + +<p>A previous chapter entitled, "Taking Stock of Ourselves," has a specific +bearing upon the subject in hand. It emphasizes the necessity of taking +stock of ourselves early in life in order that we may know our weak +spots and take immediate steps to dig them out by the roots and replace +them with "<i>hardy perennials</i>" which thrive on and on unto the last day.</p> + +<p>And that reminds us that it is well to take stock of ourselves every +little while. Even "hardy perennials" have to be looked after—the +ground kept fertile and watered against the draughts of forgetfulness +and neglect. And so it must be with our mental and physical processes in +order that each day of our lives we may go forth with renewed +forcefulness—with every atom of character in full working order.</p> + +<p>Having started off on the right foot, we are less likely to have trouble +with our higher resolves during the lean and hungry years of our youth +when we go plunging headlong toward the goal of our ambitions. Usually +it is not until we come into "Easy Street" that we find that we dropped +something somewhere along the line which we must replace at once or we +will be laid up for repairs. But lo and behold! "Easy Street" is fair to +look upon. It dazzles the eye—it takes hold of the sensibilities. +Everybody wears "Sunday clothes" on this street and seems to be +superlatively happy. Surely it wouldn't hurt to linger awhile and see +what is going on. Why, this is the most talked about street in the +world! Some of the people we have dealt with have told us about it. They +said it was <i>the only street</i> for a man of means, for there could be +found the very things for which we strive in life. They told us that the +people we would meet represented the higher order of intelligence, +brainy, alert, accomplished—a grand thoroughfare for those who would +know life in the fullness thereof.</p> + +<p>Now it is a fact that "Easy Street" may be crossed and recrossed in +safety every day of our lives if we do not tarry. Financial competence +might permit of it, but competent efficiency demands that we trot +along—<i>keep moving</i>—get away before we settle down into its ways. The +action we need is not along this brilliant lane.</p> + +<p>But suppose we do take a chance just to test the serene confidence which +we think is so safely nailed down within us. The very thought of it +makes the "caution bell" tinkle in our ears—but caution is a species of +cowardice, after all, we say—a man of <i>courage</i> may dare anything +<i>once</i>. And just at the moment we waver who comes along but our old +friend <i>Self-indulgence!</i>—the well dressed, carefree fellow who once +told us all about "Easy Street" and invited us to look in on him +sometime. Nothing would please him more than to show us the whole +works—and here he is shaking us by the hand and pulling us along—for +he is an affable fellow and will not take "no" for an answer.</p> + +<p>Our struggle is feeble—a huge chunk of our strength of character falls +off into space then and there. Even at the gilded entrance we try again +to beg off—to slip away—but Self-indulgence will not hear. So together +we go through the portals leading into a grandeur we had never +known—beyond our experience and power to believe. <i>This is likely to +become the turning point in our career.</i></p> + +<p>Bill Nye once said "When we start down hill we usually find everything +greased for the occasion." We might add—"<i>except the bumps!</i>"</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_XIV'></a><h3>CHAPTER XIV</h3> + +<h4>LIVING BEYOND OUR MEANS</h4> +<br /> + +<p>Living beyond our means is a big subject that must be treated broadly, +for circumstances alter cases. There is a sane way to look at every +problem, and the matter of living beyond our means is one of the major +problems we have to face. If every man was alike and every avocation in +life was on a parity, it would be possible to dispose of this subject in +a paragraph. But men are not alike. What one could do successfully might +easily baffle another. Therefore, it seems advisable to consider the +subject by looking into its depths.</p> + +<p>To most people debt is terrifying. To some it means nothing—and thus we +have individual temperament as an angle from which to consider. Living +beyond our ability to pay means going into debt via the shortest route. +Getting out of debt means a revision of our code to the extent of +ceasing to live beyond our means and saving something with which to pay +off what we owe. Some men can do this successfully—others fail while +seemingly trying their best to succeed—and still others do nothing to +stem the tide. With these it is a matter of how the tide serves. If +favoring winds should drive them to opulence they would more than likely +pay up, particularly those imbued with <i>sufficient personal honor</i> to +"make good."</p> + +<p>Such are the exigencies of life, we may as well concede that a vast +majority at some time or other find it necessary to owe more than they +can readily pay. Emergencies arise which force us into expenses that +require credit, and if we have so ordered our lives that when the pinch +comes <i>we have no credit established</i> the fact that we pay out our last +dollar and go hungry to bed does not bring us much sympathy. Thus it +would seem that to be able to say: "I pay as I go," or, "I owe no man a +dollar," or, "I never live beyond my means" is not much of a boast, +when, after a death in the family, or other unforeseen circumstances, +we find ourselves broke and nowhere to turn for accommodation.</p> + +<p>It has been aptly said that "<i>People can save themselves to death.</i>" In +other words, one may develop the saving habit to such an extent that +"Laugh and Live" can find no room beside us on the perch of our +existence. We must admit that the systematic saver of pennies misses a +lot as he goes along, and, with time, degenerates into a sort of "Kill +Joy." In the matter of regulating his family to his way of thinking he +usually has an uphill job. Sons leave home as soon as they can; +daughters marry and breathe a sigh of relief, leaving mother behind to +slave on <i>in order that the hoard may grow</i>.</p> + +<p>While all of this is true it only represents extreme cases, therefore it +should not be construed that this chapter is launched against <i>the habit +of saving</i>. Rather, its purpose is to suggest the thought of not +"<i>over-saving</i>" at the expense of <i>personal welfare</i>. Our best plan +would be to save in reason, not forgetting that life is here to enjoy +as we go along. Then, too, we must have a <i>credit rating</i> among our +fellow mortals, just the same as a business person must have credit +rating among financial institutions.</p> + +<a name='image_12'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-12.jpg' width='382' height='600' alt='Squaring Things With Sister—From "The Habit of +Happiness"' title=''> +</center> + +<p>Credit in business is worth more than money because it allows for +expansion whereas money in the bank is only good <i>as far as it goes</i>. +Many a merchant who bought and sold for cash all his life found when he +came to enlarge his business that one thing was lacking—<i>credit</i>. The +fact that he had always paid cash threw a doubt upon his financial +condition when he proposed to borrow. He had neglected to build up a +credit as he went along. The business world only knew him as a man who +paid cash and exacted cash. Taken at his fullest inventory he had +"scalped" a living out of the world for which he had done but little to +make happier or better. One calamity might easily scuttle his prospects +forever—for instance, a fire, or a bank failure. And without credit it +would be difficult to start over again.</p> + +<p>By all means we must save something for the "rainy day" as we go +along—and our savings can be made up of other things than actual cash +in bank. One item of our savings is the habit of <i>keeping up our +appearances</i>. Living beyond our means does not incorporate the thought +that, in order to save every possible cent, we should become slipshod +and shabby. Carelessness in dress takes away from our rating as nothing +else will for it has to do with first impressions of those with whom we +come in contact. Gentility pays dividends of the highest order, being, +as it is, a badge of character. Neatness <i>bespeaks character</i>, and it is +just as cheap in dollars and cents to keep ourselves respectably clothed +as to indulge in shoddy apparel under the delusion that we have saved +money on the purchase price. Good clothing, costing more at the start, +lasts long <i>and looks well as long as it lasts</i>. Shoddy apparel never is +anything else but shoddy, and well might it proclaim the shoddy man.</p> + +<p>When we throw away our opportunity to present a genteel appearance, just +for the sake of the bank roll, we doom ourselves to defeat in the +pursuit of knowledge. We cannot get all we want to know by the mere +reading of books. We must mingle with people; we must interchange +thought that we may crystallize what we know into practical knowledge so +it can be made into tools to work with. While a man of brains is welcome +everywhere the matter of his appearance has a lot to do with how he is +received and with whom he may fraternize.</p> + +<p>"Isn't it a pity," we hear people say, "that, with all his brains, he +hasn't sense enough to make himself presentable?" But the worst phase of +the situation is that the unkempt man sooner or later loses faith in +himself and either ceases to hoard at the expense of his gentility or he +gives up his opportunity to mingle with others and lapses into habits +consistent with miserly thoughts.</p> + +<p>The phrase "<i>a happy medium</i>" is well known and decidedly applicable to +the subject of saving as we go along so that we may avert the sorrows +which follow in the wake of <i>living beyond our means</i>. It suggests a +desirable middle course which permits us to adopt a sane policy, rather +than flying to an extreme.</p> + +<p>It cannot be said that we are living beyond our means when by reason of +our association with men of affairs we need to spend more money and +thereby save less in preparing ourselves for the larger opportunities +which will naturally follow. Young men often go through college on their +"uppers," so to speak. There is not a cent which they could honestly +save as they went along without cheating themselves. The point is that +their situations in life force them to spend rather than to save money. +But in so doing the real saving was in the spending thereof. <i>They +enlarged their knowledge and decreased their bank accounts for the time +being.</i> What man parts with in an emergency is no license, however, for +him to fall back into profligacy. Never should a man entirely lose the +idea of putting something by. The college boy in this case has simply +invested his money in an education instead of a bank account.</p> + +<p>Once on the highroad of life with a plan of action well defined and a +regular income <i>the habit of putting money away should become a fixed +procedure</i>. In no other way do we accumulate except by investment, and +investment means putting away money at interest or in some project which +promises better returns.</p> + +<p>If we were to interview a thousand men on the subject of saving and draw +upon their experiences we would find that by investing money at interest +we pursue the safest course, far safer, in fact, than the seeking of +outside investments that <i>promise</i> greater returns. The latter invites +the mind away from the regular avocation and educates it in time to +<i>take chances</i> that are likely to turn into <i>setbacks</i>. The mind, +instead of applying itself to the duty of making the most out of its +regular employment, allows its interest to become scattered over too +broad a field.</p> + +<p>It is not within the province of all men to become wealthy and, after +all, wealth is not the only desideratum; the happiest of mortals are +found in the middle walks of life and not in the extremes. The struggle +should be to escape the life which saps our strength, keeps our nerves +on edge and drives us away from the <i>green pastures</i>.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_XV'></a><h3>CHAPTER XV</h3> + +<h4>INITIATIVE AND SELF-RELIANCE</h4> +<br /> + +<p>The late Elbert Hubbard defined the man with initiative as the one who +did the right thing at the right time without being told. At this point +it may be definitely stated that such a man would naturally be +<i>self-reliant.</i> Such a man would not lean on his friends. He would +<i>stand up</i> with them.... He would be found fighting his own battles +without crying for help.</p> + +<p>Once a cub reporter was ordered by his city editor to go and interview a +certain man. After an awkward pause the youngster inquired: "Where can I +find him?" Smiling scornfully into his eyes the city editor replied: +"Wherever he is."</p> + +<p>This would seem to have been the start and finish of this youngster's +newspaper career, but quite the reverse was true. He took the lesson +well to heart, thus starting himself on the road to self-reliance. If +he had repeated the offense it is likely he would have lost his job and +also <i>his nerve</i>—thereby spoiling his chances for a successful career. +The fact that he did not, but went on and made of himself a famous +newspaper man, proves that he lost no time in developing <i>initiative and +self-reliance</i>.</p> + +<p>There is no questioning the vast importance these two words mean to all +of us. Many a man who did not grasp the significance of initiative +became a "<i>leaner</i>" for the rest of his life. Many a man also missed his +chances by doing <i>just as he was told</i> and nothing more. His work ended +there. In due course it is inevitable that such a man should become part +of the great army of discontented ne'er-do-wells who help to block the +pavements in front of the loafing places.</p> + +<p>Hesitation, vacillation and growing diffidence take the place of +self-reliance. He falls to the bottom like a stone. And there he +rests—a drag anchor in the mire. His job gets the best of him because +he lacks initiative. Once stranded he becomes an arrant +coward—<i>afraid of his own shadow</i>.</p> + +<a name='image_13'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-13.jpg' width='388' height='600' alt='A Scene from "In Again—Out Again"' title=''> +</center> + +<p>We must <i>make our own opportunities</i> otherwise we are children of +circumstance. What becomes of us is a matter of guesswork. We have no +hand in compelling our own future. <i>Diffidence is a species of +cowardice.</i> It causes a man's courage to ooze out at his toes faster +than it comes into his heart. <i>Such men often have big ideas, but having +no confidence in themselves they lack the power to compel confidence in +others.</i> When they go into the presence of a man of personality they +lose their self-confidence and all of the pent-up courage which drove +them forward flies out at the window. Their weakness multiplies with +each failure until finally "the jig is up"—<i>their impotency is +complete</i>.</p> + +<p>Very largely those who have big ideas to present expect to be taken in +on them and to be given an opportunity to succeed along with their +scheme. When a man becomes so unfortunate as to be unable through +diffidence to explain himself, his big idea goes into the waste basket +and with it all of the hopes he has built upon it. <i>Another nail has +been driven into his casket of failures.</i></p> + +<p>To such a man, all pity, but we will not allow him to escape until we +have given him a pat on the back and pointed out the right road to +travel. We mustn't preach to him or undertake to force him to do +anything, but we will at least give him a helping hand and show him that +there is <i>a royal road to his goal</i>.</p> + +<p>This man needs first of all to build upon his physique. Perhaps he has a +<i>bad stomach</i>, and likewise <i>bad teeth</i>. Exercise—regular exercise, +should be the first thing on his program. Fresh air, long walks, deep +breathing, dumb bells, boxing, rowing, skating in season—<i>and wholesome +companionship day by day</i>. In the long run boxing will become his most +efficient exercise. When a man can take a blow between the eyes and come +back for more he has begun to <i>fortify his own combativeness</i>. That is +what he needs in life's battles—the nerve to <i>come back for more</i> after +a slam on the jaw that would lay another man low. And when it's all +said and done and the exercise game has become a feature of his day's +work, he must settle down to <i>good plain food and plenty of sleep</i>. +There is nothing in all the world like these things combined for the +upbuilding and upholding of health and courage.</p> + +<p>Our success is a matter of our courage. A man who can steel himself to +be knocked down and get up immediately afterwards and hand the other +fellow a ripping punch has added to his own "pep." <i>All courage is of +the same cloth, whether physical, moral or spiritual.</i> To build upon one +is to build up the others—the human system being constructed on such a +basis that if one part is affected all the rest follow suit.</p> + +<p>A man who isn't afraid of a physical combat will readily match his wits +with his fellow man. Physical training is therefore all important to +<i>initiative and self-reliance</i>.</p> + +<p>Our natural aim is to make for ourselves a true personality that does +not know defeat. When we come to an obstacle we must be able to hurdle +it. It is all very well to say that the longest way around is the +shortest way across, but it doesn't sound like initiative and +self-reliance. There is one thing about men who rely upon +themselves—they make no excuses, nor do they puff up over victory.</p> + +<p>Posing for applause is as distasteful to them as standing for abuse. All +they ask is a square deal and the confidence of their associates. If +they fall down on a proposition they get up and go at it again until +success crowns their efforts. Such men have a way of <i>turning defeat +into victory</i>.</p> + +<p>How immeasurably inferior to such a spirit is the fellow who whines and +moans at every evil twist of fortune. He has no confidence in himself +and nothing else to do except confide his woes to all who will listen to +his cowardly story of defeat. Such men are least useful in the important +work of this world. They are the humdrum hirelings—the dumb followers. +The pitiful part of it all is that they could have succeeded had they +but taken stock of themselves when the taking was good. But while there +is life there is hope—likewise a chance. <i>It is up to us.</i></p> + +<p>One of the startling things about men of initiative is the way they +come forward in times of trouble. We don't have to point to Andrew +Jackson in the War of 1812. We can look around us. Take, for example, a +great fire. Haven't we often read of the brave fireman who sprang +forward and by doing the right thing instantly, saved a multitude of +lives? Well, such a man is possessed of self-reliance. He is trained for +the hazardous life he leads. When the emergency arose he was ready in a +jiffy to do the work expected of him.</p> + +<p>It is safe to say that without training such men would have botched the +job and instead of being praised to the skies would have sunk into +oblivion under the heap of public scorn. Sometimes it happens that a man +accidentally becomes a hero, but it was no accident that he was <i>able to +become one</i>. He must have had initiative—he must have had +self-reliance. Archibald C. Butt was such a man. He went down on the +<i>Titanic</i>. The last act of his life was to help women and children into +the boats and calm their minds as they were lowered away. Astor was of +the same metal—<i>both sublimely oblivious to the terrible fate which +hung over them</i>. Here was initiative and self-reliance in its highest +form.</p> + +<p>And this sort of man is everywhere. The car in which we ride to work +every morning contains one or more of them. Let something happen and we +will see them spring forward with a line of action already formed. At +their word of command we automatically obey—and then when the worst is +over a kindly voice reassures us and we go on our way rejoicing.</p> + +<p>What would the world do without these men? History is filled with the +tales of heroes and heroines. And for every Joan of Arc there are +thousands upon thousands who have done heroic things without a word of +praise. Moreover, the really brave soul declines all ovation. No real +hero claims reward. <i>To have done the right thing at the right time is +reward in itself.</i></p> + +<p>This quality of self-strength and self-dependence is not confined to any +race of people, but in nations where personal liberty survives +initiative is at its best. Somehow, whenever the emergency, <i>the man +comes forth to do and dare</i>. The great world war, still raging as these +lines are penned, has furnished untold thousands of examples of +courageous action—-enough to last until the end of human affairs, but +they will go on and on in multiplied form, each day's score superseding +those of the day before. It would be bully to know that we are doing our +share in <i>safeguarding the supply</i> of Initiative and Self-reliance +needed in this world.</p> + +<p>We must keep moving. The fellow who gets in a rut through lack of +initiative finds that with advancing years it becomes harder and harder +to get out of it, so that the best plan is to make the move now while +there is time to succeed. When we come to think of it, there are plenty +of positions in the world for the right man, and if we have something to +say for ourselves that lends credit to our ability we stand a chance for +the job.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_XVI'></a><h3>CHAPTER XVI</h3> + +<h4>FAILURE TO SEIZE OPPORTUNITIES</h4> +<br /> + +<p>There is an old saying to the effect that "opportunity knocks but once +at our door"—and that is all <i>fol de rol</i>. Opportunity knocks at some +people's doors nearly every day of their lives and is given a royal +welcome. That's what Opportunity likes—<i>appreciation</i>. It goes often to +the home where the latchstring hangs on the outside. It's like a sign +reading "Hot coffee at all hours, day or night"—very inviting. Very +much different, however, from the abode whose windows shed no light and +whose door <i>is barred from within</i>.</p> + +<p>"Nobody Home!" that's the sign for this door.</p> + +<p>Mister Numbskull lives here and most of the time <i>he sleeps</i>. When +anyone knocks on his door he pulls the covers up over his head to shut +out the noise. He's down on his luck anyhow, therefore it would be a +waste of good shoe leather for him to be up and puttering around. If +Opportunity ever knocked at his door he could say in all truth that <i>he +never heard it</i>. He had often heard of Opportunity being in the +neighborhood, but one thing is certain—<i>someone else had invariably +seen him first</i>. He felt sure he would know Opportunity if ever he met +him face to face, and if ever he did he would have it out with him then +and there.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile—dadgast the luck!—always the fates pursued him with some +sort of hoodoo. And his neighbors—well, some of them had sense enough +to keep their distance and let him alone. Others, however, had not been +considerate of the fact that a "Jinx" was on his trail, and were given +to making sarcastic remarks concerning him. And thus it was that Mister +Numbskull spent his days, dodging his neighbors, sidestepping the +highways and obscuring himself from the very individual he wanted so +much to behold—<i>Opportunity</i>. At last there came a time when, in +despair, <i>and in disrepute</i>, he took to the woods and is yet to be +heard from. Opportunity still visits the neighborhood, but the path +leading to Mister Numbskull's home is grown up in weeds.</p> + +<p>The fact is that our real opportunity <i>knocks from within</i>. Through +experience, built upon consecutively by continuous effort, our vision +expands and pounds its way out through the portals of our brain. We see +the thing that we ought to do and <i>we go to it!</i> To the man who didn't +see it <i>the opportunity did not exist</i>.</p> + +<p>"What we don't know doesn't hurt us any"—so runs the old saw. And +here's a case where we who didn't see, <i>were</i> hurt, but we didn't know +it.</p> + +<p>For those of us who have vision there are all sorts of opportunities, +but many of them are not good for us. The ones we make for ourselves are +the healthy ones, and generally they are the best for us. "Our own baby" +is the one we will take the greatest pride in and enjoy the most. Then +we become masters of our own destiny in a sense and can be more +independent through having no senior partners in the enterprise. Often +our dreams bring forth a need for many kinds of special knowledge and +for these we go into the open market offering opportunity to many others +in return for their assistance. Thus we find that everything we do is in +relation to other things and dependent in part on other people.</p> + +<p>This should make us careful and a wee bit wary. Opportunities are widely +divergent in nature—through a stroke of hard luck one might have +difficulty in finding employment. The first opportunity might lead to a +job in a bar-room, but having fortified ourselves by developing our +highest attributes such as honesty, integrity, cleanliness of body and +mind—we are able to somehow or other pinch along until something better +shows itself. First-class principles are not to be thrown away upon the +first provocation, therefore, in order to take away the temptation, we +might as well figure out that a great many employments in the world do +not represent <i>real opportunities</i> and therefore should not be +considered.</p> + +<p>Failure to seize such so-called opportunities becomes a virtue in the +same sense that the failure to seize a decent opportunity becomes a +shame.</p> + +<p>Often opportunity comes through meeting men of affairs who have power +and wealth at their command. These are usually in connection with +enterprises of the greater magnitude. Those of us who have the power to +control our destinies to a reasonable degree should not stand back in +our support of these. If we have carefully built up our initiative, +self-reliance, preparedness in the way of efficiency, good health and +the will to do, there is no reason why we should not aspire to take a +hand in anything in which we are confident we can succeed. Among the men +who control the big affairs of the business world we find a true +democracy—<i>they want the man</i>. The fact that he appears before them +neatly attired, bright of eye and ready of wit will surely count in his +favor.</p> + +<p>In other words, we should live up to the opportunity in whatever form it +presents itself after we have accepted its responsibilities. To make +this perfectly plain <i>we must live up to the job!</i> If we are to be +superintendent of a coal mine "underneath the ground" we will put on +our overalls and jumpers, but if we are to be manager of a grand opera +house we will appear in our dress suits. The thought is obvious, but as +we journey along we find many of our fellow mortals neglecting to live +in line with what they are doing.</p> + +<p>We mention this fact hopeful that we will not fail to seize our +opportunities by setting up obstacles whereby we may become <i>persona non +grata</i> through lack of discernment.</p> + +<p>Opportunity is within ourselves and when we have seized our rightful +share, then we may look with pride upon our endeavor and proceed to +<i>laugh and live!</i></p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_XVII'></a><h3>CHAPTER XVII</h3> + +<h4>ASSUMING RESPONSIBILITIES</h4> +<br /> + +<p>Those who fear to assume responsibility necessarily <i>take orders from +others</i>. The punishment fits the crime perfectly and being +self-inflicted there is no injustice. It is true that many men possessed +of great brain power play "second fiddle" to shallow-minded men of +inferior wisdom from sheer lack of forcefulness on their own part. They +lack the full quality of leadership while possessing all save one +essential—<i>courage</i>. Fear abides in their hearts and spreads itself as +a mantle of gloom over their super-sensitive souls until finally they +struggle no more. Henceforth they are doomed and become the subject of +apology on the part of friends and relations. "He's all right," they +say, "but he suffers from over-refinement." He lacks something—we +cannot make out just what. It is altogether too bad for he is such a +superior man among <i>his social equals</i>.</p> + +<p>We must take our hats off to those who have the goodness of heart to +make allowance for our shortcomings. A disinterested listener, however, +is seldom taken into camp by such well intended argument. He knows that +"friend husband" or "friend brother" as the case may be, needs some sort +of swift kick that will stir his combativeness into action—that will +cause him to turn upon his mental inferior and have it out with him then +and there—once and for all. As a courage builder <i>fighting for justice</i> +is not to be sneezed at.</p> + +<p>Courage can be built up just the same as any other soul quality. It is +all a matter of early training as to which we start out with—courage or +fear. Unthinking parents have a lot to do with the propagation of fear +in the hearts of children. A <i>neglectful father</i> plus a <i>fear-stricken +mother</i> constitute the most logical forces which tend toward the +overdevelopment of fear in a child. Once the seed is thoroughly +implanted the growth can be depended upon. How to get rid of it later +is not so easy to figure out. Had the child been born with a "clubfoot" +these same parents would have spent their last dollar in an effort to +straighten it into natural condition. They could see the unshapely foot +day by day with their own eyes—and so could their neighbors. But the +fear-warped little brain struggling for courage with which to combat its +weakness needs must battle alone with chances largely against it.</p> + +<p>The mere thought of what is in store for this little one as it stumbles +along from one period to another, fearful of this, and fearful of that, +is disconcerting to say the least. We can almost trace our friend +"Second Fiddle" directly back to such a childhood. We can almost hear +his fond mother shout, "Keep away from the brook, darling, you might get +your feet wet and <i>catch your death of a cold</i>." Another well known and +highly respected admonition belonging to childhood's hour is, "Come in, +deary, it's getting dark—Bogie man will get you if you don't watch +out."</p> + +<a name='image_14'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-14.jpg' width='600' height='425' alt='Bungalowing in California' title=''> +</center> + +<p>Some years later when little son runs breathless into the home portal +after being chased from school by some "turrible" boys we can hear this +same little mother as she storms about the place and tells what "papa +must do" about the matter. According to her notion, if teachers could +not control the "criminal element" among their pupils then it was high +time for the police to step in. Never a word about little son taking his +own part! Father listens in silence and half formulates the notion of +going direct to the parents and laying down the law, while little son +listens in fear and trembling in anticipation of what is coming to him +if father carries out his threat.</p> + +<p>Tall oaks from little acorns grow—<i>if the twig is not bent in the +sprouting</i>.</p> + +<p>Little son is bound to grow into manhood some day and when he arrives he +must have one particular attribute—<i>courage</i>. Somehow he will get along +if he has that. He may also wear a "clubfoot" or a "hunch back," but +with courage as a running mate he will assume his responsibilities and +become a force in the world.</p> + +<p>Once a great orator sat upon a rostrum listening to a speech by a man +who cautioned his countrymen against taking steps to defend the national +honor. "We'll outlive the taunts of those who would drag us into war!" +he bellowed forth. Whereupon the orator jumped to his feet and with +clarion voice shouted, "God hates a coward!" and then sat down again.</p> + +<p>Dazed at first the vast throng sat stupefied—but only for a moment. +Then as one man they jumped to their feet and by reason of prolonged +cheering gave national impulse to a thought which has since been +sermonized from thousands of pulpits. The orator had simply paraphrased +and put "pep" into the old Biblical slogan: "The Lord helps those who +help themselves." The effect was electrical. The whole country rallied +to the idea with the result that we saved ourselves from war by showing +the solid front of being ready and willing to defend ourselves.</p> + +<p>Everything that tends to build up courage is an asset in life. The more +we have of it the further we go and the more interesting our lives +become. For <i>the man of the lion heart</i> all things unfold and unto him +the timid must bring their offerings. No one of ordinary gumption +consults the human "flivver." Advice from him would be unavailing. His +point of view would be inadequate—his ability to advise, impotent. We +go to the man who does things and say to him: "Here is my little +idea—do you want to help me put it over?" If it is good, he does. If +not, his experience tells him so, for men of courage are naturally +possessed of large vision. Their lack of fear has given them +right-of-way over vast areas of the world of action. They fail only as +"their lights go out forever."</p> + +<p>With courage we order our own lives and take orders only from those of +superior wisdom. This we can never afford <i>not to do</i>. The courageous +man of largest vision commands by his power to reason logically and +therefore assumes the air of comradeship rather than "overseer" or +"boss." Only through lack of moral and physical courage are we to +become the slaves of these.</p> + +<p>Courage—the child of <i>Hope—the despair of Failure</i>. Born of Good Cheer +it links its fate with the higher attributes and tramples under foot the +fears which spring up before it. When <i>sown early</i> into the hearts of +the young its companionship becomes unerring in its efficiency for good +throughout their lives.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_XVIII'></a><h3>CHAPTER XVIII</h3> + +<h4>WEDLOCK IN TIME</h4> +<br /> + +<p>It is a happy idea to marry while we are young—a fine thing—a good +thing—<i>a pleasant duty indeed</i> to marry the woman of our choice at a +time of life when both are at an age when adjustment is natural and +lasting loyalties are implanted in our hearts and minds for all time. We +make a sad mistake when we postpone so important a step just for the +sake of becoming a rich man first so that our bride-to-be may step into +luxurious quarters and never have to lift her dainty hands except to sip +from the glass of nectar we have set before her. The real facts compiled +by the statistical "System Sams" are against this idea. The balance +comes up in red ink <i>on the wrong side of the ledger</i>.</p> + +<p>According to these gentlemen the average mortal is likely to be very fat +and much over forty before he can make an offering according to his +first generous impulses and the chances are he will never reach the goal +in this life. By the time he might be financially ready there is a hard +glint in his eye, and he will be looking for the mote in the eye of his +lady love. The waiting game is a hard one <i>and it makes us worldly</i>. +After the lapse of years what once seemed a <i>rose</i> might appear to be +more of a <i>hollyhock</i>.</p> + +<p>Naturally we never blame ourselves for the changes. Had we obeyed the +grand impulse in the hour of our youth we might have kept the garden +full of roses and the hollyhocks would never have sprouted there. Then +the home nest would have tinged our sensibilities with its loveliness +and our affections would have been nailed down hard and fast <i>forever +and a day</i>.</p> + +<p>Among the many baffling problems which the young man faces, and for that +matter, any man, is marriage. More thought, more energy and more time is +taken up over this one decisive step than over any other. The reasons +are obvious. It involves for life the happiness of the contracting +parties—not only in a direct and personal way, but also in a general +sense. The man's business success largely depends upon the helpmate he +has in his home. <i>His career is at her mercy.</i> For example, if the wife +should turn out to be unsympathetic, and uninterested in his ambitions, +this fact might warp his prospects by causing him to <i>lose heart</i> in +facing the large problems awaiting him along the road of opportunity. +However, if she is of a cheerful, energetic disposition and willing to +do all that she can to help him over the rough spots as they travel +along together he will be <i>inspired into action</i> and will do his level +best. He will be conscious as he goes about his work that there is <i>one</i> +person above all upon whom he can depend—<i>his wife</i>.</p> + +<p>Marriage is a <i>serious business</i> and usually we concede that point in +the beginning. However, this is not aimed as a blow at life's greatest +romance ... it is merely the recognition of an elemental fact.... +Marriage must have its <i>practical side</i>. To become successful in the +highest degree man and wife <i>must establish a comradeship</i>. It is not +the part of wisdom that either should rule the other, but rather that +each should have the interest of the other at heart and should strive to +be helpful one unto the other. Two men can go through life the best of +friends, each holding the respect and confidence of the other. So can +two women. <i>Then, why not a man and wife?</i> Needless to say they can, and +do. Such partnerships are sure of success. It is only through lack of +comradeship that love flies out of the window—<i>and lights on a +sea-going aeroplane</i>.</p> + +<p>The marriage state is a long contract—it should not be stumbled into by +man or woman. Nor should we become cowardly to the point of backing out +of it altogether. Love is blind <i>only to the blind</i>. Either party to the +tie that binds has a chance to know in advance whether the venture is +safe and sane. All a man has to consider after he knows his own heart is +that the woman of his choice is sensible, considerate and healthy. Other +things being equal he can take the leap without hesitancy. We shouldn't +borrow trouble.</p> + +<a name='image_15'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-15.jpg' width='600' height='454' alt='Demonstrating the Monk and the Hand-Organ to a Body of +Psychologists' title=''> +</center> + +<p>Of course there are those who <i>should never marry</i>. They do, however, +and when they do they loan themselves to the mockery of the marriage +state. There is no time to dwell on this thought for it is just +something that goes on happening anyway and has no bearing upon the +advisability of "wedlock in time" between <i>people of horse sense</i>.</p> + +<p>Given a good wife, after his own heart, no manly man has a righteous +kick coming against the fates. Under such circumstances if things go +wrong he will find the fault within himself. Of course we should, to the +fullest possible extent, be prepared for marriage before assuming its +responsibilities. We should at least have a ticket before embarking—and +it is the <i>real</i> man's duty to provide the ticket. Since it is to be a +long voyage a "round trip" isn't necessary. In other words, a man +needn't be rich when he marries—but he should not be broke, either. +Lack of funds a few days after the honeymoon is too hard a test for +matrimony to bear nobly. It is too much like inviting a catastrophe +through lack of good, hard sense to begin with. It shows poor +generalship at the very start—and there is the liability of causing +great distress and hardship to a tender-hearted little woman. It would +be a sad blow to her to find that the man of her choice was, after all, +just an ordinary fellow—<i>a man without foresight</i>.</p> + +<p>There are four seasons in married life—spring, summer, fall and winter, +and we are going to need a comrade as we go through each of them. And +the one we want <i>is the one we start with</i>—the gentle partner in all +our joys and sorrows. It is she who will stand back of us when all +others fail. When the children come along to bless our days and inspire +us to greater efforts we are glad to look into their happy, smiling +faces and find that they resemble their mother—their soft cheeks are +like hers, their hands, their dainty ways, their caresses. And when mama +looks into those same bright eyes they make her think of their daddy. +The fond affection bestowed upon the children by both parents is but +another mode of expressing their regard for each other.</p> + +<p>Springtime days, these! When little tots climb up and entwine their +arms about our necks. If this were married life's only compensation it +would not prove in vain—for when the babies enter the home the tie that +binds becomes hard and fast—<i>if the man is a manly man</i>. To become the +father of a bright-eyed babe is an experience of the highest importance +to a young man getting started. It reinforces his courage, doubles up +his ambitions and <i>puts him on his metal</i>. He has a new responsibility +and it adds to his strength of character to assume it in all its phases. +Another thing it brings comfort and joy to the mother during the long +days while her man is out in the fray. <i>It drives ennui out of the +household throughout our springtime days.</i></p> + +<p>And when summer comes along new hopes dawn within us. Springtime had +found us up and doing and when it merged into the new season we found +our aspirations even stronger than before. Children must be educated and +their futures prepared in advance as far as may be. They must not go +into the world <i>without tools to work with</i>. Meanwhile the household +teems with plans and becomes a veritable dreamland of youthful fervor. +We find that having helped our children into attractive personalities +they have become magnets with which to draw about us their comrades. +Thus we hold on to our youth by virtue of our surroundings—creatures of +our thoughtfulness concerning "<i>wedlock in time</i>."</p> + +<p>That the fall season is coming has no terrors for us. There will be the +weddings and plannings for new homes <i>close by</i>—if we have our say. And +in due course, the grandchildren will come who will favor grandpa and +grandma and once again youth knocks at our door. There will be no dread +winter days for us for we have been forehanded—we have a <i>new crew on +board to chase away the cares of old age and infirmities</i>.</p> + +<p>Try how we will there is no way to forestall the operation of the law of +compensation. We reap as we sow. The world will be good to those who +compel its respect by becoming the right sort of citizens. <i>Wedlock in +time—that's the answer!</i></p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_XIX'></a><h3>CHAPTER XIX</h3> + +<h4>LAUGH AND LIVE</h4> +<br /> + +<p>Again I find it expedient to resort to the personal pronoun and +therefore this final chapter is to be devoted to "<i>you</i> and <i>me</i>." There +are facts you may want to know <i>for sure</i> and one of them is whether or +not I live up to my own prescription.</p> + +<p>I do—<i>and it's easy!</i></p> + +<p>I have kept myself happy and well through keeping my physical department +in first class order. If that had been left to take care of itself I +would surely have fallen by the wayside in other departments. Once we +sit down in security the world seems to <i>hand us things we do not need</i>.</p> + +<p>Fresh air is my intoxicant—and it keeps me in high spirits. My system +doesn't crave artificial stimulation because <i>my daily exercise</i> +quickens the blood sufficiently. Then, too, I manage to <i>keep busy</i>. +That's the real elixir—<i>activity!</i> Not always physical activity, +either, for I must read good books in order to exercise my mind in other +channels than just my daily routine—and add to my store of knowledge as +well.</p> + +<p>Then there is my <i>inner-self</i> which must have attention now and then. +For this a little solitude is helpful. We have only to sense the +phenomena surrounding us to know that we must have a <i>working +faith</i>—something <i>practical</i> to live by, which automatically keeps us +on our course. The mystery of life somehow loses its density <i>if we +retain our spark of hope</i>.</p> + +<p>All of my life since childhood I have held Shakespeare in constant +companionship. Aside from the Bible—which is entirely apart from all +other books—Shakespeare has no equal. My father, partly from his love +for the great poet, and partly for the purpose of aiding me to memorize +accurately, taught me to recite Shakespeare before I was old enough to +know the meaning of the words. I remembered them, however, and in later +years I grew to know their full significance. Then I became an ardent +follower of the Master Philosopher, than whom no greater interpreter of +human emotions ever lived. In the matter of sage advice there has never +been his equal. In "<i>Hamlet</i>" we find the wonderful words of admonition +from <i>Polonius</i> in his farewell speech to his son <i>Laertes</i>—as good +today as four hundred years ago, and they will continue to be so until +the end of time.</p> + +<p>It matters not how familiar we may be with these lines it is no waste of +time to read them over again once in awhile. They seem to fit the +<i>practical side of life</i> perfectly. If we have any complaint by reason +of their brusqueness we have only to temper our interpretation according +to our own sense of justice. In other words if we wanted to loan a +"ten-spot" now and then we would just go ahead and do it—meanwhile, to +save you the trouble of looking up these lines, here they are in "Laugh +and Live"—</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>And these few precepts in thy memory<br /></span> +<span>See thou charácter—Give thy thoughts no tongue,<br /></span> +<span>Nor any unproportioned thought his act.<br /></span> +<span>Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.<br /></span> +<span>The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,<br /></span> +<span>Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;<br /></span> +<span>But do not dull thy palm with entertainment<br /></span> +<span>Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged comrade. Beware<br /></span> +<span>Of entrance to a quarrel: but, being in,<br /></span> +<span>Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee.<br /></span> +<span>Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice:<br /></span> +<span>Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.<br /></span> +<span>Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,<br /></span> +<span>But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy:<br /></span> +<span>For the apparel oft proclaims the man;<br /></span> +<span>And they in France of the best rank and station<br /></span> +<span>Are of a most select and generous sheaf in that.<br /></span> +<span>Neither a borrower nor a lender be;<br /></span> +<span>For loan oft loses both itself and friend,<br /></span> +<span>And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry,<br /></span> +<span>This above all—<i>to thine ownself be true;</i><br /></span> +<span><i>And it must follow, as the night the day,</i><br /></span> +<span><i>Thou canst not then be false to any man</i>.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<a name='image_16'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-16.jpg' width='361' height='600' alt=""Wedlock in Time"—The Fairbanks' Family" title=""> +</center> + +<p>The time has come to close this little book. It has been a great +pleasure to write it and a greater pleasure to hope that it will be +received in the same spirit it has been written. These are busy days for +all of us. We go in a gallop most of the time, but there comes the quiet +hour when we must sit still and "take stock." I know this from the +letters that come to me asking my opinion on all sorts of subjects. +People believe I am happy because my laughing pictures seem to denote +this fact—<i>and it is a fact!</i> In the foregoing chapters I have told +why. If, in the telling I shall have been instrumental in adding to <i>the +world's store of happiness</i> I shall ever thank my "lucky stars."</p> + +<p>Very Sincerely</p> + +<p>Douglas Fairbanks</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='A_quotCLOSE_UPquot_OF_DOUGLAS_FAIRBANKS'></a><h3>A "CLOSE-UP" OF DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS</h3> + +<center>by George Creel</center> + +<center><i>Reprinted from Everybody's Magazine by Permission of The Ridgway +Company, New York.</i></center> +<br /> + +<h3>CHAPTER XX</h3> + +<h4>A "CLOSE-UP" OF DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS</h4> +<br /> + +<p>Young Mr. Douglas Fairbanks, star alike in both the "speakies" and the +"movies," is well worth a story. He is what every American might be, +ought to be, and frequently is <i>not</i>. More than any other that comes to +mind, he is possessed of the indomitable optimism that gives purpose, +"punch," and color to any life, no matter what the odds.</p> + +<p>He holds the world's record for the standing broad grin. There isn't a +minute of the day that fails to find him glad that he's alive. Nobody +ever saw him with a "grouch," or suffering from an attack of the +"blues." Nobody ever heard him mention "hard luck" in connection with +one of his failures. The worse the breaks of the game, the gloomier the +outlook, the wider his grin. He has made cheerfulness a habit, and it +has paid him in courage, in bubbling energy, and buoyant resolve.</p> + +<p>We are a young nation and a great nation. Judging from the promise of +the morning, there is nothing that may not be asked of America's noon. A +land of abundance, with not an evil that may not be banished, and yet +there is more whining in it than in any other country on the face of the +globe. If we are to die, "Nibbled to Death by Ducks" may well be put on +the tombstone. Little things are permitted to bring about paroxysms of +peevishness. Even our pleasures have come to be taken sadly. We are +irritable at picnics, snarly at clambakes, and bored to death at +dinners.</p> + +<p>The Government ought to hire Douglas Fairbanks, and send him over the +country as an agent of the Bureau of Grins. Have him start work in +Boston, and then rush him by special train to Philadelphia. If the +wealth of the United States increased $41,000,000,000 during the last +three peevish, whining years, think what would happen if we learned the +art of joyousness and gained the strength that comes from good humor +and optimism!</p> + +<p>"Doug" Fairbanks—now that he is in the "movies" we don't have to be +formal—is the living, breathing proof of the value of a grin. His rise +from obscurity to fame, from poverty to wealth, has no larger foundation +than his ever-ready willingness to let the whole world see every tooth +in his head.</p> + +<p>Good looks? Artistry? Bosh! The Fairbanks features were evidently picked +out by a utilitarian mother who preferred use to ornament; and as for +his acting, critics of the drama, imbued with the traditions of Booth +and Barrett, have been known to sob like children after witnessing a +Fairbanks performance.</p> + +<p>It is the joyousness of the man that gets him over. It's the 100 per +cent interest that he takes in everything he goes at that lies at the +back of his success. He does nothing by halves, is never indifferent, +never lackadaisical.</p> + +<p>At various stages in his brief career he has been a Shakespearean actor, +Wall Street clerk, hay steward on a cattle-boat, vagabond, and business +man, knowing poverty, hunger, and discomfort at times, but never, +<i>never</i> losing the grin. Things began to move for him when he left a +Denver high school back in 1900 for the purpose of entering college. As +he says, "A man can't be too careful about college."</p> + +<p>He started for Princeton, but met a youth on the train who was going to +Harvard. He took a special course at Cambridge—just what it was he +can't remember—but at the end of the year it was hinted to him that +circus life was more suited to his talents, particularly one with three +rings.</p> + +<p>A friend, however, suggested the theatre, and gave him a card to +Frederick Warde, the tragedian. Mr. Warde fell for the Fairbanks grin, +and as a first part assigned him the role of <i>François</i>, the lackey, in +"Richelieu." What he lacked in experience he made up for in activity and +unflagging merriment. It got to be so that Warde was almost afraid to +touch the bell, for he never knew whether the amazing <i>François</i> would +enter through the door or come down from the ceiling.</p> + +<p>After the company had done its worst to "Richelieu," it changed to +Shakespearean repertoire, and for one year young Fairbanks engaged in +what Mr. Warde was pleased to term a "catch-as-catch-can bout with the +immortal Bard." When friends of Shakespeare finally protested in the +name of humanity, the strenuous Douglas accepted an engagement with +Herbert Kelcey and Effie Shannon in "Her Lord and Master."</p> + +<p>Five months went by before the two stars broke under the strain, and by +that time news had come to Mr. Fairbanks that Wall Street was Easy +Money's other name. Armed with his grin, he marched into the office of +De Coppet & Doremus, and when the manager came out of his trance +Shakespeare's worst enemy was holding down the job of order man.</p> + +<p>"The name Coppet appealed to me," he explains.</p> + +<p>He is still remembered in that office, fondly but fearfully. He did his +work well enough; in fact, there are those who insist that he invented +scientific management.</p> + +<p>"How about that?" I asked him, for it puzzled me.</p> + +<p>"Well, you see, it was this way: For five days in a week I would say, +'Quite so' to my assistant, no matter what he suggested. On Saturday I +would dash into the manager's office, wag my head, knit my brow, and +exclaim, 'What we need around here is <i>efficiency</i>.' And once I urged +the purchase of a time-clock."</p> + +<p>The way he filled his spare time was what bothered. What with his +tumbling tricks, boxing, wrestling, leap-frog over chairs, and other +small gaieties, he mussed up routine to a certain extent. But he was +<i>not</i> discharged. At a point where the firm was just one jump ahead of +nervous prostration, along came "Jack" Beardsley and "Little" Owen, two +husky football players with a desire to see life without the safety +clutch.</p> + +<p>The three approached the officials of a cattle-steamship, and by +persistent claims to the effect that they "had a way" with dumb +animals, got jobs as hay stewards.</p> + +<p>"We found the cows very nice," comments Mr. Fairbanks. "No one can get +me to say a word against them. But those stokers! And those other +stable-maids! Pow! We had to fight 'em from one end of the voyage to the +other, and it got so that I bit myself in my sleep. The three of us got +eight shillings apiece when we landed at Liverpool, and tickets back, +but there were several little things about Europe that bothered us, and +we thought we'd see what the trouble was."</p> + +<p>They "hoboed" it through England, France, and Belgium, working at any +old job until they gathered money enough to move along, whether it was +carrying water to English navvies or unloading paving-blocks from a +Seine boat. After three joyous months, they felt the call of the cattle, +and came home on another steamer.</p> + +<p>Back on his native heath, young Fairbanks took a shot from the hip at +law, but missed. Then he got a job in a machine-manufacturing plant, +but one day he found that his carelessness had permitted fifty dollars +to accumulate, and he breezed down to Cuba and Yucatan to see what +openings there were for capital. Back from that tramping trip, he +figured that since he had not annoyed the stage for some time it +certainly owed him something.</p> + +<p>His return to the drama took place in "The Rose of Plymouth Town," a +play in which Miss Minnie Dupree was the star. Meeting Miss Dupree, I +asked her what sort of an actor Fairbanks was in those days.</p> + +<p>"Well," she said judiciously, "I think that he was about the nicest case +of St. Vitus' dance that ever came under my notice."</p> + +<p>William A. Brady got him next. Mr. Brady is quite a dynamo himself, and +there was also a time in his life when he managed James J. Corbett. The +two fell into each other's arms with a cry of joy, and for seven years +they touched off dramatic explosions that strewed fat actors all over +the landscape and tore miles of scenery into ribbons.</p> + +<p>"Some boy!" was Mr. Brady's tribute. "Put him in a death scene, and +he'd find a way to break the furniture."</p> + +<p>There was never a part that "Doug" Fairbanks lay down on. To every role +he brought joy and interest and enthusiasm, and the night came +inevitably that saw his name in electric letters.</p> + +<p>It is not claimed that his work as a star "elevated" the drama, but it +may safely be claimed that he never appeared in any play that was not +wholesome, stimulating, and helpful.</p> + +<p>Nothing was more natural than that the movies should seek such an actor, +and they set the trap with attractive bait.</p> + +<p>"Come over to us," they said, "and we'll let you do anything you want. +Outside of poison gas and actual murder, the sky's the limit."</p> + +<p>Without even waiting to kick off his shoes, "Doug" Fairbanks made a +dive.</p> + +<p>The movie magnates got what they wanted, and Fairbanks got what he +wanted. For the first time in his life he was able to "let go" with all +the force of his dynamic individuality, and he took full advantage of +the opportunity.</p> + +<p>In "The Lamb," his first adventure before the camera, he let a +rattlesnake crawl over him, tackled a mountain lion, jiu-jitsued a bunch +of Yaqui Indians until they bellowed, and operated a machine-gun.</p> + +<p>In "His Picture in the Papers," he was called upon to run an automobile +over a cliff, engage in a grueling six-round go with a professional +pugilist, jump off an Atlantic liner and swim to the distant shore, mix +it up in a furious battle royal with a half dozen husky gunmen, leap +twice from swiftly moving trains, and also to resist arrest by a squad +of Jess Willards dressed up in police uniforms.</p> + +<p>"The Half-Breed" carried him out to California, and, among other things, +threw him into the heart of a forest fire that had been carefully +kindled in the redwood groves of Calaveras County. Amid a rain of +burning pine tufts, and with great branches falling to the ground all +around him, "Douggie" was required to dash in and save the gallant +sheriff from turning into a cinder. Hair and eyelashes grew out again, +however, his blisters healed, and in a few days he was as good as new.</p> + +<p>"The Habit of Happiness" was rich in stunts that would have made even +Battling Nelson turn to tatting with a sigh of relief. Five gangsters, +sicked on to their work by the villain, waylaid our hero on the stairs, +and in the rough-and-tumble that followed, it was his duty to beat each +and every one of them into a state of coma. He performed his task so +conscientiously that his hands were swollen for a week, not to mention +his eyes and nose. As for the five extra men who posed as the gangsters, +all came to the conclusion that dock-walloping was far less strenuous +than art, and went back to their former jobs.</p> + +<p>"The Good Bad Man" was a Western picture that contained a thrill to +every foot of film. Our hero galloped over mountains, jumping from crag +to crag, held up an express train single-handed in order to capture the +conductor's ticket-punch, grappled with gigantic desperadoes every few +minutes, shot up a saloon, and was dragged around for quite a while at +the end of a lynching party's rope.</p> + +<p>"Reggie Mixes In" was one joyous round of assault and battery from +beginning to end. Happening to fall in love with a dancer in a Bowery +cabaret, <i>Reggie</i> puts family and fortune behind him and takes a job as +"bouncer" so as to be near his lady-love. Aside from his regular duties, +he is required to work overtime on account of the hatred of a +gang-leader who also loves the girl. Five scoundrels jump <i>Reggie</i>, and, +after manhandling four, he drops from a second-story window to the neck +of the fifth, and chokes him with hands and legs. After which he carries +the senseless wretch down the street, and gaily flicks him, as it were, +through a window at the villain's feet. As a tasty little finish, +<i>Reggie</i> and his rival lock themselves in an empty room, and engage in a +contest governed by packing-house rules.</p> + +<p>Three days after the combat, by the way, the company heads were pleased +to announce that both men were out of danger unless blood-poisoning +set in.</p> + +<a name='image_17'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-17.jpg' width='373' height='600' alt="Here's Hoping! (White Studio)" title=""> +</center> + +<p>"The Mystery of the Leaping Fish" was what is known as a "water +picture," and "Doug," as a comedy detective, was compelled to make a +human submarine of himself, not to mention several duels in the dark +with Japanese thugs and opium smugglers.</p> + +<p>"Another day of it," he grinned, "and I'd have grown fins."</p> + +<p>"Manhattan Madness" was really nothing more than St. Vitus's dance set +to ragtime. Our hero climbed up eaves-pipes, plunged through trap-doors +down into dungeons, jumped from the roof of a house into a tree, kicked +his way in and out of secret closets, and engaged in hair-raising +combats with desperate villains every few minutes.</p> + +<p>It is not only the case that "Doug" Fairbanks made good with the movie +fans. What is more to the point, he made good with the "bunch" itself. +In nine cases out of ten, the "legitimate" star, going over into +pictures, evades and avoids the "rough stuff." To some humble, hardy +"double" is assigned the actual work of falling off the cliff, riding at +full speed across granite hedges, taking a good hard punch in the nose, +or plunging from the top of the burning building.</p> + +<p>Many an honest cowpuncher, taking his girl to the show with him to let +her see what a daredevil he is, has died the death upon discovering that +he was merely "doubling" for some cow-eyed hero who lacked the nerve to +do the stunt himself.</p> + +<p>"Doug" Fairbanks is one of the few movie heroes who have never had a +"double." He asks no man to do that which he is afraid to do himself. No +fall is too hard for him, no fight too furious, no ride too dangerous. +There is not a single one of his pictures in which he hasn't taken a +chance of breaking his neck or his bones; but, as one bronco-buster +observed, "He jes' licks his lips an' asks for more."</p> + +<p>To be sure, few actors have brought such super-physical equipment to the +strenuous work of the movies. Fairbanks, in addition to being blessed +with a strong, lithe body, has developed it by expert devotion to every +form of athletic sport. He swims well, is a crack boxer, a good polo +player, a splendid wrestler, a skilful acrobat, a fast runner, and an +absolutely fearless rider.</p> + +<p>There is never a picture during the progress of which he does not +interpolate some sudden bit of business as the result of his quick wit +and dynamic enthusiasm. In one play, for instance, he was supposed to +enter a house at sight of his sweetheart beckoning to him from an upper +window. As he passed up the steps, however, his roving eye caught sight +of the porch railing, a window-ledge, and a balcony, and in a flash he +was scaling the facade of the house like any cat.</p> + +<p>In another play he was trapped on the roof of a country home. Suddenly +Fairbanks, disregarding the plan of retreat indicated by the author, +gave a wild leap into a near-by maple, managed to catch a bough, and +proceeded to the ground in a series of convulsive falls that gave the +director heart-failure.</p> + +<p>During "The Half-Breed" picture, some of the action took place about a +fallen redwood that had its great roots fully twenty feet into the air.</p> + +<p>"Climb up on top of those roots, Doug," yelled the director.</p> + +<p>Instead of that, "Douggie" went up to a young sapling that grew at the +base of the fallen tree. Bending it down to the ground, as an archer +bends his bow, he gave a sudden spring, and let the tough birch catapult +him to the highest root.</p> + +<p>"What do you want me to do now?" he grinned.</p> + +<p>"Come back the same way," grinned the director.</p> + +<p>Most "legitimate" actors—the valuation is their own—find the movies +rather dull. Time hangs very heavily upon their hands. As one remarked +to me in tones that were thick with a divine despair: "There's +absolutely nothing for a chap to do. In lots of the God-forsaken holes +they drag you to, there isn't even a hotel. No companionship, no +diversion of any kind, and oftentimes no bathtubs."</p> + +<p>Douglas Fairbanks enters no such complaint. He draws upon the energy and +interest that ought to be in every human being, and when entertainment +is not in sight, he goes after it. When they were making "The +Half-Breed" pictures in the Carquinez woods of Northern California, he +was never seen around the camp except when actually needed by the camera +man. Upon his return from these absences, it was noticed that his hands +were usually bleeding, and his clothing stained and torn.</p> + +<p>"What in the name of mischief have you been doing now?" the director +demanded on a day when Fairbanks's wardrobe was almost a total loss.</p> + +<p>"Trappin'," chirped the star.</p> + +<p>Beating about the woods, Bret Harte in hand, he had managed to discover +an old woodsman who still held to the ancient industries of his youth. +The trapper's specialty was "bob cats," and the bleeding hands and torn +clothes came from "Doug's" earnest efforts to handle the "varmints" just +as his venerable preceptor handled them. Out of the experience, at +least, he brought an intimate knowledge of field, forest, and stream, +for over the fire and in their walks he had pumped the old man dry.</p> + +<p>In the same way he made "The Good Bad Man" hand him over everything of +value that frontier life contained. The picture was taken out in the +Mohave desert; for the making of it the director had scoured the West +for riders and ropers and cowboys of the old school. "He men"—every one +of them, and for a time they looked with dislike and suspicion upon the +"star," but when they saw that Fairbanks did not ask for any "double," +and took the hardest tumble with a grin, they received him into their +fellowship with a heartfelt yell.</p> + +<p>Dull in the Mohave desert? Why, he had to sit up nights to keep even +with his engagements. From one man he learned bronco-busting, from +another fancy roping, and from others all that there is to know about +horses, cattle, mountain, and plain. And around the camp-fires he got +stories of the winning of the West such as never found their way into +histories.</p> + +<p>When one picture called for jiu-jitsu work, he didn't rest satisfied +with learning just enough to "get by." Every spare moment found him in a +clinch with the Japanese expert, mastering every secret, perfecting +himself in every hold. Same way with boxing. When no pugilists came +handy, he put on the gloves with anyone willing to take chances on a +black eye, keeping at it until today they have to hire professionals +when he figures in a movie fight.</p> + +<p>When they made a "water" picture he never stopped until he could +duplicate every trick known to the "professor" who drilled the extra +men. He took advantage of a biplane flight to make friends with the +aeronaut, and by the time the picture was done, he was as good a driver +as the expert.</p> + +<p>No matter where he is, or what the job, he finds something of interest +because he goes upon the theory that every minute is meant to be lived. +Maroon him at a cross-roads, with five hours until train time, and he'd +have the operator's first name in ten minutes and be learning the Morse +alphabet, after which he would rush up to his new friend's house to see +the babies or to pass judgment on a Holstein calf or a Black Minorca +brood.</p> + +<p>It is the tremendously human quality, more than anything else, that gets +him across. People like him because he likes them. He attracts interest +because he takes interest. Talk with any of the big men in the +motion-picture industry, that is, those with brains and education, and +they will tell you that personality counts more in pictures than it does +on the stage.</p> + +<p>H. B. Aitken, president of the Triangle Film Corporation, said to me: +"The screen is intimate. The camera brings the actor right into your +lap. In the speaking drama, make-up and footlights change and hide, but +not the least flicker of expression is lost in the picture. It's a test +of real-ness, and it takes a real man or a real woman to stand it. Art +isn't the thing at all, nor do looks count for half as much as people +suppose. It's what's back of the art and the looks that makes the hit, +and if they haven't got <i>something</i>, the artist and the beauty don't +last long. We picked Douglas Fairbanks as a likely film star, not on +account of his stunts, as the majority think, but because of the +splendid humanness that fairly oozed out of him."</p> + +<a name='image_18'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-18.jpg' width='387' height='600' alt='A Close-Up (Lumiere)' title=''> +</center> + +<p>When he isn't before the camera, or fooling with an airship or a motor, +or playing with children, or "gettin' acquainted" with a tramp or a +trapper, or practising stunts with a rope or a horse, young Mr. +Fairbanks fills in his spare time writing scenarios. As everyone knows, +the motion-picture drama has been a tawdry thing for the most +part—either a rehash of old stage plays, novels, and short stories, or +else mediocre "originalities" that epitomized banality. Young Mr. +Fairbanks dissented from the established custom from the very start.</p> + +<p>"It's all wrong," he declared. "We've got to stand on our own feet. +Develop your own dramatists!"</p> + +<p>Practically every play in which he has appeared sprang from his personal +suggestion, and in many of them he has collaborated with the scenario +writer. The three things that he demands are Action, Wholesomeness, and +Sentiment that rings true.</p> + +<p>Never make the mistake of thinking that Douglas Fairbanks starts and +finishes with mere good humor and physical exuberance. There is more to +him than his grin, for his mind is as strong and vigorous as his body. +He reads and thinks, and behind his smile is a quick and eager sympathy +that takes account of the sadnesses of life as well as its promises.</p> + +<p>"The Habit of Happiness" was very much his own idea, and in it he took +occasion to show a midnight bread-line, the misery of the slums, and +various forms of social injustice. It isn't that he thinks himself +called to uplift and reform, but, as he expresses it, "Every little bit +helps."</p> + +<p>In the last talk that I had with him, he was enthusiastic over the +future of the movies as a world force. He speaks in ideas rather than +words, for when he feels that he has indicated the thought he never +troubles to finish the particular sentence.</p> + +<p>"Pictures are like music," he declared. "They speak a universal +language. Great industry—just in its infancy—before long films will +pass from one country to another—internationalism. Why not? Love, hate, +grief, ambition, laughter—they belong to one race as much as +another—all peoples understand them. It's hard to hate people after you +know them. Pictures will let us know each other. They'll break down the +hard national lines that now make for war and suspicion."</p> + +<p>Other things followed, for we discussed everything from cabbages to +kings, and then I plumped the question at him that I had been waiting to +ask from the first.</p> + +<p>"How do you like the movies as compared to the speaking drama? Come now, +cross your heart and hope to die. When the night comes down and the +lights go up, isn't there a blue minute now and then?"</p> + +<p>"Surest thing you know," he grinned. "It isn't because there's such a +radical difference between the 'talkies' and the movies, however." [He +refers to musical comedy as the "screamies."] "The play in the theatre +is largely a matter of pantomime, you know. Dialogue is employed to +advance the actual plot only when it is impossible or impracticable to +do it with dumb show. And when I think of some of the lines I've been +called upon to spout, I can't say that I regret the movies' lack of +dialogue.</p> + +<p>"What does hurt, though," he admitted, "is the absence of response. I +don't mean applause, but the something that comes up over the footlights +to you from the audience, the big something that tells you instantly +whether you have hit it or missed, whether you are ringing true or +false. You don't get that in the pictures. Your audience is the +director, and you know that it will be weeks or months before your work +is going to get its test.</p> + +<p>"But in everything else, the movie has the talkie skinned a mile. +Instead of mouthing somebody else's words, you are doing the thing +yourself. There's action, and life—one day you are in the forest, the +next in the desert, the next on the sea."</p> + +<p>"Nonsense!" I exclaimed. "I understand that it's all done in a studio."</p> + +<p>"I had the idea myself," he laughed. "But no more. When I was in the +'talkies,' I used to hear a lot about realism. Father must wash in a +real basin with real water and real soap. There had to be two hens at +least in every barnyard scene, and when Lottie came home from the cruel +city, she had to have a real baby in her arms. Lordy, I never knew what +realism was until I struck the movies. They've gone crazy over it.</p> + +<p>"'The Half-Breed,' you know, was adapted from one of Bret Harte's +stories, and nothing would do the director but a trip up to the +Carquinez woods in northern California. A forest fire figured in one of +the scenes, but I never thought much about it until I saw them bringing +up some chemical engines, hose reels, and five or six fire-brigades.</p> + +<p>"'What's the idea?' I asked.</p> + +<p>"'To keep the flames from spreading,' they told me.</p> + +<p>"And let me tell you, it was <i>some</i> fire. After I got out of it I felt +like a shave from a Mexican barber."</p> + +<p>"What effect is the movie going to have on the speaking drama?" was my +next question.</p> + +<p>"Look at the effect it's had already," he said. "Shaw is the only +playwright clever enough to write dialogue that will hold any number of +people in the theatre. The motion picture has made the public demand +<i>action</i>. It has changed the plot and progress of the drama completely."</p> + +<p>"Do you think that a good thing? Doesn't it mean the substitution of +feeling for thinking?"</p> + +<p>"Well," he answered slowly, "the world goes forward through the heart +rather than through the head. Happiness, to my mind, is emotional, not +mental. And the movie <i>has</i> brought happiness to millions whose lives +were formerly drab and sordid. I love to go into these little halls in +out-of-the-way places, and see the men, women, and children packed there +of an evening. Theatrical companies never reached the villages, and the +men had no place but the saloon, the women no place but the kitchen or +the front porch. The camera has brought the world to their doors, and +life is richer, happier, and better for it."</p> + +<p>Take him as he stands, and Douglas Fairbanks comes close to being the +"real thing." Men like him as well as women, and, best proof of all, the +"kids" adore him. On a recent visit to Denver, his old home town, +youngsters followed him in droves, clamoring for a chance to "feel his +muscle." The mayor, no less, had him address a public meeting, the +feature of which, by the way, was this piped inquiry from the gallery:</p> + +<p>"Say, Doug, can youse whip William Farnum?"</p> + +<p>And let no one quarrel with this popularity. It is a good sign, a +healthful sign, a token that the blood of America still runs warm and +red, and that chalk has not yet softened our bones.</p> + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12887 ***</div> +</body> +</html> + diff --git a/12887-h/images/image-1.jpg b/12887-h/images/image-1.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..40ef74d --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/images/image-1.jpg diff --git a/12887-h/images/image-10.jpg b/12887-h/images/image-10.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..196d8d5 --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/images/image-10.jpg diff --git a/12887-h/images/image-11.jpg b/12887-h/images/image-11.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9fca860 --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/images/image-11.jpg diff --git a/12887-h/images/image-12.jpg b/12887-h/images/image-12.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a1259a2 --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/images/image-12.jpg diff --git a/12887-h/images/image-13.jpg b/12887-h/images/image-13.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..75f6c9e --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/images/image-13.jpg diff --git a/12887-h/images/image-14.jpg b/12887-h/images/image-14.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..b327054 --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/images/image-14.jpg diff --git a/12887-h/images/image-15.jpg b/12887-h/images/image-15.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..25085a0 --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/images/image-15.jpg diff --git a/12887-h/images/image-16.jpg b/12887-h/images/image-16.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..b5d075f --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/images/image-16.jpg diff --git a/12887-h/images/image-17.jpg b/12887-h/images/image-17.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5205e26 --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/images/image-17.jpg diff --git a/12887-h/images/image-18.jpg b/12887-h/images/image-18.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..99f5ac3 --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/images/image-18.jpg diff --git a/12887-h/images/image-2.jpg b/12887-h/images/image-2.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5c3a527 --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/images/image-2.jpg diff --git a/12887-h/images/image-3.jpg b/12887-h/images/image-3.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7f258d3 --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/images/image-3.jpg diff --git a/12887-h/images/image-4.jpg b/12887-h/images/image-4.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1570a77 --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/images/image-4.jpg diff --git a/12887-h/images/image-5.jpg b/12887-h/images/image-5.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..d78ef88 --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/images/image-5.jpg diff --git a/12887-h/images/image-6.jpg b/12887-h/images/image-6.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2840b8f --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/images/image-6.jpg diff --git a/12887-h/images/image-7.jpg b/12887-h/images/image-7.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..c5e59f8 --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/images/image-7.jpg diff --git a/12887-h/images/image-8.jpg b/12887-h/images/image-8.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..18a985e --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/images/image-8.jpg diff --git a/12887-h/images/image-9.jpg b/12887-h/images/image-9.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..50a8970 --- /dev/null +++ b/12887-h/images/image-9.jpg diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..50d584e --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #12887 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12887) diff --git a/old/12887-8.txt b/old/12887-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8d02a68 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12887-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3706 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Laugh and Live, by Douglas Fairbanks + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Laugh and Live + +Author: Douglas Fairbanks + +Release Date: July 12, 2004 [EBook #12887] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAUGH AND LIVE *** + + + + +Produced by Steven desJardins and Distributed Proofreaders. + + + + +[ILLUSTRATION: _Laugh and Live_] + + +Laugh and Live + +By DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS + + +ILLUSTRATED + +NEW YORK +BRITTON PUBLISHING COMPANY + +1917 + + + + +TO MY MOTHER + + + + +CONTENTS + + I. "Whistle and Hoe--Sing As We Go" + + II. Taking Stock of Ourselves + + III. Advantages of an Early Start + + IV. Profiting by Experience + + V. Energy, Success and Laughter + + VI. Building Up a Personality + + VII. Honesty, the Character Builder + + VIII. Cleanliness of Body and Mind + + IX. Consideration for Others + + X. Keeping Ourselves Democratic + + XI. Self-Education by Good Reading + + XII. Physical and Mental Preparedness + + XIII. Self-indulgence and Failure + + XIV. Living Beyond Our Means + + XV. Initiative and Self-Reliance + + XVI. Failure to Seize Opportunities + + XVII. Assuming Responsibilities + +XVIII. Wedlock in Time + + XIX. Laugh and Live + + XX. A "Close-Up" of Douglas Fairbanks + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + +Laugh and Live +Do You Ever Laugh? +Over the Hedge and on His Way +Preparing to Pair With the Prickly Pear +A Little Spin Among the Saplings +Over the Hills and Far Away--Father and Son +A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers" +A Scene from "The Americano"--Matching Wits for Gold +Taking on Local Color +A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers" +Douglas Fairbanks in "The Good Bad-Man" +Squaring Things With Sister--From "The Habit of Happiness" +A Scene from "In Again--Out Again" +Bungalowing in California +Demonstrating the Monk and the Hand-Organ to a Body of Psychologists +"Wedlock in Time"--The Fairbanks' Family +Here's Hoping +A Close-Up + + + + +LIVE AND LAUGH + + + + +CHAPTER I + +"WHISTLE AND HOE--SING AS WE GO" + + +There is one thing in this good old world that is positively +sure--happiness is for _all_ who _strive_ to _be_ happy--and those who +laugh _are_ happy. + +Everybody is eligible--you--me--the other fellow. + +Happiness is fundamentally a state of mind--not a state of body. + +And mind controls. + +Indeed it is possible to stand with one foot on the inevitable "banana +peel" of life with both eyes peering into the Great Beyond, and still be +happy, comfortable, and serene--if we will even so much as smile. + +It's all a state of mind, I tell you--and I'm sure of what I say. That's +why I have taken up my fountain pen. I want to talk to my friends--you +hosts of people who have written to me for my recipe. In moving pictures +all I can do is act my part and grin for you. What I say is a matter of +your own inference, but with my pen I have a means of getting around the +"silent drama" which prevents us from organizing a "close-up" with one +another. + +In starting I'm going to ask you "foolish question number 1."-- + +Do you ever laugh? + +I mean do you ever laugh right out--spontaneously--just as if the police +weren't listening with drawn clubs and a finger on the button connecting +with the "hurry-up" wagon? Well, if you don't, you should. _Start off +the morning with a laugh and you needn't worry about the rest of the +day._ + +I like to laugh. It is a tonic. It braces me up--makes me feel +fine!--and keeps me in prime mental condition. Laughter is a +physiological necessity. The nerve system requires it. The deep, +forceful chest movement in itself sets the blood to racing thereby +livening up the circulation--which is good for us. Perhaps you hadn't +thought of that? Perhaps you didn't realize that laughing automatically +re-oxygenates the blood--_your_ blood--and keeps it red? It does all of +that, and besides, it relieves the tension from your brain. + +_Laughter is more or less a habit._ To some it comes only with practice. +But what's to hinder practising? Laugh and live long--if you had a +thought of dying--laugh and grow well--if you're sick and +despondent--laugh and grow fat--if your tendency is towards the lean and +cadaverous--laugh and succeed--if you're glum and "unlucky"--laugh and +nothing can faze you--not even the Grim Reaper--for the man who has +laughed his way through life has nothing to fear of the future. His +conscience is clear. + +Wherein lies this magic of laughter? For magic it is--a something that +manufactures a state of felicity out of any condition. We've got to +admit its charm; automatically and inevitably a laugh cheers us up. If +we are bored--nothing to do--just laugh--that's something to do, for +laughter is synonymous with action, and action dispels gloom, care, +trouble, worry and all else of the same ilk. + +Real laughter is spontaneous. Like water from the spring it bubbles +forth a creation of mingled action and spontaneity--two magic potions in +themselves--the very essence of laughter--the unrestrained emotion +within us! + +So, for me, it is to laugh! Why not stick along? The experiment won't +hurt you. All we need is will power, and that is a personal matter for +each individual to seek and acquire for himself. Many of us already +possess it, but many of us do not. + +Take the average man on the street for example. Watch him go plodding +along--no spring, no elasticity, no vim. He is in _check-rein_--how can +he laugh when his _pep_ is all gone and the _sand in his craw_ isn't +there any more? What he needs is _spirit_! Energy--the power to force +himself into action! For him there is no hope unless he will take up +physical training in some form that will put him in normal physical +condition--after that everything simplifies itself. The brain responds +to the new blood in circulation and thus the mental processes are ready +to make a fight against the inertia of stagnation which has held them in +bondage. + +[Illustration: _Do You Ever Laugh?_ (_White Studio_)] + +And, mind you, physical training doesn't necessarily mean going to an +expert for advice. One doesn't have to make a mountain out of a +molehill. Get out in the fresh air and walk briskly--and don't forget to +wear a smile while you're at it. Don't over-do. Take it easy at first +and build on your effort day by day. A little this morning--a little +more tonight. The first chance you have, when you're sure of your wind +and heart, get out upon the country road, or cross-country hill and +dale. Then run, run, run, until you drop exhausted upon some grassy +bank. Then laugh, loud and long, for you're on the road to happiness. + +Try it now--don't wait. _Today is the day to begin._ Or, if it is night +when you run across these lines, drop this book and trot yourself +around the block a few times. Then come back and you'll enjoy it more +than you would otherwise. Activity makes for happiness as nothing else +will and once you stir your blood into little bubbles of energy you will +begin to think of other means of keeping your bodily house in order. +Unless you make a first effort the chances are you will do very little +real thinking of any kind--_we need pep to think_. + +Think what an opportunity we miss when stripped at night if we fail to +give our bodies a round of exercise. It is so simple, so easy, and has +so much to do with our sleep each night and our work next day that to +neglect to do so is a crime against nature. And laugh! Man alive, if you +are not in the habit of laughing, _get the habit_. Never miss a chance +to laugh aloud. Smiling is better than nothing, and a chuckle is better +still--but _out and out laughter_ is the real thing. Try it now if you +dare! And when you've done it, analyze your feelings. + +I make this prediction--if you once start the habit of exercise, and +couple with it the habit of laughter, even if only for one short +week--you'll keep it up ever afterwards. + +And, by the way, Friend Reader,--don't be alarmed. The personal pronouns +"_I_" and "_you_" give place in succeeding chapters to the more +congenial editorial "_we_." I couldn't resist the temptation to enjoy +one brief spell of intimacy just for the sake of good acquaintance. +_Have a laugh on me._ + + + + +CHAPTER II + +TAKING STOCK OF OURSELVES + + +Experience is the real teacher, but the matter of how we are going to +succeed in life should not be left to ordinary chance while we are +waiting for things to happen. Our first duty is to prepare ourselves +against untoward experiences, and that is best done by taking stock of +our mental and physical assets at the very outset of our journey. What +weaknesses we possess are excess baggage to be thrown away and that is +our reason for taking stock so early. It is likely to save us from +riding to a fall. + +There is one thing we don't want along--_fear_. We will never get +anywhere with that, nor with any of its uncles, aunts or cousins--_Envy, +Malice and Greed_. In justice to our own best interests we should search +every crook and cranny of our hearts and minds lest we venture forth +with any such impedimenta. There is no excuse, and we have no one to +blame if we allow any of them to journey along with us. We know whether +they are there or not just as we would know _Courage, Trust and Honor_ +were they perched behind us on the saddle. + +It is idle to squeal if through association with the former we find +ourselves ditched before we are well under way--for it is coming to us, +sooner or later. We might go _far_, as some have done, through the lanes +and alleys of ill-gotten gains and luxurious self-indulgence, but we +would pay in the end. So, why not charge them up to "profit and loss" at +the start and kick them off into the gutter where they belong? They are +not for us on our eventful journey through life, and the time to get rid +of them once and for all is when we are young, and mentally and +physically vigorous. Later on when the fires burn low and we still have +them with us they will be hard to push aside. + +"To thine own self be true," says the great Shakespeare and how can we +be true to our own selves if we train with inferiors? We are known by +our companionships. We will be rated according to association--good or +bad. The two will not mix for long and we will be one sort of a fellow +or the other. We can't be both. + +There was a time, long years ago, in the days of our grandfathers, when +men went to the "bow-wows" and, later on, "came back" as it were, by +making a partial success in life--measured largely by the money they +succeeded in accumulating. That was before the "check-up" system was +invented. Today things are different. Questions are asked--"Where were +you last?"--"Why did you leave there?"--"Have you credentials?"--and +when we shake our weary head and walk away, we fondly wish we had "taken +stock" back there when the "taking" was good. + + "To thine own self be true; and it must follow as the night the + day, thou canst not then be false to any man." + +When we can analyze ourselves and find that we are living up to the +quoted lines above we may safely lift the limit from our aspirations. +Right here it is well to say that success is not to be computed in +dollars and cents, nor that the will to achieve a successful life is to +be predicated upon the mere accumulation of wealth. First of all, good +health and good minds--then we may laugh loud and long--we're safe on +"first." + +So, with these two weapons we may dig down into our aspirations, and, +keeping in view that our policy is that of honesty to ourselves and +toward our fellow man, all we need to do is to go about the program of +life cheerfully and stout of heart--_for now we are in a state of +preparedness_. + +We are at the point where vision starts. Along with this vision must +come the courage of convictions in order that we may feel that our ideas +are important, and because we have such thoughts, _we shall surely +succeed_. It has often been noticed that when we have had a large +conception and have with force, character, and strength of will carried +it into effect, immediately thereafter a host of people have been able +to say: "I thought of that myself!" Most of us have had the same +experience after reading of a great discovery that we had thrown +overboard because it must not have been "worth while" or someone else +would already have thought of it. + +The man who puts life into an idea is acclaimed a genius, because he +does _the right thing at the right time_. Therein lies the difference +between the _genius_ and a _commonplace_ man. + +We all have ambitions, but only the few achieve. A man thinks of a good +thing and says: "Now if I only had the money I'd put that through." The +word "if" was a dent in his courage. With character fully established, +his plan well thought out, he had only to go to those in command of +capital and it would have been forthcoming. He had something that +capital would cheerfully get behind if he had the courage to back up his +claims. To fail was nothing less than moral cowardice. _The will to do_ +had not been efficient. There was a flaw in the character, after all. + +Going back, therefore, to the prescription, we find that a _sound +body_, a _good mind_, an _honest purpose_, and a _lack of fear_ are the +essential elements of success. So, when we have conceived something for +the good of the world and have allowed it to go by default we have +dropped the monkey-wrench into the machinery of our preparedness. We +must look about us for a reason. Have we fallen by the wayside of +carelessness? Have we allowed ourselves to be discouraged by cowardly +"ifs"? _Did we lack the sand_? Exactly so; we didn't have the courage of +our convictions. + +Life is the one great experience, and those who fail to win, if sound of +body, can safely lay the blame to their lack of mental equipment. What +does it matter if disappointments follow one after the other if we can +_laugh and try again_? Failures must come to all of us in some degree, +but we may rise from our failures and win back our losses if we are only +shrewd enough to realize that good health, sound mind, and a cheerful +spirit are necessary adjuncts. As Tennyson says: + + "I held it truth, with him who sings + To one clear harp in divers tones, + That men may rise on stepping-stones + Of their dead selves to higher things." + +All truly great men have been healthy--otherwise they would have fallen +short of the mark. Prisons are filled with nervous, diseased creatures. +There is no doubt but that most of these who, through ignorance, sifted +through to the bottomless pits could have saved themselves had they +realized the truth and "taken stock" of themselves, _in time_--of +course, allowing for those, who are victims of circumstantial evidence. + +The prime necessity of life is health. With this, for mankind, nothing +is impossible. But if we do not make use of this good health it will +waste itself away and never come back. It often disappears entirely for +lack of interest on the part of its thoughtless owner. A little energy +would have saved the day. _A little "pep"--and we laugh and live._ +Laughter clings to good health as naturally as the needle clings to the +magnet. It is the outward expression of an unburdened soul. It bubbles +forth as a fountain, always refreshing, always wholesome and sweet. + +[Illustration: _Over the Hedge and on His Way_] + +In taking stock of ourselves we should not forget that fear plays a +large part in the drama of failure. That is the first thing to be +dropped. Fear is a mental deficiency susceptible of correction, if taken +in hand before it gains an ascendency over us. Fear comes with the +thought of failure. Everything we think about should have the +possibility of success in it if we are going to build up courage. We +should get into the habit of reading _inspirational books_, looking at +_inspirational pictures_, hearing _inspirational music_, associating +with _inspirational friends_ and above all, we should cultivate the +habit of mind of thinking clean, and of doing, wholesome things. + +"Guard thyself!" That is the slogan. Let us "take stock" often and see +where we stand. We will not be afraid of the weak points. We will _get +after them_ and get hold of ourselves at the same time. Some book might +give us help--a fine play, or some form of athletics will start us to +thinking. Self-analysis teaches us to see ourselves in a true light +without embellishments or undue optimism. We can gauge our chances in no +better way. If we grope in the darkness we haven't much of a chance. +"Taking stock" throws a searchlight on the dark spots and points the way +out of the danger zone. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +ADVANTAGES OF AN EARLY START + + +It is the young man who has the best chance of winning. Then why +shouldn't youthfulness be made a permanent asset? We have recovered from +the idea of putting a man into a sanatorium just because a few grey +hairs show themselves in his head. We should not ask him how old he is +... we should ask: "_What can he do_?" The young man may have the +advantage of years but the older one has the advantage of experience and +knowledge. Now if this older man could carry along with him that spirit +of youth which actuated his earlier activities he would be prepared +against incapacity. Our fate hangs on how we conduct ourselves in youth. +The world has great need of the sober, thoughtful men _above the fifty +line_. By right of experience and knowledge they should become our +leaders in the shaping of our policies. It is all a matter of how a man +comes through, mentally, physically and spiritually. Age should not +count against him. + +The first thought is to keep healthy. In fact, we cannot harp on this +too much. The second requirement is confidence in ourselves, without +which our career is short lived. + +Already we perceive that one must keep track of his _inner self_. This +breeds confidence. The very fact that one stops to probe into that +hidden land of thought shows that he is keeping tab on himself with a +sharp eye. That's the stuff! _We mustn't fool ourselves._ The majority +of failures come as a result of not being able to trust one's self. The +moment we doubt, or acknowledge that we cannot conquer a weakness, then +we begin to go down hill. It is a subtle process. We hardly realize it +at the time but as the days go by, the years roll on, the final day of +reckoning draws near and relentlessly we are swept along as driftwood +toward the lonely beaches of obscurity. And all because _we lacked +self-confidence_! We did not realize it until it was too late. We were +too busy with self-indulgence to struggle for success. + +Most of our troubles in later life started with _failure to take hold of +ourselves_ when we were young. It may be that we put off making our +choice of something to do. If we had been companionable to ourselves we +might have thought out the proper course while taking long walks in +pursuit of physical development. That would have been a _fine_ time in +which to fight out the whole problem--the time when optimism and _the +will to do_ are as natural as the laughter of a child, or the song of a +bird. That was the time when the world appeared roseate and beautiful, +when success lay just beyond the turn of the road, when failure seemed +something illusory and improbable. Then was the time to jump in with +both feet and _a big hearty laugh_ to solve the problem of what to do +and how to go about it. It is surprising how readily the world follows +the individual with confidence. It is willing to believe in him, to +furnish funds, to assist in any way within its power. And that is where +the man _with a smile_ is sure to win--for the man who smiles has +confidence in himself. + +So long as we carry along with us our atmosphere of hearty good will and +enthusiasm we know no defeat. The man who is gloomy, taciturn and lives +in a world of doubt seldom achieves more than a bare living. There have +been a few who have groaned their way through to a competence but in +proportion to that overwhelming number of souls who carry cheer through +life they are as nothing--mere drops in the bucket. If the truth were +told their success came probably through mere chance and nothing else. +Such people are not the ones for us to endeavor to follow. _We cannot +afford to allow our visions to sour._ + +Beginning early takes away timidity and builds for success while we are +young enough to enjoy the benefits. Although it is never too late to +start a cheerful life we don't have to kill ourselves in the attempt. +There is no necessity for throwing all caution to the winds, but we +should press our advantages. With _self-analysis_ comes a certain +poise, a certain dignity and kindliness that tempers every move with +precision. + +Once we get the proper start we have only to take stock now and then in +order to keep our machinery in a fine state of repair. If we have chosen +wisely we love our work and stick to it closely--not forgetting the home +duties and our share in its success. Right here we run up against the +danger signal if our business success wins us away from the hearthstone. +_Love of home_ is a quality of the workers of the earth. "What doth it +profit a man to win the whole world if he _loseth_ his own soul?" + +To sum up the case--once we have made up our minds to win and how we are +going to do it, the next step is to act. _Health is synonymous with +action._ The healthy man does things, the unhealthy man hesitates. And +when we get ready to act we will act with the air of a conqueror. We +must supply from our own store our atmosphere of confidence in order to +win confidence. The successful man is the one who _knows he is right_ +and makes us realize it. + +It is always worth while to study the successes among our +acquaintances. Are they gloomy, morose and irritable? If they were to +that extent they would not be successful. On the contrary, they are +robust, confident individuals who have taken advantage of every rightful +opportunity and possessed _the power to smile_ when all about them were +in the dumps. When everyone else thought that there wasn't a chance to +win these fellows stepped in and took charge. + +When we interview the failures we find that all of them give one excuse: +"_I didn't have the confidence._" They may not say it in exactly these +words but the meaning is plain. They ran through the whole gamut of +_self-distrust_ which is the natural result of not having started early +in the study of self--the serious realization of their own capabilities. + +[Illustration: _Preparing to Pair With the Prickly Pear_] + +This makes it easy to understand their plight. If we know ourselves we +are strengthened that much, because we can bolster up our weaknesses. We +will know enough to combat timidity. We can then know what we are +capable of, and thus become conscious of our innate powers that only +need to be called into action in order to become useful. We cannot +imagine for an instant a great violinist going out on the concert +platform in ignorance of the condition of his instrument. And yet +failures go out on the stage of life knowing nothing of their strengths +and weaknesses--_and still expect to win_! + +If we are to become successes we must _keep success in mind_--banish all +thought of losing. Success is just as natural as anything else. It is +only a matter of the mind anyhow. We are all successes _as long as we +continue to think so_. Self-depreciation is a disease. Once it gets a +hold on us--good-bye! + +And that is why it is wise to begin early--to take hold of affairs while +we are young. Superiority over our fellow man comes from a superiority +of mind and body. A healthy mind breeds a healthy body. The most +superficial study will convince us of this fact. + +Appearance counts for much in this world. We judge largely by +appearances. We haven't time to know everyone we meet intimately and as +a result must base our opinions upon _first impressions_. The fellow who +comes in an office with his head hanging down between his shoulders and +a frown upon his face doesn't get far with us. We find ourselves looking +over his sagging shoulders toward the individual behind him who comes in +with a swinging step and the confidence born of health and good spirits. + +Self-confidence in youth makes for self-confidence in after years. This +is far from meaning that one can be brazen and inclined towards +freshness and get away with it. It merely means the marshalling of one's +forces, _the command of one's self_ and the ability to make others +recognize that we are on the map because we belong there. And one of the +quickest ways to accomplish this is to have a smile tucked away for +instant use. Again, this does not mean that we are to carry round a +ready-to-wear grin which we wear only as we are ushered into the +presence of another. _A real smile, or a hearty laugh, is not to be +counterfeited._ We easily know the genuine from the spurious. A real +laugh springs naturally out of a pure, unadulterated confidence and a +good physical condition. What triumphs, what splendid battles, have been +won through the ability to laugh at the right moment. + +Whenever we find that we are losing our ability to smile let's have no +false notions. We are neglecting our physical well being. Let us then +and there drop the sombre thoughts and get out into the open air. Run +down the street and if possible out into the country. If we see a tree +and have the inclination to climb it--well, then, climb it. If we are +sensitive about what our neighbors might say--too bad! But we can romp +with easy grace. If we but knew how gladly our neighbors would emulate +our gymnastics if they knew the value of them the laugh would be on us +for dreading their opinion. One thing we do know--_they will envy us our +good health and spirits_. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +PROFITING BY EXPERIENCE + + +_Experience comes by contact._ There is no way we can have experiences +without passing directly through them. If we are up and doing they come +thick and fast into our lives, some of them weighted down by the +peculiar twists and turns of circumstances, others simple, easily +understood, and still others complicated to the point of not being +understood at all. + +People are divided into two classes--_those who profit by experience and +those who do not_. The unfortunate part of it all is that the latter +class is by far the larger of the two. + +The man of vigorous purpose, fine constitution, and the full knowledge +of self, sees through an experience as clearly as through a window. The +glass may be foggy, but he knows what lies beyond. Self-reliant and +strong he seeks knowledge through experience, while the weak man, the +unhealthy-minded, the inefficient, stands aside and gives him the right +of way. In later years, however, they bitterly complain that they were +not given the same chance to succeed. + +The man of experience having long since passed through the stages of +indecision has, through careful self-analysis learned to bridge +difficulties that would make others tremble with fear. He knows that +every lane has a turning. He may not see it at the moment. He may not +know where it is. _But that doesn't worry him._ He picks up his bundle +and trudges ahead, confident that victory awaits him somewhere along the +line. + +The fact that he believes in himself, sets him apart from ordinary +mankind. Many great men have been at loss to understand why they +attained success. It is well nigh impossible for them to outline the +causes that led them to the top rungs of the ladder. The reason is that +_their lack of fear_ of experiences was an unconscious one, rather than +a conscious one. However, they are willing to admit that acting on the +principle of profiting by experience _loaned them initiative_ with which +to proceed. They soon came to know opportunity at sight and had only to +look around to find it. + +The young man standing on the threshold of life is, from lack of +experience, puzzled over the future. He looks above him and sees the +towering successes. He reads in the papers of the massive characters who +have risen from the bottom to the top. Naturally he would like to meet +one of these giants of success and hear what he has to say. The +interview is quite needless. "_Get busy and profit by experience_," is +about all the advice one man can give to another. There is no way to +profit by experience until we have had experience so there is nothing to +do but get busy and experience will come as fast as we can absorb it. +Our duty is to strive for success and not expect to attain it except by +successive steps. A wholesale consignment would be our undoing. Quick +successes through luck or good fortune have not the lasting value of +those won by virtue of knowing how--of accomplishing what we started +out to do. + +Faith in one's self does not come from the outside--it must spring up +naturally _from within_. A healthy body and a sane mind are the best +foundations for this. The young man who begins his career with these +facts in mind is given a running start over his competitors. Poverty and +failure are the result of _an ignorance of the value of experience_. +Worry, anxiety, fear of not doing the right thing, lack of insight into +character ... these, too, are the result of a lack of experience. + +Good health is necessary to experience, but a majority neglect to take +care of it. If we are to profit by what we learn we _must have the vim_ +with which to push forward. We must have every ounce of vitality we +possess at command--ready for use. This we conserve for the _big +emergency_ which we know is coming. New experiences are pushing us +forward and previous experiences are helping to move the load. +Experience tells us what to do at this point and that--and at last puts +its shoulder to the wheel and "_over she goes_!" + +Every mind is in possession of an enormous amount of dormant power and +only experience can release it into proper action. We often hear a fond +mother say that her son is full to bursting with the _old nick_, which +means that the youngster is overflowing with _pent-up energy_. With +experience he could find good use for it--but without it this surplus +may turn out to be a dangerous possession. Young men of this type should +be guarded most carefully and advised to "get busy" _early in life_ at +something worth while. Many a bright fellow brimming with excess power +has gone as a lamb to the slaughter into the maelstrom of vice because +of being held back from _legitimate occupation_. He just had to blow off +steam so he did it in a gin mill rather than a rolling mill. + +This dynamo called the mind can be trained to do anything. Not only can +it be guided at the start but it can be guided by all that follows. It +can be used for building additional dynamos to be called into action in +times of need. This statement may seem at first far-fetched. If we think +so it is proof that we have not _profited by our experiences_ and should +get down to "stock taking" before it is too late. + +The practical man, after all, is only _one who takes advantage of +opportunities_. He could double and triple his power if he only realized +how superficial the average setback really is. The young man has just as +much chance of being considered practical as the so-called older one, +always provided that he has a store of experiences to profit by. The +first _big experience_ of life usually makes or breaks us. For this +experience we need to be prepared. We must have a _strong heart_ that we +may bear defeat nobly from this is not to be our last kick--our last +breath--_not by a jugful_! + +We are going to start all over again after our setback and we are not +going to wait any longer than it takes to bury the dead. This will be +done decently and in good order--our training will admit of no +indecorum. If the smash was a bad one we will assume the liability, +nevertheless, and get back on the job. We are out to win and +_eventually we will win_. + +And that is what we mean by taking profit from experience. _The powers +that break down are also the powers that build up._ The electrician who +handles the motor could just as well end his own existence by that +mysterious current as he could make use of it for the good of humanity. +He spends years of conscientious study and masters the knowledge of it +so that its uses are as simple as his A B C's. There is no doubt in the +world but that he had to learn by experience. He had to go into the shop +and _climb up from the bottom_. There was no other way by which he could +come to know how to turn a deadly force into a well-trained necessity. + +Yet the average man goes into life with as little knowledge of its +forces as the baby who puts its foot upon the third rail. That fact +keeps the thoughtless man down until experience comes to the rescue. +When it does come, _if he has the sand, the common sense, the will to +do_, there is naught to hold him away from his goal. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +ENERGY, SUCCESS AND LAUGHTER + + +There are many essentials to success, but there is one that is of such +importance that without it all the others become as naught. The man who +wins success is invariably impelled to do the great work allotted him by +_something within_ that tells him _he can_. He may not know exactly what +it is, but he knows he possesses it and is able to _act on that faith_, +accomplishing things which seem utterly impossible to other people. This +_inner determination_, once firmly implanted in one's nature, cannot be +destroyed or conquered. And this element is _energy_--energy of mind, +which rules the body. But where does this come from? How do the great +minds generate this glorious means of self-propulsion? The answer is +that _in a healthy body it is inherent_ from birth, and proper care of +the body therefore accentuates within their minds the will to do. + +If the preceding chapters have been carefully read we may readily +believe that the successful youth must start with a wholesome, generous +viewpoint, a good constitution, and a clean mind. We have had an inkling +by this time of what one must do to achieve success in a world where +competition is keen. We are beginning to realize that these matters are +of vital importance and that we are face to face with a problem. + +Energy is the natural outpouring of a healthy body. It must be directed, +it must be controlled, the same as any other living force. Not only is +it a positive necessity to the winner, but it must grow and become _a +natural quality_. It does not stand after years of abuse. It does not +spring up in the night after a long season of neglect and ill-health. +All of us possess it in varying ways. That fact ought to convince us +that we can get hold of ourselves and build up that which nature has +given us, rather than allow it to die away. We all have a certain amount +of energy ... _why shouldn't we all be successes_? We might to a +certain extent, but that doesn't mean that we shall all get rich in the +money sense of the world. + +When we say: "Why shouldn't we all be successes?" we do not mean that +everybody in the world must be greedy for money, nor for power and +position. It does not mean that we should be selfish and eager to take +everything away from the other fellow. On the contrary, it means that, +with energy, we shall be successful _according to our brain tendency_. + +Going back to our second chapter we find the phrase "taking stock" of +ourselves. Done rightly that alone will inspire success. Now if we are a +little farther along on the way towards sane living and the _ability to +laugh_ and we know that after this struggle is over the battle is won we +must use the powers that self-analysis gives us--_to fight_. The mere +recognition of them is power and we must not let them go to waste. + +Energy is like steam--it cannot be generated under the boiling point. In +other words, _half-heartedness_ never produced it nor made it a +practical working tool. We must be energetic in order to augment +energy. We must have confidence along with it ... the more the merrier. +The greater the confidence in ourselves the greater the energy which +brought it about. Some minds naturally feel confident. These are the +lucky ones, the slender few who have grasped life's meaning at the start +by "_taking stock_" before they were threatened with defeat. Success +comes to them as easily as rolling off the proverbial log. They come +sweeping along, conquering, sure of themselves, confident, aspiring, +true to their inner selves, ready for work, unafraid of experiences, and +_sure of a smile when the clouds are darkest_. + +This does not mean that these successes have exceptional ability. If +that were the case we would not waste time either in reading or writing +about the matter. If we didn't feel that we were potentially able to +become successes and possessed the elements of victory in our present +make-up not another moment would be spent on the subject. The very +simplicity of this use of energy proves to us that it is a quality +bubbling forth _in the least of us_ and the strongest. It only needs to +be put to work and it becomes self-strengthening. _Living in the open +air, sleeping out of doors, taking the proper exercise, looking +wholesomely upon life, believing in ourselves_, are all parts of the +sane existence which leads to success and laughter. + +We ought to feel that everything in life possesses elements akin to +human feeling. We should not arrogate to ourselves the sole right to +rule and reason. And what has this to do with energy? It is only one of +the many vistas that open to us when we learn how to laugh and live. And +man alive! _If we never learn to laugh we will never learn to live._ + +We must not forget that there can be more than one use made of energy. +In the same way that electricity might be misused so might energy be +placed in the wrong service. We must not waste any time, therefore, in +getting this energy of ours worked into _enthusiasm_ ... enthusiasm for +our life work, for our fellow man, _for the zest of life_. We must +throw ourselves into the battle and carry the standard. We must leap to +the front, not waiting for the other fellow to show the way. Spend your +enthusiasm freely and be surprised at how it thrives on usage. + +Enthusiasm being produced by energy must of a necessity depend largely +upon that. Now the point is, how shall we guard and keep fresh this +element in ourselves? We know that the body is producing this quality. +Like the steam engine we are keeping the fires going by exercise, +wholesome thinking and sincerity of purpose. We are the engineers. Our +hand is on the throttle. Sharp turns lie ahead but our eyes look forward +fearlessly. We glance about us to see that we are in the pink of +condition. We know that our mind is functioning properly and that the +awakened confidence is already inherent in our natures and stands beside +us night and day like the officer upon the bridge of the ship. _Indeed +we are on our way!_ + +[Illustration: _A Little Spin Among the Saplings_] + +Out of energy and enthusiasm comes something else that must not be +neglected ... in fact it must be cultivated and guarded from the very +beginning ... _laughter_. The mere possession of energy and enthusiasm +makes us feel like laughing. We want to leap and jump and dance and +sing. If we feel like that don't let us be afraid to do it. _Get out in +the air and run like a school boy. Jump ditches, vault fences, swing the +arms!_ Never fail to get next to nature when responsive to the call. +Indeed we may woo this call from within ourselves until it comes to be +second nature. And when we rise in the morning let us be determined that +we will start the day with a hearty laugh anyhow. Laugh because you are +alive, laugh with everything. _Let yourself go._ That is the secret--the +ability to let one's self go! + +If we follow this religiously we will be surprised how successful the +day will be. Everything gives way before it. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +BUILDING UP A PERSONALITY + + +More and more personality is coming into its own as man's greatest +asset. There was never a day when it was not, but in former years this +essential quality was not listed under the name ... _personality_. Had +we lived in the days of our fathers' youth we would have heard about +"remarkable men," "men of big caliber," "large character," "splendid +presence," and the like. But it remained for our day and generation to +discover the real word--_personality_--meaning the _most perfect +combination possible of man's highest attributes_. At least that would +be the definition in its fullest sense. + +Of course everyone has a certain personality and, no matter in what +degree, its possession is valuable. Personality is an acorn, so to +speak, which may be cultivated into a sturdy oak. Personality is one's +_inner self outwardly expressed_. It represents the conquest of our +weaknesses and naturally impresses our strength of character upon +others. + +With personality our foundation is firm. On this pedestal we may stand +squarely and face life with equanimity. For such there is no end to +achievement while good health and youthful spirit remain. + +It is impossible to come into the presence of a personality without +becoming immediately aware of it. It is reflected by people of _small +stature ... poor physiques ... homely visages_, as well as men of the +highest physical development. The great Napoleon was just above five +feet while Lincoln towered over the six-foot line. Men of personality +are the last to say die. Their store of _combativeness_ carries them +beyond their real span of existence either in years or achievement. +Thus, the mind shows its mastery over matter. Alexander Pope was still +writing while propped upon the pillows of his death bed. Mark Twain +joked with friends when he knew his hour was at hand. + +_Personality is magnetic._ It can charm the friend or put fear into the +heart of the enemy. Joan of Arc, a frail woman, won battles at the head +of her troops. History is filled with incidents where men of personality +have turned defeat into victory by leading their soldiers back into the +fray. + +Wholesome personality is the fulfillment of +self-development--physically, mentally and spiritually. But all +personality is not wholesome for it often shows in the face of the man +_who is a rogue at heart_. Therefore, all personality is not for the +good of the world. It is only of the wholesome kind that we speak. To +such as possess it the goal is divine. Personality could never be +perfected without living a _life of preparedness_ backed up by our most +earnest and honest convictions. Personality is made up of many qualities +and differs in man only as man is different from his brother man. +Perfect personality requires constant care in its development and +constant guard for its safety. It cannot be purchased in the open +market. It must be built upon piece by piece and everything we are +becomes a part of it. + +Personality would be indeed imperfect if it did not give us _full +poise_. If we neglect our physical poise we pull down our mental poise, +likewise our spiritual poise. That is why personality must be kept +constantly protected against encroachment; but this can be so fixed by +purpose, plan, and power of will that it becomes automatically +safeguarded. Once in possession we have only to make it part of our +natural selves and _wear it unconsciously_ to the last breath of life. + +Then the question is, why should we allow ourselves to be satisfied with +an imperfect personality? It only reflects back upon ourselves. Haven't +we often heard a man say: "_He is all right but_...!" Perhaps the +personality in question was untidy, or that his walk was that of a +laggard, or that he affected an egotistical air of +superiority--whatever the impairment it should have been done away with. + +A man of personality should never be haunted with worry from the sneers +of his inferiors because of their own laxity. Some men perfect their +manner of speech to a degree which takes it above that of their weaker +fellows, others develop fine qualities which are viewed by ordinary +individuals as affectations but which are in reality the result of +_innate refinement_. + +The man of no refinement has indeed an uphill fight but with persistence +and ambition to succeed he can win. Lincoln, the rail splitter, is the +most shining example of _the power to will victory_. For him to have +fallen by the wayside would have caused no comment for it would have +been expected in those early days of struggle, but to those who have the +benefit of inherited tendencies toward personality, to fail in its +development is in the nature of a crime. + +Personality does not mean over-refinement. _Sturdy qualities_ are the +necessary ones. Over-refinement leads to the softer life and ofttimes to +degeneracy. Exalted ego is an indication of degeneracy and may have +been inherited. Of those things we inherit that are good we must hold, +and everlastingly must we watch those which are bad. It is never wise to +wander far away from basic principles into preachment. What we need is +guidance along the road to the goal of personality. First of all we need +_health_ and second, _the will to do_. Next, we must use these weapons +in the right direction, for personality is at its zenith when backed up +by _strong physique and brain power_. + +From previous chapters we have learned that success of any kind is +predicated upon keeping ourselves in trim, and in good humor. Keeping in +trim is no trick at all. We can make it a part of every physical action +and as keeping in trim means perfection of body and soundness of mind we +should never neglect to utilize any effort that will help us toward +bodily efficiency. _There is exercise in stooping over to pick up a pin +if we will go about it the right way. We can correct an ill-formed body +by adopting and maintaining a certain carriage. We may hold our chin in +such a way as to provide against stooped shoulders._ + +We have opportunities both morning and evening to indulge in various +forms of light, systematic exercises which will push forward the day's +work with zest and vim. + +Poise has everything to do with personality, therefore the physical +structure must come in for its share of proper attention. No man of +refined personality would walk the streets with a soiled face or +uncombed hair. Such things do not give poise. They are the evidences of +a laggard spirit. The more we exercise the more energetic we become, the +surer we are of ourselves, the farther we get in the development of our +personality. + +[Illustration: _Over the Hills and Far Away--Father and Son_] + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +HONESTY, THE CHARACTER BUILDER + + +Just as the straight line is the shortest distance between two points so +is honesty the only proper attitude of one person toward another. +Without it there is no understanding possible. It must always remain +supreme as a quality without which character becomes a sham, a +superficial thing that has no basis in fact. _The ability to look the +other fellow in the eye_ is as necessary to character as the foundation +is to a house. It comes out of that "_great within_" which we are now +exploring. It arises from the courageous facing of our weaknesses and +becomes a part of the man _who knows himself and laughs with life_, at +the mere joy of living, doing, accomplishing ... winning against all +odds. + +Honesty accompanies a proper self-esteem and its cultivation should +become a part of our earliest education. It doesn't grow anywhere +except within ourselves and will never be handed to us on a silver +platter. If we fail to find it when we are young it will have small +chance of obtaining a grip on us later. _It is the one quality with +which to crown our highest attributes._ It is final proof that we are +capable of just thought and square dealing, and is proof positive that +we are part and parcel of the wholesome spirit which rules the universe. +Its possession is greater than riches for its dividend is happiness and +contentment and we cannot go wrong if we so live that we can look any +man in the eye and _tell him the truth_. + +To live in the full sense means to be alert. Whatever high moral plane +we shall achieve must be held against all temptation. There is no +compromise. _Self-deceit_ is nothing less than _self-stultification_. We +only fool ourselves and soon find ourselves slipping down hill. It will +be hard climbing getting back. And what of the wear and tear on our +ambitions meanwhile! + +Honesty does not grow naturally out of a dull, uninspired life. It goes +with the energetic, the forceful. The dull soul who is content to plod +along year after year in the same rut may be honest, and this one +redeeming feature may be of such inestimable value to him that it +sweetens and softens his entire days. It will bring him friends ... +true-blue friends, who will excuse all other shortcomings _because of +his honesty_. It gives him the unadulterated trust of his employer and +it arouses a certain admiration among his narrow circle of +acquaintances. If this is true with the dullard, the weakling, then what +must it mean _when possessed by the great_? We know, for instance, how +the nation instinctively turned to General Washington when it came to +choosing their President after the Revolutionary War. He may have been +gifted, he may have been one of the world's greatest captains, but the +one quality which endeared him to his countrymen was a tremendous moral +superiority. "_He never told a lie_" rang around the world. Summed up, +his virtues amounted to those five words. Some statesmen may have been +more astute but Washington was honest--"_he never told a lie_." The +people knew they could trust this man so they elected him to fill the +highest place within their gift. + +Honesty with ourselves is the first thing to remember. Unless we are, it +will be impossible for us to enter into that spiritual contentment +enjoyed by those who _are_ honest with themselves. If we are untrue to +ourselves how can we be true to others? The framework of a man's moral +being must be that of honesty. It must become his very nature and become +automatic in its processes. It belongs to the healthy, those who keep +themselves well through _vigorous exercise and temperate living_. It is +not a quality set aside for the lucky few. Every man, woman and child +possesses it in some degree and only its constant neglect trims it to a +minimum. It is one of those fundamentals of life, one of those powerful +and moving forces that rule society. _We are either honest or we are +not._ We cannot be _nearly honest_ and get away with it. + +When one stops to consider honesty, even for a moment, its full +importance is realized. For example, imagine having a dishonest friend. +Could we go to him with the secrets of our heart? Could we trust him? +Would we trust anyone who might turn traitor? Again: suppose we were +untrue to ourselves, and the fact became known. Could we blame others if +they passed us up as a companion? Never in a thousand years. _We must +sleep in the beds we prepare for ourselves._ + +Men have grown accustomed through the years to certain standards. These +are now the moral laws which control and guide the destinies of entire +races, whole generations. There must have been a good reason for these +laws or they could never have come into being. Society does not adopt +many unnecessary rules, but among the vital laws _honesty stands out in +bold relief_. It has become deeply imbedded in the minds of mankind that +everyone must be true to himself. It is taken for granted that those who +are not would naturally be _false to everybody_. + +The reason for this lies in the fact that society will not proceed with +any course of action without being able to trust its members. The +general in charge of an army would have a hard time of it if he were +unable to place faith in the subordinate to whom he gave instructions +that might lead to a crisis in the battle. Society would dash itself +upon the rocks were it not conscious that certain people are +courageously honest, _and in these it finds its leaders_. + +To rise in life means that our fellow man believes in us and wishes us +to do so. Without his co-operation it would be futile to arouse our own +ambitions. We could not hope to win a victory all alone and against the +great majority who believe in certain standards and conditions. We might +fool ourselves into thinking that because of some stroke of fortune we +had established an immunity for ourselves. But some day _our +consciences_ would tell us how feebly we had succeeded. + +There is only one method, only one way ... rise through honesty and an +optimistic belief in self. And let us not plume ourselves because of +our virtue. _Personal honesty is our due to ourselves and our fellow +man._ + +One of the distinctive elements in the honest man's make-up is that of +laughter. The ones who live up to their ideals, do not feel that life is +such a dark place, after all. It may mean hard work, little play and +often delayed rewards but the fact that there is a world, and that it is +filled with other honest souls is reward enough to give us courage to +laugh as we go along. _We can always afford to laugh--when we're +honest_. + +The man who is innately honest has no reason to fear the snares of +fortune. He knows that he can win the trust of men; he knows that he +already has it. He has no dread of looking into the other fellow's eye. +He knows where he stands in life. He has won that which he has through +struggle, and he does not intend to lose it. He does not intend to fail. +_He cannot fail--he cannot lose._ No matter how things might go at this +moment or that the next will find him on the rising tide of new +opportunities---new chances. His reputation travels before him like the +advance agent. His coming is heralded and he is welcomed into any +community. + +It isn't as though there were only a few honest men. This welcome, this +"glad hand," is always extended by society to the honest man as a token +of approval. The world's work is a tremendous matter. There is always +room for another worker to handle some part of it. And only the true, +the sincere, are capable of doing this in the proper way. The leaders of +society in the broader sense are those _who win the faith of the average +man_. We look up to Lincoln because we know that he was the one man in a +million to accomplish the greatest task ever set before a human being. +We realize that he was honest--_honest in the huge sense_ so necessary +to the accomplishment of big ideals. And we know that in order to win +some part of that great trust we must obey the standards of honesty and +decency that lie below the surface and only need to be called to life +and action in order to be used. + +And laughter will arouse that sense as quickly as anything else. The man +who is capable of laughing heartily is not apt to be the one who +carries some _conscience-stricken thought around with him_. It is the +easiest thing in the world to detect an untrue laugh. The real laugh +springs out of the depths of being and comes with a ringing sense of +security and _faith in one's self_. It goes with the workman in the +early morning when he swings along the road to the factory. It +accompanies the soldier into battle. It arouses the clerk from lethargy. +It brightens the sick room. It raises us all to unexplored heights, and +as evidence of our state of mind it can only mean one thing--honesty and +sincerity. No character can exist without this outward exhibition of an +inward honesty. _The mere cultivation of laughter would eventually lead +to honesty._ The fact that you are laughing, enjoying life, awakens you +to a spirit of security and a feeling of the joy of living. Gloomy men +are the ones whose tendency is toward crime and trouble. Laughing men +are the ones who stir the world with new desires and make life worth +living. Therefore we say--_laugh and live_! + +[Illustration: _A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers"_] + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +CLEANLINESS OF BODY AND MIND + + +If we interview many of life's failures we will find that the +overwhelming majority went down because of their neglect to get out of +an environment that was not stimulating and because their ambitions had +grown rusty and inefficient to cope with depressing circumstances. The +prisons and other institutions are filled with people who did not make +any attempt to get away from the vicious surroundings in which they +lived. They were like tadpoles that had never grown to frogs ... they +just kept swimming around in their muddy puddles and, not having grown +legs with which they could leap out onto the banks and away to other +climes, they continued to swim in monotonous circles until they died. In +other words, the failure is a man who dwells in muddy atmosphere all his +days, who is content to remain a tadpole and who never attempts to take +advantage of any opportunity. He becomes unclean, so to speak. And that +is what we mean by this chapter heading "_Cleanliness of Body and +Mind_." It was not intended to point out the proper way to keep our +faces and hands clean, or as a sermon, but rather to show ourselves that +_the clean body begets the clean mind_, the two together constituting +compelling tendencies toward _the clean spirit_. A move in the direction +of these takes us out of the rut of life. + +No matter what cause we dig up with which to explain our success in life +we cannot neglect this most important one--_the careful selection of our +acquaintances_. And this doesn't mean that one must be a snob. Far from +it. It only means that the successful man, the man who wishes to rise in +life, should not spend his days in the company of _illiterate +companions_ who do not possess _ambition of heart or the will to do the +work of the world_. It means that life is too short to hang around the +loafing places with the driftwood of humanity listening to their stories +of failure and drinking in with liquor some of their bitterness against +those who have toiled and won the fruits of their toil. It means that we +will not go out of our way to seek the friendship of men and women who +are simply endeavoring to gain happiness in life without paying for it. +It means that we will do all in our power to win friends who _aspire +nobly_ and by so doing inspire those with whom they come in contact. +Such men are naturally clean of mind and body. + +We must remember always to live in a world of clear thought that will +_stimulate our ambitions_. Dwelling in the dark corners of life and +traveling with the débris of humanity will not arouse us to action and +give us that swinging vigor of heart and mind so necessary to the +accomplishment of great things. While we will ever lend the helping hand +to those who need it we will naturally associate with those who have vim +and courage. We will not be _dragged down by our associates_. Until we +meet the right kind we will hold aloof, and we will not be morose and +gloomy because it happens that at this moment our acquaintanceship does +not include these successes. When we have succeeded in doing something +big they will come to us and _if we think big things we are likely to do +them_. It is all a matter of the will to do. + +"Nothing succeeds like success," said some very wise man and if there +ever was a phrase that rang with truth this does. It means that the +_thought of success_, the courage that _comes with success_, leads to +_more and more success_. It means that the thinker of these thoughts is +living in a clean, wholesome atmosphere along with those who are +determined and in earnest. It means that they have caught the fervor of +true life ... a healthy, contagious fervor which permeates the blood +swiftly once it gets a hold, and like electricity it vivifies and stirs +the spirit with renewed energy _day after day, year after year_. Once it +wins us it will stick with us. The success of those about us will shake +our lethargic limbs and stimulate us to a desire to do as they do. We +will be in a world of clean thought and action and our lives will mirror +their lives, our thoughts will be filled with wholesome things and with +good health. We will win in spite of all obstacles. + +Cleanliness is _the morale of the body and the mind_. The man who is +careful of his linen and who does not neglect his morning plunge is not +apt to be gloomy and morose. We notice him in the car or on the street +in the morning. He comes striding along, fresh and full of _the zest of +living_. His mind is clear and unclouded. His eyes are full of that +vigorous light of conscientious desire to win and do so honestly. He has +none of the hypocritical elements in his nature strong enough to rule +him. There may be and probably are many weaknesses in his character. His +very strength consists in his ability to _crush them and make them his +slaves_. + +The man who has taken his morning plunge and dressed himself agreeable +to comfort and grace, has his battles of the day won in advance. He +knows the value of keeping himself in trim. He does it for the sake of +_his own_ feelings. Our approval of his appearance goes without saying. +If a man thinks well of himself in matters of appearance his general +deportment is likely to coincide. Such men never overdo. They are at +ease with themselves and thus impart ease to others who come in contact +with them. They have, in other words, a distinction of their own and +_their distinction is their power_. They know that the highest moral law +of nature is that of cleanliness, that filthiness should not be allowed +to dominate any man's ethics or physical condition. They rule such +things out of their lives. + +A vast magnetic force comes out of those friends of ours who are _doing +things_ and making the world _sit up and take notice_. The mere fact +that we live near to them, know them and associate with them is +proof-positive that we, too, shall go through life with clean minds and +bodies. They would not tolerate us if we were to slip into shoddy ways. +Nothing is revealed quicker to our intimates than _the losing of +ambition_ ... the slipping into careless habits. We cannot conceal it +from them. We fool only those who brush by. The loss of this +self-respect has a terrible effect upon the system and every tendency +toward success is thereby stunted and weakened. _We have fallen into +unclean ways!_ It will not be long before we sink to the bottom or else +remain among the vast crowd who have neither the courage to fall nor the +courage to rise. + +Nothing produces failure quicker than filthiness of mind and body. Those +who are successful keep away from the very thought of such a condition. +They live as much as possible _in the open_. They take morning and +evening exercises. They read good books, attend good plays and are +continually in touch with the finer developments of thought and art in +the world. Their faces are open and full of sunlight. They are +determined that life will not beat them in a game that only requires +sureness of aim and the ability to take advantage of the thousand and +one opportunities that surround them on every side. + +Cleanliness stands _paramount_ in its importance to _success_. Perhaps +no other one thing has so vital a hold upon the individual who succeeds. +The general of an army first looks to the _morale_ of his troops. He +knows that with clean minds and bodies his soldiers are capable of doing +big things. The battleship, that efficient and highly-developed +instrument of war, is so immaculate that one could eat his meals on its +very decks. Its officers are wholesome, athletic fellows; its crew +consists of hardy men who live sanely and vigorously and who have plenty +to occupy their minds. And if cleanliness is fundamental in their case +why not in our own? + +When we come to analyze ourselves we find that we are like a great +institution of some kind. Here is the brain, the heart, the lungs, the +stomach, the nerves and the muscles. Each department acts separately and +yet is connected absolutely with all the others. The entire system is +under one supreme department ... _the mind_. Now if this ruling +department is kept clean and full, of kindly, beautiful thoughts does it +not seem natural that the rest will follow its lead being so completely +in its power? We realize this and the mere realization is something done +towards the accomplishment of an ideal life in a world of cleanliness +and beauty. + +System is one of the finest tools in existence with which to build one's +life into something worth while. The _body_ must be run on a system as +well as the _mind_. The stomach must not be overloaded with unnecessary +food. The lungs must not be filled with impure air. The nerves must not +be worn threadbare in riotous and ridiculous living. The muscles must be +kept in trim with consistent exercise of the proper sort. We must +recognize the wants, the needs of the physical system and see that they +are supplied. + +Roosevelt, perhaps more than any other living man today, has given +vitality to the supreme necessity of _cleanliness of mind and body_. He +has, by reason of his great prominence, been able to emphasize these two +vital essentials. He called a spade a spade and his message went far. +From those who knew the value of his words came nods of +approval--_others took heed_. From boyhood he has systematized his life, +taking the exercise needed, filling his mind with the learning of the +world, winning when others would have failed, profiting by experience +allotted to him through fate's kindly offices and association with the +_healthy, true men_. What has been the result? He has risen to the very +pinnacle of human endeavor ... _no honors await him_. He has lived +consistently and cleanly and he can look any man in the eye and say +honestly: "_I have lived as I have believed._" + +It is not necessary to become President in order to live sanely, to gain +from circumstances the fruits that are ours for the asking and which +have fallen into Roosevelt's hands with such profusion. We cannot all +become Presidents but we can all _emulate a shining example of mental +and bodily morale_. + +Just as we plunge into the cold water in the early morning so should we +regularly during the day plunge into the society of those whose splendid +enthusiasm is helping to make the world a better place to live in. They +are the kind who go into the struggle with heads high and with clean +hearts. Their eyes see beyond the daily toil of life. They are in touch +with the big things and it is up to us to keep step with them. They want +us and they will give us the "glad hand." All they want to know is +whether our courage is equal to our ambitions and whether our _house of +life is kept in good order_. And so we journey along together in all +good nature, not forgetting to laugh as we live. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +CONSIDERATION FOR OTHERS + + +Consideration for others is man's noblest attitude toward his fellow +man. For every seed of human kindness he plants, _a flower blooms in the +garden of his own heart_. In him who gives in such a way there is no +hypocritical feeling of charity bestowed. His very act disarms the +thought. It is as natural for an honorable man to show consideration to +others as it is for him to eat and sleep. Acts of kindness are the +_outward manifestations of gentle breeding_--a refinement of character +in the highest sense of the word. + +What would we do in this world without the helping hand, the friendly +word of cheer, the thought that others shared our losses and cheered our +victories? If consideration for our feelings and thoughts did not exist +on this earth we would never know the depths of the love of our friends. +There would be no such thing as an earthly reward of merit. We know that +no matter what happens to us in the battle of life there will be someone +to cheer us on our way. We may be strong and thoroughly able to rely +upon ourselves but there comes a time when we need friendship and +sympathy. Society would crumble into dust without these influences. The +family circle would degenerate into a hollow mockery if consideration +each for the other was absent. It sweetens and makes wholesome what +otherwise might only be an existence of monotonous toil. + +Consideration for others is _the milk of human kindness_. For what we do +for others our recompense is _in the act itself_ ... we should claim no +other reward. Observation brings to view that they who give in real +charity _cloak their acts from the eyes of all save the recipient_. +Givers of this type rise to the supreme heights of greatness. It is a +part of their wisdom to know what is best to be done and they go about +it as a pleasure as well as a duty. + +Consideration for others pays big dividends. It is a virtue that makes +for strong friendships and true affections. Those who possess it have a +hard time hiding their light under a bushel. In teaching fortitude to +others they partake of the same knowledge. In the hours of their own +affliction they retain their courage and keep their minds unsoured. They +are the _sure-enough "good fellows" of life_ and their presence is the +signal for instantaneous good cheer. We all know them by their gentle +knock at the door. In a thousand ways they impress themselves upon our +lives, have entered into our councils, have given us the right advice at +the right time--and when the sad day comes along _their strong shoulders +are there for us to lean upon_. + +Consideration for others is apt to be an inherent quality, but like +everything else it can be accentuated or modified according to our own +determination. It is a growth that should be inculcated _early in the +lives of children_--the earlier the better. A child's most +impressionable age is said to be between its fourth and fifth years. +Then is the time to teach it the little niceties of life--the closing of +a door softly--tip-toeing quietly that mother may not be awakened from +her nap--tidiness--cleanliness--good morals--all of which are to become +vital factors in a life of consideration for others. + +A great many of us have the desire to be of service to others but +_timidity_ holds us back. Say, for instance, one might see a person in +great distress and because of diffidence withhold the proffered +hand--someone we've known who comes to the point of penury but has _too +much pride_ to ask assistance--we pass by fearful that we might offend. +How many times has this happened to us? Who knows but the best friend we +have at this very moment would give anything in the world if his pride +would let him bridge that distance between us. + +[Illustration: _A Scene from "The Americano"--Matching Wits for Gold_] + +Nevertheless the desire to do the right thing was in itself helpful. The +thought of doing something for someone was a correct impulse and +should have been carried into action. Early in life we should have +started our foundation for doing things in the cause of others. Putting +off the time when we shall begin to obey our higher impulses toward +helpfulness to our fellows is but a reaction in our own characters which +_dulls determination_. We want to do but we don't. As time goes on we +just _don't_--that's all. Our good intentions have gone to pave the +bottomless pits containing our unfulfilled heart promptings. We meant +well--_but we failed to act_--we didn't have the courage. Our failures +spread a gloom before us. _We lost our chances for a happy life!_ + +The man with the ability to laugh has little diffidence about these +matters. Having confidence in himself and being happy and alert he goes +to the friend in need with courage and the kind of help that helps. If +he doesn't do it directly he finds a way to reach him through mutual +friends. He does not go about _parading_ his kindness, either. He has +gained a sincere and beautiful pleasure out of aiding an old friend and +he can go on his way rejoicing that life is worth living when he has +lived up to its higher ideals. + +Consideration for others does not necessarily involve only the big +things. It is the sum and total of numberless acts and thoughts that +make for friendships and kindliness. People who are thoughtful surely +brighten the world. They are ever ready to do some little thing at the +correct moment and after a time we begin to realize how much their +presence means to us. We may not notice them the first time, or the +third, or the fifth, but after a while we become conscious of their +persistence and we esteem them accordingly. Such men are the products of +_clean, straightforward lives._ They are never too busy to exchange a +pleasant word. They do not flame into anger on a pretext. Their code of +existence is well ordered and filled to the brim with lots to do and +lots to think about. The old saying: "_If you want anything go to a busy +man_," applies to them in this regard. The busier men are the more time +they seem to have for _kindliness_. + +Another word for consideration is service. Nothing brings a greater +self-reward than a service done in an hour of need, or a favor granted +during a day's grind. The generous man who climbs to the top of the +ladder helps many others on their way. The more he does for someone else +the more he does for _himself_. The stronger he becomes--the greater his +influence in his community. Doing things for others may not bring in +_bankable dividends_ but it does bring in _happiness_. Such actions +scorn a higher reward. We have only to try out the plan to learn the +truth for ourselves. A good place to begin is _at home_. Then, _the +office_, or wherever life leads us. And in doing these things we will +laugh as we go along--we will laugh and get the most out of living. + +Our little day-by-day kindnesses when added together constitute in time +a huge asset on the right side of our ledger of life. We should start +the day with something that helps another get through his day ... even +if it isn't any more than a smile and a wave of the hand. And he will +remember us for it. + +It is said that advice is cheap and for that reason is given freely. +But the proper kind of advice is about as rare as the proverbial hen's +tooth. In order to give real advice we must understand the man who asks +for it. If what we say to him is to become of value we must see to it +that his mind is put in proper shape to receive advice. Be sure that he +laughs, or smiles at least, before we seriously take up his case. And +when we have done our stunt in the way of advice let's send him away +with a fine good humor. A friendly pat on the back as he goes out our +doorway may mean a bracer to his determination. "_You'll put it over_," +we shout after him--and thus we have been of real help. He needed +sympathy and courage. He needed a cheerful spirit--so came to us and we +didn't let him go away until we gave him all these. Bully for us! + +Consideration for others does not admit of ostentation and hypocrisy. We +never allow our left hand to know what our right hand does in charity, +nor do we _boast of our helpful attitude toward our fellow men_. It is +well to make a point of this fact--in this world are many +"_ne'er-do-wells"_ who fail to profit by advice and thereby become +professional in the seeking of favors. Consideration owes them nothing +and to withstand their persistent appeals would in time _dull our +natural tendencies_ toward helping others. + +The world helps those who help themselves. We have little admiration for +the man who is forever whining. Society has no work for such people as +these. When we have exhausted every means of helping such a man we must +in self-defense pass him up before he contaminates our sense of justice. +_We must keep our visions clear._ + +Consideration for others is a prime refinement of character. To be able +to use it in our daily lives becomes one of our greatest consolations. +Sympathy begets affection and kindly deeds--in a relative sense it binds +together the properties which go to make _the soul within us_. +Browbeating, scolding, irascibility and the like are microbes which +react against the milk of human kindness, to which, if we succumb, +leaves us stranded and alone amid a world of friendliness and good +fellowship. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +KEEPING OURSELVES DEMOCRATIC + + +Big words and pomposity never were designed for the highest types of +men. Our great national figures have almost without exception had one +quality which was a keynote to their ultimate success--this was their +_simplicity_. Next was their _accessibility_. There are numberless +big-hearted and big-brained individuals in the world whose duties are so +manifold that in order to accomplish what has been placed in their hands +they must be saved from interruption, but the truly great individual is +never hidden away entirely from his fellow man. He never becomes such a +slave to detail that he does not find time to fraternize with ordinary +mortals. We do not find him concealed behind impenetrable barriers, +guarded and pampered by courtiers like unto a king on his throne--or +tucked away in some dark office. He wants to know _everybody worth +while_ and everybody worth while is welcomed by him. He doesn't affect +to know so much that he cannot be told something new. He is not the sort +to refuse to see us at any reasonable time. + +We should not confound _greatness_, however, with _notoriety_. A man who +by virtue of large publicity has compelled public notice isn't +necessarily a great man no matter how hard he may strive to make himself +appear so. Especially is this true of the man who does not make a +personal success corresponding to his advertised fame. In time he may +have the "ear-marks" of notability but, as Lincoln said: "_You can't +fool all of the people all of the time._" + +It is to be noted with satisfaction that the big captains of industry +keep themselves free from petty details. "I surrounded myself with +clever men," said Andrew Carnegie in accounting for his success and by +the same token the men who took over his great affairs and gave them +larger scope and power surrounded themselves with still other clever +men, thus reserving their judgment and thought _for the higher policies +of their institutions_. They keep themselves in readiness for +consultation, and having men of _initiative_ and _self-reliance_ +underneath them, they find time to take in hand other affairs than those +of the tremendous businesses they manage. Men of this type often become +prominent in public affairs and develop into highly important citizens. + +The bigger the man, the less he encumbers himself with matters which can +be delegated to others. His desk is clear of all litter and +minutia--_likewise his mind_. Such men keep their physiques and +mentalities in fine working order and are not to be goaded into _ill +temper_. A refinement of mind is supremely essential to the man who +desires to climb to the very top of the ladder. He cannot afford to +close his brain to outside information. He is forced to keep it open in +order to let in continuous currents of new thought. He doesn't want his +visage to "_cream and mantle as a standing pond_" as Shakespeare aptly +puts it--therefore the windows of his thinking department are kept open +for refreshing draughts from the outside. He reasons that always there +are new guests, new faces, new things to talk about at the banquet board +of life. + +[Illustration: _Taking on Local Color_] + +And here is the point--if men who carry on the great industries of the +world find a way to keep themselves democratic surely men of less +importance should be able to do the same? The snob is about as offensive +a person as could be described. He is usually a hypocrite or an +ignoramus--sometimes both. His pomposity is naturally repellent. We +easily become accustomed to dodging such characters. The detriment is +theirs--not ours. They are left by the wayside and sooner or later wake +up to the fact that they stand alone in the world. + +The world loves the man with _an open mind_. This is the usual spirit of +the progressive citizen. _He wants to know_--and by reason of his +accessibility knowledge is brought to him. No one cares to take up the +task of informing the egotist who already knows it all. Such is his +inherent cussedness that we would rather let him warp in the oven of +his own half-baked knowledge. Life is too short to waste our time in +educating him. + +"How can I see Mr. So-and-so?" says one man to another. + +"Don't try," is the answer. "He's not worth seeing. You can't tell _him_ +anything." + +And this sort of a chap misses the big opportunities just because he +chooses to build up a reputation for being exclusive. He digs himself a +hole and crawls into it _and pulls the hole in after him_. We can safely +imagine him treating the members of his family as though they were +servants, and his employees as though they were slaves. He may succeed +in small things but in the big game of life we may write him down as a +failure. + +If we have a big idea we take it to a big man--_the man of vision_. +Anything less is to putter around aimlessly. The bigger he is, the more +democratic. He will not look for imperfections in our personal make-up +when we show him the _new process_ we have discovered. + +To be democratic is a triumph of the soul--tending to bring us in close +touch with the throbbing heart of humanity. There is no isolation for +those of unaffected charm and manner--no barrier in the way of +friendship worth having. It is our lack of judgment if we hide ourselves +so that we cannot be approached. No matter how high we rise, for the +sake of our own brains we must allow _men of ideas_ to get to us. We +must not allow our minds to become stagnant. If we fail to get into +daily contact with other people, we soon grow dull and uninteresting +even to ourselves. Great men may have no time to fritter away but they +have plenty of leisure for men worth while--_the pushers and the +thinkers_. + +A democratic spirit does not come to the selfish man. He is absorbed in +himself and is quite a hopeless case. He is a natural born faultfinder +and grouchy by nature. For him life holds no joy save the one in sight. +Taking the big look at the man of this type we can only be sorry for him +because of his lack of early training. He started off on the wrong foot +and thereafter drifted along. Seldom do we overcome the habits with +which we arrive at man's estate. Those who do are entitled to a right +hand seat among the chosen. + +Being democratic is another phrase for being _human and kind_. It means +that we ought to be able to see behind every face and find the truth of +that individual's existence. It means that life is largely a matter of +how we look at it and being human is one way to get the proper slant at +things. + +The human mind has _great adaptive power_ and can be molded into a +thousand ways of thinking. The intelligent man, the man who has taken +stock of himself, is able to smile and extend a hearty handclasp whether +he feels tip-top or not. He doesn't have to look glum simply because the +world hasn't thrown itself at his feet. He has only to persevere and +success will come eventually. + +We must correct our failings as we go along or we will slip down into +the rut and stay there. It is a simple matter to be good natured and +full of the zest of life if we poise ourselves right--_keep ourselves +democratic_. It is this great soul quality which brings us true friends +and boosts us into the fulfillment of our ambitions. Then we may truly +_laugh and live_. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +SELF-EDUCATION BY GOOD READING + + +The character of a man expresses itself by the books he reads. Every +well-informed man since the invention of printing has been a close +reader of a few books that stand out from among the many. We read of +Lincoln devouring the few books he had, over and over again and studying +from cover to cover and word for word the Webster's dictionary of his +day. We know that Grant had his favorite volumes from which he drew +inspiration and solace. These men made eternal friends of certain great +thinkers and drank in their learning with all the fervor of their +natures. + + "A few good books, digested well, do feed + The mind." + +"Feed the mind!" That's the idea--_but how shall we feed it_? The answer +is easy--with something _worth while_--something that will inform and +inspire. We can cram our minds to the point of indigestion with useless, +frivolous information just as easily as we may cram our stomachs with +certain foods that tear down rather than build up. The habit of reading +the right sort of books should begin early in life and continue +throughout our days. + +Good books are real ... and as we read we feel, hear, see and understand +in the way the author did. If what is said appeals to our way of +thinking _a new world_ is unfolded to our vision filled to the brim with +things we can think about and add to our stock of knowledge. While we +are buried in its leaves we may live over the thoughts that the writer +lived. For the time being he becomes as real and vital to us as the +dearest friend we possess. Gradually, as the time passes by, he creeps +into our affections until our lives would not be complete without the +comradeship of his cherished book. + +Books that become our "pals" are not necessarily books of the so-called +classical type. Little known volumes may prove to have enough thought +stored away between their covers to keep us interested all our days. The +great books will prove their worth in a short time no matter how poor +the binding, how bad the type or how cheap the paper. These things are +after all only the outward manifestations and though we like to see our +friends dressed well yet we know that the clothes do not make character +unless there is character there in the first place. And so it is with +books. These little ungainly volumes which we purchase on the stands may +be the classics of tomorrow ... who knows? + +We select our library carefully. No matter if we live in a tiny hall +bedroom on the top floor of a boarding house we have a shelf somewhere +with a few good books on it. Emerson's "Essays" can be had in one volume +and are well worth having. No other American writer has been so +inspiring, so invigorating as this thinker of Concord. One cannot read +his essays without having a desire to _get up and do_. It is like a +breath of fresh air ... a tonic ... a stiff morning walk. It stirs the +mind to action and inspires us to lift ourselves out of the rut into +which we have fallen. One returns to them time after time, each reading +opening up new vistas of thought, new lines of mental development. + +[Illustration: _A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers"_] + +_As a man's stomach is what he eats, a man's mind is what he reads._ It +goes without saying that no healthy, active mind could exist without the +companionship of Shakespeare. Nowadays it is possible to secure the +entire works of the immortal poet in one volume. There is a special +Oxford University edition which can be had for a small sum. The type is +large, the paper good and there are many notes to help one over the +rocky places. There is no doubt of the truth of the saying that a man +who reads Shakespeare consistently and with understanding needs no other +education. Like the philosopher Emerson he boiled down the world's +thoughts into terse sentences and one goes into a new universe when +reading any of the plays. It is a good thing to learn parts of them by +heart so that we can apply them to our own lives. They strengthen the +mind ... their beauty lifts us into a great realism of splendid thought +... and they fill the heart with a longing to do something great. Such +books should become steady companions through life. No matter where our +duties call us we should see to it that we do not leave behind the +thoughts of this master mind of Shakespeare. The very fact that we have +them near us lifts us out of the monotony of nothing to do. + +Among the books about America for Americans perhaps Roosevelt's "Winning +of the West" is among the best. Not only has he thrown the whole vigor +of his interesting personality into the writing of it, but he has given +us a vivid picture of the conquest of the States by the settlers. No man +could read it without being thrilled at the dangers our forefathers +faced ... at the great courage they possessed ... at their hardihood ... +their bulldog tenacity. The reading of such a book is like going back +over the years and living with them, sharing their troubles and their +enthusiasms. The man who contemplates gathering a small library could +not afford to do without the inspiration of what his countrymen have +done for him. + +In choosing our books we must bear in mind one thing--_let them be +inspiring_. Let them be of such a nature that when we read them we will +feel like going out into the world to accomplish something _big_! + +That is probably the mission of great books--to inspire and uplift. The +world's greatest men have been readers--would they have cared for books +unless they were inspiring? It is said that when Napoleon was being +taken to St. Helena he advised one of the officers never to stop +reading. + +Most of the things worth while are at some time or other stored away in +books by the thinkers. Every phase of history, every movement to better +mankind and lift it above the drudgery of mere toil, every beautiful +thought is to be found in them and the better the book the more will be +found in it of these very things. When we have finished the day's work +we can pull down a volume from the shelf and in a moment be lost in an +entirely different world. The man who neglects to read surely misses the +one best means of broadening his mind. + +All books of the better class furnish food for thought and are excellent +tools for the man of initiative. To read means keeping in touch with the +big visions. We cherish these dreams and make them real in plans of our +own. Aspiration is behind the pages of every worth-while volume. It was +the motive power which drove the author to produce it and it should +become a part of the forces which drive us on to victory. Without such +inspiration we grope as children in the dark. We are without a light to +guide us on our way. + +Books by such men as Marden and Hubbard are great generators of the +electricity of doing things. They have put into words those innermost +emotions which are the instruments of success. They point out a way we +may safely follow. They loan us inspiration which causes us to act for +ourselves. They give us thoughts that are useful and practical which we +never would have gained by virtue of our own reasoning power. They made +it a life work to coin into phrases words that inspire. Out of their +large experience came the logical sequences of cause and effect. Not to +profit by their teachings is a crime against our own prospects--without +them we lag behind. Instead of progressing we look on in wonder at what +is going on in the world. Somehow we cannot connect ourselves with the +big enterprises. And all because we failed to feed our minds properly. + +There is much to be gained both in pleasure and knowledge by reading +historical novels, and the lives of great men. The books of Sir Walter +Scott and James Fenimore Cooper are rated among the best in the world. +Grant's autobiography and the personal stories of other famous Americans +provide fascinating material with which to establish and fortify our +test for good literature. The tales of modern American financiers is +another field of absorbing interest. + +The man with small means can provide himself with a working library for +a very little money. Books are cheap. The public library is always +nearby and there is hardly a town of any size but what has one. When we +purchase a book we should be sure to obtain the best edition and be +careful that it is printed from good type and on clear paper. Books are +likely to become warm friends. We should never purchase an abridged +edition. + +Binding is not such an important factor, although we like to have _our +favorite books_ put up in a handsome fashion. With Shakespeare, Emerson, +Roosevelt, Scott, Cooper, Marden and Hubbard one would have quite a +representative collection for a start. It would be easy to expand the +list into many more. Of course, those collecting a small library who +have a specialty, will want books dealing with the subjects in which +they are interested. However, every practical library includes books of +inspirational character, and if one makes a study of the books written +by great authors it will be found that all of them profited by the +reading of books which caused them to think. _The Bible causes us to +think!--and no library is complete without it._ + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +PHYSICAL AND MENTAL PREPAREDNESS + + +It is not the object of this chapter to deal with a set course of +physical culture, but rather to emphasize the necessity of keeping our +physical house in order. There are plenty of books on physical culture +which can be relied upon and also any number of physical instructors who +are able to advise and help along a set program. There are hundreds of +places, institutions, clubs, Y.M.C.A.'s, and the like, which provide +gymnasiums and every other facility for those who determine to build +themselves up through consistent physical exercise. That is all very +well to begin with, but afterward we must have some simple methods of +our own which will not make it a hardship or a chore to keep ourselves +in trim--_a state of physical preparedness_. It should become a part of +our daily scheme to obey certain, simple rules which tend toward an +_automatic effort_ instead of a discipline, and we should persevere in +these until they become _fixed habits_. + +It is no trouble at all to take exercise unconsciously, and we only +arrive at this by turning into an exercise any of our ordinary physical +actions during the day as we go along. For instance, we can sit down in +a chair and in so doing can add a certain amount of exercise to the +action itself--also in rising. With very little effort we can come into +the habit of sitting correctly--posing the body as it should be--holding +the shoulders in proper position--also the chin so that it becomes a +hardship to sit improperly. + +All of this has to do with _general physique_. In walking we can go +along with a spring, elasticity, and vigor of motion which forces a fine +blood circulation throughout the entire system. We can stoop over in the +act of picking up some object from the floor and at the same time make +it a matter of physical exercise, and we may take a hat from the rack +while standing away from it, thus stretching ourselves, as it were, +into a little needful action. Putting on an overcoat, or any part of our +clothing, may be done in such a way as to set the blood to racing +through the body. Morning and night--upon getting up and upon +retiring--there is every reason to make it a rule to exercise freely. + +The morning exercise wakes us up and sits us down finally at the +breakfast table with a zest for the food set before us. The morning bath +is an agency for good in this direction after we have given ourselves a +good shake-up from head to foot. By the same token, exercises at night +before retiring induces sound sleep and takes away the strain of the +preceding day. + +A very successful system is that of exercising in bed. Instead of +immediately jumping to the floor in the morning it is very inviting to +go through some simple form of gymnastics in which the physical +structure is brought into play. + +Physical exercise is something which can be carried to extremes. We can +go at the work so intensely that we become muscle-bound and develop some +structural enlargements that we do not need. This happens very often +among athletes. The ordinary man should fight shy of such plans. +Superfluous strength is only for those who have need of it. What we +really want is strength enough to carry us through our daily rounds with +comfort and _a feeling of efficiency_. + +In a sense we all live by our wits and these decline when not properly +fed by our general physical organization. Prize fighters are not the +longest lived people, nor are the professional athletes. Their calling +requires extra building up which would be a positive handicap to the +average man whose manner of life doesn't require this super-development. +In other words, there are intemperate methods of exercising just as +there are of eating and drinking. We may easily go too far. Again, we +can sin just as greatly by not going far enough. There was a time when +men of forty were as worn and old as men of sixty-five and seventy are +today. As a matter of fact, nowadays a half-century mark is no longer a +badge of senility when a man has kept himself fit and treated himself +right. + +We all have friends who are pretty well along in years by virtue of +their carefully planned physical training, plus their _cheerful +dispositions_. They are as sprightly and companionable as though they +were many years younger. We should come to know early in life what a +large part _good humor_ plays in _physical fitness_. In previous +chapters hearty laughter was extolled as one of the very best of +exercises. It is an organizer in itself and opens up the heart and lungs +as nothing else will do. It makes the blood go galloping all through the +system. It is one of the best automatic _blood circulators_ in the +business. + +Laughter takes the stress off of the mind, and whatever is ahead of us +for the day that seems likely to become a burden is soon turned into an +ordinary circumstance. We smile as we go about doing it. + +A friend once said to a banker: + +"How do you know when to lend money?" + +The banker replied: + +"I look a man in the eye and then _I do or I don't_." + +The friend said: + +"I would like to borrow ten thousand dollars--now!" + +"You shall have it, Sir," the banker replied. + +This meant that the man who asked for the loan was in a state of +physical and mental preparedness. If he had gone into the banker's +office looking like an animated tombstone he wouldn't have had much of a +chance to borrow the ten thousand. It goes without saying that the +open-faced, hearty fellow inspires confidence. There is nothing coming +to the dried-up, sour chap, and that's what he usually gets. And what we +get is largely a matter of our physical well being. A modern philosopher +observed that "the blues are the product of bad livers"--and there is no +doubt but that he was right. + +The problem of life is to fill our days with sunshine. In so doing we +shall find that the "little graces" are those which will lend us the +most help. Tiny favors extended, words of encouragement, courtesies of +all sorts, unselfish work carried out in an open manner, true +friendships and love, a hearty laugh, a sincere appreciation of the +other fellow's struggle to keep his head above water, the conscientious +carrying out of all tasks assigned us--these are our helpmates and they +are the products of our physical and mental equipment. Through these we +come into our knack of detecting friends among those who are _the salt +of the earth_. + +It is impossible for the person who desires good health to obtain it, or +having it, to retain it, without consistent effort. A watch will not run +without the proper regulation of the mainspring. We must keep up our +activities. We have taken the earth and are turning it into something to +serve us--therefore the need of fine bodily preparedness. Nothing can +take the place of achievement and it comes through physical and mental +efficiency. The one must not be neglected for the other; both must be +cultivated and developed alike in order that each may help the other. + +Happiness comes only to those who take care of themselves. It is the +natural product of _clean-mindedness_. No pleasure can surpass that of a +conscious feeling of our strength of character. It is an all important +element in men who aspire to succeed. The man who rises in the morning +from a healthy slumber and plunges into the bath after some vigorous +exercise is prepared to undertake anything. His world seems fair, and +though the sun may not be shining literally, it is to all intents and +purposes. Thus, we go swinging along with a cheery smile, carrying the +message of hope and joy to all those with whom we come in contact. Oh! +it's fine to be physically and mentally fit! + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +SELF-INDULGENCE AND FAILURE + + +The correct definition of self-indulgence is _failure_--because +self-indulgence is comprised of an aggregation of vices, large and +small, and failure is the logical sequence thereof. Even the habit of +eating may be cultivated into a vice. Indeed, there are those who gorge +without restraint, which in itself is unchaste and immoral. We've often +seen them as, with napkin under foot or tucked under the collar, they +eat their way through mountains of food and wash it down as they reach +for more. + +No use to say how and what we feel when we attend such performances. It +is all right to say "Look the Other Way," _but it can't be done_. It is +human nature to gaze upon horror--sometimes in sympathy, but more often +in amazement. Sometimes a well staged scene of gormandizing viewed from +a seat in the second or third row center of a softly lighted, thick +carpeted food emporium _saves us the price of our own meal_. We no +longer hunger on our own account. Our appetite is appeased by proxy, so +to speak, and we calmly fix our eyes on the "big show" and _sigh for a +baseball bat_. + +No wonder a noted bachelor of medicine declares "People are what they +eat!" The exclamation point is our own. We quite agree with our medical +brother for we have seen people eat until we thought _we_ would never be +hungry again. + +But there is more to self-indulgence than the food specialist has to +answer for, so we will be on our way. For instance, there is _the +spendthrift_; surely he is entitled to a short stanza. We all know him. +He goes on the theory that he has all the spending money in the world, +and that long after he is dead those on whom he spent it will remember +his generosity. Vain hope!--Whatever memory of him remains will be of a +different kind. Those who have been bored by his gratuitous attentions +will take up the threads of their existence where they left off when he +drove them away from their usual haunts. No longer will they have to +dodge down alleys and run up strange stairways in an effort to avoid his +overtures. + +[Illustration: _Douglas Fairbanks in "The Good Bad-Man"_] + +When alive and in full operation he knew more about what was best for us +than we could possibly think of knowing. Left to his own devices he +would have us smoke his particular brands, drink his labels, eat his +selections, wear his kind of a cravat, overcoat, cap, hat, shoes, and +underwear. And to make his proposition sound business like he would +willingly pay the bills! In this little amusement we are supposed to +play the part of receiver and _praise his generosity_. + +Whatever may be our verdict on this chap we must keep in mind that his +inordinate desire to waste his substance was no less than a vice if for +no other reason than its example upon others; it is just as bad to be _a +"receiver"_ as it is to be _a spendthrift_. If we cannot build up a +reputation for generosity without becoming ostentatious we might better +take lessons in refinement from someone "to the manor born." + +There is no desire to single out and set down by name and number every +sort of self-indulgence. _Excesses of any kind are indulgences_, and it +is easy to fall into them if we have not built up our stamina to resist. + +Our failures are usually traceable to ourselves. No matter what excuses +may be offered in our behalf we know in our own minds that we are to +blame. Somewhere along the line of our endeavors we faltered--_then we +fell_. Our conservatism reinforced by our strength of character finally +gave way at a given point and put the whole plant out of business. Our +system of inspection had become cursory instead of painstaking. +Everything had been running along so smoothly we forgot that everything +_must_ wear out in time if it isn't looked after properly. + +A previous chapter entitled, "Taking Stock of Ourselves," has a specific +bearing upon the subject in hand. It emphasizes the necessity of taking +stock of ourselves early in life in order that we may know our weak +spots and take immediate steps to dig them out by the roots and replace +them with "_hardy perennials_" which thrive on and on unto the last day. + +And that reminds us that it is well to take stock of ourselves every +little while. Even "hardy perennials" have to be looked after--the +ground kept fertile and watered against the draughts of forgetfulness +and neglect. And so it must be with our mental and physical processes in +order that each day of our lives we may go forth with renewed +forcefulness--with every atom of character in full working order. + +Having started off on the right foot, we are less likely to have trouble +with our higher resolves during the lean and hungry years of our youth +when we go plunging headlong toward the goal of our ambitions. Usually +it is not until we come into "Easy Street" that we find that we dropped +something somewhere along the line which we must replace at once or we +will be laid up for repairs. But lo and behold! "Easy Street" is fair to +look upon. It dazzles the eye--it takes hold of the sensibilities. +Everybody wears "Sunday clothes" on this street and seems to be +superlatively happy. Surely it wouldn't hurt to linger awhile and see +what is going on. Why, this is the most talked about street in the +world! Some of the people we have dealt with have told us about it. They +said it was _the only street_ for a man of means, for there could be +found the very things for which we strive in life. They told us that the +people we would meet represented the higher order of intelligence, +brainy, alert, accomplished--a grand thoroughfare for those who would +know life in the fullness thereof. + +Now it is a fact that "Easy Street" may be crossed and recrossed in +safety every day of our lives if we do not tarry. Financial competence +might permit of it, but competent efficiency demands that we trot +along--_keep moving_--get away before we settle down into its ways. The +action we need is not along this brilliant lane. + +But suppose we do take a chance just to test the serene confidence which +we think is so safely nailed down within us. The very thought of it +makes the "caution bell" tinkle in our ears--but caution is a species of +cowardice, after all, we say--a man of _courage_ may dare anything +_once_. And just at the moment we waver who comes along but our old +friend _Self-indulgence_!--the well dressed, carefree fellow who once +told us all about "Easy Street" and invited us to look in on him +sometime. Nothing would please him more than to show us the whole +works--and here he is shaking us by the hand and pulling us along--for +he is an affable fellow and will not take "no" for an answer. + +Our struggle is feeble--a huge chunk of our strength of character falls +off into space then and there. Even at the gilded entrance we try again +to beg off--to slip away--but Self-indulgence will not hear. So together +we go through the portals leading into a grandeur we had never +known--beyond our experience and power to believe. _This is likely to +become the turning point in our career._ + +Bill Nye once said "When we start down hill we usually find everything +greased for the occasion." We might add--"_except the bumps_!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +LIVING BEYOND OUR MEANS + + +Living beyond our means is a big subject that must be treated broadly, +for circumstances alter cases. There is a sane way to look at every +problem, and the matter of living beyond our means is one of the major +problems we have to face. If every man was alike and every avocation in +life was on a parity, it would be possible to dispose of this subject in +a paragraph. But men are not alike. What one could do successfully might +easily baffle another. Therefore, it seems advisable to consider the +subject by looking into its depths. + +To most people debt is terrifying. To some it means nothing--and thus we +have individual temperament as an angle from which to consider. Living +beyond our ability to pay means going into debt via the shortest route. +Getting out of debt means a revision of our code to the extent of +ceasing to live beyond our means and saving something with which to pay +off what we owe. Some men can do this successfully--others fail while +seemingly trying their best to succeed--and still others do nothing to +stem the tide. With these it is a matter of how the tide serves. If +favoring winds should drive them to opulence they would more than likely +pay up, particularly those imbued with _sufficient personal honor_ to +"make good." + +Such are the exigencies of life, we may as well concede that a vast +majority at some time or other find it necessary to owe more than they +can readily pay. Emergencies arise which force us into expenses that +require credit, and if we have so ordered our lives that when the pinch +comes _we have no credit established_ the fact that we pay out our last +dollar and go hungry to bed does not bring us much sympathy. Thus it +would seem that to be able to say: "I pay as I go," or, "I owe no man a +dollar," or, "I never live beyond my means" is not much of a boast, +when, after a death in the family, or other unforeseen circumstances, +we find ourselves broke and nowhere to turn for accommodation. + +It has been aptly said that "_People can save themselves to death._" In +other words, one may develop the saving habit to such an extent that +"Laugh and Live" can find no room beside us on the perch of our +existence. We must admit that the systematic saver of pennies misses a +lot as he goes along, and, with time, degenerates into a sort of "Kill +Joy." In the matter of regulating his family to his way of thinking he +usually has an uphill job. Sons leave home as soon as they can; +daughters marry and breathe a sigh of relief, leaving mother behind to +slave on _in order that the hoard may grow_. + +While all of this is true it only represents extreme cases, therefore it +should not be construed that this chapter is launched against _the habit +of saving_. Rather, its purpose is to suggest the thought of not +"_over-saving_" at the expense of _personal welfare_. Our best plan +would be to save in reason, not forgetting that life is here to enjoy +as we go along. Then, too, we must have a _credit rating_ among our +fellow mortals, just the same as a business person must have credit +rating among financial institutions. + +[Illustration: _Squaring Things With Sister--From "The Habit of +Happiness"_] + +Credit in business is worth more than money because it allows for +expansion whereas money in the bank is only good _as far as it goes_. +Many a merchant who bought and sold for cash all his life found when he +came to enlarge his business that one thing was lacking--_credit_. The +fact that he had always paid cash threw a doubt upon his financial +condition when he proposed to borrow. He had neglected to build up a +credit as he went along. The business world only knew him as a man who +paid cash and exacted cash. Taken at his fullest inventory he had +"scalped" a living out of the world for which he had done but little to +make happier or better. One calamity might easily scuttle his prospects +forever--for instance, a fire, or a bank failure. And without credit it +would be difficult to start over again. + +By all means we must save something for the "rainy day" as we go +along--and our savings can be made up of other things than actual cash +in bank. One item of our savings is the habit of _keeping up our +appearances_. Living beyond our means does not incorporate the thought +that, in order to save every possible cent, we should become slipshod +and shabby. Carelessness in dress takes away from our rating as nothing +else will for it has to do with first impressions of those with whom we +come in contact. Gentility pays dividends of the highest order, being, +as it is, a badge of character. Neatness _bespeaks character_, and it is +just as cheap in dollars and cents to keep ourselves respectably clothed +as to indulge in shoddy apparel under the delusion that we have saved +money on the purchase price. Good clothing, costing more at the start, +lasts long _and looks well as long as it lasts_. Shoddy apparel never is +anything else but shoddy, and well might it proclaim the shoddy man. + +When we throw away our opportunity to present a genteel appearance, just +for the sake of the bank roll, we doom ourselves to defeat in the +pursuit of knowledge. We cannot get all we want to know by the mere +reading of books. We must mingle with people; we must interchange +thought that we may crystallize what we know into practical knowledge so +it can be made into tools to work with. While a man of brains is welcome +everywhere the matter of his appearance has a lot to do with how he is +received and with whom he may fraternize. + +"Isn't it a pity," we hear people say, "that, with all his brains, he +hasn't sense enough to make himself presentable?" But the worst phase of +the situation is that the unkempt man sooner or later loses faith in +himself and either ceases to hoard at the expense of his gentility or he +gives up his opportunity to mingle with others and lapses into habits +consistent with miserly thoughts. + +The phrase "_a happy medium_" is well known and decidedly applicable to +the subject of saving as we go along so that we may avert the sorrows +which follow in the wake of _living beyond our means_. It suggests a +desirable middle course which permits us to adopt a sane policy, rather +than flying to an extreme. + +It cannot be said that we are living beyond our means when by reason of +our association with men of affairs we need to spend more money and +thereby save less in preparing ourselves for the larger opportunities +which will naturally follow. Young men often go through college on their +"uppers," so to speak. There is not a cent which they could honestly +save as they went along without cheating themselves. The point is that +their situations in life force them to spend rather than to save money. +But in so doing the real saving was in the spending thereof. _They +enlarged their knowledge and decreased their bank accounts for the time +being._ What man parts with in an emergency is no license, however, for +him to fall back into profligacy. Never should a man entirely lose the +idea of putting something by. The college boy in this case has simply +invested his money in an education instead of a bank account. + +Once on the highroad of life with a plan of action well defined and a +regular income _the habit of putting money away should become a fixed +procedure_. In no other way do we accumulate except by investment, and +investment means putting away money at interest or in some project which +promises better returns. + +If we were to interview a thousand men on the subject of saving and draw +upon their experiences we would find that by investing money at interest +we pursue the safest course, far safer, in fact, than the seeking of +outside investments that _promise_ greater returns. The latter invites +the mind away from the regular avocation and educates it in time to +_take chances_ that are likely to turn into _setbacks_. The mind, +instead of applying itself to the duty of making the most out of its +regular employment, allows its interest to become scattered over too +broad a field. + +It is not within the province of all men to become wealthy and, after +all, wealth is not the only desideratum; the happiest of mortals are +found in the middle walks of life and not in the extremes. The struggle +should be to escape the life which saps our strength, keeps our nerves +on edge and drives us away from the _green pastures_. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +INITIATIVE AND SELF-RELIANCE + + +The late Elbert Hubbard defined the man with initiative as the one who +did the right thing at the right time without being told. At this point +it may be definitely stated that such a man would naturally be +_self-reliant._ Such a man would not lean on his friends. He would +_stand up_ with them.... He would be found fighting his own battles +without crying for help. + +Once a cub reporter was ordered by his city editor to go and interview a +certain man. After an awkward pause the youngster inquired: "Where can I +find him?" Smiling scornfully into his eyes the city editor replied: +"Wherever he is." + +This would seem to have been the start and finish of this youngster's +newspaper career, but quite the reverse was true. He took the lesson +well to heart, thus starting himself on the road to self-reliance. If +he had repeated the offense it is likely he would have lost his job and +also _his nerve_--thereby spoiling his chances for a successful career. +The fact that he did not, but went on and made of himself a famous +newspaper man, proves that he lost no time in developing _initiative and +self-reliance_. + +There is no questioning the vast importance these two words mean to all +of us. Many a man who did not grasp the significance of initiative +became a "_leaner_" for the rest of his life. Many a man also missed his +chances by doing _just as he was told_ and nothing more. His work ended +there. In due course it is inevitable that such a man should become part +of the great army of discontented ne'er-do-wells who help to block the +pavements in front of the loafing places. + +Hesitation, vacillation and growing diffidence take the place of +self-reliance. He falls to the bottom like a stone. And there he +rests--a drag anchor in the mire. His job gets the best of him because +he lacks initiative. Once stranded he becomes an arrant +coward--_afraid of his own shadow_. + +[Illustration: _A Scene from "In Again--Out Again"_] + +We must _make our own opportunities_ otherwise we are children of +circumstance. What becomes of us is a matter of guesswork. We have no +hand in compelling our own future. _Diffidence is a species of +cowardice._ It causes a man's courage to ooze out at his toes faster +than it comes into his heart. _Such men often have big ideas, but having +no confidence in themselves they lack the power to compel confidence in +others._ When they go into the presence of a man of personality they +lose their self-confidence and all of the pent-up courage which drove +them forward flies out at the window. Their weakness multiplies with +each failure until finally "the jig is up"--_their impotency is +complete_. + +Very largely those who have big ideas to present expect to be taken in +on them and to be given an opportunity to succeed along with their +scheme. When a man becomes so unfortunate as to be unable through +diffidence to explain himself, his big idea goes into the waste basket +and with it all of the hopes he has built upon it. _Another nail has +been driven into his casket of failures._ + +To such a man, all pity, but we will not allow him to escape until we +have given him a pat on the back and pointed out the right road to +travel. We mustn't preach to him or undertake to force him to do +anything, but we will at least give him a helping hand and show him that +there is _a royal road to his goal_. + +This man needs first of all to build upon his physique. Perhaps he has a +_bad stomach_, and likewise _bad teeth_. Exercise--regular exercise, +should be the first thing on his program. Fresh air, long walks, deep +breathing, dumb bells, boxing, rowing, skating in season--_and wholesome +companionship day by day_. In the long run boxing will become his most +efficient exercise. When a man can take a blow between the eyes and come +back for more he has begun to _fortify his own combativeness_. That is +what he needs in life's battles--the nerve to _come back for more_ after +a slam on the jaw that would lay another man low. And when it's all +said and done and the exercise game has become a feature of his day's +work, he must settle down to _good plain food and plenty of sleep_. +There is nothing in all the world like these things combined for the +upbuilding and upholding of health and courage. + +Our success is a matter of our courage. A man who can steel himself to +be knocked down and get up immediately afterwards and hand the other +fellow a ripping punch has added to his own "pep." _All courage is of +the same cloth, whether physical, moral or spiritual._ To build upon one +is to build up the others--the human system being constructed on such a +basis that if one part is affected all the rest follow suit. + +A man who isn't afraid of a physical combat will readily match his wits +with his fellow man. Physical training is therefore all important to +_initiative and self-reliance_. + +Our natural aim is to make for ourselves a true personality that does +not know defeat. When we come to an obstacle we must be able to hurdle +it. It is all very well to say that the longest way around is the +shortest way across, but it doesn't sound like initiative and +self-reliance. There is one thing about men who rely upon +themselves--they make no excuses, nor do they puff up over victory. + +Posing for applause is as distasteful to them as standing for abuse. All +they ask is a square deal and the confidence of their associates. If +they fall down on a proposition they get up and go at it again until +success crowns their efforts. Such men have a way of _turning defeat +into victory_. + +How immeasurably inferior to such a spirit is the fellow who whines and +moans at every evil twist of fortune. He has no confidence in himself +and nothing else to do except confide his woes to all who will listen to +his cowardly story of defeat. Such men are least useful in the important +work of this world. They are the humdrum hirelings--the dumb followers. +The pitiful part of it all is that they could have succeeded had they +but taken stock of themselves when the taking was good. But while there +is life there is hope--likewise a chance. _It is up to us._ + +One of the startling things about men of initiative is the way they +come forward in times of trouble. We don't have to point to Andrew +Jackson in the War of 1812. We can look around us. Take, for example, a +great fire. Haven't we often read of the brave fireman who sprang +forward and by doing the right thing instantly, saved a multitude of +lives? Well, such a man is possessed of self-reliance. He is trained for +the hazardous life he leads. When the emergency arose he was ready in a +jiffy to do the work expected of him. + +It is safe to say that without training such men would have botched the +job and instead of being praised to the skies would have sunk into +oblivion under the heap of public scorn. Sometimes it happens that a man +accidentally becomes a hero, but it was no accident that he was _able to +become one_. He must have had initiative--he must have had +self-reliance. Archibald C. Butt was such a man. He went down on the +_Titanic_. The last act of his life was to help women and children into +the boats and calm their minds as they were lowered away. Astor was of +the same metal--_both sublimely oblivious to the terrible fate which +hung over them_. Here was initiative and self-reliance in its highest +form. + +And this sort of man is everywhere. The car in which we ride to work +every morning contains one or more of them. Let something happen and we +will see them spring forward with a line of action already formed. At +their word of command we automatically obey--and then when the worst is +over a kindly voice reassures us and we go on our way rejoicing. + +What would the world do without these men? History is filled with the +tales of heroes and heroines. And for every Joan of Arc there are +thousands upon thousands who have done heroic things without a word of +praise. Moreover, the really brave soul declines all ovation. No real +hero claims reward. _To have done the right thing at the right time is +reward in itself._ + +This quality of self-strength and self-dependence is not confined to any +race of people, but in nations where personal liberty survives +initiative is at its best. Somehow, whenever the emergency, _the man +comes forth to do and dare_. The great world war, still raging as these +lines are penned, has furnished untold thousands of examples of +courageous action---enough to last until the end of human affairs, but +they will go on and on in multiplied form, each day's score superseding +those of the day before. It would be bully to know that we are doing our +share in _safeguarding the supply_ of Initiative and Self-reliance +needed in this world. + +We must keep moving. The fellow who gets in a rut through lack of +initiative finds that with advancing years it becomes harder and harder +to get out of it, so that the best plan is to make the move now while +there is time to succeed. When we come to think of it, there are plenty +of positions in the world for the right man, and if we have something to +say for ourselves that lends credit to our ability we stand a chance for +the job. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +FAILURE TO SEIZE OPPORTUNITIES + + +There is an old saying to the effect that "opportunity knocks but once +at our door"--and that is all _fol de rol_. Opportunity knocks at some +people's doors nearly every day of their lives and is given a royal +welcome. That's what Opportunity likes--_appreciation_. It goes often to +the home where the latchstring hangs on the outside. It's like a sign +reading "Hot coffee at all hours, day or night"--very inviting. Very +much different, however, from the abode whose windows shed no light and +whose door _is barred from within_. + +"Nobody Home!" that's the sign for this door. + +Mister Numbskull lives here and most of the time _he sleeps_. When +anyone knocks on his door he pulls the covers up over his head to shut +out the noise. He's down on his luck anyhow, therefore it would be a +waste of good shoe leather for him to be up and puttering around. If +Opportunity ever knocked at his door he could say in all truth that _he +never heard it_. He had often heard of Opportunity being in the +neighborhood, but one thing is certain--_someone else had invariably +seen him first_. He felt sure he would know Opportunity if ever he met +him face to face, and if ever he did he would have it out with him then +and there. + +Meanwhile--dadgast the luck!--always the fates pursued him with some +sort of hoodoo. And his neighbors--well, some of them had sense enough +to keep their distance and let him alone. Others, however, had not been +considerate of the fact that a "Jinx" was on his trail, and were given +to making sarcastic remarks concerning him. And thus it was that Mister +Numbskull spent his days, dodging his neighbors, sidestepping the +highways and obscuring himself from the very individual he wanted so +much to behold--_Opportunity_. At last there came a time when, in +despair, _and in disrepute_, he took to the woods and is yet to be +heard from. Opportunity still visits the neighborhood, but the path +leading to Mister Numbskull's home is grown up in weeds. + +The fact is that our real opportunity _knocks from within_. Through +experience, built upon consecutively by continuous effort, our vision +expands and pounds its way out through the portals of our brain. We see +the thing that we ought to do and _we go to it_! To the man who didn't +see it _the opportunity did not exist_. + +"What we don't know doesn't hurt us any"--so runs the old saw. And +here's a case where we who didn't see, _were_ hurt, but we didn't know +it. + +For those of us who have vision there are all sorts of opportunities, +but many of them are not good for us. The ones we make for ourselves are +the healthy ones, and generally they are the best for us. "Our own baby" +is the one we will take the greatest pride in and enjoy the most. Then +we become masters of our own destiny in a sense and can be more +independent through having no senior partners in the enterprise. Often +our dreams bring forth a need for many kinds of special knowledge and +for these we go into the open market offering opportunity to many others +in return for their assistance. Thus we find that everything we do is in +relation to other things and dependent in part on other people. + +This should make us careful and a wee bit wary. Opportunities are widely +divergent in nature--through a stroke of hard luck one might have +difficulty in finding employment. The first opportunity might lead to a +job in a bar-room, but having fortified ourselves by developing our +highest attributes such as honesty, integrity, cleanliness of body and +mind--we are able to somehow or other pinch along until something better +shows itself. First-class principles are not to be thrown away upon the +first provocation, therefore, in order to take away the temptation, we +might as well figure out that a great many employments in the world do +not represent _real opportunities_ and therefore should not be +considered. + +Failure to seize such so-called opportunities becomes a virtue in the +same sense that the failure to seize a decent opportunity becomes a +shame. + +Often opportunity comes through meeting men of affairs who have power +and wealth at their command. These are usually in connection with +enterprises of the greater magnitude. Those of us who have the power to +control our destinies to a reasonable degree should not stand back in +our support of these. If we have carefully built up our initiative, +self-reliance, preparedness in the way of efficiency, good health and +the will to do, there is no reason why we should not aspire to take a +hand in anything in which we are confident we can succeed. Among the men +who control the big affairs of the business world we find a true +democracy--_they want the man_. The fact that he appears before them +neatly attired, bright of eye and ready of wit will surely count in his +favor. + +In other words, we should live up to the opportunity in whatever form it +presents itself after we have accepted its responsibilities. To make +this perfectly plain _we must live up to the job_! If we are to be +superintendent of a coal mine "underneath the ground" we will put on +our overalls and jumpers, but if we are to be manager of a grand opera +house we will appear in our dress suits. The thought is obvious, but as +we journey along we find many of our fellow mortals neglecting to live +in line with what they are doing. + +We mention this fact hopeful that we will not fail to seize our +opportunities by setting up obstacles whereby we may become _persona non +grata_ through lack of discernment. + +Opportunity is within ourselves and when we have seized our rightful +share, then we may look with pride upon our endeavor and proceed to +_laugh and live_! + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +ASSUMING RESPONSIBILITIES + + +Those who fear to assume responsibility necessarily _take orders from +others_. The punishment fits the crime perfectly and being +self-inflicted there is no injustice. It is true that many men possessed +of great brain power play "second fiddle" to shallow-minded men of +inferior wisdom from sheer lack of forcefulness on their own part. They +lack the full quality of leadership while possessing all save one +essential--_courage_. Fear abides in their hearts and spreads itself as +a mantle of gloom over their super-sensitive souls until finally they +struggle no more. Henceforth they are doomed and become the subject of +apology on the part of friends and relations. "He's all right," they +say, "but he suffers from over-refinement." He lacks something--we +cannot make out just what. It is altogether too bad for he is such a +superior man among _his social equals_. + +We must take our hats off to those who have the goodness of heart to +make allowance for our shortcomings. A disinterested listener, however, +is seldom taken into camp by such well intended argument. He knows that +"friend husband" or "friend brother" as the case may be, needs some sort +of swift kick that will stir his combativeness into action--that will +cause him to turn upon his mental inferior and have it out with him then +and there--once and for all. As a courage builder _fighting for justice_ +is not to be sneezed at. + +Courage can be built up just the same as any other soul quality. It is +all a matter of early training as to which we start out with--courage or +fear. Unthinking parents have a lot to do with the propagation of fear +in the hearts of children. A _neglectful father_ plus a _fear-stricken +mother_ constitute the most logical forces which tend toward the +overdevelopment of fear in a child. Once the seed is thoroughly +implanted the growth can be depended upon. How to get rid of it later +is not so easy to figure out. Had the child been born with a "clubfoot" +these same parents would have spent their last dollar in an effort to +straighten it into natural condition. They could see the unshapely foot +day by day with their own eyes--and so could their neighbors. But the +fear-warped little brain struggling for courage with which to combat its +weakness needs must battle alone with chances largely against it. + +The mere thought of what is in store for this little one as it stumbles +along from one period to another, fearful of this, and fearful of that, +is disconcerting to say the least. We can almost trace our friend +"Second Fiddle" directly back to such a childhood. We can almost hear +his fond mother shout, "Keep away from the brook, darling, you might get +your feet wet and _catch your death of a cold_." Another well known and +highly respected admonition belonging to childhood's hour is, "Come in, +deary, it's getting dark--Bogie man will get you if you don't watch +out." + +[Illustration: _Bungalowing in California_] + +Some years later when little son runs breathless into the home portal +after being chased from school by some "turrible" boys we can hear this +same little mother as she storms about the place and tells what "papa +must do" about the matter. According to her notion, if teachers could +not control the "criminal element" among their pupils then it was high +time for the police to step in. Never a word about little son taking his +own part! Father listens in silence and half formulates the notion of +going direct to the parents and laying down the law, while little son +listens in fear and trembling in anticipation of what is coming to him +if father carries out his threat. + +Tall oaks from little acorns grow--_if the twig is not bent in the +sprouting_. + +Little son is bound to grow into manhood some day and when he arrives he +must have one particular attribute--_courage_. Somehow he will get along +if he has that. He may also wear a "clubfoot" or a "hunch back," but +with courage as a running mate he will assume his responsibilities and +become a force in the world. + +Once a great orator sat upon a rostrum listening to a speech by a man +who cautioned his countrymen against taking steps to defend the national +honor. "We'll outlive the taunts of those who would drag us into war!" +he bellowed forth. Whereupon the orator jumped to his feet and with +clarion voice shouted, "God hates a coward!" and then sat down again. + +Dazed at first the vast throng sat stupefied--but only for a moment. +Then as one man they jumped to their feet and by reason of prolonged +cheering gave national impulse to a thought which has since been +sermonized from thousands of pulpits. The orator had simply paraphrased +and put "pep" into the old Biblical slogan: "The Lord helps those who +help themselves." The effect was electrical. The whole country rallied +to the idea with the result that we saved ourselves from war by showing +the solid front of being ready and willing to defend ourselves. + +Everything that tends to build up courage is an asset in life. The more +we have of it the further we go and the more interesting our lives +become. For _the man of the lion heart_ all things unfold and unto him +the timid must bring their offerings. No one of ordinary gumption +consults the human "flivver." Advice from him would be unavailing. His +point of view would be inadequate--his ability to advise, impotent. We +go to the man who does things and say to him: "Here is my little +idea--do you want to help me put it over?" If it is good, he does. If +not, his experience tells him so, for men of courage are naturally +possessed of large vision. Their lack of fear has given them +right-of-way over vast areas of the world of action. They fail only as +"their lights go out forever." + +With courage we order our own lives and take orders only from those of +superior wisdom. This we can never afford _not to do_. The courageous +man of largest vision commands by his power to reason logically and +therefore assumes the air of comradeship rather than "overseer" or +"boss." Only through lack of moral and physical courage are we to +become the slaves of these. + +Courage--the child of _Hope--the despair of Failure_. Born of Good Cheer +it links its fate with the higher attributes and tramples under foot the +fears which spring up before it. When _sown early_ into the hearts of +the young its companionship becomes unerring in its efficiency for good +throughout their lives. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +WEDLOCK IN TIME + + +It is a happy idea to marry while we are young--a fine thing--a good +thing--_a pleasant duty indeed_ to marry the woman of our choice at a +time of life when both are at an age when adjustment is natural and +lasting loyalties are implanted in our hearts and minds for all time. We +make a sad mistake when we postpone so important a step just for the +sake of becoming a rich man first so that our bride-to-be may step into +luxurious quarters and never have to lift her dainty hands except to sip +from the glass of nectar we have set before her. The real facts compiled +by the statistical "System Sams" are against this idea. The balance +comes up in red ink _on the wrong side of the ledger_. + +According to these gentlemen the average mortal is likely to be very fat +and much over forty before he can make an offering according to his +first generous impulses and the chances are he will never reach the goal +in this life. By the time he might be financially ready there is a hard +glint in his eye, and he will be looking for the mote in the eye of his +lady love. The waiting game is a hard one _and it makes us worldly_. +After the lapse of years what once seemed a _rose_ might appear to be +more of a _hollyhock_. + +Naturally we never blame ourselves for the changes. Had we obeyed the +grand impulse in the hour of our youth we might have kept the garden +full of roses and the hollyhocks would never have sprouted there. Then +the home nest would have tinged our sensibilities with its loveliness +and our affections would have been nailed down hard and fast _forever +and a day_. + +Among the many baffling problems which the young man faces, and for that +matter, any man, is marriage. More thought, more energy and more time is +taken up over this one decisive step than over any other. The reasons +are obvious. It involves for life the happiness of the contracting +parties--not only in a direct and personal way, but also in a general +sense. The man's business success largely depends upon the helpmate he +has in his home. _His career is at her mercy._ For example, if the wife +should turn out to be unsympathetic, and uninterested in his ambitions, +this fact might warp his prospects by causing him to _lose heart_ in +facing the large problems awaiting him along the road of opportunity. +However, if she is of a cheerful, energetic disposition and willing to +do all that she can to help him over the rough spots as they travel +along together he will be _inspired into action_ and will do his level +best. He will be conscious as he goes about his work that there is _one_ +person above all upon whom he can depend--_his wife_. + +Marriage is a _serious business_ and usually we concede that point in +the beginning. However, this is not aimed as a blow at life's greatest +romance ... it is merely the recognition of an elemental fact.... +Marriage must have its _practical side_. To become successful in the +highest degree man and wife _must establish a comradeship_. It is not +the part of wisdom that either should rule the other, but rather that +each should have the interest of the other at heart and should strive to +be helpful one unto the other. Two men can go through life the best of +friends, each holding the respect and confidence of the other. So can +two women. _Then, why not a man and wife?_ Needless to say they can, and +do. Such partnerships are sure of success. It is only through lack of +comradeship that love flies out of the window--_and lights on a +sea-going aeroplane_. + +The marriage state is a long contract--it should not be stumbled into by +man or woman. Nor should we become cowardly to the point of backing out +of it altogether. Love is blind _only to the blind_. Either party to the +tie that binds has a chance to know in advance whether the venture is +safe and sane. All a man has to consider after he knows his own heart is +that the woman of his choice is sensible, considerate and healthy. Other +things being equal he can take the leap without hesitancy. We shouldn't +borrow trouble. + +[Illustration: _Demonstrating the Monk and the Hand-Organ to a Body of +Psychologists_] + +Of course there are those who _should never marry_. They do, however, +and when they do they loan themselves to the mockery of the marriage +state. There is no time to dwell on this thought for it is just +something that goes on happening anyway and has no bearing upon the +advisability of "wedlock in time" between _people of horse sense_. + +Given a good wife, after his own heart, no manly man has a righteous +kick coming against the fates. Under such circumstances if things go +wrong he will find the fault within himself. Of course we should, to the +fullest possible extent, be prepared for marriage before assuming its +responsibilities. We should at least have a ticket before embarking--and +it is the _real_ man's duty to provide the ticket. Since it is to be a +long voyage a "round trip" isn't necessary. In other words, a man +needn't be rich when he marries--but he should not be broke, either. +Lack of funds a few days after the honeymoon is too hard a test for +matrimony to bear nobly. It is too much like inviting a catastrophe +through lack of good, hard sense to begin with. It shows poor +generalship at the very start--and there is the liability of causing +great distress and hardship to a tender-hearted little woman. It would +be a sad blow to her to find that the man of her choice was, after all, +just an ordinary fellow--_a man without foresight_. + +There are four seasons in married life--spring, summer, fall and winter, +and we are going to need a comrade as we go through each of them. And +the one we want _is the one we start with_--the gentle partner in all +our joys and sorrows. It is she who will stand back of us when all +others fail. When the children come along to bless our days and inspire +us to greater efforts we are glad to look into their happy, smiling +faces and find that they resemble their mother--their soft cheeks are +like hers, their hands, their dainty ways, their caresses. And when mama +looks into those same bright eyes they make her think of their daddy. +The fond affection bestowed upon the children by both parents is but +another mode of expressing their regard for each other. + +Springtime days, these! When little tots climb up and entwine their +arms about our necks. If this were married life's only compensation it +would not prove in vain--for when the babies enter the home the tie that +binds becomes hard and fast--_if the man is a manly man_. To become the +father of a bright-eyed babe is an experience of the highest importance +to a young man getting started. It reinforces his courage, doubles up +his ambitions and _puts him on his metal_. He has a new responsibility +and it adds to his strength of character to assume it in all its phases. +Another thing it brings comfort and joy to the mother during the long +days while her man is out in the fray. _It drives ennui out of the +household throughout our springtime days._ + +And when summer comes along new hopes dawn within us. Springtime had +found us up and doing and when it merged into the new season we found +our aspirations even stronger than before. Children must be educated and +their futures prepared in advance as far as may be. They must not go +into the world _without tools to work with_. Meanwhile the household +teems with plans and becomes a veritable dreamland of youthful fervor. +We find that having helped our children into attractive personalities +they have become magnets with which to draw about us their comrades. +Thus we hold on to our youth by virtue of our surroundings--creatures of +our thoughtfulness concerning "_wedlock in time_." + +That the fall season is coming has no terrors for us. There will be the +weddings and plannings for new homes _close by_--if we have our say. And +in due course, the grandchildren will come who will favor grandpa and +grandma and once again youth knocks at our door. There will be no dread +winter days for us for we have been forehanded--we have a _new crew on +board to chase away the cares of old age and infirmities_. + +Try how we will there is no way to forestall the operation of the law of +compensation. We reap as we sow. The world will be good to those who +compel its respect by becoming the right sort of citizens. _Wedlock in +time--that's the answer_! + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +LAUGH AND LIVE + + +Again I find it expedient to resort to the personal pronoun and +therefore this final chapter is to be devoted to "_you_ and _me_." There +are facts you may want to know _for sure_ and one of them is whether or +not I live up to my own prescription. + +I do--_and it's easy_! + +I have kept myself happy and well through keeping my physical department +in first class order. If that had been left to take care of itself I +would surely have fallen by the wayside in other departments. Once we +sit down in security the world seems to _hand us things we do not need_. + +Fresh air is my intoxicant--and it keeps me in high spirits. My system +doesn't crave artificial stimulation because _my daily exercise_ +quickens the blood sufficiently. Then, too, I manage to _keep busy_. +That's the real elixir--_activity_! Not always physical activity, +either, for I must read good books in order to exercise my mind in other +channels than just my daily routine--and add to my store of knowledge as +well. + +Then there is my _inner-self_ which must have attention now and then. +For this a little solitude is helpful. We have only to sense the +phenomena surrounding us to know that we must have a _working +faith_--something _practical_ to live by, which automatically keeps us +on our course. The mystery of life somehow loses its density _if we +retain our spark of hope_. + +All of my life since childhood I have held Shakespeare in constant +companionship. Aside from the Bible--which is entirely apart from all +other books--Shakespeare has no equal. My father, partly from his love +for the great poet, and partly for the purpose of aiding me to memorize +accurately, taught me to recite Shakespeare before I was old enough to +know the meaning of the words. I remembered them, however, and in later +years I grew to know their full significance. Then I became an ardent +follower of the Master Philosopher, than whom no greater interpreter of +human emotions ever lived. In the matter of sage advice there has never +been his equal. In "_Hamlet_" we find the wonderful words of admonition +from _Polonius_ in his farewell speech to his son _Laertes_--as good +today as four hundred years ago, and they will continue to be so until +the end of time. + +It matters not how familiar we may be with these lines it is no waste of +time to read them over again once in awhile. They seem to fit the +_practical side of life_ perfectly. If we have any complaint by reason +of their brusqueness we have only to temper our interpretation according +to our own sense of justice. In other words if we wanted to loan a +"ten-spot" now and then we would just go ahead and do it--meanwhile, to +save you the trouble of looking up these lines, here they are in "Laugh +and Live"-- + + And these few precepts in thy memory + See thou charácter--Give thy thoughts no tongue, + Nor any unproportioned thought his act. + Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. + The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, + Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel; + But do not dull thy palm with entertainment + Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged comrade. Beware + Of entrance to a quarrel: but, being in, + Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee. + Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice: + Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment. + Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, + But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy: + For the apparel oft proclaims the man; + And they in France of the best rank and station + Are of a most select and generous sheaf in that. + Neither a borrower nor a lender be; + For loan oft loses both itself and friend, + And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry, + This above all--_to thine ownself be true; + And it must follow, as the night the day, + Thou canst not then be false to any man_. + +[Illustration: "Wedlock in Time"--The Fairbanks' Family] + +The time has come to close this little book. It has been a great +pleasure to write it and a greater pleasure to hope that it will be +received in the same spirit it has been written. These are busy days for +all of us. We go in a gallop most of the time, but there comes the quiet +hour when we must sit still and "take stock." I know this from the +letters that come to me asking my opinion on all sorts of subjects. +People believe I am happy because my laughing pictures seem to denote +this fact--_and it is a fact_! In the foregoing chapters I have told +why. If, in the telling I shall have been instrumental in adding to _the +world's store of happiness_ I shall ever thank my "lucky stars." + + +Very Sincerely + +Douglas Fairbanks + + + + +A "CLOSE-UP" OF DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS + +by George Creel + +Reprinted from Everybody's Magazine by Permission of The Ridgway +Company, New York. + + +CHAPTER XX + +A "CLOSE-UP" OF DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS + + +Young Mr. Douglas Fairbanks, star alike in both the "speakies" and the +"movies," is well worth a story. He is what every American might be, +ought to be, and frequently is _not_. More than any other that comes to +mind, he is possessed of the indomitable optimism that gives purpose, +"punch," and color to any life, no matter what the odds. + +He holds the world's record for the standing broad grin. There isn't a +minute of the day that fails to find him glad that he's alive. Nobody +ever saw him with a "grouch," or suffering from an attack of the +"blues." Nobody ever heard him mention "hard luck" in connection with +one of his failures. The worse the breaks of the game, the gloomier the +outlook, the wider his grin. He has made cheerfulness a habit, and it +has paid him in courage, in bubbling energy, and buoyant resolve. + +We are a young nation and a great nation. Judging from the promise of +the morning, there is nothing that may not be asked of America's noon. A +land of abundance, with not an evil that may not be banished, and yet +there is more whining in it than in any other country on the face of the +globe. If we are to die, "Nibbled to Death by Ducks" may well be put on +the tombstone. Little things are permitted to bring about paroxysms of +peevishness. Even our pleasures have come to be taken sadly. We are +irritable at picnics, snarly at clambakes, and bored to death at +dinners. + +The Government ought to hire Douglas Fairbanks, and send him over the +country as an agent of the Bureau of Grins. Have him start work in +Boston, and then rush him by special train to Philadelphia. If the +wealth of the United States increased $41,000,000,000 during the last +three peevish, whining years, think what would happen if we learned the +art of joyousness and gained the strength that comes from good humor +and optimism! + +"Doug" Fairbanks--now that he is in the "movies" we don't have to be +formal--is the living, breathing proof of the value of a grin. His rise +from obscurity to fame, from poverty to wealth, has no larger foundation +than his ever-ready willingness to let the whole world see every tooth +in his head. + +Good looks? Artistry? Bosh! The Fairbanks features were evidently picked +out by a utilitarian mother who preferred use to ornament; and as for +his acting, critics of the drama, imbued with the traditions of Booth +and Barrett, have been known to sob like children after witnessing a +Fairbanks performance. + +It is the joyousness of the man that gets him over. It's the 100 per +cent interest that he takes in everything he goes at that lies at the +back of his success. He does nothing by halves, is never indifferent, +never lackadaisical. + +At various stages in his brief career he has been a Shakespearean actor, +Wall Street clerk, hay steward on a cattle-boat, vagabond, and business +man, knowing poverty, hunger, and discomfort at times, but never, +_never_ losing the grin. Things began to move for him when he left a +Denver high school back in 1900 for the purpose of entering college. As +he says, "A man can't be too careful about college." + +He started for Princeton, but met a youth on the train who was going to +Harvard. He took a special course at Cambridge--just what it was he +can't remember--but at the end of the year it was hinted to him that +circus life was more suited to his talents, particularly one with three +rings. + +A friend, however, suggested the theatre, and gave him a card to +Frederick Warde, the tragedian. Mr. Warde fell for the Fairbanks grin, +and as a first part assigned him the role of _François_, the lackey, in +"Richelieu." What he lacked in experience he made up for in activity and +unflagging merriment. It got to be so that Warde was almost afraid to +touch the bell, for he never knew whether the amazing _François_ would +enter through the door or come down from the ceiling. + +After the company had done its worst to "Richelieu," it changed to +Shakespearean repertoire, and for one year young Fairbanks engaged in +what Mr. Warde was pleased to term a "catch-as-catch-can bout with the +immortal Bard." When friends of Shakespeare finally protested in the +name of humanity, the strenuous Douglas accepted an engagement with +Herbert Kelcey and Effie Shannon in "Her Lord and Master." + +Five months went by before the two stars broke under the strain, and by +that time news had come to Mr. Fairbanks that Wall Street was Easy +Money's other name. Armed with his grin, he marched into the office of +De Coppet & Doremus, and when the manager came out of his trance +Shakespeare's worst enemy was holding down the job of order man. + +"The name Coppet appealed to me," he explains. + +He is still remembered in that office, fondly but fearfully. He did his +work well enough; in fact, there are those who insist that he invented +scientific management. + +"How about that?" I asked him, for it puzzled me. + +"Well, you see, it was this way: For five days in a week I would say, +'Quite so' to my assistant, no matter what he suggested. On Saturday I +would dash into the manager's office, wag my head, knit my brow, and +exclaim, 'What we need around here is _efficiency_.' And once I urged +the purchase of a time-clock." + +The way he filled his spare time was what bothered. What with his +tumbling tricks, boxing, wrestling, leap-frog over chairs, and other +small gaieties, he mussed up routine to a certain extent. But he was +_not_ discharged. At a point where the firm was just one jump ahead of +nervous prostration, along came "Jack" Beardsley and "Little" Owen, two +husky football players with a desire to see life without the safety +clutch. + +The three approached the officials of a cattle-steamship, and by +persistent claims to the effect that they "had a way" with dumb +animals, got jobs as hay stewards. + +"We found the cows very nice," comments Mr. Fairbanks. "No one can get +me to say a word against them. But those stokers! And those other +stable-maids! Pow! We had to fight 'em from one end of the voyage to the +other, and it got so that I bit myself in my sleep. The three of us got +eight shillings apiece when we landed at Liverpool, and tickets back, +but there were several little things about Europe that bothered us, and +we thought we'd see what the trouble was." + +They "hoboed" it through England, France, and Belgium, working at any +old job until they gathered money enough to move along, whether it was +carrying water to English navvies or unloading paving-blocks from a +Seine boat. After three joyous months, they felt the call of the cattle, +and came home on another steamer. + +Back on his native heath, young Fairbanks took a shot from the hip at +law, but missed. Then he got a job in a machine-manufacturing plant, +but one day he found that his carelessness had permitted fifty dollars +to accumulate, and he breezed down to Cuba and Yucatan to see what +openings there were for capital. Back from that tramping trip, he +figured that since he had not annoyed the stage for some time it +certainly owed him something. + +His return to the drama took place in "The Rose of Plymouth Town," a +play in which Miss Minnie Dupree was the star. Meeting Miss Dupree, I +asked her what sort of an actor Fairbanks was in those days. + +"Well," she said judiciously, "I think that he was about the nicest case +of St. Vitus' dance that ever came under my notice." + +William A. Brady got him next. Mr. Brady is quite a dynamo himself, and +there was also a time in his life when he managed James J. Corbett. The +two fell into each other's arms with a cry of joy, and for seven years +they touched off dramatic explosions that strewed fat actors all over +the landscape and tore miles of scenery into ribbons. + +"Some boy!" was Mr. Brady's tribute. "Put him in a death scene, and +he'd find a way to break the furniture." + +There was never a part that "Doug" Fairbanks lay down on. To every role +he brought joy and interest and enthusiasm, and the night came +inevitably that saw his name in electric letters. + +It is not claimed that his work as a star "elevated" the drama, but it +may safely be claimed that he never appeared in any play that was not +wholesome, stimulating, and helpful. + +Nothing was more natural than that the movies should seek such an actor, +and they set the trap with attractive bait. + +"Come over to us," they said, "and we'll let you do anything you want. +Outside of poison gas and actual murder, the sky's the limit." + +Without even waiting to kick off his shoes, "Doug" Fairbanks made a +dive. + +The movie magnates got what they wanted, and Fairbanks got what he +wanted. For the first time in his life he was able to "let go" with all +the force of his dynamic individuality, and he took full advantage of +the opportunity. + +In "The Lamb," his first adventure before the camera, he let a +rattlesnake crawl over him, tackled a mountain lion, jiu-jitsued a bunch +of Yaqui Indians until they bellowed, and operated a machine-gun. + +In "His Picture in the Papers," he was called upon to run an automobile +over a cliff, engage in a grueling six-round go with a professional +pugilist, jump off an Atlantic liner and swim to the distant shore, mix +it up in a furious battle royal with a half dozen husky gunmen, leap +twice from swiftly moving trains, and also to resist arrest by a squad +of Jess Willards dressed up in police uniforms. + +"The Half-Breed" carried him out to California, and, among other things, +threw him into the heart of a forest fire that had been carefully +kindled in the redwood groves of Calaveras County. Amid a rain of +burning pine tufts, and with great branches falling to the ground all +around him, "Douggie" was required to dash in and save the gallant +sheriff from turning into a cinder. Hair and eyelashes grew out again, +however, his blisters healed, and in a few days he was as good as new. + +"The Habit of Happiness" was rich in stunts that would have made even +Battling Nelson turn to tatting with a sigh of relief. Five gangsters, +sicked on to their work by the villain, waylaid our hero on the stairs, +and in the rough-and-tumble that followed, it was his duty to beat each +and every one of them into a state of coma. He performed his task so +conscientiously that his hands were swollen for a week, not to mention +his eyes and nose. As for the five extra men who posed as the gangsters, +all came to the conclusion that dock-walloping was far less strenuous +than art, and went back to their former jobs. + +"The Good Bad Man" was a Western picture that contained a thrill to +every foot of film. Our hero galloped over mountains, jumping from crag +to crag, held up an express train single-handed in order to capture the +conductor's ticket-punch, grappled with gigantic desperadoes every few +minutes, shot up a saloon, and was dragged around for quite a while at +the end of a lynching party's rope. + +"Reggie Mixes In" was one joyous round of assault and battery from +beginning to end. Happening to fall in love with a dancer in a Bowery +cabaret, _Reggie_ puts family and fortune behind him and takes a job as +"bouncer" so as to be near his lady-love. Aside from his regular duties, +he is required to work overtime on account of the hatred of a +gang-leader who also loves the girl. Five scoundrels jump _Reggie_, and, +after manhandling four, he drops from a second-story window to the neck +of the fifth, and chokes him with hands and legs. After which he carries +the senseless wretch down the street, and gaily flicks him, as it were, +through a window at the villain's feet. As a tasty little finish, +_Reggie_ and his rival lock themselves in an empty room, and engage in a +contest governed by packing-house rules. + +Three days after the combat, by the way, the company heads were pleased +to announce that both men were out of danger unless blood-poisoning +set in. + +[Illustration: _Here's Hoping!_ (_White Studio_)] + +"The Mystery of the Leaping Fish" was what is known as a "water +picture," and "Doug," as a comedy detective, was compelled to make a +human submarine of himself, not to mention several duels in the dark +with Japanese thugs and opium smugglers. + +"Another day of it," he grinned, "and I'd have grown fins." + +"Manhattan Madness" was really nothing more than St. Vitus's dance set +to ragtime. Our hero climbed up eaves-pipes, plunged through trap-doors +down into dungeons, jumped from the roof of a house into a tree, kicked +his way in and out of secret closets, and engaged in hair-raising +combats with desperate villains every few minutes. + +It is not only the case that "Doug" Fairbanks made good with the movie +fans. What is more to the point, he made good with the "bunch" itself. +In nine cases out of ten, the "legitimate" star, going over into +pictures, evades and avoids the "rough stuff." To some humble, hardy +"double" is assigned the actual work of falling off the cliff, riding at +full speed across granite hedges, taking a good hard punch in the nose, +or plunging from the top of the burning building. + +Many an honest cowpuncher, taking his girl to the show with him to let +her see what a daredevil he is, has died the death upon discovering that +he was merely "doubling" for some cow-eyed hero who lacked the nerve to +do the stunt himself. + +"Doug" Fairbanks is one of the few movie heroes who have never had a +"double." He asks no man to do that which he is afraid to do himself. No +fall is too hard for him, no fight too furious, no ride too dangerous. +There is not a single one of his pictures in which he hasn't taken a +chance of breaking his neck or his bones; but, as one bronco-buster +observed, "He jes' licks his lips an' asks for more." + +To be sure, few actors have brought such super-physical equipment to the +strenuous work of the movies. Fairbanks, in addition to being blessed +with a strong, lithe body, has developed it by expert devotion to every +form of athletic sport. He swims well, is a crack boxer, a good polo +player, a splendid wrestler, a skilful acrobat, a fast runner, and an +absolutely fearless rider. + +There is never a picture during the progress of which he does not +interpolate some sudden bit of business as the result of his quick wit +and dynamic enthusiasm. In one play, for instance, he was supposed to +enter a house at sight of his sweetheart beckoning to him from an upper +window. As he passed up the steps, however, his roving eye caught sight +of the porch railing, a window-ledge, and a balcony, and in a flash he +was scaling the facade of the house like any cat. + +In another play he was trapped on the roof of a country home. Suddenly +Fairbanks, disregarding the plan of retreat indicated by the author, +gave a wild leap into a near-by maple, managed to catch a bough, and +proceeded to the ground in a series of convulsive falls that gave the +director heart-failure. + +During "The Half-Breed" picture, some of the action took place about a +fallen redwood that had its great roots fully twenty feet into the air. + +"Climb up on top of those roots, Doug," yelled the director. + +Instead of that, "Douggie" went up to a young sapling that grew at the +base of the fallen tree. Bending it down to the ground, as an archer +bends his bow, he gave a sudden spring, and let the tough birch catapult +him to the highest root. + +"What do you want me to do now?" he grinned. + +"Come back the same way," grinned the director. + +Most "legitimate" actors--the valuation is their own--find the movies +rather dull. Time hangs very heavily upon their hands. As one remarked +to me in tones that were thick with a divine despair: "There's +absolutely nothing for a chap to do. In lots of the God-forsaken holes +they drag you to, there isn't even a hotel. No companionship, no +diversion of any kind, and oftentimes no bathtubs." + +Douglas Fairbanks enters no such complaint. He draws upon the energy and +interest that ought to be in every human being, and when entertainment +is not in sight, he goes after it. When they were making "The +Half-Breed" pictures in the Carquinez woods of Northern California, he +was never seen around the camp except when actually needed by the camera +man. Upon his return from these absences, it was noticed that his hands +were usually bleeding, and his clothing stained and torn. + +"What in the name of mischief have you been doing now?" the director +demanded on a day when Fairbanks's wardrobe was almost a total loss. + +"Trappin'," chirped the star. + +Beating about the woods, Bret Harte in hand, he had managed to discover +an old woodsman who still held to the ancient industries of his youth. +The trapper's specialty was "bob cats," and the bleeding hands and torn +clothes came from "Doug's" earnest efforts to handle the "varmints" just +as his venerable preceptor handled them. Out of the experience, at +least, he brought an intimate knowledge of field, forest, and stream, +for over the fire and in their walks he had pumped the old man dry. + +In the same way he made "The Good Bad Man" hand him over everything of +value that frontier life contained. The picture was taken out in the +Mohave desert; for the making of it the director had scoured the West +for riders and ropers and cowboys of the old school. "He men"--every one +of them, and for a time they looked with dislike and suspicion upon the +"star," but when they saw that Fairbanks did not ask for any "double," +and took the hardest tumble with a grin, they received him into their +fellowship with a heartfelt yell. + +Dull in the Mohave desert? Why, he had to sit up nights to keep even +with his engagements. From one man he learned bronco-busting, from +another fancy roping, and from others all that there is to know about +horses, cattle, mountain, and plain. And around the camp-fires he got +stories of the winning of the West such as never found their way into +histories. + +When one picture called for jiu-jitsu work, he didn't rest satisfied +with learning just enough to "get by." Every spare moment found him in a +clinch with the Japanese expert, mastering every secret, perfecting +himself in every hold. Same way with boxing. When no pugilists came +handy, he put on the gloves with anyone willing to take chances on a +black eye, keeping at it until today they have to hire professionals +when he figures in a movie fight. + +When they made a "water" picture he never stopped until he could +duplicate every trick known to the "professor" who drilled the extra +men. He took advantage of a biplane flight to make friends with the +aeronaut, and by the time the picture was done, he was as good a driver +as the expert. + +No matter where he is, or what the job, he finds something of interest +because he goes upon the theory that every minute is meant to be lived. +Maroon him at a cross-roads, with five hours until train time, and he'd +have the operator's first name in ten minutes and be learning the Morse +alphabet, after which he would rush up to his new friend's house to see +the babies or to pass judgment on a Holstein calf or a Black Minorca +brood. + +It is the tremendously human quality, more than anything else, that gets +him across. People like him because he likes them. He attracts interest +because he takes interest. Talk with any of the big men in the +motion-picture industry, that is, those with brains and education, and +they will tell you that personality counts more in pictures than it does +on the stage. + +H.B. Aitken, president of the Triangle Film Corporation, said to me: +"The screen is intimate. The camera brings the actor right into your +lap. In the speaking drama, make-up and footlights change and hide, but +not the least flicker of expression is lost in the picture. It's a test +of real-ness, and it takes a real man or a real woman to stand it. Art +isn't the thing at all, nor do looks count for half as much as people +suppose. It's what's back of the art and the looks that makes the hit, +and if they haven't got _something_, the artist and the beauty don't +last long. We picked Douglas Fairbanks as a likely film star, not on +account of his stunts, as the majority think, but because of the +splendid humanness that fairly oozed out of him." + +[Illustration: A Close-Up (Lumiere)] + +When he isn't before the camera, or fooling with an airship or a motor, +or playing with children, or "gettin' acquainted" with a tramp or a +trapper, or practising stunts with a rope or a horse, young Mr. +Fairbanks fills in his spare time writing scenarios. As everyone knows, +the motion-picture drama has been a tawdry thing for the most +part--either a rehash of old stage plays, novels, and short stories, or +else mediocre "originalities" that epitomized banality. Young Mr. +Fairbanks dissented from the established custom from the very start. + +"It's all wrong," he declared. "We've got to stand on our own feet. +Develop your own dramatists!" + +Practically every play in which he has appeared sprang from his personal +suggestion, and in many of them he has collaborated with the scenario +writer. The three things that he demands are Action, Wholesomeness, and +Sentiment that rings true. + +Never make the mistake of thinking that Douglas Fairbanks starts and +finishes with mere good humor and physical exuberance. There is more to +him than his grin, for his mind is as strong and vigorous as his body. +He reads and thinks, and behind his smile is a quick and eager sympathy +that takes account of the sadnesses of life as well as its promises. + +"The Habit of Happiness" was very much his own idea, and in it he took +occasion to show a midnight bread-line, the misery of the slums, and +various forms of social injustice. It isn't that he thinks himself +called to uplift and reform, but, as he expresses it, "Every little bit +helps." + +In the last talk that I had with him, he was enthusiastic over the +future of the movies as a world force. He speaks in ideas rather than +words, for when he feels that he has indicated the thought he never +troubles to finish the particular sentence. + +"Pictures are like music," he declared. "They speak a universal +language. Great industry--just in its infancy--before long films will +pass from one country to another--internationalism. Why not? Love, hate, +grief, ambition, laughter--they belong to one race as much as +another--all peoples understand them. It's hard to hate people after you +know them. Pictures will let us know each other. They'll break down the +hard national lines that now make for war and suspicion." + +Other things followed, for we discussed everything from cabbages to +kings, and then I plumped the question at him that I had been waiting to +ask from the first. + +"How do you like the movies as compared to the speaking drama? Come now, +cross your heart and hope to die. When the night comes down and the +lights go up, isn't there a blue minute now and then?" + +"Surest thing you know," he grinned. "It isn't because there's such a +radical difference between the 'talkies' and the movies, however." [He +refers to musical comedy as the "screamies."] "The play in the theatre +is largely a matter of pantomime, you know. Dialogue is employed to +advance the actual plot only when it is impossible or impracticable to +do it with dumb show. And when I think of some of the lines I've been +called upon to spout, I can't say that I regret the movies' lack of +dialogue. + +"What does hurt, though," he admitted, "is the absence of response. I +don't mean applause, but the something that comes up over the footlights +to you from the audience, the big something that tells you instantly +whether you have hit it or missed, whether you are ringing true or +false. You don't get that in the pictures. Your audience is the +director, and you know that it will be weeks or months before your work +is going to get its test. + +"But in everything else, the movie has the talkie skinned a mile. +Instead of mouthing somebody else's words, you are doing the thing +yourself. There's action, and life--one day you are in the forest, the +next in the desert, the next on the sea." + +"Nonsense!" I exclaimed. "I understand that it's all done in a studio." + +"I had the idea myself," he laughed. "But no more. When I was in the +'talkies,' I used to hear a lot about realism. Father must wash in a +real basin with real water and real soap. There had to be two hens at +least in every barnyard scene, and when Lottie came home from the cruel +city, she had to have a real baby in her arms. Lordy, I never knew what +realism was until I struck the movies. They've gone crazy over it. + +"'The Half-Breed,' you know, was adapted from one of Bret Harte's +stories, and nothing would do the director but a trip up to the +Carquinez woods in northern California. A forest fire figured in one of +the scenes, but I never thought much about it until I saw them bringing +up some chemical engines, hose reels, and five or six fire-brigades. + +"'What's the idea?' I asked. + +"'To keep the flames from spreading,' they told me. + +"And let me tell you, it was _some_ fire. After I got out of it I felt +like a shave from a Mexican barber." + +"What effect is the movie going to have on the speaking drama?" was my +next question. + +"Look at the effect it's had already," he said. "Shaw is the only +playwright clever enough to write dialogue that will hold any number of +people in the theatre. The motion picture has made the public demand +_action_. It has changed the plot and progress of the drama completely." + +"Do you think that a good thing? Doesn't it mean the substitution of +feeling for thinking?" + +"Well," he answered slowly, "the world goes forward through the heart +rather than through the head. Happiness, to my mind, is emotional, not +mental. And the movie _has_ brought happiness to millions whose lives +were formerly drab and sordid. I love to go into these little halls in +out-of-the-way places, and see the men, women, and children packed there +of an evening. Theatrical companies never reached the villages, and the +men had no place but the saloon, the women no place but the kitchen or +the front porch. The camera has brought the world to their doors, and +life is richer, happier, and better for it." + +Take him as he stands, and Douglas Fairbanks comes close to being the +"real thing." Men like him as well as women, and, best proof of all, the +"kids" adore him. On a recent visit to Denver, his old home town, +youngsters followed him in droves, clamoring for a chance to "feel his +muscle." The mayor, no less, had him address a public meeting, the +feature of which, by the way, was this piped inquiry from the gallery: + +"Say, Doug, can youse whip William Farnum?" + +And let no one quarrel with this popularity. It is a good sign, a +healthful sign, a token that the blood of America still runs warm and +red, and that chalk has not yet softened our bones. + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Laugh and Live, by Douglas Fairbanks + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAUGH AND LIVE *** + +***** This file should be named 12887-8.txt or 12887-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/8/8/12887/ + +Produced by Steven desJardins and Distributed Proofreaders. + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Laugh and Live + +Author: Douglas Fairbanks + +Release Date: July 12, 2004 [EBook #12887] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAUGH AND LIVE *** + + + + +Produced by Steven desJardins and Distributed Proofreaders. + + + + + +</pre> + +<br /> + +<a name='image_1'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-1.jpg' height='80%' alt='A Close-Up (Lumiere)' title=''> +</center> + + +<h1>Laugh and Live</h1> + +<h2>By DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS</h2> +<br /> + +<h4>ILLUSTRATED</h4> + +<h4>NEW YORK<br /> +BRITTON PUBLISHING COMPANY</h4> + +<h4>1917</h4> + +<br /> + +<a name='TO_MY_MOTHER'></a><h3>TO MY MOTHER</h3> + +<br /> + +<a name='CONTENTS'></a><h3>CONTENTS</h3> + +<br /> + +<h4><a href='#CHAPTER_I'><b>CHAPTER I—"Whistle and Hoe—Sing As We Go"</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_II'><b>CHAPTER II—Taking Stock of Ourselves</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_III'><b>CHAPTER III—Advantages of an Early Start</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_IV'><b>CHAPTER IV—Profiting by Experience</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_V'><b>CHAPTER V—Energy, Success and Laughter</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_VI'><b>CHAPTER VI—Building Up a Personality</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_VII'><b>CHAPTER VII—Honesty, the Character Builder</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_VIII'><b>CHAPTER VIII—Cleanliness of Body and Mind</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_IX'><b>CHAPTER IX—Consideration for Others</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_X'><b>CHAPTER X—Keeping Ourselves Democratic</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XI'><b>CHAPTER XI—Self-Education by Good Reading</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XII'><b>CHAPTER XII—Physical and Mental Preparedness</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XIII'><b>CHAPTER XIII—Self-indulgence and Failure</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XIV'><b>CHAPTER XIV—Living Beyond Our Means</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XV'><b>CHAPTER XV—Initiative and Self-Reliance</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XVI'><b>CHAPTER XVI—Failure to Seize Opportunities</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XVII'><b>CHAPTER XVII—Assuming Responsibilities</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XVIII'><b>CHAPTER XVIII—Wedlock in Time</b></a><br /> +<a href='#CHAPTER_XIX'><b>CHAPTER XIX—Laugh and Live</b></a><br /> +<a href='#A_quotCLOSE_UPquot_OF_DOUGLAS_FAIRBANKS'><b>CHAPTER XX—A "CLOSE-UP" OF DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS</b></a></h4> + +<br /> + +<a name='LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS'></a><h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + +<br /> + +<h4><a href='#image_1'>Laugh and Live</a><br /> +<a href='#image_2'>Do You Ever Laugh?</a><br /> +<a href='#image_3'>Over the Hedge and on His Way</a><br /> +<a href='#image_4'>Preparing to Pair With the Prickly Pear</a><br /> +<a href='#image_5'>A Little Spin Among the Saplings</a><br /> +<a href='#image_6'>Over the Hills and Far Away—Father and Son</a><br /> +<a href='#image_7'>A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers"</a><br /> +<a href='#image_8'>A Scene from "The Americano"—Matching Wits for Gold</a><br /> +<a href='#image_9'>Taking on Local Color</a><br /> +<a href='#image_10'>A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers"</a><br /> +<a href='#image_11'>Douglas Fairbanks in "The Good Bad-Man"</a><br /> +<a href='#image_12'>Squaring Things With Sister—From "The Habit of Happiness"</a><br /> +<a href='#image_13'>A Scene from "In Again—Out Again"</a><br /> +<a href='#image_14'>Bungalowing in California</a><br /> +<a href='#image_15'>Demonstrating the Monk and the Hand-Organ to a Body of Psychologists</a><br /> +<a href='#image_16'>"Wedlock in Time"—The Fairbanks' Family</a><br /> +<a href='#image_17'>Here's Hoping</a><br /> +<a href='#image_18'>A Close-Up</a></h4> + +<br /> + +<a name='LIVE_AND_LAUGH'></a><h2>LIVE AND LAUGH</h2> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_I'></a><h3>CHAPTER I</h3> + +<h4>"WHISTLE AND HOE—SING AS WE GO"</h4> +<br /> + +<p>There is one thing in this good old world that is positively +sure—happiness is for <i>all</i> who <i>strive</i> to <i>be</i> happy—and those who +laugh <i>are</i> happy.</p> + +<p>Everybody is eligible—you—me—the other fellow.</p> + +<p>Happiness is fundamentally a state of mind—not a state of body.</p> + +<p>And mind controls.</p> + +<p>Indeed it is possible to stand with one foot on the inevitable "banana +peel" of life with both eyes peering into the Great Beyond, and still be +happy, comfortable, and serene—if we will even so much as smile.</p> + +<p>It's all a state of mind, I tell you—and I'm sure of what I say. That's +why I have taken up my fountain pen. I want to talk to my friends—you +hosts of people who have written to me for my recipe. In moving pictures +all I can do is act my part and grin for you. What I say is a matter of +your own inference, but with my pen I have a means of getting around the +"silent drama" which prevents us from organizing a "close-up" with one +another.</p> + +<p>In starting I'm going to ask you "foolish question number 1."—</p> + +<p>Do you ever laugh?</p> + +<p>I mean do you ever laugh right out—spontaneously—just as if the police +weren't listening with drawn clubs and a finger on the button connecting +with the "hurry-up" wagon? Well, if you don't, you should. <i>Start off +the morning with a laugh and you needn't worry about the rest of the +day.</i></p> + +<p>I like to laugh. It is a tonic. It braces me up—makes me feel +fine!—and keeps me in prime mental condition. Laughter is a +physiological necessity. The nerve system requires it. The deep, +forceful chest movement in itself sets the blood to racing thereby +livening up the circulation—which is good for us. Perhaps you hadn't +thought of that? Perhaps you didn't realize that laughing automatically +re-oxygenates the blood—<i>your</i> blood—and keeps it red? It does all of +that, and besides, it relieves the tension from your brain.</p> + +<p><i>Laughter is more or less a habit.</i> To some it comes only with practice. +But what's to hinder practising? Laugh and live long—if you had a +thought of dying—laugh and grow well—if you're sick and +despondent—laugh and grow fat—if your tendency is towards the lean and +cadaverous—laugh and succeed—if you're glum and "unlucky"—laugh and +nothing can faze you—not even the Grim Reaper—for the man who has +laughed his way through life has nothing to fear of the future. His +conscience is clear.</p> + +<p>Wherein lies this magic of laughter? For magic it is—a something that +manufactures a state of felicity out of any condition. We've got to +admit its charm; automatically and inevitably a laugh cheers us up. If +we are bored—nothing to do—just laugh—that's something to do, for +laughter is synonymous with action, and action dispels gloom, care, +trouble, worry and all else of the same ilk.</p> + +<p>Real laughter is spontaneous. Like water from the spring it bubbles +forth a creation of mingled action and spontaneity—two magic potions in +themselves—the very essence of laughter—the unrestrained emotion +within us!</p> + +<p>So, for me, it is to laugh! Why not stick along? The experiment won't +hurt you. All we need is will power, and that is a personal matter for +each individual to seek and acquire for himself. Many of us already +possess it, but many of us do not.</p> + +<p>Take the average man on the street for example. Watch him go plodding +along—no spring, no elasticity, no vim. He is in <i>check-rein</i>—how can +he laugh when his <i>pep</i> is all gone and the <i>sand in his craw</i> isn't +there any more? What he needs is <i>spirit!</i> Energy—the power to force +himself into action! For him there is no hope unless he will take up +physical training in some form that will put him in normal physical +condition—after that everything simplifies itself. The brain responds +to the new blood in circulation and thus the mental processes are ready +to make a fight against the inertia of stagnation which has held them in +bondage.</p> + +<a name='image_2'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-2.jpg' width='378' height='600' alt='Do You Ever Laugh? (White Studio)' title=''> +</center> + +<p>And, mind you, physical training doesn't necessarily mean going to an +expert for advice. One doesn't have to make a mountain out of a +molehill. Get out in the fresh air and walk briskly—and don't forget to +wear a smile while you're at it. Don't over-do. Take it easy at first +and build on your effort day by day. A little this morning—a little +more tonight. The first chance you have, when you're sure of your wind +and heart, get out upon the country road, or cross-country hill and +dale. Then run, run, run, until you drop exhausted upon some grassy +bank. Then laugh, loud and long, for you're on the road to happiness.</p> + +<p>Try it now—don't wait. <i>Today is the day to begin.</i> Or, if it is night +when you run across these lines, drop this book and trot yourself +around the block a few times. Then come back and you'll enjoy it more +than you would otherwise. Activity makes for happiness as nothing else +will and once you stir your blood into little bubbles of energy you will +begin to think of other means of keeping your bodily house in order. +Unless you make a first effort the chances are you will do very little +real thinking of any kind—<i>we need pep to think</i>.</p> + +<p>Think what an opportunity we miss when stripped at night if we fail to +give our bodies a round of exercise. It is so simple, so easy, and has +so much to do with our sleep each night and our work next day that to +neglect to do so is a crime against nature. And laugh! Man alive, if you +are not in the habit of laughing, <i>get the habit</i>. Never miss a chance +to laugh aloud. Smiling is better than nothing, and a chuckle is better +still—but <i>out and out laughter</i> is the real thing. Try it now if you +dare! And when you've done it, analyze your feelings.</p> + +<p>I make this prediction—if you once start the habit of exercise, and +couple with it the habit of laughter, even if only for one short +week—you'll keep it up ever afterwards.</p> + +<p>And, by the way, Friend Reader,—don't be alarmed. The personal pronouns +"<i>I</i>" and "<i>you</i>" give place in succeeding chapters to the more +congenial editorial "<i>we</i>." I couldn't resist the temptation to enjoy +one brief spell of intimacy just for the sake of good acquaintance. +<i>Have a laugh on me.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_II'></a><h3>CHAPTER II</h3> + +<h4>TAKING STOCK OF OURSELVES</h4> +<br /> + +<p>Experience is the real teacher, but the matter of how we are going to +succeed in life should not be left to ordinary chance while we are +waiting for things to happen. Our first duty is to prepare ourselves +against untoward experiences, and that is best done by taking stock of +our mental and physical assets at the very outset of our journey. What +weaknesses we possess are excess baggage to be thrown away and that is +our reason for taking stock so early. It is likely to save us from +riding to a fall.</p> + +<p>There is one thing we don't want along—<i>fear</i>. We will never get +anywhere with that, nor with any of its uncles, aunts or cousins—<i>Envy, +Malice and Greed</i>. In justice to our own best interests we should search +every crook and cranny of our hearts and minds lest we venture forth +with any such impedimenta. There is no excuse, and we have no one to +blame if we allow any of them to journey along with us. We know whether +they are there or not just as we would know <i>Courage, Trust and Honor</i> +were they perched behind us on the saddle.</p> + +<p>It is idle to squeal if through association with the former we find +ourselves ditched before we are well under way—for it is coming to us, +sooner or later. We might go <i>far</i>, as some have done, through the lanes +and alleys of ill-gotten gains and luxurious self-indulgence, but we +would pay in the end. So, why not charge them up to "profit and loss" at +the start and kick them off into the gutter where they belong? They are +not for us on our eventful journey through life, and the time to get rid +of them once and for all is when we are young, and mentally and +physically vigorous. Later on when the fires burn low and we still have +them with us they will be hard to push aside.</p> + +<p>"To thine own self be true," says the great Shakespeare and how can we +be true to our own selves if we train with inferiors? We are known by +our companionships. We will be rated according to association—good or +bad. The two will not mix for long and we will be one sort of a fellow +or the other. We can't be both.</p> + +<p>There was a time, long years ago, in the days of our grandfathers, when +men went to the "bow-wows" and, later on, "came back" as it were, by +making a partial success in life—measured largely by the money they +succeeded in accumulating. That was before the "check-up" system was +invented. Today things are different. Questions are asked—"Where were +you last?"—"Why did you leave there?"—"Have you credentials?"—and +when we shake our weary head and walk away, we fondly wish we had "taken +stock" back there when the "taking" was good.</p> + +<div class='blkquot'><p>"To thine own self be true; and it must follow as the night the + day, thou canst not then be false to any man."</p></div> + +<p>When we can analyze ourselves and find that we are living up to the +quoted lines above we may safely lift the limit from our aspirations. +Right here it is well to say that success is not to be computed in +dollars and cents, nor that the will to achieve a successful life is to +be predicated upon the mere accumulation of wealth. First of all, good +health and good minds—then we may laugh loud and long—we're safe on +"first."</p> + +<p>So, with these two weapons we may dig down into our aspirations, and, +keeping in view that our policy is that of honesty to ourselves and +toward our fellow man, all we need to do is to go about the program of +life cheerfully and stout of heart—<i>for now we are in a state of +preparedness</i>.</p> + +<p>We are at the point where vision starts. Along with this vision must +come the courage of convictions in order that we may feel that our ideas +are important, and because we have such thoughts, <i>we shall surely +succeed</i>. It has often been noticed that when we have had a large +conception and have with force, character, and strength of will carried +it into effect, immediately thereafter a host of people have been able +to say: "I thought of that myself!" Most of us have had the same +experience after reading of a great discovery that we had thrown +overboard because it must not have been "worth while" or someone else +would already have thought of it.</p> + +<p>The man who puts life into an idea is acclaimed a genius, because he +does <i>the right thing at the right time</i>. Therein lies the difference +between the <i>genius</i> and a <i>commonplace</i> man.</p> + +<p>We all have ambitions, but only the few achieve. A man thinks of a good +thing and says: "Now if I only had the money I'd put that through." The +word "if" was a dent in his courage. With character fully established, +his plan well thought out, he had only to go to those in command of +capital and it would have been forthcoming. He had something that +capital would cheerfully get behind if he had the courage to back up his +claims. To fail was nothing less than moral cowardice. <i>The will to do</i> +had not been efficient. There was a flaw in the character, after all.</p> + +<p>Going back, therefore, to the prescription, we find that a <i>sound +body</i>, a <i>good mind</i>, an <i>honest purpose</i>, and a <i>lack of fear</i> are the +essential elements of success. So, when we have conceived something for +the good of the world and have allowed it to go by default we have +dropped the monkey-wrench into the machinery of our preparedness. We +must look about us for a reason. Have we fallen by the wayside of +carelessness? Have we allowed ourselves to be discouraged by cowardly +"ifs"? <i>Did we lack the sand?</i> Exactly so; we didn't have the courage of +our convictions.</p> + +<p>Life is the one great experience, and those who fail to win, if sound of +body, can safely lay the blame to their lack of mental equipment. What +does it matter if disappointments follow one after the other if we can +<i>laugh and try again?</i> Failures must come to all of us in some degree, +but we may rise from our failures and win back our losses if we are only +shrewd enough to realize that good health, sound mind, and a cheerful +spirit are necessary adjuncts. As Tennyson says:</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"I held it truth, with him who sings<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>To one clear harp in divers tones,<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>That men may rise on stepping-stones<br /></span> +<span>Of their dead selves to higher things."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>All truly great men have been healthy—otherwise they would have fallen +short of the mark. Prisons are filled with nervous, diseased creatures. +There is no doubt but that most of these who, through ignorance, sifted +through to the bottomless pits could have saved themselves had they +realized the truth and "taken stock" of themselves, <i>in time</i>—of +course, allowing for those, who are victims of circumstantial evidence.</p> + +<p>The prime necessity of life is health. With this, for mankind, nothing +is impossible. But if we do not make use of this good health it will +waste itself away and never come back. It often disappears entirely for +lack of interest on the part of its thoughtless owner. A little energy +would have saved the day. <i>A little "pep"—and we laugh and live.</i> +Laughter clings to good health as naturally as the needle clings to the +magnet. It is the outward expression of an unburdened soul. It bubbles +forth as a fountain, always refreshing, always wholesome and sweet.</p> + +<a name='image_3'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-3.jpg' width='600' height='417' alt='Over the Hedge and on His Way' title=''> +</center> + +<p>In taking stock of ourselves we should not forget that fear plays a +large part in the drama of failure. That is the first thing to be +dropped. Fear is a mental deficiency susceptible of correction, if taken +in hand before it gains an ascendency over us. Fear comes with the +thought of failure. Everything we think about should have the +possibility of success in it if we are going to build up courage. We +should get into the habit of reading <i>inspirational books</i>, looking at +<i>inspirational pictures</i>, hearing <i>inspirational music</i>, associating +with <i>inspirational friends</i> and above all, we should cultivate the +habit of mind of thinking clean, and of doing, wholesome things.</p> + +<p>"Guard thyself!" That is the slogan. Let us "take stock" often and see +where we stand. We will not be afraid of the weak points. We will <i>get +after them</i> and get hold of ourselves at the same time. Some book might +give us help—a fine play, or some form of athletics will start us to +thinking. Self-analysis teaches us to see ourselves in a true light +without embellishments or undue optimism. We can gauge our chances in no +better way. If we grope in the darkness we haven't much of a chance. +"Taking stock" throws a searchlight on the dark spots and points the way +out of the danger zone.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_III'></a><h3>CHAPTER III</h3> + +<h4>ADVANTAGES OF AN EARLY START</h4> +<br /> + +<p>It is the young man who has the best chance of winning. Then why +shouldn't youthfulness be made a permanent asset? We have recovered from +the idea of putting a man into a sanatorium just because a few grey +hairs show themselves in his head. We should not ask him how old he is +... we should ask: "<i>What can he do?</i>" The young man may have the +advantage of years but the older one has the advantage of experience and +knowledge. Now if this older man could carry along with him that spirit +of youth which actuated his earlier activities he would be prepared +against incapacity. Our fate hangs on how we conduct ourselves in youth. +The world has great need of the sober, thoughtful men <i>above the fifty +line</i>. By right of experience and knowledge they should become our +leaders in the shaping of our policies. It is all a matter of how a man +comes through, mentally, physically and spiritually. Age should not +count against him.</p> + +<p>The first thought is to keep healthy. In fact, we cannot harp on this +too much. The second requirement is confidence in ourselves, without +which our career is short lived.</p> + +<p>Already we perceive that one must keep track of his <i>inner self</i>. This +breeds confidence. The very fact that one stops to probe into that +hidden land of thought shows that he is keeping tab on himself with a +sharp eye. That's the stuff! <i>We mustn't fool ourselves.</i> The majority +of failures come as a result of not being able to trust one's self. The +moment we doubt, or acknowledge that we cannot conquer a weakness, then +we begin to go down hill. It is a subtle process. We hardly realize it +at the time but as the days go by, the years roll on, the final day of +reckoning draws near and relentlessly we are swept along as driftwood +toward the lonely beaches of obscurity. And all because <i>we lacked +self-confidence!</i> We did not realize it until it was too late. We were +too busy with self-indulgence to struggle for success.</p> + +<p>Most of our troubles in later life started with <i>failure to take hold of +ourselves</i> when we were young. It may be that we put off making our +choice of something to do. If we had been companionable to ourselves we +might have thought out the proper course while taking long walks in +pursuit of physical development. That would have been a <i>fine</i> time in +which to fight out the whole problem—the time when optimism and <i>the +will to do</i> are as natural as the laughter of a child, or the song of a +bird. That was the time when the world appeared roseate and beautiful, +when success lay just beyond the turn of the road, when failure seemed +something illusory and improbable. Then was the time to jump in with +both feet and <i>a big hearty laugh</i> to solve the problem of what to do +and how to go about it. It is surprising how readily the world follows +the individual with confidence. It is willing to believe in him, to +furnish funds, to assist in any way within its power. And that is where +the man <i>with a smile</i> is sure to win—for the man who smiles has +confidence in himself.</p> + +<p>So long as we carry along with us our atmosphere of hearty good will and +enthusiasm we know no defeat. The man who is gloomy, taciturn and lives +in a world of doubt seldom achieves more than a bare living. There have +been a few who have groaned their way through to a competence but in +proportion to that overwhelming number of souls who carry cheer through +life they are as nothing—mere drops in the bucket. If the truth were +told their success came probably through mere chance and nothing else. +Such people are not the ones for us to endeavor to follow. <i>We cannot +afford to allow our visions to sour.</i></p> + +<p>Beginning early takes away timidity and builds for success while we are +young enough to enjoy the benefits. Although it is never too late to +start a cheerful life we don't have to kill ourselves in the attempt. +There is no necessity for throwing all caution to the winds, but we +should press our advantages. With <i>self-analysis</i> comes a certain +poise, a certain dignity and kindliness that tempers every move with +precision.</p> + +<p>Once we get the proper start we have only to take stock now and then in +order to keep our machinery in a fine state of repair. If we have chosen +wisely we love our work and stick to it closely—not forgetting the home +duties and our share in its success. Right here we run up against the +danger signal if our business success wins us away from the hearthstone. +<i>Love of home</i> is a quality of the workers of the earth. "What doth it +profit a man to win the whole world if he <i>loseth</i> his own soul?"</p> + +<p>To sum up the case—once we have made up our minds to win and how we are +going to do it, the next step is to act. <i>Health is synonymous with +action.</i> The healthy man does things, the unhealthy man hesitates. And +when we get ready to act we will act with the air of a conqueror. We +must supply from our own store our atmosphere of confidence in order to +win confidence. The successful man is the one who <i>knows he is right</i> +and makes us realize it.</p> + +<p>It is always worth while to study the successes among our +acquaintances. Are they gloomy, morose and irritable? If they were to +that extent they would not be successful. On the contrary, they are +robust, confident individuals who have taken advantage of every rightful +opportunity and possessed <i>the power to smile</i> when all about them were +in the dumps. When everyone else thought that there wasn't a chance to +win these fellows stepped in and took charge.</p> + +<p>When we interview the failures we find that all of them give one excuse: +"<i>I didn't have the confidence.</i>" They may not say it in exactly these +words but the meaning is plain. They ran through the whole gamut of +<i>self-distrust</i> which is the natural result of not having started early +in the study of self—the serious realization of their own capabilities.</p> + +<a name='image_4'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-4.jpg' width='411' height='600' alt='Preparing to Pair With the Prickly Pear' title=''> +</center> + +<p>This makes it easy to understand their plight. If we know ourselves we +are strengthened that much, because we can bolster up our weaknesses. We +will know enough to combat timidity. We can then know what we are +capable of, and thus become conscious of our innate powers that only +need to be called into action in order to become useful. We cannot +imagine for an instant a great violinist going out on the concert +platform in ignorance of the condition of his instrument. And yet +failures go out on the stage of life knowing nothing of their strengths +and weaknesses—<i>and still expect to win!</i></p> + +<p>If we are to become successes we must <i>keep success in mind</i>—banish all +thought of losing. Success is just as natural as anything else. It is +only a matter of the mind anyhow. We are all successes <i>as long as we +continue to think so</i>. Self-depreciation is a disease. Once it gets a +hold on us—good-bye!</p> + +<p>And that is why it is wise to begin early—to take hold of affairs while +we are young. Superiority over our fellow man comes from a superiority +of mind and body. A healthy mind breeds a healthy body. The most +superficial study will convince us of this fact.</p> + +<p>Appearance counts for much in this world. We judge largely by +appearances. We haven't time to know everyone we meet intimately and as +a result must base our opinions upon <i>first impressions</i>. The fellow who +comes in an office with his head hanging down between his shoulders and +a frown upon his face doesn't get far with us. We find ourselves looking +over his sagging shoulders toward the individual behind him who comes in +with a swinging step and the confidence born of health and good spirits.</p> + +<p>Self-confidence in youth makes for self-confidence in after years. This +is far from meaning that one can be brazen and inclined towards +freshness and get away with it. It merely means the marshalling of one's +forces, <i>the command of one's self</i> and the ability to make others +recognize that we are on the map because we belong there. And one of the +quickest ways to accomplish this is to have a smile tucked away for +instant use. Again, this does not mean that we are to carry round a +ready-to-wear grin which we wear only as we are ushered into the +presence of another. <i>A real smile, or a hearty laugh, is not to be +counterfeited.</i> We easily know the genuine from the spurious. A real +laugh springs naturally out of a pure, unadulterated confidence and a +good physical condition. What triumphs, what splendid battles, have been +won through the ability to laugh at the right moment.</p> + +<p>Whenever we find that we are losing our ability to smile let's have no +false notions. We are neglecting our physical well being. Let us then +and there drop the sombre thoughts and get out into the open air. Run +down the street and if possible out into the country. If we see a tree +and have the inclination to climb it—well, then, climb it. If we are +sensitive about what our neighbors might say—too bad! But we can romp +with easy grace. If we but knew how gladly our neighbors would emulate +our gymnastics if they knew the value of them the laugh would be on us +for dreading their opinion. One thing we do know—<i>they will envy us our +good health and spirits</i>.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_IV'></a><h3>CHAPTER IV</h3> + +<h4>PROFITING BY EXPERIENCE</h4> +<br /> + +<p><i>Experience comes by contact.</i> There is no way we can have experiences +without passing directly through them. If we are up and doing they come +thick and fast into our lives, some of them weighted down by the +peculiar twists and turns of circumstances, others simple, easily +understood, and still others complicated to the point of not being +understood at all.</p> + +<p>People are divided into two classes—<i>those who profit by experience and +those who do not</i>. The unfortunate part of it all is that the latter +class is by far the larger of the two.</p> + +<p>The man of vigorous purpose, fine constitution, and the full knowledge +of self, sees through an experience as clearly as through a window. The +glass may be foggy, but he knows what lies beyond. Self-reliant and +strong he seeks knowledge through experience, while the weak man, the +unhealthy-minded, the inefficient, stands aside and gives him the right +of way. In later years, however, they bitterly complain that they were +not given the same chance to succeed.</p> + +<p>The man of experience having long since passed through the stages of +indecision has, through careful self-analysis learned to bridge +difficulties that would make others tremble with fear. He knows that +every lane has a turning. He may not see it at the moment. He may not +know where it is. <i>But that doesn't worry him.</i> He picks up his bundle +and trudges ahead, confident that victory awaits him somewhere along the +line.</p> + +<p>The fact that he believes in himself, sets him apart from ordinary +mankind. Many great men have been at loss to understand why they +attained success. It is well nigh impossible for them to outline the +causes that led them to the top rungs of the ladder. The reason is that +<i>their lack of fear</i> of experiences was an unconscious one, rather than +a conscious one. However, they are willing to admit that acting on the +principle of profiting by experience <i>loaned them initiative</i> with which +to proceed. They soon came to know opportunity at sight and had only to +look around to find it.</p> + +<p>The young man standing on the threshold of life is, from lack of +experience, puzzled over the future. He looks above him and sees the +towering successes. He reads in the papers of the massive characters who +have risen from the bottom to the top. Naturally he would like to meet +one of these giants of success and hear what he has to say. The +interview is quite needless. "<i>Get busy and profit by experience</i>," is +about all the advice one man can give to another. There is no way to +profit by experience until we have had experience so there is nothing to +do but get busy and experience will come as fast as we can absorb it. +Our duty is to strive for success and not expect to attain it except by +successive steps. A wholesale consignment would be our undoing. Quick +successes through luck or good fortune have not the lasting value of +those won by virtue of knowing how—of accomplishing what we started +out to do.</p> + +<p>Faith in one's self does not come from the outside—it must spring up +naturally <i>from within</i>. A healthy body and a sane mind are the best +foundations for this. The young man who begins his career with these +facts in mind is given a running start over his competitors. Poverty and +failure are the result of <i>an ignorance of the value of experience</i>. +Worry, anxiety, fear of not doing the right thing, lack of insight into +character ... these, too, are the result of a lack of experience.</p> + +<p>Good health is necessary to experience, but a majority neglect to take +care of it. If we are to profit by what we learn we <i>must have the vim</i> +with which to push forward. We must have every ounce of vitality we +possess at command—ready for use. This we conserve for the <i>big +emergency</i> which we know is coming. New experiences are pushing us +forward and previous experiences are helping to move the load. +Experience tells us what to do at this point and that—and at last puts +its shoulder to the wheel and "<i>over she goes!</i>"</p> + +<p>Every mind is in possession of an enormous amount of dormant power and +only experience can release it into proper action. We often hear a fond +mother say that her son is full to bursting with the <i>old nick</i>, which +means that the youngster is overflowing with <i>pent-up energy</i>. With +experience he could find good use for it—but without it this surplus +may turn out to be a dangerous possession. Young men of this type should +be guarded most carefully and advised to "get busy" <i>early in life</i> at +something worth while. Many a bright fellow brimming with excess power +has gone as a lamb to the slaughter into the maelstrom of vice because +of being held back from <i>legitimate occupation</i>. He just had to blow off +steam so he did it in a gin mill rather than a rolling mill.</p> + +<p>This dynamo called the mind can be trained to do anything. Not only can +it be guided at the start but it can be guided by all that follows. It +can be used for building additional dynamos to be called into action in +times of need. This statement may seem at first far-fetched. If we think +so it is proof that we have not <i>profited by our experiences</i> and should +get down to "stock taking" before it is too late.</p> + +<p>The practical man, after all, is only <i>one who takes advantage of +opportunities</i>. He could double and triple his power if he only realized +how superficial the average setback really is. The young man has just as +much chance of being considered practical as the so-called older one, +always provided that he has a store of experiences to profit by. The +first <i>big experience</i> of life usually makes or breaks us. For this +experience we need to be prepared. We must have a <i>strong heart</i> that we +may bear defeat nobly from this is not to be our last kick—our last +breath—<i>not by a jugful!</i></p> + +<p>We are going to start all over again after our setback and we are not +going to wait any longer than it takes to bury the dead. This will be +done decently and in good order—our training will admit of no +indecorum. If the smash was a bad one we will assume the liability, +nevertheless, and get back on the job. We are out to win and +<i>eventually we will win</i>.</p> + +<p>And that is what we mean by taking profit from experience. <i>The powers +that break down are also the powers that build up.</i> The electrician who +handles the motor could just as well end his own existence by that +mysterious current as he could make use of it for the good of humanity. +He spends years of conscientious study and masters the knowledge of it +so that its uses are as simple as his A B C's. There is no doubt in the +world but that he had to learn by experience. He had to go into the shop +and <i>climb up from the bottom</i>. There was no other way by which he could +come to know how to turn a deadly force into a well-trained necessity.</p> + +<p>Yet the average man goes into life with as little knowledge of its +forces as the baby who puts its foot upon the third rail. That fact +keeps the thoughtless man down until experience comes to the rescue. +When it does come, <i>if he has the sand, the common sense, the will to +do</i>, there is naught to hold him away from his goal.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_V'></a><h3>CHAPTER V</h3> + +<h4>ENERGY, SUCCESS AND LAUGHTER</h4> +<br /> + +<p>There are many essentials to success, but there is one that is of such +importance that without it all the others become as naught. The man who +wins success is invariably impelled to do the great work allotted him by +<i>something within</i> that tells him <i>he can</i>. He may not know exactly what +it is, but he knows he possesses it and is able to <i>act on that faith</i>, +accomplishing things which seem utterly impossible to other people. This +<i>inner determination</i>, once firmly implanted in one's nature, cannot be +destroyed or conquered. And this element is <i>energy</i>—energy of mind, +which rules the body. But where does this come from? How do the great +minds generate this glorious means of self-propulsion? The answer is +that <i>in a healthy body it is inherent</i> from birth, and proper care of +the body therefore accentuates within their minds the will to do.</p> + +<p>If the preceding chapters have been carefully read we may readily +believe that the successful youth must start with a wholesome, generous +viewpoint, a good constitution, and a clean mind. We have had an inkling +by this time of what one must do to achieve success in a world where +competition is keen. We are beginning to realize that these matters are +of vital importance and that we are face to face with a problem.</p> + +<p>Energy is the natural outpouring of a healthy body. It must be directed, +it must be controlled, the same as any other living force. Not only is +it a positive necessity to the winner, but it must grow and become <i>a +natural quality</i>. It does not stand after years of abuse. It does not +spring up in the night after a long season of neglect and ill-health. +All of us possess it in varying ways. That fact ought to convince us +that we can get hold of ourselves and build up that which nature has +given us, rather than allow it to die away. We all have a certain amount +of energy ... <i>why shouldn't we all be successes?</i> We might to a +certain extent, but that doesn't mean that we shall all get rich in the +money sense of the world.</p> + +<p>When we say: "Why shouldn't we all be successes?" we do not mean that +everybody in the world must be greedy for money, nor for power and +position. It does not mean that we should be selfish and eager to take +everything away from the other fellow. On the contrary, it means that, +with energy, we shall be successful <i>according to our brain tendency</i>.</p> + +<p>Going back to our second chapter we find the phrase "taking stock" of +ourselves. Done rightly that alone will inspire success. Now if we are a +little farther along on the way towards sane living and the <i>ability to +laugh</i> and we know that after this struggle is over the battle is won we +must use the powers that self-analysis gives us—<i>to fight</i>. The mere +recognition of them is power and we must not let them go to waste.</p> + +<p>Energy is like steam—it cannot be generated under the boiling point. In +other words, <i>half-heartedness</i> never produced it nor made it a +practical working tool. We must be energetic in order to augment +energy. We must have confidence along with it ... the more the merrier. +The greater the confidence in ourselves the greater the energy which +brought it about. Some minds naturally feel confident. These are the +lucky ones, the slender few who have grasped life's meaning at the start +by "<i>taking stock</i>" before they were threatened with defeat. Success +comes to them as easily as rolling off the proverbial log. They come +sweeping along, conquering, sure of themselves, confident, aspiring, +true to their inner selves, ready for work, unafraid of experiences, and +<i>sure of a smile when the clouds are darkest</i>.</p> + +<p>This does not mean that these successes have exceptional ability. If +that were the case we would not waste time either in reading or writing +about the matter. If we didn't feel that we were potentially able to +become successes and possessed the elements of victory in our present +make-up not another moment would be spent on the subject. The very +simplicity of this use of energy proves to us that it is a quality +bubbling forth <i>in the least of us</i> and the strongest. It only needs to +be put to work and it becomes self-strengthening. <i>Living in the open +air, sleeping out of doors, taking the proper exercise, looking +wholesomely upon life, believing in ourselves</i>, are all parts of the +sane existence which leads to success and laughter.</p> + +<p>We ought to feel that everything in life possesses elements akin to +human feeling. We should not arrogate to ourselves the sole right to +rule and reason. And what has this to do with energy? It is only one of +the many vistas that open to us when we learn how to laugh and live. And +man alive! <i>If we never learn to laugh we will never learn to live.</i></p> + +<p>We must not forget that there can be more than one use made of energy. +In the same way that electricity might be misused so might energy be +placed in the wrong service. We must not waste any time, therefore, in +getting this energy of ours worked into <i>enthusiasm</i> ... enthusiasm for +our life work, for our fellow man, <i>for the zest of life</i>. We must +throw ourselves into the battle and carry the standard. We must leap to +the front, not waiting for the other fellow to show the way. Spend your +enthusiasm freely and be surprised at how it thrives on usage.</p> + +<p>Enthusiasm being produced by energy must of a necessity depend largely +upon that. Now the point is, how shall we guard and keep fresh this +element in ourselves? We know that the body is producing this quality. +Like the steam engine we are keeping the fires going by exercise, +wholesome thinking and sincerity of purpose. We are the engineers. Our +hand is on the throttle. Sharp turns lie ahead but our eyes look forward +fearlessly. We glance about us to see that we are in the pink of +condition. We know that our mind is functioning properly and that the +awakened confidence is already inherent in our natures and stands beside +us night and day like the officer upon the bridge of the ship. <i>Indeed +we are on our way!</i></p> + +<a name='image_5'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-5.jpg' width='390' height='600' alt='A Little Spin Among the Saplings' title=''> +</center> + +<p>Out of energy and enthusiasm comes something else that must not be +neglected ... in fact it must be cultivated and guarded from the very +beginning ... <i>laughter</i>. The mere possession of energy and enthusiasm +makes us feel like laughing. We want to leap and jump and dance and +sing. If we feel like that don't let us be afraid to do it. <i>Get out in +the air and run like a school boy. Jump ditches, vault fences, swing the +arms!</i> Never fail to get next to nature when responsive to the call. +Indeed we may woo this call from within ourselves until it comes to be +second nature. And when we rise in the morning let us be determined that +we will start the day with a hearty laugh anyhow. Laugh because you are +alive, laugh with everything. <i>Let yourself go.</i> That is the secret—the +ability to let one's self go!</p> + +<p>If we follow this religiously we will be surprised how successful the +day will be. Everything gives way before it.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_VI'></a><h3>CHAPTER VI</h3> + +<h4>BUILDING UP A PERSONALITY</h4> +<br /> + +<p>More and more personality is coming into its own as man's greatest +asset. There was never a day when it was not, but in former years this +essential quality was not listed under the name ... <i>personality</i>. Had +we lived in the days of our fathers' youth we would have heard about +"remarkable men," "men of big caliber," "large character," "splendid +presence," and the like. But it remained for our day and generation to +discover the real word—<i>personality</i>—meaning the <i>most perfect +combination possible of man's highest attributes</i>. At least that would +be the definition in its fullest sense.</p> + +<p>Of course everyone has a certain personality and, no matter in what +degree, its possession is valuable. Personality is an acorn, so to +speak, which may be cultivated into a sturdy oak. Personality is one's +<i>inner self outwardly expressed</i>. It represents the conquest of our +weaknesses and naturally impresses our strength of character upon +others.</p> + +<p>With personality our foundation is firm. On this pedestal we may stand +squarely and face life with equanimity. For such there is no end to +achievement while good health and youthful spirit remain.</p> + +<p>It is impossible to come into the presence of a personality without +becoming immediately aware of it. It is reflected by people of <i>small +stature ... poor physiques ... homely visages</i>, as well as men of the +highest physical development. The great Napoleon was just above five +feet while Lincoln towered over the six-foot line. Men of personality +are the last to say die. Their store of <i>combativeness</i> carries them +beyond their real span of existence either in years or achievement. +Thus, the mind shows its mastery over matter. Alexander Pope was still +writing while propped upon the pillows of his death bed. Mark Twain +joked with friends when he knew his hour was at hand.</p> + +<p><i>Personality is magnetic.</i> It can charm the friend or put fear into the +heart of the enemy. Joan of Arc, a frail woman, won battles at the head +of her troops. History is filled with incidents where men of personality +have turned defeat into victory by leading their soldiers back into the +fray.</p> + +<p>Wholesome personality is the fulfillment of +self-development—physically, mentally and spiritually. But all +personality is not wholesome for it often shows in the face of the man +<i>who is a rogue at heart</i>. Therefore, all personality is not for the +good of the world. It is only of the wholesome kind that we speak. To +such as possess it the goal is divine. Personality could never be +perfected without living a <i>life of preparedness</i> backed up by our most +earnest and honest convictions. Personality is made up of many qualities +and differs in man only as man is different from his brother man. +Perfect personality requires constant care in its development and +constant guard for its safety. It cannot be purchased in the open +market. It must be built upon piece by piece and everything we are +becomes a part of it.</p> + +<p>Personality would be indeed imperfect if it did not give us <i>full +poise</i>. If we neglect our physical poise we pull down our mental poise, +likewise our spiritual poise. That is why personality must be kept +constantly protected against encroachment; but this can be so fixed by +purpose, plan, and power of will that it becomes automatically +safeguarded. Once in possession we have only to make it part of our +natural selves and <i>wear it unconsciously</i> to the last breath of life.</p> + +<p>Then the question is, why should we allow ourselves to be satisfied with +an imperfect personality? It only reflects back upon ourselves. Haven't +we often heard a man say: "<i>He is all right but</i>...!" Perhaps the +personality in question was untidy, or that his walk was that of a +laggard, or that he affected an egotistical air of +superiority—whatever the impairment it should have been done away with.</p> + +<p>A man of personality should never be haunted with worry from the sneers +of his inferiors because of their own laxity. Some men perfect their +manner of speech to a degree which takes it above that of their weaker +fellows, others develop fine qualities which are viewed by ordinary +individuals as affectations but which are in reality the result of +<i>innate refinement</i>.</p> + +<p>The man of no refinement has indeed an uphill fight but with persistence +and ambition to succeed he can win. Lincoln, the rail splitter, is the +most shining example of <i>the power to will victory</i>. For him to have +fallen by the wayside would have caused no comment for it would have +been expected in those early days of struggle, but to those who have the +benefit of inherited tendencies toward personality, to fail in its +development is in the nature of a crime.</p> + +<p>Personality does not mean over-refinement. <i>Sturdy qualities</i> are the +necessary ones. Over-refinement leads to the softer life and ofttimes to +degeneracy. Exalted ego is an indication of degeneracy and may have +been inherited. Of those things we inherit that are good we must hold, +and everlastingly must we watch those which are bad. It is never wise to +wander far away from basic principles into preachment. What we need is +guidance along the road to the goal of personality. First of all we need +<i>health</i> and second, <i>the will to do</i>. Next, we must use these weapons +in the right direction, for personality is at its zenith when backed up +by <i>strong physique and brain power</i>.</p> + +<p>From previous chapters we have learned that success of any kind is +predicated upon keeping ourselves in trim, and in good humor. Keeping in +trim is no trick at all. We can make it a part of every physical action +and as keeping in trim means perfection of body and soundness of mind we +should never neglect to utilize any effort that will help us toward +bodily efficiency. <i>There is exercise in stooping over to pick up a pin +if we will go about it the right way. We can correct an ill-formed body +by adopting and maintaining a certain carriage. We may hold our chin in +such a way as to provide against stooped shoulders.</i></p> + +<p>We have opportunities both morning and evening to indulge in various +forms of light, systematic exercises which will push forward the day's +work with zest and vim.</p> + +<p>Poise has everything to do with personality, therefore the physical +structure must come in for its share of proper attention. No man of +refined personality would walk the streets with a soiled face or +uncombed hair. Such things do not give poise. They are the evidences of +a laggard spirit. The more we exercise the more energetic we become, the +surer we are of ourselves, the farther we get in the development of our +personality.</p> + +<a name='image_6'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-6.jpg' width='378' height='600' alt='Over the Hills and Far Away—Father and Son' title=''> +</center> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_VII'></a><h3>CHAPTER VII</h3> + +<h4>HONESTY, THE CHARACTER BUILDER</h4> +<br /> + +<p>Just as the straight line is the shortest distance between two points so +is honesty the only proper attitude of one person toward another. +Without it there is no understanding possible. It must always remain +supreme as a quality without which character becomes a sham, a +superficial thing that has no basis in fact. <i>The ability to look the +other fellow in the eye</i> is as necessary to character as the foundation +is to a house. It comes out of that "<i>great within</i>" which we are now +exploring. It arises from the courageous facing of our weaknesses and +becomes a part of the man <i>who knows himself and laughs with life</i>, at +the mere joy of living, doing, accomplishing ... winning against all +odds.</p> + +<p>Honesty accompanies a proper self-esteem and its cultivation should +become a part of our earliest education. It doesn't grow anywhere +except within ourselves and will never be handed to us on a silver +platter. If we fail to find it when we are young it will have small +chance of obtaining a grip on us later. <i>It is the one quality with +which to crown our highest attributes.</i> It is final proof that we are +capable of just thought and square dealing, and is proof positive that +we are part and parcel of the wholesome spirit which rules the universe. +Its possession is greater than riches for its dividend is happiness and +contentment and we cannot go wrong if we so live that we can look any +man in the eye and <i>tell him the truth</i>.</p> + +<p>To live in the full sense means to be alert. Whatever high moral plane +we shall achieve must be held against all temptation. There is no +compromise. <i>Self-deceit</i> is nothing less than <i>self-stultification</i>. We +only fool ourselves and soon find ourselves slipping down hill. It will +be hard climbing getting back. And what of the wear and tear on our +ambitions meanwhile!</p> + +<p>Honesty does not grow naturally out of a dull, uninspired life. It goes +with the energetic, the forceful. The dull soul who is content to plod +along year after year in the same rut may be honest, and this one +redeeming feature may be of such inestimable value to him that it +sweetens and softens his entire days. It will bring him friends ... +true-blue friends, who will excuse all other shortcomings <i>because of +his honesty</i>. It gives him the unadulterated trust of his employer and +it arouses a certain admiration among his narrow circle of +acquaintances. If this is true with the dullard, the weakling, then what +must it mean <i>when possessed by the great?</i> We know, for instance, how +the nation instinctively turned to General Washington when it came to +choosing their President after the Revolutionary War. He may have been +gifted, he may have been one of the world's greatest captains, but the +one quality which endeared him to his countrymen was a tremendous moral +superiority. "<i>He never told a lie</i>" rang around the world. Summed up, +his virtues amounted to those five words. Some statesmen may have been +more astute but Washington was honest—"<i>he never told a lie</i>." The +people knew they could trust this man so they elected him to fill the +highest place within their gift.</p> + +<p>Honesty with ourselves is the first thing to remember. Unless we are, it +will be impossible for us to enter into that spiritual contentment +enjoyed by those who <i>are</i> honest with themselves. If we are untrue to +ourselves how can we be true to others? The framework of a man's moral +being must be that of honesty. It must become his very nature and become +automatic in its processes. It belongs to the healthy, those who keep +themselves well through <i>vigorous exercise and temperate living</i>. It is +not a quality set aside for the lucky few. Every man, woman and child +possesses it in some degree and only its constant neglect trims it to a +minimum. It is one of those fundamentals of life, one of those powerful +and moving forces that rule society. <i>We are either honest or we are +not.</i> We cannot be <i>nearly honest</i> and get away with it.</p> + +<p>When one stops to consider honesty, even for a moment, its full +importance is realized. For example, imagine having a dishonest friend. +Could we go to him with the secrets of our heart? Could we trust him? +Would we trust anyone who might turn traitor? Again: suppose we were +untrue to ourselves, and the fact became known. Could we blame others if +they passed us up as a companion? Never in a thousand years. <i>We must +sleep in the beds we prepare for ourselves.</i></p> + +<p>Men have grown accustomed through the years to certain standards. These +are now the moral laws which control and guide the destinies of entire +races, whole generations. There must have been a good reason for these +laws or they could never have come into being. Society does not adopt +many unnecessary rules, but among the vital laws <i>honesty stands out in +bold relief</i>. It has become deeply imbedded in the minds of mankind that +everyone must be true to himself. It is taken for granted that those who +are not would naturally be <i>false to everybody</i>.</p> + +<p>The reason for this lies in the fact that society will not proceed with +any course of action without being able to trust its members. The +general in charge of an army would have a hard time of it if he were +unable to place faith in the subordinate to whom he gave instructions +that might lead to a crisis in the battle. Society would dash itself +upon the rocks were it not conscious that certain people are +courageously honest, <i>and in these it finds its leaders</i>.</p> + +<p>To rise in life means that our fellow man believes in us and wishes us +to do so. Without his co-operation it would be futile to arouse our own +ambitions. We could not hope to win a victory all alone and against the +great majority who believe in certain standards and conditions. We might +fool ourselves into thinking that because of some stroke of fortune we +had established an immunity for ourselves. But some day <i>our +consciences</i> would tell us how feebly we had succeeded.</p> + +<p>There is only one method, only one way ... rise through honesty and an +optimistic belief in self. And let us not plume ourselves because of +our virtue. <i>Personal honesty is our due to ourselves and our fellow +man.</i></p> + +<p>One of the distinctive elements in the honest man's make-up is that of +laughter. The ones who live up to their ideals, do not feel that life is +such a dark place, after all. It may mean hard work, little play and +often delayed rewards but the fact that there is a world, and that it is +filled with other honest souls is reward enough to give us courage to +laugh as we go along. <i>We can always afford to laugh—when we're +honest</i>.</p> + +<p>The man who is innately honest has no reason to fear the snares of +fortune. He knows that he can win the trust of men; he knows that he +already has it. He has no dread of looking into the other fellow's eye. +He knows where he stands in life. He has won that which he has through +struggle, and he does not intend to lose it. He does not intend to fail. +<i>He cannot fail—he cannot lose.</i> No matter how things might go at this +moment or that the next will find him on the rising tide of new +opportunities—-new chances. His reputation travels before him like the +advance agent. His coming is heralded and he is welcomed into any +community.</p> + +<p>It isn't as though there were only a few honest men. This welcome, this +"glad hand," is always extended by society to the honest man as a token +of approval. The world's work is a tremendous matter. There is always +room for another worker to handle some part of it. And only the true, +the sincere, are capable of doing this in the proper way. The leaders of +society in the broader sense are those <i>who win the faith of the average +man</i>. We look up to Lincoln because we know that he was the one man in a +million to accomplish the greatest task ever set before a human being. +We realize that he was honest—<i>honest in the huge sense</i> so necessary +to the accomplishment of big ideals. And we know that in order to win +some part of that great trust we must obey the standards of honesty and +decency that lie below the surface and only need to be called to life +and action in order to be used.</p> + +<p>And laughter will arouse that sense as quickly as anything else. The man +who is capable of laughing heartily is not apt to be the one who +carries some <i>conscience-stricken thought around with him</i>. It is the +easiest thing in the world to detect an untrue laugh. The real laugh +springs out of the depths of being and comes with a ringing sense of +security and <i>faith in one's self</i>. It goes with the workman in the +early morning when he swings along the road to the factory. It +accompanies the soldier into battle. It arouses the clerk from lethargy. +It brightens the sick room. It raises us all to unexplored heights, and +as evidence of our state of mind it can only mean one thing—honesty and +sincerity. No character can exist without this outward exhibition of an +inward honesty. <i>The mere cultivation of laughter would eventually lead +to honesty.</i> The fact that you are laughing, enjoying life, awakens you +to a spirit of security and a feeling of the joy of living. Gloomy men +are the ones whose tendency is toward crime and trouble. Laughing men +are the ones who stir the world with new desires and make life worth +living. Therefore we say—<i>laugh and live!</i></p> + +<a name='image_7'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-7.jpg' width='600' height='425' alt='A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers"' title=''> +</center> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_VIII'></a><h3>CHAPTER VIII</h3> + +<h4>CLEANLINESS OF BODY AND MIND</h4> +<br /> + +<p>If we interview many of life's failures we will find that the +overwhelming majority went down because of their neglect to get out of +an environment that was not stimulating and because their ambitions had +grown rusty and inefficient to cope with depressing circumstances. The +prisons and other institutions are filled with people who did not make +any attempt to get away from the vicious surroundings in which they +lived. They were like tadpoles that had never grown to frogs ... they +just kept swimming around in their muddy puddles and, not having grown +legs with which they could leap out onto the banks and away to other +climes, they continued to swim in monotonous circles until they died. In +other words, the failure is a man who dwells in muddy atmosphere all his +days, who is content to remain a tadpole and who never attempts to take +advantage of any opportunity. He becomes unclean, so to speak. And that +is what we mean by this chapter heading "<i>Cleanliness of Body and +Mind</i>." It was not intended to point out the proper way to keep our +faces and hands clean, or as a sermon, but rather to show ourselves that +<i>the clean body begets the clean mind</i>, the two together constituting +compelling tendencies toward <i>the clean spirit</i>. A move in the direction +of these takes us out of the rut of life.</p> + +<p>No matter what cause we dig up with which to explain our success in life +we cannot neglect this most important one—<i>the careful selection of our +acquaintances</i>. And this doesn't mean that one must be a snob. Far from +it. It only means that the successful man, the man who wishes to rise in +life, should not spend his days in the company of <i>illiterate +companions</i> who do not possess <i>ambition of heart or the will to do the +work of the world</i>. It means that life is too short to hang around the +loafing places with the driftwood of humanity listening to their stories +of failure and drinking in with liquor some of their bitterness against +those who have toiled and won the fruits of their toil. It means that we +will not go out of our way to seek the friendship of men and women who +are simply endeavoring to gain happiness in life without paying for it. +It means that we will do all in our power to win friends who <i>aspire +nobly</i> and by so doing inspire those with whom they come in contact. +Such men are naturally clean of mind and body.</p> + +<p>We must remember always to live in a world of clear thought that will +<i>stimulate our ambitions</i>. Dwelling in the dark corners of life and +traveling with the débris of humanity will not arouse us to action and +give us that swinging vigor of heart and mind so necessary to the +accomplishment of great things. While we will ever lend the helping hand +to those who need it we will naturally associate with those who have vim +and courage. We will not be <i>dragged down by our associates</i>. Until we +meet the right kind we will hold aloof, and we will not be morose and +gloomy because it happens that at this moment our acquaintanceship does +not include these successes. When we have succeeded in doing something +big they will come to us and <i>if we think big things we are likely to do +them</i>. It is all a matter of the will to do.</p> + +<p>"Nothing succeeds like success," said some very wise man and if there +ever was a phrase that rang with truth this does. It means that the +<i>thought of success</i>, the courage that <i>comes with success</i>, leads to +<i>more and more success</i>. It means that the thinker of these thoughts is +living in a clean, wholesome atmosphere along with those who are +determined and in earnest. It means that they have caught the fervor of +true life ... a healthy, contagious fervor which permeates the blood +swiftly once it gets a hold, and like electricity it vivifies and stirs +the spirit with renewed energy <i>day after day, year after year</i>. Once it +wins us it will stick with us. The success of those about us will shake +our lethargic limbs and stimulate us to a desire to do as they do. We +will be in a world of clean thought and action and our lives will mirror +their lives, our thoughts will be filled with wholesome things and with +good health. We will win in spite of all obstacles.</p> + +<p>Cleanliness is <i>the morale of the body and the mind</i>. The man who is +careful of his linen and who does not neglect his morning plunge is not +apt to be gloomy and morose. We notice him in the car or on the street +in the morning. He comes striding along, fresh and full of <i>the zest of +living</i>. His mind is clear and unclouded. His eyes are full of that +vigorous light of conscientious desire to win and do so honestly. He has +none of the hypocritical elements in his nature strong enough to rule +him. There may be and probably are many weaknesses in his character. His +very strength consists in his ability to <i>crush them and make them his +slaves</i>.</p> + +<p>The man who has taken his morning plunge and dressed himself agreeable +to comfort and grace, has his battles of the day won in advance. He +knows the value of keeping himself in trim. He does it for the sake of +<i>his own</i> feelings. Our approval of his appearance goes without saying. +If a man thinks well of himself in matters of appearance his general +deportment is likely to coincide. Such men never overdo. They are at +ease with themselves and thus impart ease to others who come in contact +with them. They have, in other words, a distinction of their own and +<i>their distinction is their power</i>. They know that the highest moral law +of nature is that of cleanliness, that filthiness should not be allowed +to dominate any man's ethics or physical condition. They rule such +things out of their lives.</p> + +<p>A vast magnetic force comes out of those friends of ours who are <i>doing +things</i> and making the world <i>sit up and take notice</i>. The mere fact +that we live near to them, know them and associate with them is +proof-positive that we, too, shall go through life with clean minds and +bodies. They would not tolerate us if we were to slip into shoddy ways. +Nothing is revealed quicker to our intimates than <i>the losing of +ambition</i> ... the slipping into careless habits. We cannot conceal it +from them. We fool only those who brush by. The loss of this +self-respect has a terrible effect upon the system and every tendency +toward success is thereby stunted and weakened. <i>We have fallen into +unclean ways!</i> It will not be long before we sink to the bottom or else +remain among the vast crowd who have neither the courage to fall nor the +courage to rise.</p> + +<p>Nothing produces failure quicker than filthiness of mind and body. Those +who are successful keep away from the very thought of such a condition. +They live as much as possible <i>in the open</i>. They take morning and +evening exercises. They read good books, attend good plays and are +continually in touch with the finer developments of thought and art in +the world. Their faces are open and full of sunlight. They are +determined that life will not beat them in a game that only requires +sureness of aim and the ability to take advantage of the thousand and +one opportunities that surround them on every side.</p> + +<p>Cleanliness stands <i>paramount</i> in its importance to <i>success</i>. Perhaps +no other one thing has so vital a hold upon the individual who succeeds. +The general of an army first looks to the <i>morale</i> of his troops. He +knows that with clean minds and bodies his soldiers are capable of doing +big things. The battleship, that efficient and highly-developed +instrument of war, is so immaculate that one could eat his meals on its +very decks. Its officers are wholesome, athletic fellows; its crew +consists of hardy men who live sanely and vigorously and who have plenty +to occupy their minds. And if cleanliness is fundamental in their case +why not in our own?</p> + +<p>When we come to analyze ourselves we find that we are like a great +institution of some kind. Here is the brain, the heart, the lungs, the +stomach, the nerves and the muscles. Each department acts separately and +yet is connected absolutely with all the others. The entire system is +under one supreme department ... <i>the mind</i>. Now if this ruling +department is kept clean and full, of kindly, beautiful thoughts does it +not seem natural that the rest will follow its lead being so completely +in its power? We realize this and the mere realization is something done +towards the accomplishment of an ideal life in a world of cleanliness +and beauty.</p> + +<p>System is one of the finest tools in existence with which to build one's +life into something worth while. The <i>body</i> must be run on a system as +well as the <i>mind</i>. The stomach must not be overloaded with unnecessary +food. The lungs must not be filled with impure air. The nerves must not +be worn threadbare in riotous and ridiculous living. The muscles must be +kept in trim with consistent exercise of the proper sort. We must +recognize the wants, the needs of the physical system and see that they +are supplied.</p> + +<p>Roosevelt, perhaps more than any other living man today, has given +vitality to the supreme necessity of <i>cleanliness of mind and body</i>. He +has, by reason of his great prominence, been able to emphasize these two +vital essentials. He called a spade a spade and his message went far. +From those who knew the value of his words came nods of +approval—<i>others took heed</i>. From boyhood he has systematized his life, +taking the exercise needed, filling his mind with the learning of the +world, winning when others would have failed, profiting by experience +allotted to him through fate's kindly offices and association with the +<i>healthy, true men</i>. What has been the result? He has risen to the very +pinnacle of human endeavor ... <i>no honors await him</i>. He has lived +consistently and cleanly and he can look any man in the eye and say +honestly: "<i>I have lived as I have believed.</i>"</p> + +<p>It is not necessary to become President in order to live sanely, to gain +from circumstances the fruits that are ours for the asking and which +have fallen into Roosevelt's hands with such profusion. We cannot all +become Presidents but we can all <i>emulate a shining example of mental +and bodily morale</i>.</p> + +<p>Just as we plunge into the cold water in the early morning so should we +regularly during the day plunge into the society of those whose splendid +enthusiasm is helping to make the world a better place to live in. They +are the kind who go into the struggle with heads high and with clean +hearts. Their eyes see beyond the daily toil of life. They are in touch +with the big things and it is up to us to keep step with them. They want +us and they will give us the "glad hand." All they want to know is +whether our courage is equal to our ambitions and whether our <i>house of +life is kept in good order</i>. And so we journey along together in all +good nature, not forgetting to laugh as we live.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_IX'></a><h3>CHAPTER IX</h3> + +<h4>CONSIDERATION FOR OTHERS</h4> +<br /> + +<p>Consideration for others is man's noblest attitude toward his fellow +man. For every seed of human kindness he plants, <i>a flower blooms in the +garden of his own heart</i>. In him who gives in such a way there is no +hypocritical feeling of charity bestowed. His very act disarms the +thought. It is as natural for an honorable man to show consideration to +others as it is for him to eat and sleep. Acts of kindness are the +<i>outward manifestations of gentle breeding</i>—a refinement of character +in the highest sense of the word.</p> + +<p>What would we do in this world without the helping hand, the friendly +word of cheer, the thought that others shared our losses and cheered our +victories? If consideration for our feelings and thoughts did not exist +on this earth we would never know the depths of the love of our friends. +There would be no such thing as an earthly reward of merit. We know that +no matter what happens to us in the battle of life there will be someone +to cheer us on our way. We may be strong and thoroughly able to rely +upon ourselves but there comes a time when we need friendship and +sympathy. Society would crumble into dust without these influences. The +family circle would degenerate into a hollow mockery if consideration +each for the other was absent. It sweetens and makes wholesome what +otherwise might only be an existence of monotonous toil.</p> + +<p>Consideration for others is <i>the milk of human kindness</i>. For what we do +for others our recompense is <i>in the act itself</i> ... we should claim no +other reward. Observation brings to view that they who give in real +charity <i>cloak their acts from the eyes of all save the recipient</i>. +Givers of this type rise to the supreme heights of greatness. It is a +part of their wisdom to know what is best to be done and they go about +it as a pleasure as well as a duty.</p> + +<p>Consideration for others pays big dividends. It is a virtue that makes +for strong friendships and true affections. Those who possess it have a +hard time hiding their light under a bushel. In teaching fortitude to +others they partake of the same knowledge. In the hours of their own +affliction they retain their courage and keep their minds unsoured. They +are the <i>sure-enough "good fellows" of life</i> and their presence is the +signal for instantaneous good cheer. We all know them by their gentle +knock at the door. In a thousand ways they impress themselves upon our +lives, have entered into our councils, have given us the right advice at +the right time—and when the sad day comes along <i>their strong shoulders +are there for us to lean upon</i>.</p> + +<p>Consideration for others is apt to be an inherent quality, but like +everything else it can be accentuated or modified according to our own +determination. It is a growth that should be inculcated <i>early in the +lives of children</i>—the earlier the better. A child's most +impressionable age is said to be between its fourth and fifth years. +Then is the time to teach it the little niceties of life—the closing of +a door softly—tip-toeing quietly that mother may not be awakened from +her nap—tidiness—cleanliness—good morals—all of which are to become +vital factors in a life of consideration for others.</p> + +<p>A great many of us have the desire to be of service to others but +<i>timidity</i> holds us back. Say, for instance, one might see a person in +great distress and because of diffidence withhold the proffered +hand—someone we've known who comes to the point of penury but has <i>too +much pride</i> to ask assistance—we pass by fearful that we might offend. +How many times has this happened to us? Who knows but the best friend we +have at this very moment would give anything in the world if his pride +would let him bridge that distance between us.</p> + +<a name='image_8'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-8.jpg' width='600' height='423' alt='A Scene from "The Americano"—Matching Wits for Gold' title=''> +</center> + +<p>Nevertheless the desire to do the right thing was in itself helpful. The +thought of doing something for someone was a correct impulse and +should have been carried into action. Early in life we should have +started our foundation for doing things in the cause of others. Putting +off the time when we shall begin to obey our higher impulses toward +helpfulness to our fellows is but a reaction in our own characters which +<i>dulls determination</i>. We want to do but we don't. As time goes on we +just <i>don't</i>—that's all. Our good intentions have gone to pave the +bottomless pits containing our unfulfilled heart promptings. We meant +well—<i>but we failed to act</i>—we didn't have the courage. Our failures +spread a gloom before us. <i>We lost our chances for a happy life!</i></p> + +<p>The man with the ability to laugh has little diffidence about these +matters. Having confidence in himself and being happy and alert he goes +to the friend in need with courage and the kind of help that helps. If +he doesn't do it directly he finds a way to reach him through mutual +friends. He does not go about <i>parading</i> his kindness, either. He has +gained a sincere and beautiful pleasure out of aiding an old friend and +he can go on his way rejoicing that life is worth living when he has +lived up to its higher ideals.</p> + +<p>Consideration for others does not necessarily involve only the big +things. It is the sum and total of numberless acts and thoughts that +make for friendships and kindliness. People who are thoughtful surely +brighten the world. They are ever ready to do some little thing at the +correct moment and after a time we begin to realize how much their +presence means to us. We may not notice them the first time, or the +third, or the fifth, but after a while we become conscious of their +persistence and we esteem them accordingly. Such men are the products of +<i>clean, straightforward lives.</i> They are never too busy to exchange a +pleasant word. They do not flame into anger on a pretext. Their code of +existence is well ordered and filled to the brim with lots to do and +lots to think about. The old saying: "<i>If you want anything go to a busy +man</i>," applies to them in this regard. The busier men are the more time +they seem to have for <i>kindliness</i>.</p> + +<p>Another word for consideration is service. Nothing brings a greater +self-reward than a service done in an hour of need, or a favor granted +during a day's grind. The generous man who climbs to the top of the +ladder helps many others on their way. The more he does for someone else +the more he does for <i>himself</i>. The stronger he becomes—the greater his +influence in his community. Doing things for others may not bring in +<i>bankable dividends</i> but it does bring in <i>happiness</i>. Such actions +scorn a higher reward. We have only to try out the plan to learn the +truth for ourselves. A good place to begin is <i>at home</i>. Then, <i>the +office</i>, or wherever life leads us. And in doing these things we will +laugh as we go along—we will laugh and get the most out of living.</p> + +<p>Our little day-by-day kindnesses when added together constitute in time +a huge asset on the right side of our ledger of life. We should start +the day with something that helps another get through his day ... even +if it isn't any more than a smile and a wave of the hand. And he will +remember us for it.</p> + +<p>It is said that advice is cheap and for that reason is given freely. +But the proper kind of advice is about as rare as the proverbial hen's +tooth. In order to give real advice we must understand the man who asks +for it. If what we say to him is to become of value we must see to it +that his mind is put in proper shape to receive advice. Be sure that he +laughs, or smiles at least, before we seriously take up his case. And +when we have done our stunt in the way of advice let's send him away +with a fine good humor. A friendly pat on the back as he goes out our +doorway may mean a bracer to his determination. "<i>You'll put it over</i>," +we shout after him—and thus we have been of real help. He needed +sympathy and courage. He needed a cheerful spirit—so came to us and we +didn't let him go away until we gave him all these. Bully for us!</p> + +<p>Consideration for others does not admit of ostentation and hypocrisy. We +never allow our left hand to know what our right hand does in charity, +nor do we <i>boast of our helpful attitude toward our fellow men</i>. It is +well to make a point of this fact—in this world are many +"<i>ne'er-do-wells"</i> who fail to profit by advice and thereby become +professional in the seeking of favors. Consideration owes them nothing +and to withstand their persistent appeals would in time <i>dull our +natural tendencies</i> toward helping others.</p> + +<p>The world helps those who help themselves. We have little admiration for +the man who is forever whining. Society has no work for such people as +these. When we have exhausted every means of helping such a man we must +in self-defense pass him up before he contaminates our sense of justice. +<i>We must keep our visions clear.</i></p> + +<p>Consideration for others is a prime refinement of character. To be able +to use it in our daily lives becomes one of our greatest consolations. +Sympathy begets affection and kindly deeds—in a relative sense it binds +together the properties which go to make <i>the soul within us</i>. +Browbeating, scolding, irascibility and the like are microbes which +react against the milk of human kindness, to which, if we succumb, +leaves us stranded and alone amid a world of friendliness and good +fellowship.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_X'></a><h3>CHAPTER X</h3> + +<h4>KEEPING OURSELVES DEMOCRATIC</h4> +<br /> + +<p>Big words and pomposity never were designed for the highest types of +men. Our great national figures have almost without exception had one +quality which was a keynote to their ultimate success—this was their +<i>simplicity</i>. Next was their <i>accessibility</i>. There are numberless +big-hearted and big-brained individuals in the world whose duties are so +manifold that in order to accomplish what has been placed in their hands +they must be saved from interruption, but the truly great individual is +never hidden away entirely from his fellow man. He never becomes such a +slave to detail that he does not find time to fraternize with ordinary +mortals. We do not find him concealed behind impenetrable barriers, +guarded and pampered by courtiers like unto a king on his throne—or +tucked away in some dark office. He wants to know <i>everybody worth +while</i> and everybody worth while is welcomed by him. He doesn't affect +to know so much that he cannot be told something new. He is not the sort +to refuse to see us at any reasonable time.</p> + +<p>We should not confound <i>greatness</i>, however, with <i>notoriety</i>. A man who +by virtue of large publicity has compelled public notice isn't +necessarily a great man no matter how hard he may strive to make himself +appear so. Especially is this true of the man who does not make a +personal success corresponding to his advertised fame. In time he may +have the "ear-marks" of notability but, as Lincoln said: "<i>You can't +fool all of the people all of the time.</i>"</p> + +<p>It is to be noted with satisfaction that the big captains of industry +keep themselves free from petty details. "I surrounded myself with +clever men," said Andrew Carnegie in accounting for his success and by +the same token the men who took over his great affairs and gave them +larger scope and power surrounded themselves with still other clever +men, thus reserving their judgment and thought <i>for the higher policies +of their institutions</i>. They keep themselves in readiness for +consultation, and having men of <i>initiative</i> and <i>self-reliance</i> +underneath them, they find time to take in hand other affairs than those +of the tremendous businesses they manage. Men of this type often become +prominent in public affairs and develop into highly important citizens.</p> + +<p>The bigger the man, the less he encumbers himself with matters which can +be delegated to others. His desk is clear of all litter and +minutia—<i>likewise his mind</i>. Such men keep their physiques and +mentalities in fine working order and are not to be goaded into <i>ill +temper</i>. A refinement of mind is supremely essential to the man who +desires to climb to the very top of the ladder. He cannot afford to +close his brain to outside information. He is forced to keep it open in +order to let in continuous currents of new thought. He doesn't want his +visage to "<i>cream and mantle as a standing pond</i>" as Shakespeare aptly +puts it—therefore the windows of his thinking department are kept open +for refreshing draughts from the outside. He reasons that always there +are new guests, new faces, new things to talk about at the banquet board +of life.</p> + +<a name='image_9'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-9.jpg' width='356' height='600' alt='Taking on Local Color' title=''> +</center> + +<p>And here is the point—if men who carry on the great industries of the +world find a way to keep themselves democratic surely men of less +importance should be able to do the same? The snob is about as offensive +a person as could be described. He is usually a hypocrite or an +ignoramus—sometimes both. His pomposity is naturally repellent. We +easily become accustomed to dodging such characters. The detriment is +theirs—not ours. They are left by the wayside and sooner or later wake +up to the fact that they stand alone in the world.</p> + +<p>The world loves the man with <i>an open mind</i>. This is the usual spirit of +the progressive citizen. <i>He wants to know</i>—and by reason of his +accessibility knowledge is brought to him. No one cares to take up the +task of informing the egotist who already knows it all. Such is his +inherent cussedness that we would rather let him warp in the oven of +his own half-baked knowledge. Life is too short to waste our time in +educating him.</p> + +<p>"How can I see Mr. So-and-so?" says one man to another.</p> + +<p>"Don't try," is the answer. "He's not worth seeing. You can't tell <i>him</i> +anything."</p> + +<p>And this sort of a chap misses the big opportunities just because he +chooses to build up a reputation for being exclusive. He digs himself a +hole and crawls into it <i>and pulls the hole in after him</i>. We can safely +imagine him treating the members of his family as though they were +servants, and his employees as though they were slaves. He may succeed +in small things but in the big game of life we may write him down as a +failure.</p> + +<p>If we have a big idea we take it to a big man—<i>the man of vision</i>. +Anything less is to putter around aimlessly. The bigger he is, the more +democratic. He will not look for imperfections in our personal make-up +when we show him the <i>new process</i> we have discovered.</p> + +<p>To be democratic is a triumph of the soul—tending to bring us in close +touch with the throbbing heart of humanity. There is no isolation for +those of unaffected charm and manner—no barrier in the way of +friendship worth having. It is our lack of judgment if we hide ourselves +so that we cannot be approached. No matter how high we rise, for the +sake of our own brains we must allow <i>men of ideas</i> to get to us. We +must not allow our minds to become stagnant. If we fail to get into +daily contact with other people, we soon grow dull and uninteresting +even to ourselves. Great men may have no time to fritter away but they +have plenty of leisure for men worth while—<i>the pushers and the +thinkers</i>.</p> + +<p>A democratic spirit does not come to the selfish man. He is absorbed in +himself and is quite a hopeless case. He is a natural born faultfinder +and grouchy by nature. For him life holds no joy save the one in sight. +Taking the big look at the man of this type we can only be sorry for him +because of his lack of early training. He started off on the wrong foot +and thereafter drifted along. Seldom do we overcome the habits with +which we arrive at man's estate. Those who do are entitled to a right +hand seat among the chosen.</p> + +<p>Being democratic is another phrase for being <i>human and kind</i>. It means +that we ought to be able to see behind every face and find the truth of +that individual's existence. It means that life is largely a matter of +how we look at it and being human is one way to get the proper slant at +things.</p> + +<p>The human mind has <i>great adaptive power</i> and can be molded into a +thousand ways of thinking. The intelligent man, the man who has taken +stock of himself, is able to smile and extend a hearty handclasp whether +he feels tip-top or not. He doesn't have to look glum simply because the +world hasn't thrown itself at his feet. He has only to persevere and +success will come eventually.</p> + +<p>We must correct our failings as we go along or we will slip down into +the rut and stay there. It is a simple matter to be good natured and +full of the zest of life if we poise ourselves right—<i>keep ourselves +democratic</i>. It is this great soul quality which brings us true friends +and boosts us into the fulfillment of our ambitions. Then we may truly +<i>laugh and live</i>.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_XI'></a><h3>CHAPTER XI</h3> + +<h4>SELF-EDUCATION BY GOOD READING</h4> +<br /> + +<p>The character of a man expresses itself by the books he reads. Every +well-informed man since the invention of printing has been a close +reader of a few books that stand out from among the many. We read of +Lincoln devouring the few books he had, over and over again and studying +from cover to cover and word for word the Webster's dictionary of his +day. We know that Grant had his favorite volumes from which he drew +inspiration and solace. These men made eternal friends of certain great +thinkers and drank in their learning with all the fervor of their +natures.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"A few good books, digested well, do feed<br /></span> +<span>The mind."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>"Feed the mind!" That's the idea—<i>but how shall we feed it?</i> The answer +is easy—with something <i>worth while</i>—something that will inform and +inspire. We can cram our minds to the point of indigestion with useless, +frivolous information just as easily as we may cram our stomachs with +certain foods that tear down rather than build up. The habit of reading +the right sort of books should begin early in life and continue +throughout our days.</p> + +<p>Good books are real ... and as we read we feel, hear, see and understand +in the way the author did. If what is said appeals to our way of +thinking <i>a new world</i> is unfolded to our vision filled to the brim with +things we can think about and add to our stock of knowledge. While we +are buried in its leaves we may live over the thoughts that the writer +lived. For the time being he becomes as real and vital to us as the +dearest friend we possess. Gradually, as the time passes by, he creeps +into our affections until our lives would not be complete without the +comradeship of his cherished book.</p> + +<p>Books that become our "pals" are not necessarily books of the so-called +classical type. Little known volumes may prove to have enough thought +stored away between their covers to keep us interested all our days. The +great books will prove their worth in a short time no matter how poor +the binding, how bad the type or how cheap the paper. These things are +after all only the outward manifestations and though we like to see our +friends dressed well yet we know that the clothes do not make character +unless there is character there in the first place. And so it is with +books. These little ungainly volumes which we purchase on the stands may +be the classics of tomorrow ... who knows?</p> + +<p>We select our library carefully. No matter if we live in a tiny hall +bedroom on the top floor of a boarding house we have a shelf somewhere +with a few good books on it. Emerson's "Essays" can be had in one volume +and are well worth having. No other American writer has been so +inspiring, so invigorating as this thinker of Concord. One cannot read +his essays without having a desire to <i>get up and do</i>. It is like a +breath of fresh air ... a tonic ... a stiff morning walk. It stirs the +mind to action and inspires us to lift ourselves out of the rut into +which we have fallen. One returns to them time after time, each reading +opening up new vistas of thought, new lines of mental development.</p> + +<a name='image_10'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-10.jpg' width='600' height='463' alt='A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers"' title=''> +</center> + +<p><i>As a man's stomach is what he eats, a man's mind is what he reads.</i> It +goes without saying that no healthy, active mind could exist without the +companionship of Shakespeare. Nowadays it is possible to secure the +entire works of the immortal poet in one volume. There is a special +Oxford University edition which can be had for a small sum. The type is +large, the paper good and there are many notes to help one over the +rocky places. There is no doubt of the truth of the saying that a man +who reads Shakespeare consistently and with understanding needs no other +education. Like the philosopher Emerson he boiled down the world's +thoughts into terse sentences and one goes into a new universe when +reading any of the plays. It is a good thing to learn parts of them by +heart so that we can apply them to our own lives. They strengthen the +mind ... their beauty lifts us into a great realism of splendid thought +... and they fill the heart with a longing to do something great. Such +books should become steady companions through life. No matter where our +duties call us we should see to it that we do not leave behind the +thoughts of this master mind of Shakespeare. The very fact that we have +them near us lifts us out of the monotony of nothing to do.</p> + +<p>Among the books about America for Americans perhaps Roosevelt's "Winning +of the West" is among the best. Not only has he thrown the whole vigor +of his interesting personality into the writing of it, but he has given +us a vivid picture of the conquest of the States by the settlers. No man +could read it without being thrilled at the dangers our forefathers +faced ... at the great courage they possessed ... at their hardihood ... +their bulldog tenacity. The reading of such a book is like going back +over the years and living with them, sharing their troubles and their +enthusiasms. The man who contemplates gathering a small library could +not afford to do without the inspiration of what his countrymen have +done for him.</p> + +<p>In choosing our books we must bear in mind one thing—<i>let them be +inspiring</i>. Let them be of such a nature that when we read them we will +feel like going out into the world to accomplish something <i>big!</i></p> + +<p>That is probably the mission of great books—to inspire and uplift. The +world's greatest men have been readers—would they have cared for books +unless they were inspiring? It is said that when Napoleon was being +taken to St. Helena he advised one of the officers never to stop +reading.</p> + +<p>Most of the things worth while are at some time or other stored away in +books by the thinkers. Every phase of history, every movement to better +mankind and lift it above the drudgery of mere toil, every beautiful +thought is to be found in them and the better the book the more will be +found in it of these very things. When we have finished the day's work +we can pull down a volume from the shelf and in a moment be lost in an +entirely different world. The man who neglects to read surely misses the +one best means of broadening his mind.</p> + +<p>All books of the better class furnish food for thought and are excellent +tools for the man of initiative. To read means keeping in touch with the +big visions. We cherish these dreams and make them real in plans of our +own. Aspiration is behind the pages of every worth-while volume. It was +the motive power which drove the author to produce it and it should +become a part of the forces which drive us on to victory. Without such +inspiration we grope as children in the dark. We are without a light to +guide us on our way.</p> + +<p>Books by such men as Marden and Hubbard are great generators of the +electricity of doing things. They have put into words those innermost +emotions which are the instruments of success. They point out a way we +may safely follow. They loan us inspiration which causes us to act for +ourselves. They give us thoughts that are useful and practical which we +never would have gained by virtue of our own reasoning power. They made +it a life work to coin into phrases words that inspire. Out of their +large experience came the logical sequences of cause and effect. Not to +profit by their teachings is a crime against our own prospects—without +them we lag behind. Instead of progressing we look on in wonder at what +is going on in the world. Somehow we cannot connect ourselves with the +big enterprises. And all because we failed to feed our minds properly.</p> + +<p>There is much to be gained both in pleasure and knowledge by reading +historical novels, and the lives of great men. The books of Sir Walter +Scott and James Fenimore Cooper are rated among the best in the world. +Grant's autobiography and the personal stories of other famous Americans +provide fascinating material with which to establish and fortify our +test for good literature. The tales of modern American financiers is +another field of absorbing interest.</p> + +<p>The man with small means can provide himself with a working library for +a very little money. Books are cheap. The public library is always +nearby and there is hardly a town of any size but what has one. When we +purchase a book we should be sure to obtain the best edition and be +careful that it is printed from good type and on clear paper. Books are +likely to become warm friends. We should never purchase an abridged +edition.</p> + +<p>Binding is not such an important factor, although we like to have <i>our +favorite books</i> put up in a handsome fashion. With Shakespeare, Emerson, +Roosevelt, Scott, Cooper, Marden and Hubbard one would have quite a +representative collection for a start. It would be easy to expand the +list into many more. Of course, those collecting a small library who +have a specialty, will want books dealing with the subjects in which +they are interested. However, every practical library includes books of +inspirational character, and if one makes a study of the books written +by great authors it will be found that all of them profited by the +reading of books which caused them to think. <i>The Bible causes us to +think!—and no library is complete without it.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_XII'></a><h3>CHAPTER XII</h3> + +<h4>PHYSICAL AND MENTAL PREPAREDNESS</h4> +<br /> + +<p>It is not the object of this chapter to deal with a set course of +physical culture, but rather to emphasize the necessity of keeping our +physical house in order. There are plenty of books on physical culture +which can be relied upon and also any number of physical instructors who +are able to advise and help along a set program. There are hundreds of +places, institutions, clubs, Y.M.C.A.'s, and the like, which provide +gymnasiums and every other facility for those who determine to build +themselves up through consistent physical exercise. That is all very +well to begin with, but afterward we must have some simple methods of +our own which will not make it a hardship or a chore to keep ourselves +in trim—<i>a state of physical preparedness</i>. It should become a part of +our daily scheme to obey certain, simple rules which tend toward an +<i>automatic effort</i> instead of a discipline, and we should persevere in +these until they become <i>fixed habits</i>.</p> + +<p>It is no trouble at all to take exercise unconsciously, and we only +arrive at this by turning into an exercise any of our ordinary physical +actions during the day as we go along. For instance, we can sit down in +a chair and in so doing can add a certain amount of exercise to the +action itself—also in rising. With very little effort we can come into +the habit of sitting correctly—posing the body as it should be—holding +the shoulders in proper position—also the chin so that it becomes a +hardship to sit improperly.</p> + +<p>All of this has to do with <i>general physique</i>. In walking we can go +along with a spring, elasticity, and vigor of motion which forces a fine +blood circulation throughout the entire system. We can stoop over in the +act of picking up some object from the floor and at the same time make +it a matter of physical exercise, and we may take a hat from the rack +while standing away from it, thus stretching ourselves, as it were, +into a little needful action. Putting on an overcoat, or any part of our +clothing, may be done in such a way as to set the blood to racing +through the body. Morning and night—upon getting up and upon +retiring—there is every reason to make it a rule to exercise freely.</p> + +<p>The morning exercise wakes us up and sits us down finally at the +breakfast table with a zest for the food set before us. The morning bath +is an agency for good in this direction after we have given ourselves a +good shake-up from head to foot. By the same token, exercises at night +before retiring induces sound sleep and takes away the strain of the +preceding day.</p> + +<p>A very successful system is that of exercising in bed. Instead of +immediately jumping to the floor in the morning it is very inviting to +go through some simple form of gymnastics in which the physical +structure is brought into play.</p> + +<p>Physical exercise is something which can be carried to extremes. We can +go at the work so intensely that we become muscle-bound and develop some +structural enlargements that we do not need. This happens very often +among athletes. The ordinary man should fight shy of such plans. +Superfluous strength is only for those who have need of it. What we +really want is strength enough to carry us through our daily rounds with +comfort and <i>a feeling of efficiency</i>.</p> + +<p>In a sense we all live by our wits and these decline when not properly +fed by our general physical organization. Prize fighters are not the +longest lived people, nor are the professional athletes. Their calling +requires extra building up which would be a positive handicap to the +average man whose manner of life doesn't require this super-development. +In other words, there are intemperate methods of exercising just as +there are of eating and drinking. We may easily go too far. Again, we +can sin just as greatly by not going far enough. There was a time when +men of forty were as worn and old as men of sixty-five and seventy are +today. As a matter of fact, nowadays a half-century mark is no longer a +badge of senility when a man has kept himself fit and treated himself +right.</p> + +<p>We all have friends who are pretty well along in years by virtue of +their carefully planned physical training, plus their <i>cheerful +dispositions</i>. They are as sprightly and companionable as though they +were many years younger. We should come to know early in life what a +large part <i>good humor</i> plays in <i>physical fitness</i>. In previous +chapters hearty laughter was extolled as one of the very best of +exercises. It is an organizer in itself and opens up the heart and lungs +as nothing else will do. It makes the blood go galloping all through the +system. It is one of the best automatic <i>blood circulators</i> in the +business.</p> + +<p>Laughter takes the stress off of the mind, and whatever is ahead of us +for the day that seems likely to become a burden is soon turned into an +ordinary circumstance. We smile as we go about doing it.</p> + +<p>A friend once said to a banker:</p> + +<p>"How do you know when to lend money?"</p> + +<p>The banker replied:</p> + +<p>"I look a man in the eye and then <i>I do or I don't</i>."</p> + +<p>The friend said:</p> + +<p>"I would like to borrow ten thousand dollars—now!"</p> + +<p>"You shall have it, Sir," the banker replied.</p> + +<p>This meant that the man who asked for the loan was in a state of +physical and mental preparedness. If he had gone into the banker's +office looking like an animated tombstone he wouldn't have had much of a +chance to borrow the ten thousand. It goes without saying that the +open-faced, hearty fellow inspires confidence. There is nothing coming +to the dried-up, sour chap, and that's what he usually gets. And what we +get is largely a matter of our physical well being. A modern philosopher +observed that "the blues are the product of bad livers"—and there is no +doubt but that he was right.</p> + +<p>The problem of life is to fill our days with sunshine. In so doing we +shall find that the "little graces" are those which will lend us the +most help. Tiny favors extended, words of encouragement, courtesies of +all sorts, unselfish work carried out in an open manner, true +friendships and love, a hearty laugh, a sincere appreciation of the +other fellow's struggle to keep his head above water, the conscientious +carrying out of all tasks assigned us—these are our helpmates and they +are the products of our physical and mental equipment. Through these we +come into our knack of detecting friends among those who are <i>the salt +of the earth</i>.</p> + +<p>It is impossible for the person who desires good health to obtain it, or +having it, to retain it, without consistent effort. A watch will not run +without the proper regulation of the mainspring. We must keep up our +activities. We have taken the earth and are turning it into something to +serve us—therefore the need of fine bodily preparedness. Nothing can +take the place of achievement and it comes through physical and mental +efficiency. The one must not be neglected for the other; both must be +cultivated and developed alike in order that each may help the other.</p> + +<p>Happiness comes only to those who take care of themselves. It is the +natural product of <i>clean-mindedness</i>. No pleasure can surpass that of a +conscious feeling of our strength of character. It is an all important +element in men who aspire to succeed. The man who rises in the morning +from a healthy slumber and plunges into the bath after some vigorous +exercise is prepared to undertake anything. His world seems fair, and +though the sun may not be shining literally, it is to all intents and +purposes. Thus, we go swinging along with a cheery smile, carrying the +message of hope and joy to all those with whom we come in contact. Oh! +it's fine to be physically and mentally fit!</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_XIII'></a><h3>CHAPTER XIII</h3> + +<h4>SELF-INDULGENCE AND FAILURE</h4> +<br /> + +<p>The correct definition of self-indulgence is <i>failure</i>—because +self-indulgence is comprised of an aggregation of vices, large and +small, and failure is the logical sequence thereof. Even the habit of +eating may be cultivated into a vice. Indeed, there are those who gorge +without restraint, which in itself is unchaste and immoral. We've often +seen them as, with napkin under foot or tucked under the collar, they +eat their way through mountains of food and wash it down as they reach +for more.</p> + +<p>No use to say how and what we feel when we attend such performances. It +is all right to say "Look the Other Way," <i>but it can't be done</i>. It is +human nature to gaze upon horror—sometimes in sympathy, but more often +in amazement. Sometimes a well staged scene of gormandizing viewed from +a seat in the second or third row center of a softly lighted, thick +carpeted food emporium <i>saves us the price of our own meal</i>. We no +longer hunger on our own account. Our appetite is appeased by proxy, so +to speak, and we calmly fix our eyes on the "big show" and <i>sigh for a +baseball bat</i>.</p> + +<p>No wonder a noted bachelor of medicine declares "People are what they +eat!" The exclamation point is our own. We quite agree with our medical +brother for we have seen people eat until we thought <i>we</i> would never be +hungry again.</p> + +<p>But there is more to self-indulgence than the food specialist has to +answer for, so we will be on our way. For instance, there is <i>the +spendthrift;</i> surely he is entitled to a short stanza. We all know him. +He goes on the theory that he has all the spending money in the world, +and that long after he is dead those on whom he spent it will remember +his generosity. Vain hope!—Whatever memory of him remains will be of a +different kind. Those who have been bored by his gratuitous attentions +will take up the threads of their existence where they left off when he +drove them away from their usual haunts. No longer will they have to +dodge down alleys and run up strange stairways in an effort to avoid his +overtures.</p> + +<a name='image_11'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-11.jpg' width='399' height='600' alt='Douglas Fairbanks in "The Good Bad-Man"' title=''> +</center> + +<p>When alive and in full operation he knew more about what was best for us +than we could possibly think of knowing. Left to his own devices he +would have us smoke his particular brands, drink his labels, eat his +selections, wear his kind of a cravat, overcoat, cap, hat, shoes, and +underwear. And to make his proposition sound business like he would +willingly pay the bills! In this little amusement we are supposed to +play the part of receiver and <i>praise his generosity</i>.</p> + +<p>Whatever may be our verdict on this chap we must keep in mind that his +inordinate desire to waste his substance was no less than a vice if for +no other reason than its example upon others; it is just as bad to be <i>a +"receiver"</i> as it is to be <i>a spendthrift</i>. If we cannot build up a +reputation for generosity without becoming ostentatious we might better +take lessons in refinement from someone "to the manor born."</p> + +<p>There is no desire to single out and set down by name and number every +sort of self-indulgence. <i>Excesses of any kind are indulgences</i>, and it +is easy to fall into them if we have not built up our stamina to resist.</p> + +<p>Our failures are usually traceable to ourselves. No matter what excuses +may be offered in our behalf we know in our own minds that we are to +blame. Somewhere along the line of our endeavors we faltered—<i>then we +fell</i>. Our conservatism reinforced by our strength of character finally +gave way at a given point and put the whole plant out of business. Our +system of inspection had become cursory instead of painstaking. +Everything had been running along so smoothly we forgot that everything +<i>must</i> wear out in time if it isn't looked after properly.</p> + +<p>A previous chapter entitled, "Taking Stock of Ourselves," has a specific +bearing upon the subject in hand. It emphasizes the necessity of taking +stock of ourselves early in life in order that we may know our weak +spots and take immediate steps to dig them out by the roots and replace +them with "<i>hardy perennials</i>" which thrive on and on unto the last day.</p> + +<p>And that reminds us that it is well to take stock of ourselves every +little while. Even "hardy perennials" have to be looked after—the +ground kept fertile and watered against the draughts of forgetfulness +and neglect. And so it must be with our mental and physical processes in +order that each day of our lives we may go forth with renewed +forcefulness—with every atom of character in full working order.</p> + +<p>Having started off on the right foot, we are less likely to have trouble +with our higher resolves during the lean and hungry years of our youth +when we go plunging headlong toward the goal of our ambitions. Usually +it is not until we come into "Easy Street" that we find that we dropped +something somewhere along the line which we must replace at once or we +will be laid up for repairs. But lo and behold! "Easy Street" is fair to +look upon. It dazzles the eye—it takes hold of the sensibilities. +Everybody wears "Sunday clothes" on this street and seems to be +superlatively happy. Surely it wouldn't hurt to linger awhile and see +what is going on. Why, this is the most talked about street in the +world! Some of the people we have dealt with have told us about it. They +said it was <i>the only street</i> for a man of means, for there could be +found the very things for which we strive in life. They told us that the +people we would meet represented the higher order of intelligence, +brainy, alert, accomplished—a grand thoroughfare for those who would +know life in the fullness thereof.</p> + +<p>Now it is a fact that "Easy Street" may be crossed and recrossed in +safety every day of our lives if we do not tarry. Financial competence +might permit of it, but competent efficiency demands that we trot +along—<i>keep moving</i>—get away before we settle down into its ways. The +action we need is not along this brilliant lane.</p> + +<p>But suppose we do take a chance just to test the serene confidence which +we think is so safely nailed down within us. The very thought of it +makes the "caution bell" tinkle in our ears—but caution is a species of +cowardice, after all, we say—a man of <i>courage</i> may dare anything +<i>once</i>. And just at the moment we waver who comes along but our old +friend <i>Self-indulgence!</i>—the well dressed, carefree fellow who once +told us all about "Easy Street" and invited us to look in on him +sometime. Nothing would please him more than to show us the whole +works—and here he is shaking us by the hand and pulling us along—for +he is an affable fellow and will not take "no" for an answer.</p> + +<p>Our struggle is feeble—a huge chunk of our strength of character falls +off into space then and there. Even at the gilded entrance we try again +to beg off—to slip away—but Self-indulgence will not hear. So together +we go through the portals leading into a grandeur we had never +known—beyond our experience and power to believe. <i>This is likely to +become the turning point in our career.</i></p> + +<p>Bill Nye once said "When we start down hill we usually find everything +greased for the occasion." We might add—"<i>except the bumps!</i>"</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_XIV'></a><h3>CHAPTER XIV</h3> + +<h4>LIVING BEYOND OUR MEANS</h4> +<br /> + +<p>Living beyond our means is a big subject that must be treated broadly, +for circumstances alter cases. There is a sane way to look at every +problem, and the matter of living beyond our means is one of the major +problems we have to face. If every man was alike and every avocation in +life was on a parity, it would be possible to dispose of this subject in +a paragraph. But men are not alike. What one could do successfully might +easily baffle another. Therefore, it seems advisable to consider the +subject by looking into its depths.</p> + +<p>To most people debt is terrifying. To some it means nothing—and thus we +have individual temperament as an angle from which to consider. Living +beyond our ability to pay means going into debt via the shortest route. +Getting out of debt means a revision of our code to the extent of +ceasing to live beyond our means and saving something with which to pay +off what we owe. Some men can do this successfully—others fail while +seemingly trying their best to succeed—and still others do nothing to +stem the tide. With these it is a matter of how the tide serves. If +favoring winds should drive them to opulence they would more than likely +pay up, particularly those imbued with <i>sufficient personal honor</i> to +"make good."</p> + +<p>Such are the exigencies of life, we may as well concede that a vast +majority at some time or other find it necessary to owe more than they +can readily pay. Emergencies arise which force us into expenses that +require credit, and if we have so ordered our lives that when the pinch +comes <i>we have no credit established</i> the fact that we pay out our last +dollar and go hungry to bed does not bring us much sympathy. Thus it +would seem that to be able to say: "I pay as I go," or, "I owe no man a +dollar," or, "I never live beyond my means" is not much of a boast, +when, after a death in the family, or other unforeseen circumstances, +we find ourselves broke and nowhere to turn for accommodation.</p> + +<p>It has been aptly said that "<i>People can save themselves to death.</i>" In +other words, one may develop the saving habit to such an extent that +"Laugh and Live" can find no room beside us on the perch of our +existence. We must admit that the systematic saver of pennies misses a +lot as he goes along, and, with time, degenerates into a sort of "Kill +Joy." In the matter of regulating his family to his way of thinking he +usually has an uphill job. Sons leave home as soon as they can; +daughters marry and breathe a sigh of relief, leaving mother behind to +slave on <i>in order that the hoard may grow</i>.</p> + +<p>While all of this is true it only represents extreme cases, therefore it +should not be construed that this chapter is launched against <i>the habit +of saving</i>. Rather, its purpose is to suggest the thought of not +"<i>over-saving</i>" at the expense of <i>personal welfare</i>. Our best plan +would be to save in reason, not forgetting that life is here to enjoy +as we go along. Then, too, we must have a <i>credit rating</i> among our +fellow mortals, just the same as a business person must have credit +rating among financial institutions.</p> + +<a name='image_12'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-12.jpg' width='382' height='600' alt='Squaring Things With Sister—From "The Habit of +Happiness"' title=''> +</center> + +<p>Credit in business is worth more than money because it allows for +expansion whereas money in the bank is only good <i>as far as it goes</i>. +Many a merchant who bought and sold for cash all his life found when he +came to enlarge his business that one thing was lacking—<i>credit</i>. The +fact that he had always paid cash threw a doubt upon his financial +condition when he proposed to borrow. He had neglected to build up a +credit as he went along. The business world only knew him as a man who +paid cash and exacted cash. Taken at his fullest inventory he had +"scalped" a living out of the world for which he had done but little to +make happier or better. One calamity might easily scuttle his prospects +forever—for instance, a fire, or a bank failure. And without credit it +would be difficult to start over again.</p> + +<p>By all means we must save something for the "rainy day" as we go +along—and our savings can be made up of other things than actual cash +in bank. One item of our savings is the habit of <i>keeping up our +appearances</i>. Living beyond our means does not incorporate the thought +that, in order to save every possible cent, we should become slipshod +and shabby. Carelessness in dress takes away from our rating as nothing +else will for it has to do with first impressions of those with whom we +come in contact. Gentility pays dividends of the highest order, being, +as it is, a badge of character. Neatness <i>bespeaks character</i>, and it is +just as cheap in dollars and cents to keep ourselves respectably clothed +as to indulge in shoddy apparel under the delusion that we have saved +money on the purchase price. Good clothing, costing more at the start, +lasts long <i>and looks well as long as it lasts</i>. Shoddy apparel never is +anything else but shoddy, and well might it proclaim the shoddy man.</p> + +<p>When we throw away our opportunity to present a genteel appearance, just +for the sake of the bank roll, we doom ourselves to defeat in the +pursuit of knowledge. We cannot get all we want to know by the mere +reading of books. We must mingle with people; we must interchange +thought that we may crystallize what we know into practical knowledge so +it can be made into tools to work with. While a man of brains is welcome +everywhere the matter of his appearance has a lot to do with how he is +received and with whom he may fraternize.</p> + +<p>"Isn't it a pity," we hear people say, "that, with all his brains, he +hasn't sense enough to make himself presentable?" But the worst phase of +the situation is that the unkempt man sooner or later loses faith in +himself and either ceases to hoard at the expense of his gentility or he +gives up his opportunity to mingle with others and lapses into habits +consistent with miserly thoughts.</p> + +<p>The phrase "<i>a happy medium</i>" is well known and decidedly applicable to +the subject of saving as we go along so that we may avert the sorrows +which follow in the wake of <i>living beyond our means</i>. It suggests a +desirable middle course which permits us to adopt a sane policy, rather +than flying to an extreme.</p> + +<p>It cannot be said that we are living beyond our means when by reason of +our association with men of affairs we need to spend more money and +thereby save less in preparing ourselves for the larger opportunities +which will naturally follow. Young men often go through college on their +"uppers," so to speak. There is not a cent which they could honestly +save as they went along without cheating themselves. The point is that +their situations in life force them to spend rather than to save money. +But in so doing the real saving was in the spending thereof. <i>They +enlarged their knowledge and decreased their bank accounts for the time +being.</i> What man parts with in an emergency is no license, however, for +him to fall back into profligacy. Never should a man entirely lose the +idea of putting something by. The college boy in this case has simply +invested his money in an education instead of a bank account.</p> + +<p>Once on the highroad of life with a plan of action well defined and a +regular income <i>the habit of putting money away should become a fixed +procedure</i>. In no other way do we accumulate except by investment, and +investment means putting away money at interest or in some project which +promises better returns.</p> + +<p>If we were to interview a thousand men on the subject of saving and draw +upon their experiences we would find that by investing money at interest +we pursue the safest course, far safer, in fact, than the seeking of +outside investments that <i>promise</i> greater returns. The latter invites +the mind away from the regular avocation and educates it in time to +<i>take chances</i> that are likely to turn into <i>setbacks</i>. The mind, +instead of applying itself to the duty of making the most out of its +regular employment, allows its interest to become scattered over too +broad a field.</p> + +<p>It is not within the province of all men to become wealthy and, after +all, wealth is not the only desideratum; the happiest of mortals are +found in the middle walks of life and not in the extremes. The struggle +should be to escape the life which saps our strength, keeps our nerves +on edge and drives us away from the <i>green pastures</i>.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_XV'></a><h3>CHAPTER XV</h3> + +<h4>INITIATIVE AND SELF-RELIANCE</h4> +<br /> + +<p>The late Elbert Hubbard defined the man with initiative as the one who +did the right thing at the right time without being told. At this point +it may be definitely stated that such a man would naturally be +<i>self-reliant.</i> Such a man would not lean on his friends. He would +<i>stand up</i> with them.... He would be found fighting his own battles +without crying for help.</p> + +<p>Once a cub reporter was ordered by his city editor to go and interview a +certain man. After an awkward pause the youngster inquired: "Where can I +find him?" Smiling scornfully into his eyes the city editor replied: +"Wherever he is."</p> + +<p>This would seem to have been the start and finish of this youngster's +newspaper career, but quite the reverse was true. He took the lesson +well to heart, thus starting himself on the road to self-reliance. If +he had repeated the offense it is likely he would have lost his job and +also <i>his nerve</i>—thereby spoiling his chances for a successful career. +The fact that he did not, but went on and made of himself a famous +newspaper man, proves that he lost no time in developing <i>initiative and +self-reliance</i>.</p> + +<p>There is no questioning the vast importance these two words mean to all +of us. Many a man who did not grasp the significance of initiative +became a "<i>leaner</i>" for the rest of his life. Many a man also missed his +chances by doing <i>just as he was told</i> and nothing more. His work ended +there. In due course it is inevitable that such a man should become part +of the great army of discontented ne'er-do-wells who help to block the +pavements in front of the loafing places.</p> + +<p>Hesitation, vacillation and growing diffidence take the place of +self-reliance. He falls to the bottom like a stone. And there he +rests—a drag anchor in the mire. His job gets the best of him because +he lacks initiative. Once stranded he becomes an arrant +coward—<i>afraid of his own shadow</i>.</p> + +<a name='image_13'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-13.jpg' width='388' height='600' alt='A Scene from "In Again—Out Again"' title=''> +</center> + +<p>We must <i>make our own opportunities</i> otherwise we are children of +circumstance. What becomes of us is a matter of guesswork. We have no +hand in compelling our own future. <i>Diffidence is a species of +cowardice.</i> It causes a man's courage to ooze out at his toes faster +than it comes into his heart. <i>Such men often have big ideas, but having +no confidence in themselves they lack the power to compel confidence in +others.</i> When they go into the presence of a man of personality they +lose their self-confidence and all of the pent-up courage which drove +them forward flies out at the window. Their weakness multiplies with +each failure until finally "the jig is up"—<i>their impotency is +complete</i>.</p> + +<p>Very largely those who have big ideas to present expect to be taken in +on them and to be given an opportunity to succeed along with their +scheme. When a man becomes so unfortunate as to be unable through +diffidence to explain himself, his big idea goes into the waste basket +and with it all of the hopes he has built upon it. <i>Another nail has +been driven into his casket of failures.</i></p> + +<p>To such a man, all pity, but we will not allow him to escape until we +have given him a pat on the back and pointed out the right road to +travel. We mustn't preach to him or undertake to force him to do +anything, but we will at least give him a helping hand and show him that +there is <i>a royal road to his goal</i>.</p> + +<p>This man needs first of all to build upon his physique. Perhaps he has a +<i>bad stomach</i>, and likewise <i>bad teeth</i>. Exercise—regular exercise, +should be the first thing on his program. Fresh air, long walks, deep +breathing, dumb bells, boxing, rowing, skating in season—<i>and wholesome +companionship day by day</i>. In the long run boxing will become his most +efficient exercise. When a man can take a blow between the eyes and come +back for more he has begun to <i>fortify his own combativeness</i>. That is +what he needs in life's battles—the nerve to <i>come back for more</i> after +a slam on the jaw that would lay another man low. And when it's all +said and done and the exercise game has become a feature of his day's +work, he must settle down to <i>good plain food and plenty of sleep</i>. +There is nothing in all the world like these things combined for the +upbuilding and upholding of health and courage.</p> + +<p>Our success is a matter of our courage. A man who can steel himself to +be knocked down and get up immediately afterwards and hand the other +fellow a ripping punch has added to his own "pep." <i>All courage is of +the same cloth, whether physical, moral or spiritual.</i> To build upon one +is to build up the others—the human system being constructed on such a +basis that if one part is affected all the rest follow suit.</p> + +<p>A man who isn't afraid of a physical combat will readily match his wits +with his fellow man. Physical training is therefore all important to +<i>initiative and self-reliance</i>.</p> + +<p>Our natural aim is to make for ourselves a true personality that does +not know defeat. When we come to an obstacle we must be able to hurdle +it. It is all very well to say that the longest way around is the +shortest way across, but it doesn't sound like initiative and +self-reliance. There is one thing about men who rely upon +themselves—they make no excuses, nor do they puff up over victory.</p> + +<p>Posing for applause is as distasteful to them as standing for abuse. All +they ask is a square deal and the confidence of their associates. If +they fall down on a proposition they get up and go at it again until +success crowns their efforts. Such men have a way of <i>turning defeat +into victory</i>.</p> + +<p>How immeasurably inferior to such a spirit is the fellow who whines and +moans at every evil twist of fortune. He has no confidence in himself +and nothing else to do except confide his woes to all who will listen to +his cowardly story of defeat. Such men are least useful in the important +work of this world. They are the humdrum hirelings—the dumb followers. +The pitiful part of it all is that they could have succeeded had they +but taken stock of themselves when the taking was good. But while there +is life there is hope—likewise a chance. <i>It is up to us.</i></p> + +<p>One of the startling things about men of initiative is the way they +come forward in times of trouble. We don't have to point to Andrew +Jackson in the War of 1812. We can look around us. Take, for example, a +great fire. Haven't we often read of the brave fireman who sprang +forward and by doing the right thing instantly, saved a multitude of +lives? Well, such a man is possessed of self-reliance. He is trained for +the hazardous life he leads. When the emergency arose he was ready in a +jiffy to do the work expected of him.</p> + +<p>It is safe to say that without training such men would have botched the +job and instead of being praised to the skies would have sunk into +oblivion under the heap of public scorn. Sometimes it happens that a man +accidentally becomes a hero, but it was no accident that he was <i>able to +become one</i>. He must have had initiative—he must have had +self-reliance. Archibald C. Butt was such a man. He went down on the +<i>Titanic</i>. The last act of his life was to help women and children into +the boats and calm their minds as they were lowered away. Astor was of +the same metal—<i>both sublimely oblivious to the terrible fate which +hung over them</i>. Here was initiative and self-reliance in its highest +form.</p> + +<p>And this sort of man is everywhere. The car in which we ride to work +every morning contains one or more of them. Let something happen and we +will see them spring forward with a line of action already formed. At +their word of command we automatically obey—and then when the worst is +over a kindly voice reassures us and we go on our way rejoicing.</p> + +<p>What would the world do without these men? History is filled with the +tales of heroes and heroines. And for every Joan of Arc there are +thousands upon thousands who have done heroic things without a word of +praise. Moreover, the really brave soul declines all ovation. No real +hero claims reward. <i>To have done the right thing at the right time is +reward in itself.</i></p> + +<p>This quality of self-strength and self-dependence is not confined to any +race of people, but in nations where personal liberty survives +initiative is at its best. Somehow, whenever the emergency, <i>the man +comes forth to do and dare</i>. The great world war, still raging as these +lines are penned, has furnished untold thousands of examples of +courageous action—-enough to last until the end of human affairs, but +they will go on and on in multiplied form, each day's score superseding +those of the day before. It would be bully to know that we are doing our +share in <i>safeguarding the supply</i> of Initiative and Self-reliance +needed in this world.</p> + +<p>We must keep moving. The fellow who gets in a rut through lack of +initiative finds that with advancing years it becomes harder and harder +to get out of it, so that the best plan is to make the move now while +there is time to succeed. When we come to think of it, there are plenty +of positions in the world for the right man, and if we have something to +say for ourselves that lends credit to our ability we stand a chance for +the job.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_XVI'></a><h3>CHAPTER XVI</h3> + +<h4>FAILURE TO SEIZE OPPORTUNITIES</h4> +<br /> + +<p>There is an old saying to the effect that "opportunity knocks but once +at our door"—and that is all <i>fol de rol</i>. Opportunity knocks at some +people's doors nearly every day of their lives and is given a royal +welcome. That's what Opportunity likes—<i>appreciation</i>. It goes often to +the home where the latchstring hangs on the outside. It's like a sign +reading "Hot coffee at all hours, day or night"—very inviting. Very +much different, however, from the abode whose windows shed no light and +whose door <i>is barred from within</i>.</p> + +<p>"Nobody Home!" that's the sign for this door.</p> + +<p>Mister Numbskull lives here and most of the time <i>he sleeps</i>. When +anyone knocks on his door he pulls the covers up over his head to shut +out the noise. He's down on his luck anyhow, therefore it would be a +waste of good shoe leather for him to be up and puttering around. If +Opportunity ever knocked at his door he could say in all truth that <i>he +never heard it</i>. He had often heard of Opportunity being in the +neighborhood, but one thing is certain—<i>someone else had invariably +seen him first</i>. He felt sure he would know Opportunity if ever he met +him face to face, and if ever he did he would have it out with him then +and there.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile—dadgast the luck!—always the fates pursued him with some +sort of hoodoo. And his neighbors—well, some of them had sense enough +to keep their distance and let him alone. Others, however, had not been +considerate of the fact that a "Jinx" was on his trail, and were given +to making sarcastic remarks concerning him. And thus it was that Mister +Numbskull spent his days, dodging his neighbors, sidestepping the +highways and obscuring himself from the very individual he wanted so +much to behold—<i>Opportunity</i>. At last there came a time when, in +despair, <i>and in disrepute</i>, he took to the woods and is yet to be +heard from. Opportunity still visits the neighborhood, but the path +leading to Mister Numbskull's home is grown up in weeds.</p> + +<p>The fact is that our real opportunity <i>knocks from within</i>. Through +experience, built upon consecutively by continuous effort, our vision +expands and pounds its way out through the portals of our brain. We see +the thing that we ought to do and <i>we go to it!</i> To the man who didn't +see it <i>the opportunity did not exist</i>.</p> + +<p>"What we don't know doesn't hurt us any"—so runs the old saw. And +here's a case where we who didn't see, <i>were</i> hurt, but we didn't know +it.</p> + +<p>For those of us who have vision there are all sorts of opportunities, +but many of them are not good for us. The ones we make for ourselves are +the healthy ones, and generally they are the best for us. "Our own baby" +is the one we will take the greatest pride in and enjoy the most. Then +we become masters of our own destiny in a sense and can be more +independent through having no senior partners in the enterprise. Often +our dreams bring forth a need for many kinds of special knowledge and +for these we go into the open market offering opportunity to many others +in return for their assistance. Thus we find that everything we do is in +relation to other things and dependent in part on other people.</p> + +<p>This should make us careful and a wee bit wary. Opportunities are widely +divergent in nature—through a stroke of hard luck one might have +difficulty in finding employment. The first opportunity might lead to a +job in a bar-room, but having fortified ourselves by developing our +highest attributes such as honesty, integrity, cleanliness of body and +mind—we are able to somehow or other pinch along until something better +shows itself. First-class principles are not to be thrown away upon the +first provocation, therefore, in order to take away the temptation, we +might as well figure out that a great many employments in the world do +not represent <i>real opportunities</i> and therefore should not be +considered.</p> + +<p>Failure to seize such so-called opportunities becomes a virtue in the +same sense that the failure to seize a decent opportunity becomes a +shame.</p> + +<p>Often opportunity comes through meeting men of affairs who have power +and wealth at their command. These are usually in connection with +enterprises of the greater magnitude. Those of us who have the power to +control our destinies to a reasonable degree should not stand back in +our support of these. If we have carefully built up our initiative, +self-reliance, preparedness in the way of efficiency, good health and +the will to do, there is no reason why we should not aspire to take a +hand in anything in which we are confident we can succeed. Among the men +who control the big affairs of the business world we find a true +democracy—<i>they want the man</i>. The fact that he appears before them +neatly attired, bright of eye and ready of wit will surely count in his +favor.</p> + +<p>In other words, we should live up to the opportunity in whatever form it +presents itself after we have accepted its responsibilities. To make +this perfectly plain <i>we must live up to the job!</i> If we are to be +superintendent of a coal mine "underneath the ground" we will put on +our overalls and jumpers, but if we are to be manager of a grand opera +house we will appear in our dress suits. The thought is obvious, but as +we journey along we find many of our fellow mortals neglecting to live +in line with what they are doing.</p> + +<p>We mention this fact hopeful that we will not fail to seize our +opportunities by setting up obstacles whereby we may become <i>persona non +grata</i> through lack of discernment.</p> + +<p>Opportunity is within ourselves and when we have seized our rightful +share, then we may look with pride upon our endeavor and proceed to +<i>laugh and live!</i></p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_XVII'></a><h3>CHAPTER XVII</h3> + +<h4>ASSUMING RESPONSIBILITIES</h4> +<br /> + +<p>Those who fear to assume responsibility necessarily <i>take orders from +others</i>. The punishment fits the crime perfectly and being +self-inflicted there is no injustice. It is true that many men possessed +of great brain power play "second fiddle" to shallow-minded men of +inferior wisdom from sheer lack of forcefulness on their own part. They +lack the full quality of leadership while possessing all save one +essential—<i>courage</i>. Fear abides in their hearts and spreads itself as +a mantle of gloom over their super-sensitive souls until finally they +struggle no more. Henceforth they are doomed and become the subject of +apology on the part of friends and relations. "He's all right," they +say, "but he suffers from over-refinement." He lacks something—we +cannot make out just what. It is altogether too bad for he is such a +superior man among <i>his social equals</i>.</p> + +<p>We must take our hats off to those who have the goodness of heart to +make allowance for our shortcomings. A disinterested listener, however, +is seldom taken into camp by such well intended argument. He knows that +"friend husband" or "friend brother" as the case may be, needs some sort +of swift kick that will stir his combativeness into action—that will +cause him to turn upon his mental inferior and have it out with him then +and there—once and for all. As a courage builder <i>fighting for justice</i> +is not to be sneezed at.</p> + +<p>Courage can be built up just the same as any other soul quality. It is +all a matter of early training as to which we start out with—courage or +fear. Unthinking parents have a lot to do with the propagation of fear +in the hearts of children. A <i>neglectful father</i> plus a <i>fear-stricken +mother</i> constitute the most logical forces which tend toward the +overdevelopment of fear in a child. Once the seed is thoroughly +implanted the growth can be depended upon. How to get rid of it later +is not so easy to figure out. Had the child been born with a "clubfoot" +these same parents would have spent their last dollar in an effort to +straighten it into natural condition. They could see the unshapely foot +day by day with their own eyes—and so could their neighbors. But the +fear-warped little brain struggling for courage with which to combat its +weakness needs must battle alone with chances largely against it.</p> + +<p>The mere thought of what is in store for this little one as it stumbles +along from one period to another, fearful of this, and fearful of that, +is disconcerting to say the least. We can almost trace our friend +"Second Fiddle" directly back to such a childhood. We can almost hear +his fond mother shout, "Keep away from the brook, darling, you might get +your feet wet and <i>catch your death of a cold</i>." Another well known and +highly respected admonition belonging to childhood's hour is, "Come in, +deary, it's getting dark—Bogie man will get you if you don't watch +out."</p> + +<a name='image_14'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-14.jpg' width='600' height='425' alt='Bungalowing in California' title=''> +</center> + +<p>Some years later when little son runs breathless into the home portal +after being chased from school by some "turrible" boys we can hear this +same little mother as she storms about the place and tells what "papa +must do" about the matter. According to her notion, if teachers could +not control the "criminal element" among their pupils then it was high +time for the police to step in. Never a word about little son taking his +own part! Father listens in silence and half formulates the notion of +going direct to the parents and laying down the law, while little son +listens in fear and trembling in anticipation of what is coming to him +if father carries out his threat.</p> + +<p>Tall oaks from little acorns grow—<i>if the twig is not bent in the +sprouting</i>.</p> + +<p>Little son is bound to grow into manhood some day and when he arrives he +must have one particular attribute—<i>courage</i>. Somehow he will get along +if he has that. He may also wear a "clubfoot" or a "hunch back," but +with courage as a running mate he will assume his responsibilities and +become a force in the world.</p> + +<p>Once a great orator sat upon a rostrum listening to a speech by a man +who cautioned his countrymen against taking steps to defend the national +honor. "We'll outlive the taunts of those who would drag us into war!" +he bellowed forth. Whereupon the orator jumped to his feet and with +clarion voice shouted, "God hates a coward!" and then sat down again.</p> + +<p>Dazed at first the vast throng sat stupefied—but only for a moment. +Then as one man they jumped to their feet and by reason of prolonged +cheering gave national impulse to a thought which has since been +sermonized from thousands of pulpits. The orator had simply paraphrased +and put "pep" into the old Biblical slogan: "The Lord helps those who +help themselves." The effect was electrical. The whole country rallied +to the idea with the result that we saved ourselves from war by showing +the solid front of being ready and willing to defend ourselves.</p> + +<p>Everything that tends to build up courage is an asset in life. The more +we have of it the further we go and the more interesting our lives +become. For <i>the man of the lion heart</i> all things unfold and unto him +the timid must bring their offerings. No one of ordinary gumption +consults the human "flivver." Advice from him would be unavailing. His +point of view would be inadequate—his ability to advise, impotent. We +go to the man who does things and say to him: "Here is my little +idea—do you want to help me put it over?" If it is good, he does. If +not, his experience tells him so, for men of courage are naturally +possessed of large vision. Their lack of fear has given them +right-of-way over vast areas of the world of action. They fail only as +"their lights go out forever."</p> + +<p>With courage we order our own lives and take orders only from those of +superior wisdom. This we can never afford <i>not to do</i>. The courageous +man of largest vision commands by his power to reason logically and +therefore assumes the air of comradeship rather than "overseer" or +"boss." Only through lack of moral and physical courage are we to +become the slaves of these.</p> + +<p>Courage—the child of <i>Hope—the despair of Failure</i>. Born of Good Cheer +it links its fate with the higher attributes and tramples under foot the +fears which spring up before it. When <i>sown early</i> into the hearts of +the young its companionship becomes unerring in its efficiency for good +throughout their lives.</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_XVIII'></a><h3>CHAPTER XVIII</h3> + +<h4>WEDLOCK IN TIME</h4> +<br /> + +<p>It is a happy idea to marry while we are young—a fine thing—a good +thing—<i>a pleasant duty indeed</i> to marry the woman of our choice at a +time of life when both are at an age when adjustment is natural and +lasting loyalties are implanted in our hearts and minds for all time. We +make a sad mistake when we postpone so important a step just for the +sake of becoming a rich man first so that our bride-to-be may step into +luxurious quarters and never have to lift her dainty hands except to sip +from the glass of nectar we have set before her. The real facts compiled +by the statistical "System Sams" are against this idea. The balance +comes up in red ink <i>on the wrong side of the ledger</i>.</p> + +<p>According to these gentlemen the average mortal is likely to be very fat +and much over forty before he can make an offering according to his +first generous impulses and the chances are he will never reach the goal +in this life. By the time he might be financially ready there is a hard +glint in his eye, and he will be looking for the mote in the eye of his +lady love. The waiting game is a hard one <i>and it makes us worldly</i>. +After the lapse of years what once seemed a <i>rose</i> might appear to be +more of a <i>hollyhock</i>.</p> + +<p>Naturally we never blame ourselves for the changes. Had we obeyed the +grand impulse in the hour of our youth we might have kept the garden +full of roses and the hollyhocks would never have sprouted there. Then +the home nest would have tinged our sensibilities with its loveliness +and our affections would have been nailed down hard and fast <i>forever +and a day</i>.</p> + +<p>Among the many baffling problems which the young man faces, and for that +matter, any man, is marriage. More thought, more energy and more time is +taken up over this one decisive step than over any other. The reasons +are obvious. It involves for life the happiness of the contracting +parties—not only in a direct and personal way, but also in a general +sense. The man's business success largely depends upon the helpmate he +has in his home. <i>His career is at her mercy.</i> For example, if the wife +should turn out to be unsympathetic, and uninterested in his ambitions, +this fact might warp his prospects by causing him to <i>lose heart</i> in +facing the large problems awaiting him along the road of opportunity. +However, if she is of a cheerful, energetic disposition and willing to +do all that she can to help him over the rough spots as they travel +along together he will be <i>inspired into action</i> and will do his level +best. He will be conscious as he goes about his work that there is <i>one</i> +person above all upon whom he can depend—<i>his wife</i>.</p> + +<p>Marriage is a <i>serious business</i> and usually we concede that point in +the beginning. However, this is not aimed as a blow at life's greatest +romance ... it is merely the recognition of an elemental fact.... +Marriage must have its <i>practical side</i>. To become successful in the +highest degree man and wife <i>must establish a comradeship</i>. It is not +the part of wisdom that either should rule the other, but rather that +each should have the interest of the other at heart and should strive to +be helpful one unto the other. Two men can go through life the best of +friends, each holding the respect and confidence of the other. So can +two women. <i>Then, why not a man and wife?</i> Needless to say they can, and +do. Such partnerships are sure of success. It is only through lack of +comradeship that love flies out of the window—<i>and lights on a +sea-going aeroplane</i>.</p> + +<p>The marriage state is a long contract—it should not be stumbled into by +man or woman. Nor should we become cowardly to the point of backing out +of it altogether. Love is blind <i>only to the blind</i>. Either party to the +tie that binds has a chance to know in advance whether the venture is +safe and sane. All a man has to consider after he knows his own heart is +that the woman of his choice is sensible, considerate and healthy. Other +things being equal he can take the leap without hesitancy. We shouldn't +borrow trouble.</p> + +<a name='image_15'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-15.jpg' width='600' height='454' alt='Demonstrating the Monk and the Hand-Organ to a Body of +Psychologists' title=''> +</center> + +<p>Of course there are those who <i>should never marry</i>. They do, however, +and when they do they loan themselves to the mockery of the marriage +state. There is no time to dwell on this thought for it is just +something that goes on happening anyway and has no bearing upon the +advisability of "wedlock in time" between <i>people of horse sense</i>.</p> + +<p>Given a good wife, after his own heart, no manly man has a righteous +kick coming against the fates. Under such circumstances if things go +wrong he will find the fault within himself. Of course we should, to the +fullest possible extent, be prepared for marriage before assuming its +responsibilities. We should at least have a ticket before embarking—and +it is the <i>real</i> man's duty to provide the ticket. Since it is to be a +long voyage a "round trip" isn't necessary. In other words, a man +needn't be rich when he marries—but he should not be broke, either. +Lack of funds a few days after the honeymoon is too hard a test for +matrimony to bear nobly. It is too much like inviting a catastrophe +through lack of good, hard sense to begin with. It shows poor +generalship at the very start—and there is the liability of causing +great distress and hardship to a tender-hearted little woman. It would +be a sad blow to her to find that the man of her choice was, after all, +just an ordinary fellow—<i>a man without foresight</i>.</p> + +<p>There are four seasons in married life—spring, summer, fall and winter, +and we are going to need a comrade as we go through each of them. And +the one we want <i>is the one we start with</i>—the gentle partner in all +our joys and sorrows. It is she who will stand back of us when all +others fail. When the children come along to bless our days and inspire +us to greater efforts we are glad to look into their happy, smiling +faces and find that they resemble their mother—their soft cheeks are +like hers, their hands, their dainty ways, their caresses. And when mama +looks into those same bright eyes they make her think of their daddy. +The fond affection bestowed upon the children by both parents is but +another mode of expressing their regard for each other.</p> + +<p>Springtime days, these! When little tots climb up and entwine their +arms about our necks. If this were married life's only compensation it +would not prove in vain—for when the babies enter the home the tie that +binds becomes hard and fast—<i>if the man is a manly man</i>. To become the +father of a bright-eyed babe is an experience of the highest importance +to a young man getting started. It reinforces his courage, doubles up +his ambitions and <i>puts him on his metal</i>. He has a new responsibility +and it adds to his strength of character to assume it in all its phases. +Another thing it brings comfort and joy to the mother during the long +days while her man is out in the fray. <i>It drives ennui out of the +household throughout our springtime days.</i></p> + +<p>And when summer comes along new hopes dawn within us. Springtime had +found us up and doing and when it merged into the new season we found +our aspirations even stronger than before. Children must be educated and +their futures prepared in advance as far as may be. They must not go +into the world <i>without tools to work with</i>. Meanwhile the household +teems with plans and becomes a veritable dreamland of youthful fervor. +We find that having helped our children into attractive personalities +they have become magnets with which to draw about us their comrades. +Thus we hold on to our youth by virtue of our surroundings—creatures of +our thoughtfulness concerning "<i>wedlock in time</i>."</p> + +<p>That the fall season is coming has no terrors for us. There will be the +weddings and plannings for new homes <i>close by</i>—if we have our say. And +in due course, the grandchildren will come who will favor grandpa and +grandma and once again youth knocks at our door. There will be no dread +winter days for us for we have been forehanded—we have a <i>new crew on +board to chase away the cares of old age and infirmities</i>.</p> + +<p>Try how we will there is no way to forestall the operation of the law of +compensation. We reap as we sow. The world will be good to those who +compel its respect by becoming the right sort of citizens. <i>Wedlock in +time—that's the answer!</i></p> + +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_XIX'></a><h3>CHAPTER XIX</h3> + +<h4>LAUGH AND LIVE</h4> +<br /> + +<p>Again I find it expedient to resort to the personal pronoun and +therefore this final chapter is to be devoted to "<i>you</i> and <i>me</i>." There +are facts you may want to know <i>for sure</i> and one of them is whether or +not I live up to my own prescription.</p> + +<p>I do—<i>and it's easy!</i></p> + +<p>I have kept myself happy and well through keeping my physical department +in first class order. If that had been left to take care of itself I +would surely have fallen by the wayside in other departments. Once we +sit down in security the world seems to <i>hand us things we do not need</i>.</p> + +<p>Fresh air is my intoxicant—and it keeps me in high spirits. My system +doesn't crave artificial stimulation because <i>my daily exercise</i> +quickens the blood sufficiently. Then, too, I manage to <i>keep busy</i>. +That's the real elixir—<i>activity!</i> Not always physical activity, +either, for I must read good books in order to exercise my mind in other +channels than just my daily routine—and add to my store of knowledge as +well.</p> + +<p>Then there is my <i>inner-self</i> which must have attention now and then. +For this a little solitude is helpful. We have only to sense the +phenomena surrounding us to know that we must have a <i>working +faith</i>—something <i>practical</i> to live by, which automatically keeps us +on our course. The mystery of life somehow loses its density <i>if we +retain our spark of hope</i>.</p> + +<p>All of my life since childhood I have held Shakespeare in constant +companionship. Aside from the Bible—which is entirely apart from all +other books—Shakespeare has no equal. My father, partly from his love +for the great poet, and partly for the purpose of aiding me to memorize +accurately, taught me to recite Shakespeare before I was old enough to +know the meaning of the words. I remembered them, however, and in later +years I grew to know their full significance. Then I became an ardent +follower of the Master Philosopher, than whom no greater interpreter of +human emotions ever lived. In the matter of sage advice there has never +been his equal. In "<i>Hamlet</i>" we find the wonderful words of admonition +from <i>Polonius</i> in his farewell speech to his son <i>Laertes</i>—as good +today as four hundred years ago, and they will continue to be so until +the end of time.</p> + +<p>It matters not how familiar we may be with these lines it is no waste of +time to read them over again once in awhile. They seem to fit the +<i>practical side of life</i> perfectly. If we have any complaint by reason +of their brusqueness we have only to temper our interpretation according +to our own sense of justice. In other words if we wanted to loan a +"ten-spot" now and then we would just go ahead and do it—meanwhile, to +save you the trouble of looking up these lines, here they are in "Laugh +and Live"—</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>And these few precepts in thy memory<br /></span> +<span>See thou charácter—Give thy thoughts no tongue,<br /></span> +<span>Nor any unproportioned thought his act.<br /></span> +<span>Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.<br /></span> +<span>The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,<br /></span> +<span>Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;<br /></span> +<span>But do not dull thy palm with entertainment<br /></span> +<span>Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged comrade. Beware<br /></span> +<span>Of entrance to a quarrel: but, being in,<br /></span> +<span>Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee.<br /></span> +<span>Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice:<br /></span> +<span>Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.<br /></span> +<span>Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,<br /></span> +<span>But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy:<br /></span> +<span>For the apparel oft proclaims the man;<br /></span> +<span>And they in France of the best rank and station<br /></span> +<span>Are of a most select and generous sheaf in that.<br /></span> +<span>Neither a borrower nor a lender be;<br /></span> +<span>For loan oft loses both itself and friend,<br /></span> +<span>And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry,<br /></span> +<span>This above all—<i>to thine ownself be true;</i><br /></span> +<span><i>And it must follow, as the night the day,</i><br /></span> +<span><i>Thou canst not then be false to any man</i>.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<a name='image_16'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-16.jpg' width='361' height='600' alt=""Wedlock in Time"—The Fairbanks' Family" title=""> +</center> + +<p>The time has come to close this little book. It has been a great +pleasure to write it and a greater pleasure to hope that it will be +received in the same spirit it has been written. These are busy days for +all of us. We go in a gallop most of the time, but there comes the quiet +hour when we must sit still and "take stock." I know this from the +letters that come to me asking my opinion on all sorts of subjects. +People believe I am happy because my laughing pictures seem to denote +this fact—<i>and it is a fact!</i> In the foregoing chapters I have told +why. If, in the telling I shall have been instrumental in adding to <i>the +world's store of happiness</i> I shall ever thank my "lucky stars."</p> + +<p>Very Sincerely</p> + +<p>Douglas Fairbanks</p> + +<br /> + +<a name='A_quotCLOSE_UPquot_OF_DOUGLAS_FAIRBANKS'></a><h3>A "CLOSE-UP" OF DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS</h3> + +<center>by George Creel</center> + +<center><i>Reprinted from Everybody's Magazine by Permission of The Ridgway +Company, New York.</i></center> +<br /> + +<h3>CHAPTER XX</h3> + +<h4>A "CLOSE-UP" OF DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS</h4> +<br /> + +<p>Young Mr. Douglas Fairbanks, star alike in both the "speakies" and the +"movies," is well worth a story. He is what every American might be, +ought to be, and frequently is <i>not</i>. More than any other that comes to +mind, he is possessed of the indomitable optimism that gives purpose, +"punch," and color to any life, no matter what the odds.</p> + +<p>He holds the world's record for the standing broad grin. There isn't a +minute of the day that fails to find him glad that he's alive. Nobody +ever saw him with a "grouch," or suffering from an attack of the +"blues." Nobody ever heard him mention "hard luck" in connection with +one of his failures. The worse the breaks of the game, the gloomier the +outlook, the wider his grin. He has made cheerfulness a habit, and it +has paid him in courage, in bubbling energy, and buoyant resolve.</p> + +<p>We are a young nation and a great nation. Judging from the promise of +the morning, there is nothing that may not be asked of America's noon. A +land of abundance, with not an evil that may not be banished, and yet +there is more whining in it than in any other country on the face of the +globe. If we are to die, "Nibbled to Death by Ducks" may well be put on +the tombstone. Little things are permitted to bring about paroxysms of +peevishness. Even our pleasures have come to be taken sadly. We are +irritable at picnics, snarly at clambakes, and bored to death at +dinners.</p> + +<p>The Government ought to hire Douglas Fairbanks, and send him over the +country as an agent of the Bureau of Grins. Have him start work in +Boston, and then rush him by special train to Philadelphia. If the +wealth of the United States increased $41,000,000,000 during the last +three peevish, whining years, think what would happen if we learned the +art of joyousness and gained the strength that comes from good humor +and optimism!</p> + +<p>"Doug" Fairbanks—now that he is in the "movies" we don't have to be +formal—is the living, breathing proof of the value of a grin. His rise +from obscurity to fame, from poverty to wealth, has no larger foundation +than his ever-ready willingness to let the whole world see every tooth +in his head.</p> + +<p>Good looks? Artistry? Bosh! The Fairbanks features were evidently picked +out by a utilitarian mother who preferred use to ornament; and as for +his acting, critics of the drama, imbued with the traditions of Booth +and Barrett, have been known to sob like children after witnessing a +Fairbanks performance.</p> + +<p>It is the joyousness of the man that gets him over. It's the 100 per +cent interest that he takes in everything he goes at that lies at the +back of his success. He does nothing by halves, is never indifferent, +never lackadaisical.</p> + +<p>At various stages in his brief career he has been a Shakespearean actor, +Wall Street clerk, hay steward on a cattle-boat, vagabond, and business +man, knowing poverty, hunger, and discomfort at times, but never, +<i>never</i> losing the grin. Things began to move for him when he left a +Denver high school back in 1900 for the purpose of entering college. As +he says, "A man can't be too careful about college."</p> + +<p>He started for Princeton, but met a youth on the train who was going to +Harvard. He took a special course at Cambridge—just what it was he +can't remember—but at the end of the year it was hinted to him that +circus life was more suited to his talents, particularly one with three +rings.</p> + +<p>A friend, however, suggested the theatre, and gave him a card to +Frederick Warde, the tragedian. Mr. Warde fell for the Fairbanks grin, +and as a first part assigned him the role of <i>François</i>, the lackey, in +"Richelieu." What he lacked in experience he made up for in activity and +unflagging merriment. It got to be so that Warde was almost afraid to +touch the bell, for he never knew whether the amazing <i>François</i> would +enter through the door or come down from the ceiling.</p> + +<p>After the company had done its worst to "Richelieu," it changed to +Shakespearean repertoire, and for one year young Fairbanks engaged in +what Mr. Warde was pleased to term a "catch-as-catch-can bout with the +immortal Bard." When friends of Shakespeare finally protested in the +name of humanity, the strenuous Douglas accepted an engagement with +Herbert Kelcey and Effie Shannon in "Her Lord and Master."</p> + +<p>Five months went by before the two stars broke under the strain, and by +that time news had come to Mr. Fairbanks that Wall Street was Easy +Money's other name. Armed with his grin, he marched into the office of +De Coppet & Doremus, and when the manager came out of his trance +Shakespeare's worst enemy was holding down the job of order man.</p> + +<p>"The name Coppet appealed to me," he explains.</p> + +<p>He is still remembered in that office, fondly but fearfully. He did his +work well enough; in fact, there are those who insist that he invented +scientific management.</p> + +<p>"How about that?" I asked him, for it puzzled me.</p> + +<p>"Well, you see, it was this way: For five days in a week I would say, +'Quite so' to my assistant, no matter what he suggested. On Saturday I +would dash into the manager's office, wag my head, knit my brow, and +exclaim, 'What we need around here is <i>efficiency</i>.' And once I urged +the purchase of a time-clock."</p> + +<p>The way he filled his spare time was what bothered. What with his +tumbling tricks, boxing, wrestling, leap-frog over chairs, and other +small gaieties, he mussed up routine to a certain extent. But he was +<i>not</i> discharged. At a point where the firm was just one jump ahead of +nervous prostration, along came "Jack" Beardsley and "Little" Owen, two +husky football players with a desire to see life without the safety +clutch.</p> + +<p>The three approached the officials of a cattle-steamship, and by +persistent claims to the effect that they "had a way" with dumb +animals, got jobs as hay stewards.</p> + +<p>"We found the cows very nice," comments Mr. Fairbanks. "No one can get +me to say a word against them. But those stokers! And those other +stable-maids! Pow! We had to fight 'em from one end of the voyage to the +other, and it got so that I bit myself in my sleep. The three of us got +eight shillings apiece when we landed at Liverpool, and tickets back, +but there were several little things about Europe that bothered us, and +we thought we'd see what the trouble was."</p> + +<p>They "hoboed" it through England, France, and Belgium, working at any +old job until they gathered money enough to move along, whether it was +carrying water to English navvies or unloading paving-blocks from a +Seine boat. After three joyous months, they felt the call of the cattle, +and came home on another steamer.</p> + +<p>Back on his native heath, young Fairbanks took a shot from the hip at +law, but missed. Then he got a job in a machine-manufacturing plant, +but one day he found that his carelessness had permitted fifty dollars +to accumulate, and he breezed down to Cuba and Yucatan to see what +openings there were for capital. Back from that tramping trip, he +figured that since he had not annoyed the stage for some time it +certainly owed him something.</p> + +<p>His return to the drama took place in "The Rose of Plymouth Town," a +play in which Miss Minnie Dupree was the star. Meeting Miss Dupree, I +asked her what sort of an actor Fairbanks was in those days.</p> + +<p>"Well," she said judiciously, "I think that he was about the nicest case +of St. Vitus' dance that ever came under my notice."</p> + +<p>William A. Brady got him next. Mr. Brady is quite a dynamo himself, and +there was also a time in his life when he managed James J. Corbett. The +two fell into each other's arms with a cry of joy, and for seven years +they touched off dramatic explosions that strewed fat actors all over +the landscape and tore miles of scenery into ribbons.</p> + +<p>"Some boy!" was Mr. Brady's tribute. "Put him in a death scene, and +he'd find a way to break the furniture."</p> + +<p>There was never a part that "Doug" Fairbanks lay down on. To every role +he brought joy and interest and enthusiasm, and the night came +inevitably that saw his name in electric letters.</p> + +<p>It is not claimed that his work as a star "elevated" the drama, but it +may safely be claimed that he never appeared in any play that was not +wholesome, stimulating, and helpful.</p> + +<p>Nothing was more natural than that the movies should seek such an actor, +and they set the trap with attractive bait.</p> + +<p>"Come over to us," they said, "and we'll let you do anything you want. +Outside of poison gas and actual murder, the sky's the limit."</p> + +<p>Without even waiting to kick off his shoes, "Doug" Fairbanks made a +dive.</p> + +<p>The movie magnates got what they wanted, and Fairbanks got what he +wanted. For the first time in his life he was able to "let go" with all +the force of his dynamic individuality, and he took full advantage of +the opportunity.</p> + +<p>In "The Lamb," his first adventure before the camera, he let a +rattlesnake crawl over him, tackled a mountain lion, jiu-jitsued a bunch +of Yaqui Indians until they bellowed, and operated a machine-gun.</p> + +<p>In "His Picture in the Papers," he was called upon to run an automobile +over a cliff, engage in a grueling six-round go with a professional +pugilist, jump off an Atlantic liner and swim to the distant shore, mix +it up in a furious battle royal with a half dozen husky gunmen, leap +twice from swiftly moving trains, and also to resist arrest by a squad +of Jess Willards dressed up in police uniforms.</p> + +<p>"The Half-Breed" carried him out to California, and, among other things, +threw him into the heart of a forest fire that had been carefully +kindled in the redwood groves of Calaveras County. Amid a rain of +burning pine tufts, and with great branches falling to the ground all +around him, "Douggie" was required to dash in and save the gallant +sheriff from turning into a cinder. Hair and eyelashes grew out again, +however, his blisters healed, and in a few days he was as good as new.</p> + +<p>"The Habit of Happiness" was rich in stunts that would have made even +Battling Nelson turn to tatting with a sigh of relief. Five gangsters, +sicked on to their work by the villain, waylaid our hero on the stairs, +and in the rough-and-tumble that followed, it was his duty to beat each +and every one of them into a state of coma. He performed his task so +conscientiously that his hands were swollen for a week, not to mention +his eyes and nose. As for the five extra men who posed as the gangsters, +all came to the conclusion that dock-walloping was far less strenuous +than art, and went back to their former jobs.</p> + +<p>"The Good Bad Man" was a Western picture that contained a thrill to +every foot of film. Our hero galloped over mountains, jumping from crag +to crag, held up an express train single-handed in order to capture the +conductor's ticket-punch, grappled with gigantic desperadoes every few +minutes, shot up a saloon, and was dragged around for quite a while at +the end of a lynching party's rope.</p> + +<p>"Reggie Mixes In" was one joyous round of assault and battery from +beginning to end. Happening to fall in love with a dancer in a Bowery +cabaret, <i>Reggie</i> puts family and fortune behind him and takes a job as +"bouncer" so as to be near his lady-love. Aside from his regular duties, +he is required to work overtime on account of the hatred of a +gang-leader who also loves the girl. Five scoundrels jump <i>Reggie</i>, and, +after manhandling four, he drops from a second-story window to the neck +of the fifth, and chokes him with hands and legs. After which he carries +the senseless wretch down the street, and gaily flicks him, as it were, +through a window at the villain's feet. As a tasty little finish, +<i>Reggie</i> and his rival lock themselves in an empty room, and engage in a +contest governed by packing-house rules.</p> + +<p>Three days after the combat, by the way, the company heads were pleased +to announce that both men were out of danger unless blood-poisoning +set in.</p> + +<a name='image_17'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-17.jpg' width='373' height='600' alt="Here's Hoping! (White Studio)" title=""> +</center> + +<p>"The Mystery of the Leaping Fish" was what is known as a "water +picture," and "Doug," as a comedy detective, was compelled to make a +human submarine of himself, not to mention several duels in the dark +with Japanese thugs and opium smugglers.</p> + +<p>"Another day of it," he grinned, "and I'd have grown fins."</p> + +<p>"Manhattan Madness" was really nothing more than St. Vitus's dance set +to ragtime. Our hero climbed up eaves-pipes, plunged through trap-doors +down into dungeons, jumped from the roof of a house into a tree, kicked +his way in and out of secret closets, and engaged in hair-raising +combats with desperate villains every few minutes.</p> + +<p>It is not only the case that "Doug" Fairbanks made good with the movie +fans. What is more to the point, he made good with the "bunch" itself. +In nine cases out of ten, the "legitimate" star, going over into +pictures, evades and avoids the "rough stuff." To some humble, hardy +"double" is assigned the actual work of falling off the cliff, riding at +full speed across granite hedges, taking a good hard punch in the nose, +or plunging from the top of the burning building.</p> + +<p>Many an honest cowpuncher, taking his girl to the show with him to let +her see what a daredevil he is, has died the death upon discovering that +he was merely "doubling" for some cow-eyed hero who lacked the nerve to +do the stunt himself.</p> + +<p>"Doug" Fairbanks is one of the few movie heroes who have never had a +"double." He asks no man to do that which he is afraid to do himself. No +fall is too hard for him, no fight too furious, no ride too dangerous. +There is not a single one of his pictures in which he hasn't taken a +chance of breaking his neck or his bones; but, as one bronco-buster +observed, "He jes' licks his lips an' asks for more."</p> + +<p>To be sure, few actors have brought such super-physical equipment to the +strenuous work of the movies. Fairbanks, in addition to being blessed +with a strong, lithe body, has developed it by expert devotion to every +form of athletic sport. He swims well, is a crack boxer, a good polo +player, a splendid wrestler, a skilful acrobat, a fast runner, and an +absolutely fearless rider.</p> + +<p>There is never a picture during the progress of which he does not +interpolate some sudden bit of business as the result of his quick wit +and dynamic enthusiasm. In one play, for instance, he was supposed to +enter a house at sight of his sweetheart beckoning to him from an upper +window. As he passed up the steps, however, his roving eye caught sight +of the porch railing, a window-ledge, and a balcony, and in a flash he +was scaling the facade of the house like any cat.</p> + +<p>In another play he was trapped on the roof of a country home. Suddenly +Fairbanks, disregarding the plan of retreat indicated by the author, +gave a wild leap into a near-by maple, managed to catch a bough, and +proceeded to the ground in a series of convulsive falls that gave the +director heart-failure.</p> + +<p>During "The Half-Breed" picture, some of the action took place about a +fallen redwood that had its great roots fully twenty feet into the air.</p> + +<p>"Climb up on top of those roots, Doug," yelled the director.</p> + +<p>Instead of that, "Douggie" went up to a young sapling that grew at the +base of the fallen tree. Bending it down to the ground, as an archer +bends his bow, he gave a sudden spring, and let the tough birch catapult +him to the highest root.</p> + +<p>"What do you want me to do now?" he grinned.</p> + +<p>"Come back the same way," grinned the director.</p> + +<p>Most "legitimate" actors—the valuation is their own—find the movies +rather dull. Time hangs very heavily upon their hands. As one remarked +to me in tones that were thick with a divine despair: "There's +absolutely nothing for a chap to do. In lots of the God-forsaken holes +they drag you to, there isn't even a hotel. No companionship, no +diversion of any kind, and oftentimes no bathtubs."</p> + +<p>Douglas Fairbanks enters no such complaint. He draws upon the energy and +interest that ought to be in every human being, and when entertainment +is not in sight, he goes after it. When they were making "The +Half-Breed" pictures in the Carquinez woods of Northern California, he +was never seen around the camp except when actually needed by the camera +man. Upon his return from these absences, it was noticed that his hands +were usually bleeding, and his clothing stained and torn.</p> + +<p>"What in the name of mischief have you been doing now?" the director +demanded on a day when Fairbanks's wardrobe was almost a total loss.</p> + +<p>"Trappin'," chirped the star.</p> + +<p>Beating about the woods, Bret Harte in hand, he had managed to discover +an old woodsman who still held to the ancient industries of his youth. +The trapper's specialty was "bob cats," and the bleeding hands and torn +clothes came from "Doug's" earnest efforts to handle the "varmints" just +as his venerable preceptor handled them. Out of the experience, at +least, he brought an intimate knowledge of field, forest, and stream, +for over the fire and in their walks he had pumped the old man dry.</p> + +<p>In the same way he made "The Good Bad Man" hand him over everything of +value that frontier life contained. The picture was taken out in the +Mohave desert; for the making of it the director had scoured the West +for riders and ropers and cowboys of the old school. "He men"—every one +of them, and for a time they looked with dislike and suspicion upon the +"star," but when they saw that Fairbanks did not ask for any "double," +and took the hardest tumble with a grin, they received him into their +fellowship with a heartfelt yell.</p> + +<p>Dull in the Mohave desert? Why, he had to sit up nights to keep even +with his engagements. From one man he learned bronco-busting, from +another fancy roping, and from others all that there is to know about +horses, cattle, mountain, and plain. And around the camp-fires he got +stories of the winning of the West such as never found their way into +histories.</p> + +<p>When one picture called for jiu-jitsu work, he didn't rest satisfied +with learning just enough to "get by." Every spare moment found him in a +clinch with the Japanese expert, mastering every secret, perfecting +himself in every hold. Same way with boxing. When no pugilists came +handy, he put on the gloves with anyone willing to take chances on a +black eye, keeping at it until today they have to hire professionals +when he figures in a movie fight.</p> + +<p>When they made a "water" picture he never stopped until he could +duplicate every trick known to the "professor" who drilled the extra +men. He took advantage of a biplane flight to make friends with the +aeronaut, and by the time the picture was done, he was as good a driver +as the expert.</p> + +<p>No matter where he is, or what the job, he finds something of interest +because he goes upon the theory that every minute is meant to be lived. +Maroon him at a cross-roads, with five hours until train time, and he'd +have the operator's first name in ten minutes and be learning the Morse +alphabet, after which he would rush up to his new friend's house to see +the babies or to pass judgment on a Holstein calf or a Black Minorca +brood.</p> + +<p>It is the tremendously human quality, more than anything else, that gets +him across. People like him because he likes them. He attracts interest +because he takes interest. Talk with any of the big men in the +motion-picture industry, that is, those with brains and education, and +they will tell you that personality counts more in pictures than it does +on the stage.</p> + +<p>H. B. Aitken, president of the Triangle Film Corporation, said to me: +"The screen is intimate. The camera brings the actor right into your +lap. In the speaking drama, make-up and footlights change and hide, but +not the least flicker of expression is lost in the picture. It's a test +of real-ness, and it takes a real man or a real woman to stand it. Art +isn't the thing at all, nor do looks count for half as much as people +suppose. It's what's back of the art and the looks that makes the hit, +and if they haven't got <i>something</i>, the artist and the beauty don't +last long. We picked Douglas Fairbanks as a likely film star, not on +account of his stunts, as the majority think, but because of the +splendid humanness that fairly oozed out of him."</p> + +<a name='image_18'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/image-18.jpg' width='387' height='600' alt='A Close-Up (Lumiere)' title=''> +</center> + +<p>When he isn't before the camera, or fooling with an airship or a motor, +or playing with children, or "gettin' acquainted" with a tramp or a +trapper, or practising stunts with a rope or a horse, young Mr. +Fairbanks fills in his spare time writing scenarios. As everyone knows, +the motion-picture drama has been a tawdry thing for the most +part—either a rehash of old stage plays, novels, and short stories, or +else mediocre "originalities" that epitomized banality. Young Mr. +Fairbanks dissented from the established custom from the very start.</p> + +<p>"It's all wrong," he declared. "We've got to stand on our own feet. +Develop your own dramatists!"</p> + +<p>Practically every play in which he has appeared sprang from his personal +suggestion, and in many of them he has collaborated with the scenario +writer. The three things that he demands are Action, Wholesomeness, and +Sentiment that rings true.</p> + +<p>Never make the mistake of thinking that Douglas Fairbanks starts and +finishes with mere good humor and physical exuberance. There is more to +him than his grin, for his mind is as strong and vigorous as his body. +He reads and thinks, and behind his smile is a quick and eager sympathy +that takes account of the sadnesses of life as well as its promises.</p> + +<p>"The Habit of Happiness" was very much his own idea, and in it he took +occasion to show a midnight bread-line, the misery of the slums, and +various forms of social injustice. It isn't that he thinks himself +called to uplift and reform, but, as he expresses it, "Every little bit +helps."</p> + +<p>In the last talk that I had with him, he was enthusiastic over the +future of the movies as a world force. He speaks in ideas rather than +words, for when he feels that he has indicated the thought he never +troubles to finish the particular sentence.</p> + +<p>"Pictures are like music," he declared. "They speak a universal +language. Great industry—just in its infancy—before long films will +pass from one country to another—internationalism. Why not? Love, hate, +grief, ambition, laughter—they belong to one race as much as +another—all peoples understand them. It's hard to hate people after you +know them. Pictures will let us know each other. They'll break down the +hard national lines that now make for war and suspicion."</p> + +<p>Other things followed, for we discussed everything from cabbages to +kings, and then I plumped the question at him that I had been waiting to +ask from the first.</p> + +<p>"How do you like the movies as compared to the speaking drama? Come now, +cross your heart and hope to die. When the night comes down and the +lights go up, isn't there a blue minute now and then?"</p> + +<p>"Surest thing you know," he grinned. "It isn't because there's such a +radical difference between the 'talkies' and the movies, however." [He +refers to musical comedy as the "screamies."] "The play in the theatre +is largely a matter of pantomime, you know. Dialogue is employed to +advance the actual plot only when it is impossible or impracticable to +do it with dumb show. And when I think of some of the lines I've been +called upon to spout, I can't say that I regret the movies' lack of +dialogue.</p> + +<p>"What does hurt, though," he admitted, "is the absence of response. I +don't mean applause, but the something that comes up over the footlights +to you from the audience, the big something that tells you instantly +whether you have hit it or missed, whether you are ringing true or +false. You don't get that in the pictures. Your audience is the +director, and you know that it will be weeks or months before your work +is going to get its test.</p> + +<p>"But in everything else, the movie has the talkie skinned a mile. +Instead of mouthing somebody else's words, you are doing the thing +yourself. There's action, and life—one day you are in the forest, the +next in the desert, the next on the sea."</p> + +<p>"Nonsense!" I exclaimed. "I understand that it's all done in a studio."</p> + +<p>"I had the idea myself," he laughed. "But no more. When I was in the +'talkies,' I used to hear a lot about realism. Father must wash in a +real basin with real water and real soap. There had to be two hens at +least in every barnyard scene, and when Lottie came home from the cruel +city, she had to have a real baby in her arms. Lordy, I never knew what +realism was until I struck the movies. They've gone crazy over it.</p> + +<p>"'The Half-Breed,' you know, was adapted from one of Bret Harte's +stories, and nothing would do the director but a trip up to the +Carquinez woods in northern California. A forest fire figured in one of +the scenes, but I never thought much about it until I saw them bringing +up some chemical engines, hose reels, and five or six fire-brigades.</p> + +<p>"'What's the idea?' I asked.</p> + +<p>"'To keep the flames from spreading,' they told me.</p> + +<p>"And let me tell you, it was <i>some</i> fire. After I got out of it I felt +like a shave from a Mexican barber."</p> + +<p>"What effect is the movie going to have on the speaking drama?" was my +next question.</p> + +<p>"Look at the effect it's had already," he said. "Shaw is the only +playwright clever enough to write dialogue that will hold any number of +people in the theatre. The motion picture has made the public demand +<i>action</i>. It has changed the plot and progress of the drama completely."</p> + +<p>"Do you think that a good thing? Doesn't it mean the substitution of +feeling for thinking?"</p> + +<p>"Well," he answered slowly, "the world goes forward through the heart +rather than through the head. Happiness, to my mind, is emotional, not +mental. And the movie <i>has</i> brought happiness to millions whose lives +were formerly drab and sordid. I love to go into these little halls in +out-of-the-way places, and see the men, women, and children packed there +of an evening. Theatrical companies never reached the villages, and the +men had no place but the saloon, the women no place but the kitchen or +the front porch. The camera has brought the world to their doors, and +life is richer, happier, and better for it."</p> + +<p>Take him as he stands, and Douglas Fairbanks comes close to being the +"real thing." Men like him as well as women, and, best proof of all, the +"kids" adore him. On a recent visit to Denver, his old home town, +youngsters followed him in droves, clamoring for a chance to "feel his +muscle." The mayor, no less, had him address a public meeting, the +feature of which, by the way, was this piped inquiry from the gallery:</p> + +<p>"Say, Doug, can youse whip William Farnum?"</p> + +<p>And let no one quarrel with this popularity. It is a good sign, a +healthful sign, a token that the blood of America still runs warm and +red, and that chalk has not yet softened our bones.</p> + + + + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Laugh and Live, by Douglas Fairbanks + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAUGH AND LIVE *** + +***** This file should be named 12887-h.htm or 12887-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/8/8/12887/ + +Produced by Steven desJardins and Distributed Proofreaders. + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Laugh and Live + +Author: Douglas Fairbanks + +Release Date: July 12, 2004 [EBook #12887] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAUGH AND LIVE *** + + + + +Produced by Steven desJardins and Distributed Proofreaders. + + + + +[ILLUSTRATION: _Laugh and Live_] + + +Laugh and Live + +By DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS + + +ILLUSTRATED + +NEW YORK +BRITTON PUBLISHING COMPANY + +1917 + + + + +TO MY MOTHER + + + + +CONTENTS + + I. "Whistle and Hoe--Sing As We Go" + + II. Taking Stock of Ourselves + + III. Advantages of an Early Start + + IV. Profiting by Experience + + V. Energy, Success and Laughter + + VI. Building Up a Personality + + VII. Honesty, the Character Builder + + VIII. Cleanliness of Body and Mind + + IX. Consideration for Others + + X. Keeping Ourselves Democratic + + XI. Self-Education by Good Reading + + XII. Physical and Mental Preparedness + + XIII. Self-indulgence and Failure + + XIV. Living Beyond Our Means + + XV. Initiative and Self-Reliance + + XVI. Failure to Seize Opportunities + + XVII. Assuming Responsibilities + +XVIII. Wedlock in Time + + XIX. Laugh and Live + + XX. A "Close-Up" of Douglas Fairbanks + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + +Laugh and Live +Do You Ever Laugh? +Over the Hedge and on His Way +Preparing to Pair With the Prickly Pear +A Little Spin Among the Saplings +Over the Hills and Far Away--Father and Son +A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers" +A Scene from "The Americano"--Matching Wits for Gold +Taking on Local Color +A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers" +Douglas Fairbanks in "The Good Bad-Man" +Squaring Things With Sister--From "The Habit of Happiness" +A Scene from "In Again--Out Again" +Bungalowing in California +Demonstrating the Monk and the Hand-Organ to a Body of Psychologists +"Wedlock in Time"--The Fairbanks' Family +Here's Hoping +A Close-Up + + + + +LIVE AND LAUGH + + + + +CHAPTER I + +"WHISTLE AND HOE--SING AS WE GO" + + +There is one thing in this good old world that is positively +sure--happiness is for _all_ who _strive_ to _be_ happy--and those who +laugh _are_ happy. + +Everybody is eligible--you--me--the other fellow. + +Happiness is fundamentally a state of mind--not a state of body. + +And mind controls. + +Indeed it is possible to stand with one foot on the inevitable "banana +peel" of life with both eyes peering into the Great Beyond, and still be +happy, comfortable, and serene--if we will even so much as smile. + +It's all a state of mind, I tell you--and I'm sure of what I say. That's +why I have taken up my fountain pen. I want to talk to my friends--you +hosts of people who have written to me for my recipe. In moving pictures +all I can do is act my part and grin for you. What I say is a matter of +your own inference, but with my pen I have a means of getting around the +"silent drama" which prevents us from organizing a "close-up" with one +another. + +In starting I'm going to ask you "foolish question number 1."-- + +Do you ever laugh? + +I mean do you ever laugh right out--spontaneously--just as if the police +weren't listening with drawn clubs and a finger on the button connecting +with the "hurry-up" wagon? Well, if you don't, you should. _Start off +the morning with a laugh and you needn't worry about the rest of the +day._ + +I like to laugh. It is a tonic. It braces me up--makes me feel +fine!--and keeps me in prime mental condition. Laughter is a +physiological necessity. The nerve system requires it. The deep, +forceful chest movement in itself sets the blood to racing thereby +livening up the circulation--which is good for us. Perhaps you hadn't +thought of that? Perhaps you didn't realize that laughing automatically +re-oxygenates the blood--_your_ blood--and keeps it red? It does all of +that, and besides, it relieves the tension from your brain. + +_Laughter is more or less a habit._ To some it comes only with practice. +But what's to hinder practising? Laugh and live long--if you had a +thought of dying--laugh and grow well--if you're sick and +despondent--laugh and grow fat--if your tendency is towards the lean and +cadaverous--laugh and succeed--if you're glum and "unlucky"--laugh and +nothing can faze you--not even the Grim Reaper--for the man who has +laughed his way through life has nothing to fear of the future. His +conscience is clear. + +Wherein lies this magic of laughter? For magic it is--a something that +manufactures a state of felicity out of any condition. We've got to +admit its charm; automatically and inevitably a laugh cheers us up. If +we are bored--nothing to do--just laugh--that's something to do, for +laughter is synonymous with action, and action dispels gloom, care, +trouble, worry and all else of the same ilk. + +Real laughter is spontaneous. Like water from the spring it bubbles +forth a creation of mingled action and spontaneity--two magic potions in +themselves--the very essence of laughter--the unrestrained emotion +within us! + +So, for me, it is to laugh! Why not stick along? The experiment won't +hurt you. All we need is will power, and that is a personal matter for +each individual to seek and acquire for himself. Many of us already +possess it, but many of us do not. + +Take the average man on the street for example. Watch him go plodding +along--no spring, no elasticity, no vim. He is in _check-rein_--how can +he laugh when his _pep_ is all gone and the _sand in his craw_ isn't +there any more? What he needs is _spirit_! Energy--the power to force +himself into action! For him there is no hope unless he will take up +physical training in some form that will put him in normal physical +condition--after that everything simplifies itself. The brain responds +to the new blood in circulation and thus the mental processes are ready +to make a fight against the inertia of stagnation which has held them in +bondage. + +[Illustration: _Do You Ever Laugh?_ (_White Studio_)] + +And, mind you, physical training doesn't necessarily mean going to an +expert for advice. One doesn't have to make a mountain out of a +molehill. Get out in the fresh air and walk briskly--and don't forget to +wear a smile while you're at it. Don't over-do. Take it easy at first +and build on your effort day by day. A little this morning--a little +more tonight. The first chance you have, when you're sure of your wind +and heart, get out upon the country road, or cross-country hill and +dale. Then run, run, run, until you drop exhausted upon some grassy +bank. Then laugh, loud and long, for you're on the road to happiness. + +Try it now--don't wait. _Today is the day to begin._ Or, if it is night +when you run across these lines, drop this book and trot yourself +around the block a few times. Then come back and you'll enjoy it more +than you would otherwise. Activity makes for happiness as nothing else +will and once you stir your blood into little bubbles of energy you will +begin to think of other means of keeping your bodily house in order. +Unless you make a first effort the chances are you will do very little +real thinking of any kind--_we need pep to think_. + +Think what an opportunity we miss when stripped at night if we fail to +give our bodies a round of exercise. It is so simple, so easy, and has +so much to do with our sleep each night and our work next day that to +neglect to do so is a crime against nature. And laugh! Man alive, if you +are not in the habit of laughing, _get the habit_. Never miss a chance +to laugh aloud. Smiling is better than nothing, and a chuckle is better +still--but _out and out laughter_ is the real thing. Try it now if you +dare! And when you've done it, analyze your feelings. + +I make this prediction--if you once start the habit of exercise, and +couple with it the habit of laughter, even if only for one short +week--you'll keep it up ever afterwards. + +And, by the way, Friend Reader,--don't be alarmed. The personal pronouns +"_I_" and "_you_" give place in succeeding chapters to the more +congenial editorial "_we_." I couldn't resist the temptation to enjoy +one brief spell of intimacy just for the sake of good acquaintance. +_Have a laugh on me._ + + + + +CHAPTER II + +TAKING STOCK OF OURSELVES + + +Experience is the real teacher, but the matter of how we are going to +succeed in life should not be left to ordinary chance while we are +waiting for things to happen. Our first duty is to prepare ourselves +against untoward experiences, and that is best done by taking stock of +our mental and physical assets at the very outset of our journey. What +weaknesses we possess are excess baggage to be thrown away and that is +our reason for taking stock so early. It is likely to save us from +riding to a fall. + +There is one thing we don't want along--_fear_. We will never get +anywhere with that, nor with any of its uncles, aunts or cousins--_Envy, +Malice and Greed_. In justice to our own best interests we should search +every crook and cranny of our hearts and minds lest we venture forth +with any such impedimenta. There is no excuse, and we have no one to +blame if we allow any of them to journey along with us. We know whether +they are there or not just as we would know _Courage, Trust and Honor_ +were they perched behind us on the saddle. + +It is idle to squeal if through association with the former we find +ourselves ditched before we are well under way--for it is coming to us, +sooner or later. We might go _far_, as some have done, through the lanes +and alleys of ill-gotten gains and luxurious self-indulgence, but we +would pay in the end. So, why not charge them up to "profit and loss" at +the start and kick them off into the gutter where they belong? They are +not for us on our eventful journey through life, and the time to get rid +of them once and for all is when we are young, and mentally and +physically vigorous. Later on when the fires burn low and we still have +them with us they will be hard to push aside. + +"To thine own self be true," says the great Shakespeare and how can we +be true to our own selves if we train with inferiors? We are known by +our companionships. We will be rated according to association--good or +bad. The two will not mix for long and we will be one sort of a fellow +or the other. We can't be both. + +There was a time, long years ago, in the days of our grandfathers, when +men went to the "bow-wows" and, later on, "came back" as it were, by +making a partial success in life--measured largely by the money they +succeeded in accumulating. That was before the "check-up" system was +invented. Today things are different. Questions are asked--"Where were +you last?"--"Why did you leave there?"--"Have you credentials?"--and +when we shake our weary head and walk away, we fondly wish we had "taken +stock" back there when the "taking" was good. + + "To thine own self be true; and it must follow as the night the + day, thou canst not then be false to any man." + +When we can analyze ourselves and find that we are living up to the +quoted lines above we may safely lift the limit from our aspirations. +Right here it is well to say that success is not to be computed in +dollars and cents, nor that the will to achieve a successful life is to +be predicated upon the mere accumulation of wealth. First of all, good +health and good minds--then we may laugh loud and long--we're safe on +"first." + +So, with these two weapons we may dig down into our aspirations, and, +keeping in view that our policy is that of honesty to ourselves and +toward our fellow man, all we need to do is to go about the program of +life cheerfully and stout of heart--_for now we are in a state of +preparedness_. + +We are at the point where vision starts. Along with this vision must +come the courage of convictions in order that we may feel that our ideas +are important, and because we have such thoughts, _we shall surely +succeed_. It has often been noticed that when we have had a large +conception and have with force, character, and strength of will carried +it into effect, immediately thereafter a host of people have been able +to say: "I thought of that myself!" Most of us have had the same +experience after reading of a great discovery that we had thrown +overboard because it must not have been "worth while" or someone else +would already have thought of it. + +The man who puts life into an idea is acclaimed a genius, because he +does _the right thing at the right time_. Therein lies the difference +between the _genius_ and a _commonplace_ man. + +We all have ambitions, but only the few achieve. A man thinks of a good +thing and says: "Now if I only had the money I'd put that through." The +word "if" was a dent in his courage. With character fully established, +his plan well thought out, he had only to go to those in command of +capital and it would have been forthcoming. He had something that +capital would cheerfully get behind if he had the courage to back up his +claims. To fail was nothing less than moral cowardice. _The will to do_ +had not been efficient. There was a flaw in the character, after all. + +Going back, therefore, to the prescription, we find that a _sound +body_, a _good mind_, an _honest purpose_, and a _lack of fear_ are the +essential elements of success. So, when we have conceived something for +the good of the world and have allowed it to go by default we have +dropped the monkey-wrench into the machinery of our preparedness. We +must look about us for a reason. Have we fallen by the wayside of +carelessness? Have we allowed ourselves to be discouraged by cowardly +"ifs"? _Did we lack the sand_? Exactly so; we didn't have the courage of +our convictions. + +Life is the one great experience, and those who fail to win, if sound of +body, can safely lay the blame to their lack of mental equipment. What +does it matter if disappointments follow one after the other if we can +_laugh and try again_? Failures must come to all of us in some degree, +but we may rise from our failures and win back our losses if we are only +shrewd enough to realize that good health, sound mind, and a cheerful +spirit are necessary adjuncts. As Tennyson says: + + "I held it truth, with him who sings + To one clear harp in divers tones, + That men may rise on stepping-stones + Of their dead selves to higher things." + +All truly great men have been healthy--otherwise they would have fallen +short of the mark. Prisons are filled with nervous, diseased creatures. +There is no doubt but that most of these who, through ignorance, sifted +through to the bottomless pits could have saved themselves had they +realized the truth and "taken stock" of themselves, _in time_--of +course, allowing for those, who are victims of circumstantial evidence. + +The prime necessity of life is health. With this, for mankind, nothing +is impossible. But if we do not make use of this good health it will +waste itself away and never come back. It often disappears entirely for +lack of interest on the part of its thoughtless owner. A little energy +would have saved the day. _A little "pep"--and we laugh and live._ +Laughter clings to good health as naturally as the needle clings to the +magnet. It is the outward expression of an unburdened soul. It bubbles +forth as a fountain, always refreshing, always wholesome and sweet. + +[Illustration: _Over the Hedge and on His Way_] + +In taking stock of ourselves we should not forget that fear plays a +large part in the drama of failure. That is the first thing to be +dropped. Fear is a mental deficiency susceptible of correction, if taken +in hand before it gains an ascendency over us. Fear comes with the +thought of failure. Everything we think about should have the +possibility of success in it if we are going to build up courage. We +should get into the habit of reading _inspirational books_, looking at +_inspirational pictures_, hearing _inspirational music_, associating +with _inspirational friends_ and above all, we should cultivate the +habit of mind of thinking clean, and of doing, wholesome things. + +"Guard thyself!" That is the slogan. Let us "take stock" often and see +where we stand. We will not be afraid of the weak points. We will _get +after them_ and get hold of ourselves at the same time. Some book might +give us help--a fine play, or some form of athletics will start us to +thinking. Self-analysis teaches us to see ourselves in a true light +without embellishments or undue optimism. We can gauge our chances in no +better way. If we grope in the darkness we haven't much of a chance. +"Taking stock" throws a searchlight on the dark spots and points the way +out of the danger zone. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +ADVANTAGES OF AN EARLY START + + +It is the young man who has the best chance of winning. Then why +shouldn't youthfulness be made a permanent asset? We have recovered from +the idea of putting a man into a sanatorium just because a few grey +hairs show themselves in his head. We should not ask him how old he is +... we should ask: "_What can he do_?" The young man may have the +advantage of years but the older one has the advantage of experience and +knowledge. Now if this older man could carry along with him that spirit +of youth which actuated his earlier activities he would be prepared +against incapacity. Our fate hangs on how we conduct ourselves in youth. +The world has great need of the sober, thoughtful men _above the fifty +line_. By right of experience and knowledge they should become our +leaders in the shaping of our policies. It is all a matter of how a man +comes through, mentally, physically and spiritually. Age should not +count against him. + +The first thought is to keep healthy. In fact, we cannot harp on this +too much. The second requirement is confidence in ourselves, without +which our career is short lived. + +Already we perceive that one must keep track of his _inner self_. This +breeds confidence. The very fact that one stops to probe into that +hidden land of thought shows that he is keeping tab on himself with a +sharp eye. That's the stuff! _We mustn't fool ourselves._ The majority +of failures come as a result of not being able to trust one's self. The +moment we doubt, or acknowledge that we cannot conquer a weakness, then +we begin to go down hill. It is a subtle process. We hardly realize it +at the time but as the days go by, the years roll on, the final day of +reckoning draws near and relentlessly we are swept along as driftwood +toward the lonely beaches of obscurity. And all because _we lacked +self-confidence_! We did not realize it until it was too late. We were +too busy with self-indulgence to struggle for success. + +Most of our troubles in later life started with _failure to take hold of +ourselves_ when we were young. It may be that we put off making our +choice of something to do. If we had been companionable to ourselves we +might have thought out the proper course while taking long walks in +pursuit of physical development. That would have been a _fine_ time in +which to fight out the whole problem--the time when optimism and _the +will to do_ are as natural as the laughter of a child, or the song of a +bird. That was the time when the world appeared roseate and beautiful, +when success lay just beyond the turn of the road, when failure seemed +something illusory and improbable. Then was the time to jump in with +both feet and _a big hearty laugh_ to solve the problem of what to do +and how to go about it. It is surprising how readily the world follows +the individual with confidence. It is willing to believe in him, to +furnish funds, to assist in any way within its power. And that is where +the man _with a smile_ is sure to win--for the man who smiles has +confidence in himself. + +So long as we carry along with us our atmosphere of hearty good will and +enthusiasm we know no defeat. The man who is gloomy, taciturn and lives +in a world of doubt seldom achieves more than a bare living. There have +been a few who have groaned their way through to a competence but in +proportion to that overwhelming number of souls who carry cheer through +life they are as nothing--mere drops in the bucket. If the truth were +told their success came probably through mere chance and nothing else. +Such people are not the ones for us to endeavor to follow. _We cannot +afford to allow our visions to sour._ + +Beginning early takes away timidity and builds for success while we are +young enough to enjoy the benefits. Although it is never too late to +start a cheerful life we don't have to kill ourselves in the attempt. +There is no necessity for throwing all caution to the winds, but we +should press our advantages. With _self-analysis_ comes a certain +poise, a certain dignity and kindliness that tempers every move with +precision. + +Once we get the proper start we have only to take stock now and then in +order to keep our machinery in a fine state of repair. If we have chosen +wisely we love our work and stick to it closely--not forgetting the home +duties and our share in its success. Right here we run up against the +danger signal if our business success wins us away from the hearthstone. +_Love of home_ is a quality of the workers of the earth. "What doth it +profit a man to win the whole world if he _loseth_ his own soul?" + +To sum up the case--once we have made up our minds to win and how we are +going to do it, the next step is to act. _Health is synonymous with +action._ The healthy man does things, the unhealthy man hesitates. And +when we get ready to act we will act with the air of a conqueror. We +must supply from our own store our atmosphere of confidence in order to +win confidence. The successful man is the one who _knows he is right_ +and makes us realize it. + +It is always worth while to study the successes among our +acquaintances. Are they gloomy, morose and irritable? If they were to +that extent they would not be successful. On the contrary, they are +robust, confident individuals who have taken advantage of every rightful +opportunity and possessed _the power to smile_ when all about them were +in the dumps. When everyone else thought that there wasn't a chance to +win these fellows stepped in and took charge. + +When we interview the failures we find that all of them give one excuse: +"_I didn't have the confidence._" They may not say it in exactly these +words but the meaning is plain. They ran through the whole gamut of +_self-distrust_ which is the natural result of not having started early +in the study of self--the serious realization of their own capabilities. + +[Illustration: _Preparing to Pair With the Prickly Pear_] + +This makes it easy to understand their plight. If we know ourselves we +are strengthened that much, because we can bolster up our weaknesses. We +will know enough to combat timidity. We can then know what we are +capable of, and thus become conscious of our innate powers that only +need to be called into action in order to become useful. We cannot +imagine for an instant a great violinist going out on the concert +platform in ignorance of the condition of his instrument. And yet +failures go out on the stage of life knowing nothing of their strengths +and weaknesses--_and still expect to win_! + +If we are to become successes we must _keep success in mind_--banish all +thought of losing. Success is just as natural as anything else. It is +only a matter of the mind anyhow. We are all successes _as long as we +continue to think so_. Self-depreciation is a disease. Once it gets a +hold on us--good-bye! + +And that is why it is wise to begin early--to take hold of affairs while +we are young. Superiority over our fellow man comes from a superiority +of mind and body. A healthy mind breeds a healthy body. The most +superficial study will convince us of this fact. + +Appearance counts for much in this world. We judge largely by +appearances. We haven't time to know everyone we meet intimately and as +a result must base our opinions upon _first impressions_. The fellow who +comes in an office with his head hanging down between his shoulders and +a frown upon his face doesn't get far with us. We find ourselves looking +over his sagging shoulders toward the individual behind him who comes in +with a swinging step and the confidence born of health and good spirits. + +Self-confidence in youth makes for self-confidence in after years. This +is far from meaning that one can be brazen and inclined towards +freshness and get away with it. It merely means the marshalling of one's +forces, _the command of one's self_ and the ability to make others +recognize that we are on the map because we belong there. And one of the +quickest ways to accomplish this is to have a smile tucked away for +instant use. Again, this does not mean that we are to carry round a +ready-to-wear grin which we wear only as we are ushered into the +presence of another. _A real smile, or a hearty laugh, is not to be +counterfeited._ We easily know the genuine from the spurious. A real +laugh springs naturally out of a pure, unadulterated confidence and a +good physical condition. What triumphs, what splendid battles, have been +won through the ability to laugh at the right moment. + +Whenever we find that we are losing our ability to smile let's have no +false notions. We are neglecting our physical well being. Let us then +and there drop the sombre thoughts and get out into the open air. Run +down the street and if possible out into the country. If we see a tree +and have the inclination to climb it--well, then, climb it. If we are +sensitive about what our neighbors might say--too bad! But we can romp +with easy grace. If we but knew how gladly our neighbors would emulate +our gymnastics if they knew the value of them the laugh would be on us +for dreading their opinion. One thing we do know--_they will envy us our +good health and spirits_. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +PROFITING BY EXPERIENCE + + +_Experience comes by contact._ There is no way we can have experiences +without passing directly through them. If we are up and doing they come +thick and fast into our lives, some of them weighted down by the +peculiar twists and turns of circumstances, others simple, easily +understood, and still others complicated to the point of not being +understood at all. + +People are divided into two classes--_those who profit by experience and +those who do not_. The unfortunate part of it all is that the latter +class is by far the larger of the two. + +The man of vigorous purpose, fine constitution, and the full knowledge +of self, sees through an experience as clearly as through a window. The +glass may be foggy, but he knows what lies beyond. Self-reliant and +strong he seeks knowledge through experience, while the weak man, the +unhealthy-minded, the inefficient, stands aside and gives him the right +of way. In later years, however, they bitterly complain that they were +not given the same chance to succeed. + +The man of experience having long since passed through the stages of +indecision has, through careful self-analysis learned to bridge +difficulties that would make others tremble with fear. He knows that +every lane has a turning. He may not see it at the moment. He may not +know where it is. _But that doesn't worry him._ He picks up his bundle +and trudges ahead, confident that victory awaits him somewhere along the +line. + +The fact that he believes in himself, sets him apart from ordinary +mankind. Many great men have been at loss to understand why they +attained success. It is well nigh impossible for them to outline the +causes that led them to the top rungs of the ladder. The reason is that +_their lack of fear_ of experiences was an unconscious one, rather than +a conscious one. However, they are willing to admit that acting on the +principle of profiting by experience _loaned them initiative_ with which +to proceed. They soon came to know opportunity at sight and had only to +look around to find it. + +The young man standing on the threshold of life is, from lack of +experience, puzzled over the future. He looks above him and sees the +towering successes. He reads in the papers of the massive characters who +have risen from the bottom to the top. Naturally he would like to meet +one of these giants of success and hear what he has to say. The +interview is quite needless. "_Get busy and profit by experience_," is +about all the advice one man can give to another. There is no way to +profit by experience until we have had experience so there is nothing to +do but get busy and experience will come as fast as we can absorb it. +Our duty is to strive for success and not expect to attain it except by +successive steps. A wholesale consignment would be our undoing. Quick +successes through luck or good fortune have not the lasting value of +those won by virtue of knowing how--of accomplishing what we started +out to do. + +Faith in one's self does not come from the outside--it must spring up +naturally _from within_. A healthy body and a sane mind are the best +foundations for this. The young man who begins his career with these +facts in mind is given a running start over his competitors. Poverty and +failure are the result of _an ignorance of the value of experience_. +Worry, anxiety, fear of not doing the right thing, lack of insight into +character ... these, too, are the result of a lack of experience. + +Good health is necessary to experience, but a majority neglect to take +care of it. If we are to profit by what we learn we _must have the vim_ +with which to push forward. We must have every ounce of vitality we +possess at command--ready for use. This we conserve for the _big +emergency_ which we know is coming. New experiences are pushing us +forward and previous experiences are helping to move the load. +Experience tells us what to do at this point and that--and at last puts +its shoulder to the wheel and "_over she goes_!" + +Every mind is in possession of an enormous amount of dormant power and +only experience can release it into proper action. We often hear a fond +mother say that her son is full to bursting with the _old nick_, which +means that the youngster is overflowing with _pent-up energy_. With +experience he could find good use for it--but without it this surplus +may turn out to be a dangerous possession. Young men of this type should +be guarded most carefully and advised to "get busy" _early in life_ at +something worth while. Many a bright fellow brimming with excess power +has gone as a lamb to the slaughter into the maelstrom of vice because +of being held back from _legitimate occupation_. He just had to blow off +steam so he did it in a gin mill rather than a rolling mill. + +This dynamo called the mind can be trained to do anything. Not only can +it be guided at the start but it can be guided by all that follows. It +can be used for building additional dynamos to be called into action in +times of need. This statement may seem at first far-fetched. If we think +so it is proof that we have not _profited by our experiences_ and should +get down to "stock taking" before it is too late. + +The practical man, after all, is only _one who takes advantage of +opportunities_. He could double and triple his power if he only realized +how superficial the average setback really is. The young man has just as +much chance of being considered practical as the so-called older one, +always provided that he has a store of experiences to profit by. The +first _big experience_ of life usually makes or breaks us. For this +experience we need to be prepared. We must have a _strong heart_ that we +may bear defeat nobly from this is not to be our last kick--our last +breath--_not by a jugful_! + +We are going to start all over again after our setback and we are not +going to wait any longer than it takes to bury the dead. This will be +done decently and in good order--our training will admit of no +indecorum. If the smash was a bad one we will assume the liability, +nevertheless, and get back on the job. We are out to win and +_eventually we will win_. + +And that is what we mean by taking profit from experience. _The powers +that break down are also the powers that build up._ The electrician who +handles the motor could just as well end his own existence by that +mysterious current as he could make use of it for the good of humanity. +He spends years of conscientious study and masters the knowledge of it +so that its uses are as simple as his A B C's. There is no doubt in the +world but that he had to learn by experience. He had to go into the shop +and _climb up from the bottom_. There was no other way by which he could +come to know how to turn a deadly force into a well-trained necessity. + +Yet the average man goes into life with as little knowledge of its +forces as the baby who puts its foot upon the third rail. That fact +keeps the thoughtless man down until experience comes to the rescue. +When it does come, _if he has the sand, the common sense, the will to +do_, there is naught to hold him away from his goal. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +ENERGY, SUCCESS AND LAUGHTER + + +There are many essentials to success, but there is one that is of such +importance that without it all the others become as naught. The man who +wins success is invariably impelled to do the great work allotted him by +_something within_ that tells him _he can_. He may not know exactly what +it is, but he knows he possesses it and is able to _act on that faith_, +accomplishing things which seem utterly impossible to other people. This +_inner determination_, once firmly implanted in one's nature, cannot be +destroyed or conquered. And this element is _energy_--energy of mind, +which rules the body. But where does this come from? How do the great +minds generate this glorious means of self-propulsion? The answer is +that _in a healthy body it is inherent_ from birth, and proper care of +the body therefore accentuates within their minds the will to do. + +If the preceding chapters have been carefully read we may readily +believe that the successful youth must start with a wholesome, generous +viewpoint, a good constitution, and a clean mind. We have had an inkling +by this time of what one must do to achieve success in a world where +competition is keen. We are beginning to realize that these matters are +of vital importance and that we are face to face with a problem. + +Energy is the natural outpouring of a healthy body. It must be directed, +it must be controlled, the same as any other living force. Not only is +it a positive necessity to the winner, but it must grow and become _a +natural quality_. It does not stand after years of abuse. It does not +spring up in the night after a long season of neglect and ill-health. +All of us possess it in varying ways. That fact ought to convince us +that we can get hold of ourselves and build up that which nature has +given us, rather than allow it to die away. We all have a certain amount +of energy ... _why shouldn't we all be successes_? We might to a +certain extent, but that doesn't mean that we shall all get rich in the +money sense of the world. + +When we say: "Why shouldn't we all be successes?" we do not mean that +everybody in the world must be greedy for money, nor for power and +position. It does not mean that we should be selfish and eager to take +everything away from the other fellow. On the contrary, it means that, +with energy, we shall be successful _according to our brain tendency_. + +Going back to our second chapter we find the phrase "taking stock" of +ourselves. Done rightly that alone will inspire success. Now if we are a +little farther along on the way towards sane living and the _ability to +laugh_ and we know that after this struggle is over the battle is won we +must use the powers that self-analysis gives us--_to fight_. The mere +recognition of them is power and we must not let them go to waste. + +Energy is like steam--it cannot be generated under the boiling point. In +other words, _half-heartedness_ never produced it nor made it a +practical working tool. We must be energetic in order to augment +energy. We must have confidence along with it ... the more the merrier. +The greater the confidence in ourselves the greater the energy which +brought it about. Some minds naturally feel confident. These are the +lucky ones, the slender few who have grasped life's meaning at the start +by "_taking stock_" before they were threatened with defeat. Success +comes to them as easily as rolling off the proverbial log. They come +sweeping along, conquering, sure of themselves, confident, aspiring, +true to their inner selves, ready for work, unafraid of experiences, and +_sure of a smile when the clouds are darkest_. + +This does not mean that these successes have exceptional ability. If +that were the case we would not waste time either in reading or writing +about the matter. If we didn't feel that we were potentially able to +become successes and possessed the elements of victory in our present +make-up not another moment would be spent on the subject. The very +simplicity of this use of energy proves to us that it is a quality +bubbling forth _in the least of us_ and the strongest. It only needs to +be put to work and it becomes self-strengthening. _Living in the open +air, sleeping out of doors, taking the proper exercise, looking +wholesomely upon life, believing in ourselves_, are all parts of the +sane existence which leads to success and laughter. + +We ought to feel that everything in life possesses elements akin to +human feeling. We should not arrogate to ourselves the sole right to +rule and reason. And what has this to do with energy? It is only one of +the many vistas that open to us when we learn how to laugh and live. And +man alive! _If we never learn to laugh we will never learn to live._ + +We must not forget that there can be more than one use made of energy. +In the same way that electricity might be misused so might energy be +placed in the wrong service. We must not waste any time, therefore, in +getting this energy of ours worked into _enthusiasm_ ... enthusiasm for +our life work, for our fellow man, _for the zest of life_. We must +throw ourselves into the battle and carry the standard. We must leap to +the front, not waiting for the other fellow to show the way. Spend your +enthusiasm freely and be surprised at how it thrives on usage. + +Enthusiasm being produced by energy must of a necessity depend largely +upon that. Now the point is, how shall we guard and keep fresh this +element in ourselves? We know that the body is producing this quality. +Like the steam engine we are keeping the fires going by exercise, +wholesome thinking and sincerity of purpose. We are the engineers. Our +hand is on the throttle. Sharp turns lie ahead but our eyes look forward +fearlessly. We glance about us to see that we are in the pink of +condition. We know that our mind is functioning properly and that the +awakened confidence is already inherent in our natures and stands beside +us night and day like the officer upon the bridge of the ship. _Indeed +we are on our way!_ + +[Illustration: _A Little Spin Among the Saplings_] + +Out of energy and enthusiasm comes something else that must not be +neglected ... in fact it must be cultivated and guarded from the very +beginning ... _laughter_. The mere possession of energy and enthusiasm +makes us feel like laughing. We want to leap and jump and dance and +sing. If we feel like that don't let us be afraid to do it. _Get out in +the air and run like a school boy. Jump ditches, vault fences, swing the +arms!_ Never fail to get next to nature when responsive to the call. +Indeed we may woo this call from within ourselves until it comes to be +second nature. And when we rise in the morning let us be determined that +we will start the day with a hearty laugh anyhow. Laugh because you are +alive, laugh with everything. _Let yourself go._ That is the secret--the +ability to let one's self go! + +If we follow this religiously we will be surprised how successful the +day will be. Everything gives way before it. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +BUILDING UP A PERSONALITY + + +More and more personality is coming into its own as man's greatest +asset. There was never a day when it was not, but in former years this +essential quality was not listed under the name ... _personality_. Had +we lived in the days of our fathers' youth we would have heard about +"remarkable men," "men of big caliber," "large character," "splendid +presence," and the like. But it remained for our day and generation to +discover the real word--_personality_--meaning the _most perfect +combination possible of man's highest attributes_. At least that would +be the definition in its fullest sense. + +Of course everyone has a certain personality and, no matter in what +degree, its possession is valuable. Personality is an acorn, so to +speak, which may be cultivated into a sturdy oak. Personality is one's +_inner self outwardly expressed_. It represents the conquest of our +weaknesses and naturally impresses our strength of character upon +others. + +With personality our foundation is firm. On this pedestal we may stand +squarely and face life with equanimity. For such there is no end to +achievement while good health and youthful spirit remain. + +It is impossible to come into the presence of a personality without +becoming immediately aware of it. It is reflected by people of _small +stature ... poor physiques ... homely visages_, as well as men of the +highest physical development. The great Napoleon was just above five +feet while Lincoln towered over the six-foot line. Men of personality +are the last to say die. Their store of _combativeness_ carries them +beyond their real span of existence either in years or achievement. +Thus, the mind shows its mastery over matter. Alexander Pope was still +writing while propped upon the pillows of his death bed. Mark Twain +joked with friends when he knew his hour was at hand. + +_Personality is magnetic._ It can charm the friend or put fear into the +heart of the enemy. Joan of Arc, a frail woman, won battles at the head +of her troops. History is filled with incidents where men of personality +have turned defeat into victory by leading their soldiers back into the +fray. + +Wholesome personality is the fulfillment of +self-development--physically, mentally and spiritually. But all +personality is not wholesome for it often shows in the face of the man +_who is a rogue at heart_. Therefore, all personality is not for the +good of the world. It is only of the wholesome kind that we speak. To +such as possess it the goal is divine. Personality could never be +perfected without living a _life of preparedness_ backed up by our most +earnest and honest convictions. Personality is made up of many qualities +and differs in man only as man is different from his brother man. +Perfect personality requires constant care in its development and +constant guard for its safety. It cannot be purchased in the open +market. It must be built upon piece by piece and everything we are +becomes a part of it. + +Personality would be indeed imperfect if it did not give us _full +poise_. If we neglect our physical poise we pull down our mental poise, +likewise our spiritual poise. That is why personality must be kept +constantly protected against encroachment; but this can be so fixed by +purpose, plan, and power of will that it becomes automatically +safeguarded. Once in possession we have only to make it part of our +natural selves and _wear it unconsciously_ to the last breath of life. + +Then the question is, why should we allow ourselves to be satisfied with +an imperfect personality? It only reflects back upon ourselves. Haven't +we often heard a man say: "_He is all right but_...!" Perhaps the +personality in question was untidy, or that his walk was that of a +laggard, or that he affected an egotistical air of +superiority--whatever the impairment it should have been done away with. + +A man of personality should never be haunted with worry from the sneers +of his inferiors because of their own laxity. Some men perfect their +manner of speech to a degree which takes it above that of their weaker +fellows, others develop fine qualities which are viewed by ordinary +individuals as affectations but which are in reality the result of +_innate refinement_. + +The man of no refinement has indeed an uphill fight but with persistence +and ambition to succeed he can win. Lincoln, the rail splitter, is the +most shining example of _the power to will victory_. For him to have +fallen by the wayside would have caused no comment for it would have +been expected in those early days of struggle, but to those who have the +benefit of inherited tendencies toward personality, to fail in its +development is in the nature of a crime. + +Personality does not mean over-refinement. _Sturdy qualities_ are the +necessary ones. Over-refinement leads to the softer life and ofttimes to +degeneracy. Exalted ego is an indication of degeneracy and may have +been inherited. Of those things we inherit that are good we must hold, +and everlastingly must we watch those which are bad. It is never wise to +wander far away from basic principles into preachment. What we need is +guidance along the road to the goal of personality. First of all we need +_health_ and second, _the will to do_. Next, we must use these weapons +in the right direction, for personality is at its zenith when backed up +by _strong physique and brain power_. + +From previous chapters we have learned that success of any kind is +predicated upon keeping ourselves in trim, and in good humor. Keeping in +trim is no trick at all. We can make it a part of every physical action +and as keeping in trim means perfection of body and soundness of mind we +should never neglect to utilize any effort that will help us toward +bodily efficiency. _There is exercise in stooping over to pick up a pin +if we will go about it the right way. We can correct an ill-formed body +by adopting and maintaining a certain carriage. We may hold our chin in +such a way as to provide against stooped shoulders._ + +We have opportunities both morning and evening to indulge in various +forms of light, systematic exercises which will push forward the day's +work with zest and vim. + +Poise has everything to do with personality, therefore the physical +structure must come in for its share of proper attention. No man of +refined personality would walk the streets with a soiled face or +uncombed hair. Such things do not give poise. They are the evidences of +a laggard spirit. The more we exercise the more energetic we become, the +surer we are of ourselves, the farther we get in the development of our +personality. + +[Illustration: _Over the Hills and Far Away--Father and Son_] + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +HONESTY, THE CHARACTER BUILDER + + +Just as the straight line is the shortest distance between two points so +is honesty the only proper attitude of one person toward another. +Without it there is no understanding possible. It must always remain +supreme as a quality without which character becomes a sham, a +superficial thing that has no basis in fact. _The ability to look the +other fellow in the eye_ is as necessary to character as the foundation +is to a house. It comes out of that "_great within_" which we are now +exploring. It arises from the courageous facing of our weaknesses and +becomes a part of the man _who knows himself and laughs with life_, at +the mere joy of living, doing, accomplishing ... winning against all +odds. + +Honesty accompanies a proper self-esteem and its cultivation should +become a part of our earliest education. It doesn't grow anywhere +except within ourselves and will never be handed to us on a silver +platter. If we fail to find it when we are young it will have small +chance of obtaining a grip on us later. _It is the one quality with +which to crown our highest attributes._ It is final proof that we are +capable of just thought and square dealing, and is proof positive that +we are part and parcel of the wholesome spirit which rules the universe. +Its possession is greater than riches for its dividend is happiness and +contentment and we cannot go wrong if we so live that we can look any +man in the eye and _tell him the truth_. + +To live in the full sense means to be alert. Whatever high moral plane +we shall achieve must be held against all temptation. There is no +compromise. _Self-deceit_ is nothing less than _self-stultification_. We +only fool ourselves and soon find ourselves slipping down hill. It will +be hard climbing getting back. And what of the wear and tear on our +ambitions meanwhile! + +Honesty does not grow naturally out of a dull, uninspired life. It goes +with the energetic, the forceful. The dull soul who is content to plod +along year after year in the same rut may be honest, and this one +redeeming feature may be of such inestimable value to him that it +sweetens and softens his entire days. It will bring him friends ... +true-blue friends, who will excuse all other shortcomings _because of +his honesty_. It gives him the unadulterated trust of his employer and +it arouses a certain admiration among his narrow circle of +acquaintances. If this is true with the dullard, the weakling, then what +must it mean _when possessed by the great_? We know, for instance, how +the nation instinctively turned to General Washington when it came to +choosing their President after the Revolutionary War. He may have been +gifted, he may have been one of the world's greatest captains, but the +one quality which endeared him to his countrymen was a tremendous moral +superiority. "_He never told a lie_" rang around the world. Summed up, +his virtues amounted to those five words. Some statesmen may have been +more astute but Washington was honest--"_he never told a lie_." The +people knew they could trust this man so they elected him to fill the +highest place within their gift. + +Honesty with ourselves is the first thing to remember. Unless we are, it +will be impossible for us to enter into that spiritual contentment +enjoyed by those who _are_ honest with themselves. If we are untrue to +ourselves how can we be true to others? The framework of a man's moral +being must be that of honesty. It must become his very nature and become +automatic in its processes. It belongs to the healthy, those who keep +themselves well through _vigorous exercise and temperate living_. It is +not a quality set aside for the lucky few. Every man, woman and child +possesses it in some degree and only its constant neglect trims it to a +minimum. It is one of those fundamentals of life, one of those powerful +and moving forces that rule society. _We are either honest or we are +not._ We cannot be _nearly honest_ and get away with it. + +When one stops to consider honesty, even for a moment, its full +importance is realized. For example, imagine having a dishonest friend. +Could we go to him with the secrets of our heart? Could we trust him? +Would we trust anyone who might turn traitor? Again: suppose we were +untrue to ourselves, and the fact became known. Could we blame others if +they passed us up as a companion? Never in a thousand years. _We must +sleep in the beds we prepare for ourselves._ + +Men have grown accustomed through the years to certain standards. These +are now the moral laws which control and guide the destinies of entire +races, whole generations. There must have been a good reason for these +laws or they could never have come into being. Society does not adopt +many unnecessary rules, but among the vital laws _honesty stands out in +bold relief_. It has become deeply imbedded in the minds of mankind that +everyone must be true to himself. It is taken for granted that those who +are not would naturally be _false to everybody_. + +The reason for this lies in the fact that society will not proceed with +any course of action without being able to trust its members. The +general in charge of an army would have a hard time of it if he were +unable to place faith in the subordinate to whom he gave instructions +that might lead to a crisis in the battle. Society would dash itself +upon the rocks were it not conscious that certain people are +courageously honest, _and in these it finds its leaders_. + +To rise in life means that our fellow man believes in us and wishes us +to do so. Without his co-operation it would be futile to arouse our own +ambitions. We could not hope to win a victory all alone and against the +great majority who believe in certain standards and conditions. We might +fool ourselves into thinking that because of some stroke of fortune we +had established an immunity for ourselves. But some day _our +consciences_ would tell us how feebly we had succeeded. + +There is only one method, only one way ... rise through honesty and an +optimistic belief in self. And let us not plume ourselves because of +our virtue. _Personal honesty is our due to ourselves and our fellow +man._ + +One of the distinctive elements in the honest man's make-up is that of +laughter. The ones who live up to their ideals, do not feel that life is +such a dark place, after all. It may mean hard work, little play and +often delayed rewards but the fact that there is a world, and that it is +filled with other honest souls is reward enough to give us courage to +laugh as we go along. _We can always afford to laugh--when we're +honest_. + +The man who is innately honest has no reason to fear the snares of +fortune. He knows that he can win the trust of men; he knows that he +already has it. He has no dread of looking into the other fellow's eye. +He knows where he stands in life. He has won that which he has through +struggle, and he does not intend to lose it. He does not intend to fail. +_He cannot fail--he cannot lose._ No matter how things might go at this +moment or that the next will find him on the rising tide of new +opportunities---new chances. His reputation travels before him like the +advance agent. His coming is heralded and he is welcomed into any +community. + +It isn't as though there were only a few honest men. This welcome, this +"glad hand," is always extended by society to the honest man as a token +of approval. The world's work is a tremendous matter. There is always +room for another worker to handle some part of it. And only the true, +the sincere, are capable of doing this in the proper way. The leaders of +society in the broader sense are those _who win the faith of the average +man_. We look up to Lincoln because we know that he was the one man in a +million to accomplish the greatest task ever set before a human being. +We realize that he was honest--_honest in the huge sense_ so necessary +to the accomplishment of big ideals. And we know that in order to win +some part of that great trust we must obey the standards of honesty and +decency that lie below the surface and only need to be called to life +and action in order to be used. + +And laughter will arouse that sense as quickly as anything else. The man +who is capable of laughing heartily is not apt to be the one who +carries some _conscience-stricken thought around with him_. It is the +easiest thing in the world to detect an untrue laugh. The real laugh +springs out of the depths of being and comes with a ringing sense of +security and _faith in one's self_. It goes with the workman in the +early morning when he swings along the road to the factory. It +accompanies the soldier into battle. It arouses the clerk from lethargy. +It brightens the sick room. It raises us all to unexplored heights, and +as evidence of our state of mind it can only mean one thing--honesty and +sincerity. No character can exist without this outward exhibition of an +inward honesty. _The mere cultivation of laughter would eventually lead +to honesty._ The fact that you are laughing, enjoying life, awakens you +to a spirit of security and a feeling of the joy of living. Gloomy men +are the ones whose tendency is toward crime and trouble. Laughing men +are the ones who stir the world with new desires and make life worth +living. Therefore we say--_laugh and live_! + +[Illustration: _A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers"_] + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +CLEANLINESS OF BODY AND MIND + + +If we interview many of life's failures we will find that the +overwhelming majority went down because of their neglect to get out of +an environment that was not stimulating and because their ambitions had +grown rusty and inefficient to cope with depressing circumstances. The +prisons and other institutions are filled with people who did not make +any attempt to get away from the vicious surroundings in which they +lived. They were like tadpoles that had never grown to frogs ... they +just kept swimming around in their muddy puddles and, not having grown +legs with which they could leap out onto the banks and away to other +climes, they continued to swim in monotonous circles until they died. In +other words, the failure is a man who dwells in muddy atmosphere all his +days, who is content to remain a tadpole and who never attempts to take +advantage of any opportunity. He becomes unclean, so to speak. And that +is what we mean by this chapter heading "_Cleanliness of Body and +Mind_." It was not intended to point out the proper way to keep our +faces and hands clean, or as a sermon, but rather to show ourselves that +_the clean body begets the clean mind_, the two together constituting +compelling tendencies toward _the clean spirit_. A move in the direction +of these takes us out of the rut of life. + +No matter what cause we dig up with which to explain our success in life +we cannot neglect this most important one--_the careful selection of our +acquaintances_. And this doesn't mean that one must be a snob. Far from +it. It only means that the successful man, the man who wishes to rise in +life, should not spend his days in the company of _illiterate +companions_ who do not possess _ambition of heart or the will to do the +work of the world_. It means that life is too short to hang around the +loafing places with the driftwood of humanity listening to their stories +of failure and drinking in with liquor some of their bitterness against +those who have toiled and won the fruits of their toil. It means that we +will not go out of our way to seek the friendship of men and women who +are simply endeavoring to gain happiness in life without paying for it. +It means that we will do all in our power to win friends who _aspire +nobly_ and by so doing inspire those with whom they come in contact. +Such men are naturally clean of mind and body. + +We must remember always to live in a world of clear thought that will +_stimulate our ambitions_. Dwelling in the dark corners of life and +traveling with the debris of humanity will not arouse us to action and +give us that swinging vigor of heart and mind so necessary to the +accomplishment of great things. While we will ever lend the helping hand +to those who need it we will naturally associate with those who have vim +and courage. We will not be _dragged down by our associates_. Until we +meet the right kind we will hold aloof, and we will not be morose and +gloomy because it happens that at this moment our acquaintanceship does +not include these successes. When we have succeeded in doing something +big they will come to us and _if we think big things we are likely to do +them_. It is all a matter of the will to do. + +"Nothing succeeds like success," said some very wise man and if there +ever was a phrase that rang with truth this does. It means that the +_thought of success_, the courage that _comes with success_, leads to +_more and more success_. It means that the thinker of these thoughts is +living in a clean, wholesome atmosphere along with those who are +determined and in earnest. It means that they have caught the fervor of +true life ... a healthy, contagious fervor which permeates the blood +swiftly once it gets a hold, and like electricity it vivifies and stirs +the spirit with renewed energy _day after day, year after year_. Once it +wins us it will stick with us. The success of those about us will shake +our lethargic limbs and stimulate us to a desire to do as they do. We +will be in a world of clean thought and action and our lives will mirror +their lives, our thoughts will be filled with wholesome things and with +good health. We will win in spite of all obstacles. + +Cleanliness is _the morale of the body and the mind_. The man who is +careful of his linen and who does not neglect his morning plunge is not +apt to be gloomy and morose. We notice him in the car or on the street +in the morning. He comes striding along, fresh and full of _the zest of +living_. His mind is clear and unclouded. His eyes are full of that +vigorous light of conscientious desire to win and do so honestly. He has +none of the hypocritical elements in his nature strong enough to rule +him. There may be and probably are many weaknesses in his character. His +very strength consists in his ability to _crush them and make them his +slaves_. + +The man who has taken his morning plunge and dressed himself agreeable +to comfort and grace, has his battles of the day won in advance. He +knows the value of keeping himself in trim. He does it for the sake of +_his own_ feelings. Our approval of his appearance goes without saying. +If a man thinks well of himself in matters of appearance his general +deportment is likely to coincide. Such men never overdo. They are at +ease with themselves and thus impart ease to others who come in contact +with them. They have, in other words, a distinction of their own and +_their distinction is their power_. They know that the highest moral law +of nature is that of cleanliness, that filthiness should not be allowed +to dominate any man's ethics or physical condition. They rule such +things out of their lives. + +A vast magnetic force comes out of those friends of ours who are _doing +things_ and making the world _sit up and take notice_. The mere fact +that we live near to them, know them and associate with them is +proof-positive that we, too, shall go through life with clean minds and +bodies. They would not tolerate us if we were to slip into shoddy ways. +Nothing is revealed quicker to our intimates than _the losing of +ambition_ ... the slipping into careless habits. We cannot conceal it +from them. We fool only those who brush by. The loss of this +self-respect has a terrible effect upon the system and every tendency +toward success is thereby stunted and weakened. _We have fallen into +unclean ways!_ It will not be long before we sink to the bottom or else +remain among the vast crowd who have neither the courage to fall nor the +courage to rise. + +Nothing produces failure quicker than filthiness of mind and body. Those +who are successful keep away from the very thought of such a condition. +They live as much as possible _in the open_. They take morning and +evening exercises. They read good books, attend good plays and are +continually in touch with the finer developments of thought and art in +the world. Their faces are open and full of sunlight. They are +determined that life will not beat them in a game that only requires +sureness of aim and the ability to take advantage of the thousand and +one opportunities that surround them on every side. + +Cleanliness stands _paramount_ in its importance to _success_. Perhaps +no other one thing has so vital a hold upon the individual who succeeds. +The general of an army first looks to the _morale_ of his troops. He +knows that with clean minds and bodies his soldiers are capable of doing +big things. The battleship, that efficient and highly-developed +instrument of war, is so immaculate that one could eat his meals on its +very decks. Its officers are wholesome, athletic fellows; its crew +consists of hardy men who live sanely and vigorously and who have plenty +to occupy their minds. And if cleanliness is fundamental in their case +why not in our own? + +When we come to analyze ourselves we find that we are like a great +institution of some kind. Here is the brain, the heart, the lungs, the +stomach, the nerves and the muscles. Each department acts separately and +yet is connected absolutely with all the others. The entire system is +under one supreme department ... _the mind_. Now if this ruling +department is kept clean and full, of kindly, beautiful thoughts does it +not seem natural that the rest will follow its lead being so completely +in its power? We realize this and the mere realization is something done +towards the accomplishment of an ideal life in a world of cleanliness +and beauty. + +System is one of the finest tools in existence with which to build one's +life into something worth while. The _body_ must be run on a system as +well as the _mind_. The stomach must not be overloaded with unnecessary +food. The lungs must not be filled with impure air. The nerves must not +be worn threadbare in riotous and ridiculous living. The muscles must be +kept in trim with consistent exercise of the proper sort. We must +recognize the wants, the needs of the physical system and see that they +are supplied. + +Roosevelt, perhaps more than any other living man today, has given +vitality to the supreme necessity of _cleanliness of mind and body_. He +has, by reason of his great prominence, been able to emphasize these two +vital essentials. He called a spade a spade and his message went far. +From those who knew the value of his words came nods of +approval--_others took heed_. From boyhood he has systematized his life, +taking the exercise needed, filling his mind with the learning of the +world, winning when others would have failed, profiting by experience +allotted to him through fate's kindly offices and association with the +_healthy, true men_. What has been the result? He has risen to the very +pinnacle of human endeavor ... _no honors await him_. He has lived +consistently and cleanly and he can look any man in the eye and say +honestly: "_I have lived as I have believed._" + +It is not necessary to become President in order to live sanely, to gain +from circumstances the fruits that are ours for the asking and which +have fallen into Roosevelt's hands with such profusion. We cannot all +become Presidents but we can all _emulate a shining example of mental +and bodily morale_. + +Just as we plunge into the cold water in the early morning so should we +regularly during the day plunge into the society of those whose splendid +enthusiasm is helping to make the world a better place to live in. They +are the kind who go into the struggle with heads high and with clean +hearts. Their eyes see beyond the daily toil of life. They are in touch +with the big things and it is up to us to keep step with them. They want +us and they will give us the "glad hand." All they want to know is +whether our courage is equal to our ambitions and whether our _house of +life is kept in good order_. And so we journey along together in all +good nature, not forgetting to laugh as we live. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +CONSIDERATION FOR OTHERS + + +Consideration for others is man's noblest attitude toward his fellow +man. For every seed of human kindness he plants, _a flower blooms in the +garden of his own heart_. In him who gives in such a way there is no +hypocritical feeling of charity bestowed. His very act disarms the +thought. It is as natural for an honorable man to show consideration to +others as it is for him to eat and sleep. Acts of kindness are the +_outward manifestations of gentle breeding_--a refinement of character +in the highest sense of the word. + +What would we do in this world without the helping hand, the friendly +word of cheer, the thought that others shared our losses and cheered our +victories? If consideration for our feelings and thoughts did not exist +on this earth we would never know the depths of the love of our friends. +There would be no such thing as an earthly reward of merit. We know that +no matter what happens to us in the battle of life there will be someone +to cheer us on our way. We may be strong and thoroughly able to rely +upon ourselves but there comes a time when we need friendship and +sympathy. Society would crumble into dust without these influences. The +family circle would degenerate into a hollow mockery if consideration +each for the other was absent. It sweetens and makes wholesome what +otherwise might only be an existence of monotonous toil. + +Consideration for others is _the milk of human kindness_. For what we do +for others our recompense is _in the act itself_ ... we should claim no +other reward. Observation brings to view that they who give in real +charity _cloak their acts from the eyes of all save the recipient_. +Givers of this type rise to the supreme heights of greatness. It is a +part of their wisdom to know what is best to be done and they go about +it as a pleasure as well as a duty. + +Consideration for others pays big dividends. It is a virtue that makes +for strong friendships and true affections. Those who possess it have a +hard time hiding their light under a bushel. In teaching fortitude to +others they partake of the same knowledge. In the hours of their own +affliction they retain their courage and keep their minds unsoured. They +are the _sure-enough "good fellows" of life_ and their presence is the +signal for instantaneous good cheer. We all know them by their gentle +knock at the door. In a thousand ways they impress themselves upon our +lives, have entered into our councils, have given us the right advice at +the right time--and when the sad day comes along _their strong shoulders +are there for us to lean upon_. + +Consideration for others is apt to be an inherent quality, but like +everything else it can be accentuated or modified according to our own +determination. It is a growth that should be inculcated _early in the +lives of children_--the earlier the better. A child's most +impressionable age is said to be between its fourth and fifth years. +Then is the time to teach it the little niceties of life--the closing of +a door softly--tip-toeing quietly that mother may not be awakened from +her nap--tidiness--cleanliness--good morals--all of which are to become +vital factors in a life of consideration for others. + +A great many of us have the desire to be of service to others but +_timidity_ holds us back. Say, for instance, one might see a person in +great distress and because of diffidence withhold the proffered +hand--someone we've known who comes to the point of penury but has _too +much pride_ to ask assistance--we pass by fearful that we might offend. +How many times has this happened to us? Who knows but the best friend we +have at this very moment would give anything in the world if his pride +would let him bridge that distance between us. + +[Illustration: _A Scene from "The Americano"--Matching Wits for Gold_] + +Nevertheless the desire to do the right thing was in itself helpful. The +thought of doing something for someone was a correct impulse and +should have been carried into action. Early in life we should have +started our foundation for doing things in the cause of others. Putting +off the time when we shall begin to obey our higher impulses toward +helpfulness to our fellows is but a reaction in our own characters which +_dulls determination_. We want to do but we don't. As time goes on we +just _don't_--that's all. Our good intentions have gone to pave the +bottomless pits containing our unfulfilled heart promptings. We meant +well--_but we failed to act_--we didn't have the courage. Our failures +spread a gloom before us. _We lost our chances for a happy life!_ + +The man with the ability to laugh has little diffidence about these +matters. Having confidence in himself and being happy and alert he goes +to the friend in need with courage and the kind of help that helps. If +he doesn't do it directly he finds a way to reach him through mutual +friends. He does not go about _parading_ his kindness, either. He has +gained a sincere and beautiful pleasure out of aiding an old friend and +he can go on his way rejoicing that life is worth living when he has +lived up to its higher ideals. + +Consideration for others does not necessarily involve only the big +things. It is the sum and total of numberless acts and thoughts that +make for friendships and kindliness. People who are thoughtful surely +brighten the world. They are ever ready to do some little thing at the +correct moment and after a time we begin to realize how much their +presence means to us. We may not notice them the first time, or the +third, or the fifth, but after a while we become conscious of their +persistence and we esteem them accordingly. Such men are the products of +_clean, straightforward lives._ They are never too busy to exchange a +pleasant word. They do not flame into anger on a pretext. Their code of +existence is well ordered and filled to the brim with lots to do and +lots to think about. The old saying: "_If you want anything go to a busy +man_," applies to them in this regard. The busier men are the more time +they seem to have for _kindliness_. + +Another word for consideration is service. Nothing brings a greater +self-reward than a service done in an hour of need, or a favor granted +during a day's grind. The generous man who climbs to the top of the +ladder helps many others on their way. The more he does for someone else +the more he does for _himself_. The stronger he becomes--the greater his +influence in his community. Doing things for others may not bring in +_bankable dividends_ but it does bring in _happiness_. Such actions +scorn a higher reward. We have only to try out the plan to learn the +truth for ourselves. A good place to begin is _at home_. Then, _the +office_, or wherever life leads us. And in doing these things we will +laugh as we go along--we will laugh and get the most out of living. + +Our little day-by-day kindnesses when added together constitute in time +a huge asset on the right side of our ledger of life. We should start +the day with something that helps another get through his day ... even +if it isn't any more than a smile and a wave of the hand. And he will +remember us for it. + +It is said that advice is cheap and for that reason is given freely. +But the proper kind of advice is about as rare as the proverbial hen's +tooth. In order to give real advice we must understand the man who asks +for it. If what we say to him is to become of value we must see to it +that his mind is put in proper shape to receive advice. Be sure that he +laughs, or smiles at least, before we seriously take up his case. And +when we have done our stunt in the way of advice let's send him away +with a fine good humor. A friendly pat on the back as he goes out our +doorway may mean a bracer to his determination. "_You'll put it over_," +we shout after him--and thus we have been of real help. He needed +sympathy and courage. He needed a cheerful spirit--so came to us and we +didn't let him go away until we gave him all these. Bully for us! + +Consideration for others does not admit of ostentation and hypocrisy. We +never allow our left hand to know what our right hand does in charity, +nor do we _boast of our helpful attitude toward our fellow men_. It is +well to make a point of this fact--in this world are many +"_ne'er-do-wells"_ who fail to profit by advice and thereby become +professional in the seeking of favors. Consideration owes them nothing +and to withstand their persistent appeals would in time _dull our +natural tendencies_ toward helping others. + +The world helps those who help themselves. We have little admiration for +the man who is forever whining. Society has no work for such people as +these. When we have exhausted every means of helping such a man we must +in self-defense pass him up before he contaminates our sense of justice. +_We must keep our visions clear._ + +Consideration for others is a prime refinement of character. To be able +to use it in our daily lives becomes one of our greatest consolations. +Sympathy begets affection and kindly deeds--in a relative sense it binds +together the properties which go to make _the soul within us_. +Browbeating, scolding, irascibility and the like are microbes which +react against the milk of human kindness, to which, if we succumb, +leaves us stranded and alone amid a world of friendliness and good +fellowship. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +KEEPING OURSELVES DEMOCRATIC + + +Big words and pomposity never were designed for the highest types of +men. Our great national figures have almost without exception had one +quality which was a keynote to their ultimate success--this was their +_simplicity_. Next was their _accessibility_. There are numberless +big-hearted and big-brained individuals in the world whose duties are so +manifold that in order to accomplish what has been placed in their hands +they must be saved from interruption, but the truly great individual is +never hidden away entirely from his fellow man. He never becomes such a +slave to detail that he does not find time to fraternize with ordinary +mortals. We do not find him concealed behind impenetrable barriers, +guarded and pampered by courtiers like unto a king on his throne--or +tucked away in some dark office. He wants to know _everybody worth +while_ and everybody worth while is welcomed by him. He doesn't affect +to know so much that he cannot be told something new. He is not the sort +to refuse to see us at any reasonable time. + +We should not confound _greatness_, however, with _notoriety_. A man who +by virtue of large publicity has compelled public notice isn't +necessarily a great man no matter how hard he may strive to make himself +appear so. Especially is this true of the man who does not make a +personal success corresponding to his advertised fame. In time he may +have the "ear-marks" of notability but, as Lincoln said: "_You can't +fool all of the people all of the time._" + +It is to be noted with satisfaction that the big captains of industry +keep themselves free from petty details. "I surrounded myself with +clever men," said Andrew Carnegie in accounting for his success and by +the same token the men who took over his great affairs and gave them +larger scope and power surrounded themselves with still other clever +men, thus reserving their judgment and thought _for the higher policies +of their institutions_. They keep themselves in readiness for +consultation, and having men of _initiative_ and _self-reliance_ +underneath them, they find time to take in hand other affairs than those +of the tremendous businesses they manage. Men of this type often become +prominent in public affairs and develop into highly important citizens. + +The bigger the man, the less he encumbers himself with matters which can +be delegated to others. His desk is clear of all litter and +minutia--_likewise his mind_. Such men keep their physiques and +mentalities in fine working order and are not to be goaded into _ill +temper_. A refinement of mind is supremely essential to the man who +desires to climb to the very top of the ladder. He cannot afford to +close his brain to outside information. He is forced to keep it open in +order to let in continuous currents of new thought. He doesn't want his +visage to "_cream and mantle as a standing pond_" as Shakespeare aptly +puts it--therefore the windows of his thinking department are kept open +for refreshing draughts from the outside. He reasons that always there +are new guests, new faces, new things to talk about at the banquet board +of life. + +[Illustration: _Taking on Local Color_] + +And here is the point--if men who carry on the great industries of the +world find a way to keep themselves democratic surely men of less +importance should be able to do the same? The snob is about as offensive +a person as could be described. He is usually a hypocrite or an +ignoramus--sometimes both. His pomposity is naturally repellent. We +easily become accustomed to dodging such characters. The detriment is +theirs--not ours. They are left by the wayside and sooner or later wake +up to the fact that they stand alone in the world. + +The world loves the man with _an open mind_. This is the usual spirit of +the progressive citizen. _He wants to know_--and by reason of his +accessibility knowledge is brought to him. No one cares to take up the +task of informing the egotist who already knows it all. Such is his +inherent cussedness that we would rather let him warp in the oven of +his own half-baked knowledge. Life is too short to waste our time in +educating him. + +"How can I see Mr. So-and-so?" says one man to another. + +"Don't try," is the answer. "He's not worth seeing. You can't tell _him_ +anything." + +And this sort of a chap misses the big opportunities just because he +chooses to build up a reputation for being exclusive. He digs himself a +hole and crawls into it _and pulls the hole in after him_. We can safely +imagine him treating the members of his family as though they were +servants, and his employees as though they were slaves. He may succeed +in small things but in the big game of life we may write him down as a +failure. + +If we have a big idea we take it to a big man--_the man of vision_. +Anything less is to putter around aimlessly. The bigger he is, the more +democratic. He will not look for imperfections in our personal make-up +when we show him the _new process_ we have discovered. + +To be democratic is a triumph of the soul--tending to bring us in close +touch with the throbbing heart of humanity. There is no isolation for +those of unaffected charm and manner--no barrier in the way of +friendship worth having. It is our lack of judgment if we hide ourselves +so that we cannot be approached. No matter how high we rise, for the +sake of our own brains we must allow _men of ideas_ to get to us. We +must not allow our minds to become stagnant. If we fail to get into +daily contact with other people, we soon grow dull and uninteresting +even to ourselves. Great men may have no time to fritter away but they +have plenty of leisure for men worth while--_the pushers and the +thinkers_. + +A democratic spirit does not come to the selfish man. He is absorbed in +himself and is quite a hopeless case. He is a natural born faultfinder +and grouchy by nature. For him life holds no joy save the one in sight. +Taking the big look at the man of this type we can only be sorry for him +because of his lack of early training. He started off on the wrong foot +and thereafter drifted along. Seldom do we overcome the habits with +which we arrive at man's estate. Those who do are entitled to a right +hand seat among the chosen. + +Being democratic is another phrase for being _human and kind_. It means +that we ought to be able to see behind every face and find the truth of +that individual's existence. It means that life is largely a matter of +how we look at it and being human is one way to get the proper slant at +things. + +The human mind has _great adaptive power_ and can be molded into a +thousand ways of thinking. The intelligent man, the man who has taken +stock of himself, is able to smile and extend a hearty handclasp whether +he feels tip-top or not. He doesn't have to look glum simply because the +world hasn't thrown itself at his feet. He has only to persevere and +success will come eventually. + +We must correct our failings as we go along or we will slip down into +the rut and stay there. It is a simple matter to be good natured and +full of the zest of life if we poise ourselves right--_keep ourselves +democratic_. It is this great soul quality which brings us true friends +and boosts us into the fulfillment of our ambitions. Then we may truly +_laugh and live_. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +SELF-EDUCATION BY GOOD READING + + +The character of a man expresses itself by the books he reads. Every +well-informed man since the invention of printing has been a close +reader of a few books that stand out from among the many. We read of +Lincoln devouring the few books he had, over and over again and studying +from cover to cover and word for word the Webster's dictionary of his +day. We know that Grant had his favorite volumes from which he drew +inspiration and solace. These men made eternal friends of certain great +thinkers and drank in their learning with all the fervor of their +natures. + + "A few good books, digested well, do feed + The mind." + +"Feed the mind!" That's the idea--_but how shall we feed it_? The answer +is easy--with something _worth while_--something that will inform and +inspire. We can cram our minds to the point of indigestion with useless, +frivolous information just as easily as we may cram our stomachs with +certain foods that tear down rather than build up. The habit of reading +the right sort of books should begin early in life and continue +throughout our days. + +Good books are real ... and as we read we feel, hear, see and understand +in the way the author did. If what is said appeals to our way of +thinking _a new world_ is unfolded to our vision filled to the brim with +things we can think about and add to our stock of knowledge. While we +are buried in its leaves we may live over the thoughts that the writer +lived. For the time being he becomes as real and vital to us as the +dearest friend we possess. Gradually, as the time passes by, he creeps +into our affections until our lives would not be complete without the +comradeship of his cherished book. + +Books that become our "pals" are not necessarily books of the so-called +classical type. Little known volumes may prove to have enough thought +stored away between their covers to keep us interested all our days. The +great books will prove their worth in a short time no matter how poor +the binding, how bad the type or how cheap the paper. These things are +after all only the outward manifestations and though we like to see our +friends dressed well yet we know that the clothes do not make character +unless there is character there in the first place. And so it is with +books. These little ungainly volumes which we purchase on the stands may +be the classics of tomorrow ... who knows? + +We select our library carefully. No matter if we live in a tiny hall +bedroom on the top floor of a boarding house we have a shelf somewhere +with a few good books on it. Emerson's "Essays" can be had in one volume +and are well worth having. No other American writer has been so +inspiring, so invigorating as this thinker of Concord. One cannot read +his essays without having a desire to _get up and do_. It is like a +breath of fresh air ... a tonic ... a stiff morning walk. It stirs the +mind to action and inspires us to lift ourselves out of the rut into +which we have fallen. One returns to them time after time, each reading +opening up new vistas of thought, new lines of mental development. + +[Illustration: _A Scene from "His Picture in the Papers"_] + +_As a man's stomach is what he eats, a man's mind is what he reads._ It +goes without saying that no healthy, active mind could exist without the +companionship of Shakespeare. Nowadays it is possible to secure the +entire works of the immortal poet in one volume. There is a special +Oxford University edition which can be had for a small sum. The type is +large, the paper good and there are many notes to help one over the +rocky places. There is no doubt of the truth of the saying that a man +who reads Shakespeare consistently and with understanding needs no other +education. Like the philosopher Emerson he boiled down the world's +thoughts into terse sentences and one goes into a new universe when +reading any of the plays. It is a good thing to learn parts of them by +heart so that we can apply them to our own lives. They strengthen the +mind ... their beauty lifts us into a great realism of splendid thought +... and they fill the heart with a longing to do something great. Such +books should become steady companions through life. No matter where our +duties call us we should see to it that we do not leave behind the +thoughts of this master mind of Shakespeare. The very fact that we have +them near us lifts us out of the monotony of nothing to do. + +Among the books about America for Americans perhaps Roosevelt's "Winning +of the West" is among the best. Not only has he thrown the whole vigor +of his interesting personality into the writing of it, but he has given +us a vivid picture of the conquest of the States by the settlers. No man +could read it without being thrilled at the dangers our forefathers +faced ... at the great courage they possessed ... at their hardihood ... +their bulldog tenacity. The reading of such a book is like going back +over the years and living with them, sharing their troubles and their +enthusiasms. The man who contemplates gathering a small library could +not afford to do without the inspiration of what his countrymen have +done for him. + +In choosing our books we must bear in mind one thing--_let them be +inspiring_. Let them be of such a nature that when we read them we will +feel like going out into the world to accomplish something _big_! + +That is probably the mission of great books--to inspire and uplift. The +world's greatest men have been readers--would they have cared for books +unless they were inspiring? It is said that when Napoleon was being +taken to St. Helena he advised one of the officers never to stop +reading. + +Most of the things worth while are at some time or other stored away in +books by the thinkers. Every phase of history, every movement to better +mankind and lift it above the drudgery of mere toil, every beautiful +thought is to be found in them and the better the book the more will be +found in it of these very things. When we have finished the day's work +we can pull down a volume from the shelf and in a moment be lost in an +entirely different world. The man who neglects to read surely misses the +one best means of broadening his mind. + +All books of the better class furnish food for thought and are excellent +tools for the man of initiative. To read means keeping in touch with the +big visions. We cherish these dreams and make them real in plans of our +own. Aspiration is behind the pages of every worth-while volume. It was +the motive power which drove the author to produce it and it should +become a part of the forces which drive us on to victory. Without such +inspiration we grope as children in the dark. We are without a light to +guide us on our way. + +Books by such men as Marden and Hubbard are great generators of the +electricity of doing things. They have put into words those innermost +emotions which are the instruments of success. They point out a way we +may safely follow. They loan us inspiration which causes us to act for +ourselves. They give us thoughts that are useful and practical which we +never would have gained by virtue of our own reasoning power. They made +it a life work to coin into phrases words that inspire. Out of their +large experience came the logical sequences of cause and effect. Not to +profit by their teachings is a crime against our own prospects--without +them we lag behind. Instead of progressing we look on in wonder at what +is going on in the world. Somehow we cannot connect ourselves with the +big enterprises. And all because we failed to feed our minds properly. + +There is much to be gained both in pleasure and knowledge by reading +historical novels, and the lives of great men. The books of Sir Walter +Scott and James Fenimore Cooper are rated among the best in the world. +Grant's autobiography and the personal stories of other famous Americans +provide fascinating material with which to establish and fortify our +test for good literature. The tales of modern American financiers is +another field of absorbing interest. + +The man with small means can provide himself with a working library for +a very little money. Books are cheap. The public library is always +nearby and there is hardly a town of any size but what has one. When we +purchase a book we should be sure to obtain the best edition and be +careful that it is printed from good type and on clear paper. Books are +likely to become warm friends. We should never purchase an abridged +edition. + +Binding is not such an important factor, although we like to have _our +favorite books_ put up in a handsome fashion. With Shakespeare, Emerson, +Roosevelt, Scott, Cooper, Marden and Hubbard one would have quite a +representative collection for a start. It would be easy to expand the +list into many more. Of course, those collecting a small library who +have a specialty, will want books dealing with the subjects in which +they are interested. However, every practical library includes books of +inspirational character, and if one makes a study of the books written +by great authors it will be found that all of them profited by the +reading of books which caused them to think. _The Bible causes us to +think!--and no library is complete without it._ + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +PHYSICAL AND MENTAL PREPAREDNESS + + +It is not the object of this chapter to deal with a set course of +physical culture, but rather to emphasize the necessity of keeping our +physical house in order. There are plenty of books on physical culture +which can be relied upon and also any number of physical instructors who +are able to advise and help along a set program. There are hundreds of +places, institutions, clubs, Y.M.C.A.'s, and the like, which provide +gymnasiums and every other facility for those who determine to build +themselves up through consistent physical exercise. That is all very +well to begin with, but afterward we must have some simple methods of +our own which will not make it a hardship or a chore to keep ourselves +in trim--_a state of physical preparedness_. It should become a part of +our daily scheme to obey certain, simple rules which tend toward an +_automatic effort_ instead of a discipline, and we should persevere in +these until they become _fixed habits_. + +It is no trouble at all to take exercise unconsciously, and we only +arrive at this by turning into an exercise any of our ordinary physical +actions during the day as we go along. For instance, we can sit down in +a chair and in so doing can add a certain amount of exercise to the +action itself--also in rising. With very little effort we can come into +the habit of sitting correctly--posing the body as it should be--holding +the shoulders in proper position--also the chin so that it becomes a +hardship to sit improperly. + +All of this has to do with _general physique_. In walking we can go +along with a spring, elasticity, and vigor of motion which forces a fine +blood circulation throughout the entire system. We can stoop over in the +act of picking up some object from the floor and at the same time make +it a matter of physical exercise, and we may take a hat from the rack +while standing away from it, thus stretching ourselves, as it were, +into a little needful action. Putting on an overcoat, or any part of our +clothing, may be done in such a way as to set the blood to racing +through the body. Morning and night--upon getting up and upon +retiring--there is every reason to make it a rule to exercise freely. + +The morning exercise wakes us up and sits us down finally at the +breakfast table with a zest for the food set before us. The morning bath +is an agency for good in this direction after we have given ourselves a +good shake-up from head to foot. By the same token, exercises at night +before retiring induces sound sleep and takes away the strain of the +preceding day. + +A very successful system is that of exercising in bed. Instead of +immediately jumping to the floor in the morning it is very inviting to +go through some simple form of gymnastics in which the physical +structure is brought into play. + +Physical exercise is something which can be carried to extremes. We can +go at the work so intensely that we become muscle-bound and develop some +structural enlargements that we do not need. This happens very often +among athletes. The ordinary man should fight shy of such plans. +Superfluous strength is only for those who have need of it. What we +really want is strength enough to carry us through our daily rounds with +comfort and _a feeling of efficiency_. + +In a sense we all live by our wits and these decline when not properly +fed by our general physical organization. Prize fighters are not the +longest lived people, nor are the professional athletes. Their calling +requires extra building up which would be a positive handicap to the +average man whose manner of life doesn't require this super-development. +In other words, there are intemperate methods of exercising just as +there are of eating and drinking. We may easily go too far. Again, we +can sin just as greatly by not going far enough. There was a time when +men of forty were as worn and old as men of sixty-five and seventy are +today. As a matter of fact, nowadays a half-century mark is no longer a +badge of senility when a man has kept himself fit and treated himself +right. + +We all have friends who are pretty well along in years by virtue of +their carefully planned physical training, plus their _cheerful +dispositions_. They are as sprightly and companionable as though they +were many years younger. We should come to know early in life what a +large part _good humor_ plays in _physical fitness_. In previous +chapters hearty laughter was extolled as one of the very best of +exercises. It is an organizer in itself and opens up the heart and lungs +as nothing else will do. It makes the blood go galloping all through the +system. It is one of the best automatic _blood circulators_ in the +business. + +Laughter takes the stress off of the mind, and whatever is ahead of us +for the day that seems likely to become a burden is soon turned into an +ordinary circumstance. We smile as we go about doing it. + +A friend once said to a banker: + +"How do you know when to lend money?" + +The banker replied: + +"I look a man in the eye and then _I do or I don't_." + +The friend said: + +"I would like to borrow ten thousand dollars--now!" + +"You shall have it, Sir," the banker replied. + +This meant that the man who asked for the loan was in a state of +physical and mental preparedness. If he had gone into the banker's +office looking like an animated tombstone he wouldn't have had much of a +chance to borrow the ten thousand. It goes without saying that the +open-faced, hearty fellow inspires confidence. There is nothing coming +to the dried-up, sour chap, and that's what he usually gets. And what we +get is largely a matter of our physical well being. A modern philosopher +observed that "the blues are the product of bad livers"--and there is no +doubt but that he was right. + +The problem of life is to fill our days with sunshine. In so doing we +shall find that the "little graces" are those which will lend us the +most help. Tiny favors extended, words of encouragement, courtesies of +all sorts, unselfish work carried out in an open manner, true +friendships and love, a hearty laugh, a sincere appreciation of the +other fellow's struggle to keep his head above water, the conscientious +carrying out of all tasks assigned us--these are our helpmates and they +are the products of our physical and mental equipment. Through these we +come into our knack of detecting friends among those who are _the salt +of the earth_. + +It is impossible for the person who desires good health to obtain it, or +having it, to retain it, without consistent effort. A watch will not run +without the proper regulation of the mainspring. We must keep up our +activities. We have taken the earth and are turning it into something to +serve us--therefore the need of fine bodily preparedness. Nothing can +take the place of achievement and it comes through physical and mental +efficiency. The one must not be neglected for the other; both must be +cultivated and developed alike in order that each may help the other. + +Happiness comes only to those who take care of themselves. It is the +natural product of _clean-mindedness_. No pleasure can surpass that of a +conscious feeling of our strength of character. It is an all important +element in men who aspire to succeed. The man who rises in the morning +from a healthy slumber and plunges into the bath after some vigorous +exercise is prepared to undertake anything. His world seems fair, and +though the sun may not be shining literally, it is to all intents and +purposes. Thus, we go swinging along with a cheery smile, carrying the +message of hope and joy to all those with whom we come in contact. Oh! +it's fine to be physically and mentally fit! + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +SELF-INDULGENCE AND FAILURE + + +The correct definition of self-indulgence is _failure_--because +self-indulgence is comprised of an aggregation of vices, large and +small, and failure is the logical sequence thereof. Even the habit of +eating may be cultivated into a vice. Indeed, there are those who gorge +without restraint, which in itself is unchaste and immoral. We've often +seen them as, with napkin under foot or tucked under the collar, they +eat their way through mountains of food and wash it down as they reach +for more. + +No use to say how and what we feel when we attend such performances. It +is all right to say "Look the Other Way," _but it can't be done_. It is +human nature to gaze upon horror--sometimes in sympathy, but more often +in amazement. Sometimes a well staged scene of gormandizing viewed from +a seat in the second or third row center of a softly lighted, thick +carpeted food emporium _saves us the price of our own meal_. We no +longer hunger on our own account. Our appetite is appeased by proxy, so +to speak, and we calmly fix our eyes on the "big show" and _sigh for a +baseball bat_. + +No wonder a noted bachelor of medicine declares "People are what they +eat!" The exclamation point is our own. We quite agree with our medical +brother for we have seen people eat until we thought _we_ would never be +hungry again. + +But there is more to self-indulgence than the food specialist has to +answer for, so we will be on our way. For instance, there is _the +spendthrift_; surely he is entitled to a short stanza. We all know him. +He goes on the theory that he has all the spending money in the world, +and that long after he is dead those on whom he spent it will remember +his generosity. Vain hope!--Whatever memory of him remains will be of a +different kind. Those who have been bored by his gratuitous attentions +will take up the threads of their existence where they left off when he +drove them away from their usual haunts. No longer will they have to +dodge down alleys and run up strange stairways in an effort to avoid his +overtures. + +[Illustration: _Douglas Fairbanks in "The Good Bad-Man"_] + +When alive and in full operation he knew more about what was best for us +than we could possibly think of knowing. Left to his own devices he +would have us smoke his particular brands, drink his labels, eat his +selections, wear his kind of a cravat, overcoat, cap, hat, shoes, and +underwear. And to make his proposition sound business like he would +willingly pay the bills! In this little amusement we are supposed to +play the part of receiver and _praise his generosity_. + +Whatever may be our verdict on this chap we must keep in mind that his +inordinate desire to waste his substance was no less than a vice if for +no other reason than its example upon others; it is just as bad to be _a +"receiver"_ as it is to be _a spendthrift_. If we cannot build up a +reputation for generosity without becoming ostentatious we might better +take lessons in refinement from someone "to the manor born." + +There is no desire to single out and set down by name and number every +sort of self-indulgence. _Excesses of any kind are indulgences_, and it +is easy to fall into them if we have not built up our stamina to resist. + +Our failures are usually traceable to ourselves. No matter what excuses +may be offered in our behalf we know in our own minds that we are to +blame. Somewhere along the line of our endeavors we faltered--_then we +fell_. Our conservatism reinforced by our strength of character finally +gave way at a given point and put the whole plant out of business. Our +system of inspection had become cursory instead of painstaking. +Everything had been running along so smoothly we forgot that everything +_must_ wear out in time if it isn't looked after properly. + +A previous chapter entitled, "Taking Stock of Ourselves," has a specific +bearing upon the subject in hand. It emphasizes the necessity of taking +stock of ourselves early in life in order that we may know our weak +spots and take immediate steps to dig them out by the roots and replace +them with "_hardy perennials_" which thrive on and on unto the last day. + +And that reminds us that it is well to take stock of ourselves every +little while. Even "hardy perennials" have to be looked after--the +ground kept fertile and watered against the draughts of forgetfulness +and neglect. And so it must be with our mental and physical processes in +order that each day of our lives we may go forth with renewed +forcefulness--with every atom of character in full working order. + +Having started off on the right foot, we are less likely to have trouble +with our higher resolves during the lean and hungry years of our youth +when we go plunging headlong toward the goal of our ambitions. Usually +it is not until we come into "Easy Street" that we find that we dropped +something somewhere along the line which we must replace at once or we +will be laid up for repairs. But lo and behold! "Easy Street" is fair to +look upon. It dazzles the eye--it takes hold of the sensibilities. +Everybody wears "Sunday clothes" on this street and seems to be +superlatively happy. Surely it wouldn't hurt to linger awhile and see +what is going on. Why, this is the most talked about street in the +world! Some of the people we have dealt with have told us about it. They +said it was _the only street_ for a man of means, for there could be +found the very things for which we strive in life. They told us that the +people we would meet represented the higher order of intelligence, +brainy, alert, accomplished--a grand thoroughfare for those who would +know life in the fullness thereof. + +Now it is a fact that "Easy Street" may be crossed and recrossed in +safety every day of our lives if we do not tarry. Financial competence +might permit of it, but competent efficiency demands that we trot +along--_keep moving_--get away before we settle down into its ways. The +action we need is not along this brilliant lane. + +But suppose we do take a chance just to test the serene confidence which +we think is so safely nailed down within us. The very thought of it +makes the "caution bell" tinkle in our ears--but caution is a species of +cowardice, after all, we say--a man of _courage_ may dare anything +_once_. And just at the moment we waver who comes along but our old +friend _Self-indulgence_!--the well dressed, carefree fellow who once +told us all about "Easy Street" and invited us to look in on him +sometime. Nothing would please him more than to show us the whole +works--and here he is shaking us by the hand and pulling us along--for +he is an affable fellow and will not take "no" for an answer. + +Our struggle is feeble--a huge chunk of our strength of character falls +off into space then and there. Even at the gilded entrance we try again +to beg off--to slip away--but Self-indulgence will not hear. So together +we go through the portals leading into a grandeur we had never +known--beyond our experience and power to believe. _This is likely to +become the turning point in our career._ + +Bill Nye once said "When we start down hill we usually find everything +greased for the occasion." We might add--"_except the bumps_!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +LIVING BEYOND OUR MEANS + + +Living beyond our means is a big subject that must be treated broadly, +for circumstances alter cases. There is a sane way to look at every +problem, and the matter of living beyond our means is one of the major +problems we have to face. If every man was alike and every avocation in +life was on a parity, it would be possible to dispose of this subject in +a paragraph. But men are not alike. What one could do successfully might +easily baffle another. Therefore, it seems advisable to consider the +subject by looking into its depths. + +To most people debt is terrifying. To some it means nothing--and thus we +have individual temperament as an angle from which to consider. Living +beyond our ability to pay means going into debt via the shortest route. +Getting out of debt means a revision of our code to the extent of +ceasing to live beyond our means and saving something with which to pay +off what we owe. Some men can do this successfully--others fail while +seemingly trying their best to succeed--and still others do nothing to +stem the tide. With these it is a matter of how the tide serves. If +favoring winds should drive them to opulence they would more than likely +pay up, particularly those imbued with _sufficient personal honor_ to +"make good." + +Such are the exigencies of life, we may as well concede that a vast +majority at some time or other find it necessary to owe more than they +can readily pay. Emergencies arise which force us into expenses that +require credit, and if we have so ordered our lives that when the pinch +comes _we have no credit established_ the fact that we pay out our last +dollar and go hungry to bed does not bring us much sympathy. Thus it +would seem that to be able to say: "I pay as I go," or, "I owe no man a +dollar," or, "I never live beyond my means" is not much of a boast, +when, after a death in the family, or other unforeseen circumstances, +we find ourselves broke and nowhere to turn for accommodation. + +It has been aptly said that "_People can save themselves to death._" In +other words, one may develop the saving habit to such an extent that +"Laugh and Live" can find no room beside us on the perch of our +existence. We must admit that the systematic saver of pennies misses a +lot as he goes along, and, with time, degenerates into a sort of "Kill +Joy." In the matter of regulating his family to his way of thinking he +usually has an uphill job. Sons leave home as soon as they can; +daughters marry and breathe a sigh of relief, leaving mother behind to +slave on _in order that the hoard may grow_. + +While all of this is true it only represents extreme cases, therefore it +should not be construed that this chapter is launched against _the habit +of saving_. Rather, its purpose is to suggest the thought of not +"_over-saving_" at the expense of _personal welfare_. Our best plan +would be to save in reason, not forgetting that life is here to enjoy +as we go along. Then, too, we must have a _credit rating_ among our +fellow mortals, just the same as a business person must have credit +rating among financial institutions. + +[Illustration: _Squaring Things With Sister--From "The Habit of +Happiness"_] + +Credit in business is worth more than money because it allows for +expansion whereas money in the bank is only good _as far as it goes_. +Many a merchant who bought and sold for cash all his life found when he +came to enlarge his business that one thing was lacking--_credit_. The +fact that he had always paid cash threw a doubt upon his financial +condition when he proposed to borrow. He had neglected to build up a +credit as he went along. The business world only knew him as a man who +paid cash and exacted cash. Taken at his fullest inventory he had +"scalped" a living out of the world for which he had done but little to +make happier or better. One calamity might easily scuttle his prospects +forever--for instance, a fire, or a bank failure. And without credit it +would be difficult to start over again. + +By all means we must save something for the "rainy day" as we go +along--and our savings can be made up of other things than actual cash +in bank. One item of our savings is the habit of _keeping up our +appearances_. Living beyond our means does not incorporate the thought +that, in order to save every possible cent, we should become slipshod +and shabby. Carelessness in dress takes away from our rating as nothing +else will for it has to do with first impressions of those with whom we +come in contact. Gentility pays dividends of the highest order, being, +as it is, a badge of character. Neatness _bespeaks character_, and it is +just as cheap in dollars and cents to keep ourselves respectably clothed +as to indulge in shoddy apparel under the delusion that we have saved +money on the purchase price. Good clothing, costing more at the start, +lasts long _and looks well as long as it lasts_. Shoddy apparel never is +anything else but shoddy, and well might it proclaim the shoddy man. + +When we throw away our opportunity to present a genteel appearance, just +for the sake of the bank roll, we doom ourselves to defeat in the +pursuit of knowledge. We cannot get all we want to know by the mere +reading of books. We must mingle with people; we must interchange +thought that we may crystallize what we know into practical knowledge so +it can be made into tools to work with. While a man of brains is welcome +everywhere the matter of his appearance has a lot to do with how he is +received and with whom he may fraternize. + +"Isn't it a pity," we hear people say, "that, with all his brains, he +hasn't sense enough to make himself presentable?" But the worst phase of +the situation is that the unkempt man sooner or later loses faith in +himself and either ceases to hoard at the expense of his gentility or he +gives up his opportunity to mingle with others and lapses into habits +consistent with miserly thoughts. + +The phrase "_a happy medium_" is well known and decidedly applicable to +the subject of saving as we go along so that we may avert the sorrows +which follow in the wake of _living beyond our means_. It suggests a +desirable middle course which permits us to adopt a sane policy, rather +than flying to an extreme. + +It cannot be said that we are living beyond our means when by reason of +our association with men of affairs we need to spend more money and +thereby save less in preparing ourselves for the larger opportunities +which will naturally follow. Young men often go through college on their +"uppers," so to speak. There is not a cent which they could honestly +save as they went along without cheating themselves. The point is that +their situations in life force them to spend rather than to save money. +But in so doing the real saving was in the spending thereof. _They +enlarged their knowledge and decreased their bank accounts for the time +being._ What man parts with in an emergency is no license, however, for +him to fall back into profligacy. Never should a man entirely lose the +idea of putting something by. The college boy in this case has simply +invested his money in an education instead of a bank account. + +Once on the highroad of life with a plan of action well defined and a +regular income _the habit of putting money away should become a fixed +procedure_. In no other way do we accumulate except by investment, and +investment means putting away money at interest or in some project which +promises better returns. + +If we were to interview a thousand men on the subject of saving and draw +upon their experiences we would find that by investing money at interest +we pursue the safest course, far safer, in fact, than the seeking of +outside investments that _promise_ greater returns. The latter invites +the mind away from the regular avocation and educates it in time to +_take chances_ that are likely to turn into _setbacks_. The mind, +instead of applying itself to the duty of making the most out of its +regular employment, allows its interest to become scattered over too +broad a field. + +It is not within the province of all men to become wealthy and, after +all, wealth is not the only desideratum; the happiest of mortals are +found in the middle walks of life and not in the extremes. The struggle +should be to escape the life which saps our strength, keeps our nerves +on edge and drives us away from the _green pastures_. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +INITIATIVE AND SELF-RELIANCE + + +The late Elbert Hubbard defined the man with initiative as the one who +did the right thing at the right time without being told. At this point +it may be definitely stated that such a man would naturally be +_self-reliant._ Such a man would not lean on his friends. He would +_stand up_ with them.... He would be found fighting his own battles +without crying for help. + +Once a cub reporter was ordered by his city editor to go and interview a +certain man. After an awkward pause the youngster inquired: "Where can I +find him?" Smiling scornfully into his eyes the city editor replied: +"Wherever he is." + +This would seem to have been the start and finish of this youngster's +newspaper career, but quite the reverse was true. He took the lesson +well to heart, thus starting himself on the road to self-reliance. If +he had repeated the offense it is likely he would have lost his job and +also _his nerve_--thereby spoiling his chances for a successful career. +The fact that he did not, but went on and made of himself a famous +newspaper man, proves that he lost no time in developing _initiative and +self-reliance_. + +There is no questioning the vast importance these two words mean to all +of us. Many a man who did not grasp the significance of initiative +became a "_leaner_" for the rest of his life. Many a man also missed his +chances by doing _just as he was told_ and nothing more. His work ended +there. In due course it is inevitable that such a man should become part +of the great army of discontented ne'er-do-wells who help to block the +pavements in front of the loafing places. + +Hesitation, vacillation and growing diffidence take the place of +self-reliance. He falls to the bottom like a stone. And there he +rests--a drag anchor in the mire. His job gets the best of him because +he lacks initiative. Once stranded he becomes an arrant +coward--_afraid of his own shadow_. + +[Illustration: _A Scene from "In Again--Out Again"_] + +We must _make our own opportunities_ otherwise we are children of +circumstance. What becomes of us is a matter of guesswork. We have no +hand in compelling our own future. _Diffidence is a species of +cowardice._ It causes a man's courage to ooze out at his toes faster +than it comes into his heart. _Such men often have big ideas, but having +no confidence in themselves they lack the power to compel confidence in +others._ When they go into the presence of a man of personality they +lose their self-confidence and all of the pent-up courage which drove +them forward flies out at the window. Their weakness multiplies with +each failure until finally "the jig is up"--_their impotency is +complete_. + +Very largely those who have big ideas to present expect to be taken in +on them and to be given an opportunity to succeed along with their +scheme. When a man becomes so unfortunate as to be unable through +diffidence to explain himself, his big idea goes into the waste basket +and with it all of the hopes he has built upon it. _Another nail has +been driven into his casket of failures._ + +To such a man, all pity, but we will not allow him to escape until we +have given him a pat on the back and pointed out the right road to +travel. We mustn't preach to him or undertake to force him to do +anything, but we will at least give him a helping hand and show him that +there is _a royal road to his goal_. + +This man needs first of all to build upon his physique. Perhaps he has a +_bad stomach_, and likewise _bad teeth_. Exercise--regular exercise, +should be the first thing on his program. Fresh air, long walks, deep +breathing, dumb bells, boxing, rowing, skating in season--_and wholesome +companionship day by day_. In the long run boxing will become his most +efficient exercise. When a man can take a blow between the eyes and come +back for more he has begun to _fortify his own combativeness_. That is +what he needs in life's battles--the nerve to _come back for more_ after +a slam on the jaw that would lay another man low. And when it's all +said and done and the exercise game has become a feature of his day's +work, he must settle down to _good plain food and plenty of sleep_. +There is nothing in all the world like these things combined for the +upbuilding and upholding of health and courage. + +Our success is a matter of our courage. A man who can steel himself to +be knocked down and get up immediately afterwards and hand the other +fellow a ripping punch has added to his own "pep." _All courage is of +the same cloth, whether physical, moral or spiritual._ To build upon one +is to build up the others--the human system being constructed on such a +basis that if one part is affected all the rest follow suit. + +A man who isn't afraid of a physical combat will readily match his wits +with his fellow man. Physical training is therefore all important to +_initiative and self-reliance_. + +Our natural aim is to make for ourselves a true personality that does +not know defeat. When we come to an obstacle we must be able to hurdle +it. It is all very well to say that the longest way around is the +shortest way across, but it doesn't sound like initiative and +self-reliance. There is one thing about men who rely upon +themselves--they make no excuses, nor do they puff up over victory. + +Posing for applause is as distasteful to them as standing for abuse. All +they ask is a square deal and the confidence of their associates. If +they fall down on a proposition they get up and go at it again until +success crowns their efforts. Such men have a way of _turning defeat +into victory_. + +How immeasurably inferior to such a spirit is the fellow who whines and +moans at every evil twist of fortune. He has no confidence in himself +and nothing else to do except confide his woes to all who will listen to +his cowardly story of defeat. Such men are least useful in the important +work of this world. They are the humdrum hirelings--the dumb followers. +The pitiful part of it all is that they could have succeeded had they +but taken stock of themselves when the taking was good. But while there +is life there is hope--likewise a chance. _It is up to us._ + +One of the startling things about men of initiative is the way they +come forward in times of trouble. We don't have to point to Andrew +Jackson in the War of 1812. We can look around us. Take, for example, a +great fire. Haven't we often read of the brave fireman who sprang +forward and by doing the right thing instantly, saved a multitude of +lives? Well, such a man is possessed of self-reliance. He is trained for +the hazardous life he leads. When the emergency arose he was ready in a +jiffy to do the work expected of him. + +It is safe to say that without training such men would have botched the +job and instead of being praised to the skies would have sunk into +oblivion under the heap of public scorn. Sometimes it happens that a man +accidentally becomes a hero, but it was no accident that he was _able to +become one_. He must have had initiative--he must have had +self-reliance. Archibald C. Butt was such a man. He went down on the +_Titanic_. The last act of his life was to help women and children into +the boats and calm their minds as they were lowered away. Astor was of +the same metal--_both sublimely oblivious to the terrible fate which +hung over them_. Here was initiative and self-reliance in its highest +form. + +And this sort of man is everywhere. The car in which we ride to work +every morning contains one or more of them. Let something happen and we +will see them spring forward with a line of action already formed. At +their word of command we automatically obey--and then when the worst is +over a kindly voice reassures us and we go on our way rejoicing. + +What would the world do without these men? History is filled with the +tales of heroes and heroines. And for every Joan of Arc there are +thousands upon thousands who have done heroic things without a word of +praise. Moreover, the really brave soul declines all ovation. No real +hero claims reward. _To have done the right thing at the right time is +reward in itself._ + +This quality of self-strength and self-dependence is not confined to any +race of people, but in nations where personal liberty survives +initiative is at its best. Somehow, whenever the emergency, _the man +comes forth to do and dare_. The great world war, still raging as these +lines are penned, has furnished untold thousands of examples of +courageous action---enough to last until the end of human affairs, but +they will go on and on in multiplied form, each day's score superseding +those of the day before. It would be bully to know that we are doing our +share in _safeguarding the supply_ of Initiative and Self-reliance +needed in this world. + +We must keep moving. The fellow who gets in a rut through lack of +initiative finds that with advancing years it becomes harder and harder +to get out of it, so that the best plan is to make the move now while +there is time to succeed. When we come to think of it, there are plenty +of positions in the world for the right man, and if we have something to +say for ourselves that lends credit to our ability we stand a chance for +the job. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +FAILURE TO SEIZE OPPORTUNITIES + + +There is an old saying to the effect that "opportunity knocks but once +at our door"--and that is all _fol de rol_. Opportunity knocks at some +people's doors nearly every day of their lives and is given a royal +welcome. That's what Opportunity likes--_appreciation_. It goes often to +the home where the latchstring hangs on the outside. It's like a sign +reading "Hot coffee at all hours, day or night"--very inviting. Very +much different, however, from the abode whose windows shed no light and +whose door _is barred from within_. + +"Nobody Home!" that's the sign for this door. + +Mister Numbskull lives here and most of the time _he sleeps_. When +anyone knocks on his door he pulls the covers up over his head to shut +out the noise. He's down on his luck anyhow, therefore it would be a +waste of good shoe leather for him to be up and puttering around. If +Opportunity ever knocked at his door he could say in all truth that _he +never heard it_. He had often heard of Opportunity being in the +neighborhood, but one thing is certain--_someone else had invariably +seen him first_. He felt sure he would know Opportunity if ever he met +him face to face, and if ever he did he would have it out with him then +and there. + +Meanwhile--dadgast the luck!--always the fates pursued him with some +sort of hoodoo. And his neighbors--well, some of them had sense enough +to keep their distance and let him alone. Others, however, had not been +considerate of the fact that a "Jinx" was on his trail, and were given +to making sarcastic remarks concerning him. And thus it was that Mister +Numbskull spent his days, dodging his neighbors, sidestepping the +highways and obscuring himself from the very individual he wanted so +much to behold--_Opportunity_. At last there came a time when, in +despair, _and in disrepute_, he took to the woods and is yet to be +heard from. Opportunity still visits the neighborhood, but the path +leading to Mister Numbskull's home is grown up in weeds. + +The fact is that our real opportunity _knocks from within_. Through +experience, built upon consecutively by continuous effort, our vision +expands and pounds its way out through the portals of our brain. We see +the thing that we ought to do and _we go to it_! To the man who didn't +see it _the opportunity did not exist_. + +"What we don't know doesn't hurt us any"--so runs the old saw. And +here's a case where we who didn't see, _were_ hurt, but we didn't know +it. + +For those of us who have vision there are all sorts of opportunities, +but many of them are not good for us. The ones we make for ourselves are +the healthy ones, and generally they are the best for us. "Our own baby" +is the one we will take the greatest pride in and enjoy the most. Then +we become masters of our own destiny in a sense and can be more +independent through having no senior partners in the enterprise. Often +our dreams bring forth a need for many kinds of special knowledge and +for these we go into the open market offering opportunity to many others +in return for their assistance. Thus we find that everything we do is in +relation to other things and dependent in part on other people. + +This should make us careful and a wee bit wary. Opportunities are widely +divergent in nature--through a stroke of hard luck one might have +difficulty in finding employment. The first opportunity might lead to a +job in a bar-room, but having fortified ourselves by developing our +highest attributes such as honesty, integrity, cleanliness of body and +mind--we are able to somehow or other pinch along until something better +shows itself. First-class principles are not to be thrown away upon the +first provocation, therefore, in order to take away the temptation, we +might as well figure out that a great many employments in the world do +not represent _real opportunities_ and therefore should not be +considered. + +Failure to seize such so-called opportunities becomes a virtue in the +same sense that the failure to seize a decent opportunity becomes a +shame. + +Often opportunity comes through meeting men of affairs who have power +and wealth at their command. These are usually in connection with +enterprises of the greater magnitude. Those of us who have the power to +control our destinies to a reasonable degree should not stand back in +our support of these. If we have carefully built up our initiative, +self-reliance, preparedness in the way of efficiency, good health and +the will to do, there is no reason why we should not aspire to take a +hand in anything in which we are confident we can succeed. Among the men +who control the big affairs of the business world we find a true +democracy--_they want the man_. The fact that he appears before them +neatly attired, bright of eye and ready of wit will surely count in his +favor. + +In other words, we should live up to the opportunity in whatever form it +presents itself after we have accepted its responsibilities. To make +this perfectly plain _we must live up to the job_! If we are to be +superintendent of a coal mine "underneath the ground" we will put on +our overalls and jumpers, but if we are to be manager of a grand opera +house we will appear in our dress suits. The thought is obvious, but as +we journey along we find many of our fellow mortals neglecting to live +in line with what they are doing. + +We mention this fact hopeful that we will not fail to seize our +opportunities by setting up obstacles whereby we may become _persona non +grata_ through lack of discernment. + +Opportunity is within ourselves and when we have seized our rightful +share, then we may look with pride upon our endeavor and proceed to +_laugh and live_! + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +ASSUMING RESPONSIBILITIES + + +Those who fear to assume responsibility necessarily _take orders from +others_. The punishment fits the crime perfectly and being +self-inflicted there is no injustice. It is true that many men possessed +of great brain power play "second fiddle" to shallow-minded men of +inferior wisdom from sheer lack of forcefulness on their own part. They +lack the full quality of leadership while possessing all save one +essential--_courage_. Fear abides in their hearts and spreads itself as +a mantle of gloom over their super-sensitive souls until finally they +struggle no more. Henceforth they are doomed and become the subject of +apology on the part of friends and relations. "He's all right," they +say, "but he suffers from over-refinement." He lacks something--we +cannot make out just what. It is altogether too bad for he is such a +superior man among _his social equals_. + +We must take our hats off to those who have the goodness of heart to +make allowance for our shortcomings. A disinterested listener, however, +is seldom taken into camp by such well intended argument. He knows that +"friend husband" or "friend brother" as the case may be, needs some sort +of swift kick that will stir his combativeness into action--that will +cause him to turn upon his mental inferior and have it out with him then +and there--once and for all. As a courage builder _fighting for justice_ +is not to be sneezed at. + +Courage can be built up just the same as any other soul quality. It is +all a matter of early training as to which we start out with--courage or +fear. Unthinking parents have a lot to do with the propagation of fear +in the hearts of children. A _neglectful father_ plus a _fear-stricken +mother_ constitute the most logical forces which tend toward the +overdevelopment of fear in a child. Once the seed is thoroughly +implanted the growth can be depended upon. How to get rid of it later +is not so easy to figure out. Had the child been born with a "clubfoot" +these same parents would have spent their last dollar in an effort to +straighten it into natural condition. They could see the unshapely foot +day by day with their own eyes--and so could their neighbors. But the +fear-warped little brain struggling for courage with which to combat its +weakness needs must battle alone with chances largely against it. + +The mere thought of what is in store for this little one as it stumbles +along from one period to another, fearful of this, and fearful of that, +is disconcerting to say the least. We can almost trace our friend +"Second Fiddle" directly back to such a childhood. We can almost hear +his fond mother shout, "Keep away from the brook, darling, you might get +your feet wet and _catch your death of a cold_." Another well known and +highly respected admonition belonging to childhood's hour is, "Come in, +deary, it's getting dark--Bogie man will get you if you don't watch +out." + +[Illustration: _Bungalowing in California_] + +Some years later when little son runs breathless into the home portal +after being chased from school by some "turrible" boys we can hear this +same little mother as she storms about the place and tells what "papa +must do" about the matter. According to her notion, if teachers could +not control the "criminal element" among their pupils then it was high +time for the police to step in. Never a word about little son taking his +own part! Father listens in silence and half formulates the notion of +going direct to the parents and laying down the law, while little son +listens in fear and trembling in anticipation of what is coming to him +if father carries out his threat. + +Tall oaks from little acorns grow--_if the twig is not bent in the +sprouting_. + +Little son is bound to grow into manhood some day and when he arrives he +must have one particular attribute--_courage_. Somehow he will get along +if he has that. He may also wear a "clubfoot" or a "hunch back," but +with courage as a running mate he will assume his responsibilities and +become a force in the world. + +Once a great orator sat upon a rostrum listening to a speech by a man +who cautioned his countrymen against taking steps to defend the national +honor. "We'll outlive the taunts of those who would drag us into war!" +he bellowed forth. Whereupon the orator jumped to his feet and with +clarion voice shouted, "God hates a coward!" and then sat down again. + +Dazed at first the vast throng sat stupefied--but only for a moment. +Then as one man they jumped to their feet and by reason of prolonged +cheering gave national impulse to a thought which has since been +sermonized from thousands of pulpits. The orator had simply paraphrased +and put "pep" into the old Biblical slogan: "The Lord helps those who +help themselves." The effect was electrical. The whole country rallied +to the idea with the result that we saved ourselves from war by showing +the solid front of being ready and willing to defend ourselves. + +Everything that tends to build up courage is an asset in life. The more +we have of it the further we go and the more interesting our lives +become. For _the man of the lion heart_ all things unfold and unto him +the timid must bring their offerings. No one of ordinary gumption +consults the human "flivver." Advice from him would be unavailing. His +point of view would be inadequate--his ability to advise, impotent. We +go to the man who does things and say to him: "Here is my little +idea--do you want to help me put it over?" If it is good, he does. If +not, his experience tells him so, for men of courage are naturally +possessed of large vision. Their lack of fear has given them +right-of-way over vast areas of the world of action. They fail only as +"their lights go out forever." + +With courage we order our own lives and take orders only from those of +superior wisdom. This we can never afford _not to do_. The courageous +man of largest vision commands by his power to reason logically and +therefore assumes the air of comradeship rather than "overseer" or +"boss." Only through lack of moral and physical courage are we to +become the slaves of these. + +Courage--the child of _Hope--the despair of Failure_. Born of Good Cheer +it links its fate with the higher attributes and tramples under foot the +fears which spring up before it. When _sown early_ into the hearts of +the young its companionship becomes unerring in its efficiency for good +throughout their lives. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +WEDLOCK IN TIME + + +It is a happy idea to marry while we are young--a fine thing--a good +thing--_a pleasant duty indeed_ to marry the woman of our choice at a +time of life when both are at an age when adjustment is natural and +lasting loyalties are implanted in our hearts and minds for all time. We +make a sad mistake when we postpone so important a step just for the +sake of becoming a rich man first so that our bride-to-be may step into +luxurious quarters and never have to lift her dainty hands except to sip +from the glass of nectar we have set before her. The real facts compiled +by the statistical "System Sams" are against this idea. The balance +comes up in red ink _on the wrong side of the ledger_. + +According to these gentlemen the average mortal is likely to be very fat +and much over forty before he can make an offering according to his +first generous impulses and the chances are he will never reach the goal +in this life. By the time he might be financially ready there is a hard +glint in his eye, and he will be looking for the mote in the eye of his +lady love. The waiting game is a hard one _and it makes us worldly_. +After the lapse of years what once seemed a _rose_ might appear to be +more of a _hollyhock_. + +Naturally we never blame ourselves for the changes. Had we obeyed the +grand impulse in the hour of our youth we might have kept the garden +full of roses and the hollyhocks would never have sprouted there. Then +the home nest would have tinged our sensibilities with its loveliness +and our affections would have been nailed down hard and fast _forever +and a day_. + +Among the many baffling problems which the young man faces, and for that +matter, any man, is marriage. More thought, more energy and more time is +taken up over this one decisive step than over any other. The reasons +are obvious. It involves for life the happiness of the contracting +parties--not only in a direct and personal way, but also in a general +sense. The man's business success largely depends upon the helpmate he +has in his home. _His career is at her mercy._ For example, if the wife +should turn out to be unsympathetic, and uninterested in his ambitions, +this fact might warp his prospects by causing him to _lose heart_ in +facing the large problems awaiting him along the road of opportunity. +However, if she is of a cheerful, energetic disposition and willing to +do all that she can to help him over the rough spots as they travel +along together he will be _inspired into action_ and will do his level +best. He will be conscious as he goes about his work that there is _one_ +person above all upon whom he can depend--_his wife_. + +Marriage is a _serious business_ and usually we concede that point in +the beginning. However, this is not aimed as a blow at life's greatest +romance ... it is merely the recognition of an elemental fact.... +Marriage must have its _practical side_. To become successful in the +highest degree man and wife _must establish a comradeship_. It is not +the part of wisdom that either should rule the other, but rather that +each should have the interest of the other at heart and should strive to +be helpful one unto the other. Two men can go through life the best of +friends, each holding the respect and confidence of the other. So can +two women. _Then, why not a man and wife?_ Needless to say they can, and +do. Such partnerships are sure of success. It is only through lack of +comradeship that love flies out of the window--_and lights on a +sea-going aeroplane_. + +The marriage state is a long contract--it should not be stumbled into by +man or woman. Nor should we become cowardly to the point of backing out +of it altogether. Love is blind _only to the blind_. Either party to the +tie that binds has a chance to know in advance whether the venture is +safe and sane. All a man has to consider after he knows his own heart is +that the woman of his choice is sensible, considerate and healthy. Other +things being equal he can take the leap without hesitancy. We shouldn't +borrow trouble. + +[Illustration: _Demonstrating the Monk and the Hand-Organ to a Body of +Psychologists_] + +Of course there are those who _should never marry_. They do, however, +and when they do they loan themselves to the mockery of the marriage +state. There is no time to dwell on this thought for it is just +something that goes on happening anyway and has no bearing upon the +advisability of "wedlock in time" between _people of horse sense_. + +Given a good wife, after his own heart, no manly man has a righteous +kick coming against the fates. Under such circumstances if things go +wrong he will find the fault within himself. Of course we should, to the +fullest possible extent, be prepared for marriage before assuming its +responsibilities. We should at least have a ticket before embarking--and +it is the _real_ man's duty to provide the ticket. Since it is to be a +long voyage a "round trip" isn't necessary. In other words, a man +needn't be rich when he marries--but he should not be broke, either. +Lack of funds a few days after the honeymoon is too hard a test for +matrimony to bear nobly. It is too much like inviting a catastrophe +through lack of good, hard sense to begin with. It shows poor +generalship at the very start--and there is the liability of causing +great distress and hardship to a tender-hearted little woman. It would +be a sad blow to her to find that the man of her choice was, after all, +just an ordinary fellow--_a man without foresight_. + +There are four seasons in married life--spring, summer, fall and winter, +and we are going to need a comrade as we go through each of them. And +the one we want _is the one we start with_--the gentle partner in all +our joys and sorrows. It is she who will stand back of us when all +others fail. When the children come along to bless our days and inspire +us to greater efforts we are glad to look into their happy, smiling +faces and find that they resemble their mother--their soft cheeks are +like hers, their hands, their dainty ways, their caresses. And when mama +looks into those same bright eyes they make her think of their daddy. +The fond affection bestowed upon the children by both parents is but +another mode of expressing their regard for each other. + +Springtime days, these! When little tots climb up and entwine their +arms about our necks. If this were married life's only compensation it +would not prove in vain--for when the babies enter the home the tie that +binds becomes hard and fast--_if the man is a manly man_. To become the +father of a bright-eyed babe is an experience of the highest importance +to a young man getting started. It reinforces his courage, doubles up +his ambitions and _puts him on his metal_. He has a new responsibility +and it adds to his strength of character to assume it in all its phases. +Another thing it brings comfort and joy to the mother during the long +days while her man is out in the fray. _It drives ennui out of the +household throughout our springtime days._ + +And when summer comes along new hopes dawn within us. Springtime had +found us up and doing and when it merged into the new season we found +our aspirations even stronger than before. Children must be educated and +their futures prepared in advance as far as may be. They must not go +into the world _without tools to work with_. Meanwhile the household +teems with plans and becomes a veritable dreamland of youthful fervor. +We find that having helped our children into attractive personalities +they have become magnets with which to draw about us their comrades. +Thus we hold on to our youth by virtue of our surroundings--creatures of +our thoughtfulness concerning "_wedlock in time_." + +That the fall season is coming has no terrors for us. There will be the +weddings and plannings for new homes _close by_--if we have our say. And +in due course, the grandchildren will come who will favor grandpa and +grandma and once again youth knocks at our door. There will be no dread +winter days for us for we have been forehanded--we have a _new crew on +board to chase away the cares of old age and infirmities_. + +Try how we will there is no way to forestall the operation of the law of +compensation. We reap as we sow. The world will be good to those who +compel its respect by becoming the right sort of citizens. _Wedlock in +time--that's the answer_! + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +LAUGH AND LIVE + + +Again I find it expedient to resort to the personal pronoun and +therefore this final chapter is to be devoted to "_you_ and _me_." There +are facts you may want to know _for sure_ and one of them is whether or +not I live up to my own prescription. + +I do--_and it's easy_! + +I have kept myself happy and well through keeping my physical department +in first class order. If that had been left to take care of itself I +would surely have fallen by the wayside in other departments. Once we +sit down in security the world seems to _hand us things we do not need_. + +Fresh air is my intoxicant--and it keeps me in high spirits. My system +doesn't crave artificial stimulation because _my daily exercise_ +quickens the blood sufficiently. Then, too, I manage to _keep busy_. +That's the real elixir--_activity_! Not always physical activity, +either, for I must read good books in order to exercise my mind in other +channels than just my daily routine--and add to my store of knowledge as +well. + +Then there is my _inner-self_ which must have attention now and then. +For this a little solitude is helpful. We have only to sense the +phenomena surrounding us to know that we must have a _working +faith_--something _practical_ to live by, which automatically keeps us +on our course. The mystery of life somehow loses its density _if we +retain our spark of hope_. + +All of my life since childhood I have held Shakespeare in constant +companionship. Aside from the Bible--which is entirely apart from all +other books--Shakespeare has no equal. My father, partly from his love +for the great poet, and partly for the purpose of aiding me to memorize +accurately, taught me to recite Shakespeare before I was old enough to +know the meaning of the words. I remembered them, however, and in later +years I grew to know their full significance. Then I became an ardent +follower of the Master Philosopher, than whom no greater interpreter of +human emotions ever lived. In the matter of sage advice there has never +been his equal. In "_Hamlet_" we find the wonderful words of admonition +from _Polonius_ in his farewell speech to his son _Laertes_--as good +today as four hundred years ago, and they will continue to be so until +the end of time. + +It matters not how familiar we may be with these lines it is no waste of +time to read them over again once in awhile. They seem to fit the +_practical side of life_ perfectly. If we have any complaint by reason +of their brusqueness we have only to temper our interpretation according +to our own sense of justice. In other words if we wanted to loan a +"ten-spot" now and then we would just go ahead and do it--meanwhile, to +save you the trouble of looking up these lines, here they are in "Laugh +and Live"-- + + And these few precepts in thy memory + See thou character--Give thy thoughts no tongue, + Nor any unproportioned thought his act. + Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. + The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, + Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel; + But do not dull thy palm with entertainment + Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged comrade. Beware + Of entrance to a quarrel: but, being in, + Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee. + Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice: + Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment. + Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, + But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy: + For the apparel oft proclaims the man; + And they in France of the best rank and station + Are of a most select and generous sheaf in that. + Neither a borrower nor a lender be; + For loan oft loses both itself and friend, + And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry, + This above all--_to thine ownself be true; + And it must follow, as the night the day, + Thou canst not then be false to any man_. + +[Illustration: "Wedlock in Time"--The Fairbanks' Family] + +The time has come to close this little book. It has been a great +pleasure to write it and a greater pleasure to hope that it will be +received in the same spirit it has been written. These are busy days for +all of us. We go in a gallop most of the time, but there comes the quiet +hour when we must sit still and "take stock." I know this from the +letters that come to me asking my opinion on all sorts of subjects. +People believe I am happy because my laughing pictures seem to denote +this fact--_and it is a fact_! In the foregoing chapters I have told +why. If, in the telling I shall have been instrumental in adding to _the +world's store of happiness_ I shall ever thank my "lucky stars." + + +Very Sincerely + +Douglas Fairbanks + + + + +A "CLOSE-UP" OF DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS + +by George Creel + +Reprinted from Everybody's Magazine by Permission of The Ridgway +Company, New York. + + +CHAPTER XX + +A "CLOSE-UP" OF DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS + + +Young Mr. Douglas Fairbanks, star alike in both the "speakies" and the +"movies," is well worth a story. He is what every American might be, +ought to be, and frequently is _not_. More than any other that comes to +mind, he is possessed of the indomitable optimism that gives purpose, +"punch," and color to any life, no matter what the odds. + +He holds the world's record for the standing broad grin. There isn't a +minute of the day that fails to find him glad that he's alive. Nobody +ever saw him with a "grouch," or suffering from an attack of the +"blues." Nobody ever heard him mention "hard luck" in connection with +one of his failures. The worse the breaks of the game, the gloomier the +outlook, the wider his grin. He has made cheerfulness a habit, and it +has paid him in courage, in bubbling energy, and buoyant resolve. + +We are a young nation and a great nation. Judging from the promise of +the morning, there is nothing that may not be asked of America's noon. A +land of abundance, with not an evil that may not be banished, and yet +there is more whining in it than in any other country on the face of the +globe. If we are to die, "Nibbled to Death by Ducks" may well be put on +the tombstone. Little things are permitted to bring about paroxysms of +peevishness. Even our pleasures have come to be taken sadly. We are +irritable at picnics, snarly at clambakes, and bored to death at +dinners. + +The Government ought to hire Douglas Fairbanks, and send him over the +country as an agent of the Bureau of Grins. Have him start work in +Boston, and then rush him by special train to Philadelphia. If the +wealth of the United States increased $41,000,000,000 during the last +three peevish, whining years, think what would happen if we learned the +art of joyousness and gained the strength that comes from good humor +and optimism! + +"Doug" Fairbanks--now that he is in the "movies" we don't have to be +formal--is the living, breathing proof of the value of a grin. His rise +from obscurity to fame, from poverty to wealth, has no larger foundation +than his ever-ready willingness to let the whole world see every tooth +in his head. + +Good looks? Artistry? Bosh! The Fairbanks features were evidently picked +out by a utilitarian mother who preferred use to ornament; and as for +his acting, critics of the drama, imbued with the traditions of Booth +and Barrett, have been known to sob like children after witnessing a +Fairbanks performance. + +It is the joyousness of the man that gets him over. It's the 100 per +cent interest that he takes in everything he goes at that lies at the +back of his success. He does nothing by halves, is never indifferent, +never lackadaisical. + +At various stages in his brief career he has been a Shakespearean actor, +Wall Street clerk, hay steward on a cattle-boat, vagabond, and business +man, knowing poverty, hunger, and discomfort at times, but never, +_never_ losing the grin. Things began to move for him when he left a +Denver high school back in 1900 for the purpose of entering college. As +he says, "A man can't be too careful about college." + +He started for Princeton, but met a youth on the train who was going to +Harvard. He took a special course at Cambridge--just what it was he +can't remember--but at the end of the year it was hinted to him that +circus life was more suited to his talents, particularly one with three +rings. + +A friend, however, suggested the theatre, and gave him a card to +Frederick Warde, the tragedian. Mr. Warde fell for the Fairbanks grin, +and as a first part assigned him the role of _Francois_, the lackey, in +"Richelieu." What he lacked in experience he made up for in activity and +unflagging merriment. It got to be so that Warde was almost afraid to +touch the bell, for he never knew whether the amazing _Francois_ would +enter through the door or come down from the ceiling. + +After the company had done its worst to "Richelieu," it changed to +Shakespearean repertoire, and for one year young Fairbanks engaged in +what Mr. Warde was pleased to term a "catch-as-catch-can bout with the +immortal Bard." When friends of Shakespeare finally protested in the +name of humanity, the strenuous Douglas accepted an engagement with +Herbert Kelcey and Effie Shannon in "Her Lord and Master." + +Five months went by before the two stars broke under the strain, and by +that time news had come to Mr. Fairbanks that Wall Street was Easy +Money's other name. Armed with his grin, he marched into the office of +De Coppet & Doremus, and when the manager came out of his trance +Shakespeare's worst enemy was holding down the job of order man. + +"The name Coppet appealed to me," he explains. + +He is still remembered in that office, fondly but fearfully. He did his +work well enough; in fact, there are those who insist that he invented +scientific management. + +"How about that?" I asked him, for it puzzled me. + +"Well, you see, it was this way: For five days in a week I would say, +'Quite so' to my assistant, no matter what he suggested. On Saturday I +would dash into the manager's office, wag my head, knit my brow, and +exclaim, 'What we need around here is _efficiency_.' And once I urged +the purchase of a time-clock." + +The way he filled his spare time was what bothered. What with his +tumbling tricks, boxing, wrestling, leap-frog over chairs, and other +small gaieties, he mussed up routine to a certain extent. But he was +_not_ discharged. At a point where the firm was just one jump ahead of +nervous prostration, along came "Jack" Beardsley and "Little" Owen, two +husky football players with a desire to see life without the safety +clutch. + +The three approached the officials of a cattle-steamship, and by +persistent claims to the effect that they "had a way" with dumb +animals, got jobs as hay stewards. + +"We found the cows very nice," comments Mr. Fairbanks. "No one can get +me to say a word against them. But those stokers! And those other +stable-maids! Pow! We had to fight 'em from one end of the voyage to the +other, and it got so that I bit myself in my sleep. The three of us got +eight shillings apiece when we landed at Liverpool, and tickets back, +but there were several little things about Europe that bothered us, and +we thought we'd see what the trouble was." + +They "hoboed" it through England, France, and Belgium, working at any +old job until they gathered money enough to move along, whether it was +carrying water to English navvies or unloading paving-blocks from a +Seine boat. After three joyous months, they felt the call of the cattle, +and came home on another steamer. + +Back on his native heath, young Fairbanks took a shot from the hip at +law, but missed. Then he got a job in a machine-manufacturing plant, +but one day he found that his carelessness had permitted fifty dollars +to accumulate, and he breezed down to Cuba and Yucatan to see what +openings there were for capital. Back from that tramping trip, he +figured that since he had not annoyed the stage for some time it +certainly owed him something. + +His return to the drama took place in "The Rose of Plymouth Town," a +play in which Miss Minnie Dupree was the star. Meeting Miss Dupree, I +asked her what sort of an actor Fairbanks was in those days. + +"Well," she said judiciously, "I think that he was about the nicest case +of St. Vitus' dance that ever came under my notice." + +William A. Brady got him next. Mr. Brady is quite a dynamo himself, and +there was also a time in his life when he managed James J. Corbett. The +two fell into each other's arms with a cry of joy, and for seven years +they touched off dramatic explosions that strewed fat actors all over +the landscape and tore miles of scenery into ribbons. + +"Some boy!" was Mr. Brady's tribute. "Put him in a death scene, and +he'd find a way to break the furniture." + +There was never a part that "Doug" Fairbanks lay down on. To every role +he brought joy and interest and enthusiasm, and the night came +inevitably that saw his name in electric letters. + +It is not claimed that his work as a star "elevated" the drama, but it +may safely be claimed that he never appeared in any play that was not +wholesome, stimulating, and helpful. + +Nothing was more natural than that the movies should seek such an actor, +and they set the trap with attractive bait. + +"Come over to us," they said, "and we'll let you do anything you want. +Outside of poison gas and actual murder, the sky's the limit." + +Without even waiting to kick off his shoes, "Doug" Fairbanks made a +dive. + +The movie magnates got what they wanted, and Fairbanks got what he +wanted. For the first time in his life he was able to "let go" with all +the force of his dynamic individuality, and he took full advantage of +the opportunity. + +In "The Lamb," his first adventure before the camera, he let a +rattlesnake crawl over him, tackled a mountain lion, jiu-jitsued a bunch +of Yaqui Indians until they bellowed, and operated a machine-gun. + +In "His Picture in the Papers," he was called upon to run an automobile +over a cliff, engage in a grueling six-round go with a professional +pugilist, jump off an Atlantic liner and swim to the distant shore, mix +it up in a furious battle royal with a half dozen husky gunmen, leap +twice from swiftly moving trains, and also to resist arrest by a squad +of Jess Willards dressed up in police uniforms. + +"The Half-Breed" carried him out to California, and, among other things, +threw him into the heart of a forest fire that had been carefully +kindled in the redwood groves of Calaveras County. Amid a rain of +burning pine tufts, and with great branches falling to the ground all +around him, "Douggie" was required to dash in and save the gallant +sheriff from turning into a cinder. Hair and eyelashes grew out again, +however, his blisters healed, and in a few days he was as good as new. + +"The Habit of Happiness" was rich in stunts that would have made even +Battling Nelson turn to tatting with a sigh of relief. Five gangsters, +sicked on to their work by the villain, waylaid our hero on the stairs, +and in the rough-and-tumble that followed, it was his duty to beat each +and every one of them into a state of coma. He performed his task so +conscientiously that his hands were swollen for a week, not to mention +his eyes and nose. As for the five extra men who posed as the gangsters, +all came to the conclusion that dock-walloping was far less strenuous +than art, and went back to their former jobs. + +"The Good Bad Man" was a Western picture that contained a thrill to +every foot of film. Our hero galloped over mountains, jumping from crag +to crag, held up an express train single-handed in order to capture the +conductor's ticket-punch, grappled with gigantic desperadoes every few +minutes, shot up a saloon, and was dragged around for quite a while at +the end of a lynching party's rope. + +"Reggie Mixes In" was one joyous round of assault and battery from +beginning to end. Happening to fall in love with a dancer in a Bowery +cabaret, _Reggie_ puts family and fortune behind him and takes a job as +"bouncer" so as to be near his lady-love. Aside from his regular duties, +he is required to work overtime on account of the hatred of a +gang-leader who also loves the girl. Five scoundrels jump _Reggie_, and, +after manhandling four, he drops from a second-story window to the neck +of the fifth, and chokes him with hands and legs. After which he carries +the senseless wretch down the street, and gaily flicks him, as it were, +through a window at the villain's feet. As a tasty little finish, +_Reggie_ and his rival lock themselves in an empty room, and engage in a +contest governed by packing-house rules. + +Three days after the combat, by the way, the company heads were pleased +to announce that both men were out of danger unless blood-poisoning +set in. + +[Illustration: _Here's Hoping!_ (_White Studio_)] + +"The Mystery of the Leaping Fish" was what is known as a "water +picture," and "Doug," as a comedy detective, was compelled to make a +human submarine of himself, not to mention several duels in the dark +with Japanese thugs and opium smugglers. + +"Another day of it," he grinned, "and I'd have grown fins." + +"Manhattan Madness" was really nothing more than St. Vitus's dance set +to ragtime. Our hero climbed up eaves-pipes, plunged through trap-doors +down into dungeons, jumped from the roof of a house into a tree, kicked +his way in and out of secret closets, and engaged in hair-raising +combats with desperate villains every few minutes. + +It is not only the case that "Doug" Fairbanks made good with the movie +fans. What is more to the point, he made good with the "bunch" itself. +In nine cases out of ten, the "legitimate" star, going over into +pictures, evades and avoids the "rough stuff." To some humble, hardy +"double" is assigned the actual work of falling off the cliff, riding at +full speed across granite hedges, taking a good hard punch in the nose, +or plunging from the top of the burning building. + +Many an honest cowpuncher, taking his girl to the show with him to let +her see what a daredevil he is, has died the death upon discovering that +he was merely "doubling" for some cow-eyed hero who lacked the nerve to +do the stunt himself. + +"Doug" Fairbanks is one of the few movie heroes who have never had a +"double." He asks no man to do that which he is afraid to do himself. No +fall is too hard for him, no fight too furious, no ride too dangerous. +There is not a single one of his pictures in which he hasn't taken a +chance of breaking his neck or his bones; but, as one bronco-buster +observed, "He jes' licks his lips an' asks for more." + +To be sure, few actors have brought such super-physical equipment to the +strenuous work of the movies. Fairbanks, in addition to being blessed +with a strong, lithe body, has developed it by expert devotion to every +form of athletic sport. He swims well, is a crack boxer, a good polo +player, a splendid wrestler, a skilful acrobat, a fast runner, and an +absolutely fearless rider. + +There is never a picture during the progress of which he does not +interpolate some sudden bit of business as the result of his quick wit +and dynamic enthusiasm. In one play, for instance, he was supposed to +enter a house at sight of his sweetheart beckoning to him from an upper +window. As he passed up the steps, however, his roving eye caught sight +of the porch railing, a window-ledge, and a balcony, and in a flash he +was scaling the facade of the house like any cat. + +In another play he was trapped on the roof of a country home. Suddenly +Fairbanks, disregarding the plan of retreat indicated by the author, +gave a wild leap into a near-by maple, managed to catch a bough, and +proceeded to the ground in a series of convulsive falls that gave the +director heart-failure. + +During "The Half-Breed" picture, some of the action took place about a +fallen redwood that had its great roots fully twenty feet into the air. + +"Climb up on top of those roots, Doug," yelled the director. + +Instead of that, "Douggie" went up to a young sapling that grew at the +base of the fallen tree. Bending it down to the ground, as an archer +bends his bow, he gave a sudden spring, and let the tough birch catapult +him to the highest root. + +"What do you want me to do now?" he grinned. + +"Come back the same way," grinned the director. + +Most "legitimate" actors--the valuation is their own--find the movies +rather dull. Time hangs very heavily upon their hands. As one remarked +to me in tones that were thick with a divine despair: "There's +absolutely nothing for a chap to do. In lots of the God-forsaken holes +they drag you to, there isn't even a hotel. No companionship, no +diversion of any kind, and oftentimes no bathtubs." + +Douglas Fairbanks enters no such complaint. He draws upon the energy and +interest that ought to be in every human being, and when entertainment +is not in sight, he goes after it. When they were making "The +Half-Breed" pictures in the Carquinez woods of Northern California, he +was never seen around the camp except when actually needed by the camera +man. Upon his return from these absences, it was noticed that his hands +were usually bleeding, and his clothing stained and torn. + +"What in the name of mischief have you been doing now?" the director +demanded on a day when Fairbanks's wardrobe was almost a total loss. + +"Trappin'," chirped the star. + +Beating about the woods, Bret Harte in hand, he had managed to discover +an old woodsman who still held to the ancient industries of his youth. +The trapper's specialty was "bob cats," and the bleeding hands and torn +clothes came from "Doug's" earnest efforts to handle the "varmints" just +as his venerable preceptor handled them. Out of the experience, at +least, he brought an intimate knowledge of field, forest, and stream, +for over the fire and in their walks he had pumped the old man dry. + +In the same way he made "The Good Bad Man" hand him over everything of +value that frontier life contained. The picture was taken out in the +Mohave desert; for the making of it the director had scoured the West +for riders and ropers and cowboys of the old school. "He men"--every one +of them, and for a time they looked with dislike and suspicion upon the +"star," but when they saw that Fairbanks did not ask for any "double," +and took the hardest tumble with a grin, they received him into their +fellowship with a heartfelt yell. + +Dull in the Mohave desert? Why, he had to sit up nights to keep even +with his engagements. From one man he learned bronco-busting, from +another fancy roping, and from others all that there is to know about +horses, cattle, mountain, and plain. And around the camp-fires he got +stories of the winning of the West such as never found their way into +histories. + +When one picture called for jiu-jitsu work, he didn't rest satisfied +with learning just enough to "get by." Every spare moment found him in a +clinch with the Japanese expert, mastering every secret, perfecting +himself in every hold. Same way with boxing. When no pugilists came +handy, he put on the gloves with anyone willing to take chances on a +black eye, keeping at it until today they have to hire professionals +when he figures in a movie fight. + +When they made a "water" picture he never stopped until he could +duplicate every trick known to the "professor" who drilled the extra +men. He took advantage of a biplane flight to make friends with the +aeronaut, and by the time the picture was done, he was as good a driver +as the expert. + +No matter where he is, or what the job, he finds something of interest +because he goes upon the theory that every minute is meant to be lived. +Maroon him at a cross-roads, with five hours until train time, and he'd +have the operator's first name in ten minutes and be learning the Morse +alphabet, after which he would rush up to his new friend's house to see +the babies or to pass judgment on a Holstein calf or a Black Minorca +brood. + +It is the tremendously human quality, more than anything else, that gets +him across. People like him because he likes them. He attracts interest +because he takes interest. Talk with any of the big men in the +motion-picture industry, that is, those with brains and education, and +they will tell you that personality counts more in pictures than it does +on the stage. + +H.B. Aitken, president of the Triangle Film Corporation, said to me: +"The screen is intimate. The camera brings the actor right into your +lap. In the speaking drama, make-up and footlights change and hide, but +not the least flicker of expression is lost in the picture. It's a test +of real-ness, and it takes a real man or a real woman to stand it. Art +isn't the thing at all, nor do looks count for half as much as people +suppose. It's what's back of the art and the looks that makes the hit, +and if they haven't got _something_, the artist and the beauty don't +last long. We picked Douglas Fairbanks as a likely film star, not on +account of his stunts, as the majority think, but because of the +splendid humanness that fairly oozed out of him." + +[Illustration: A Close-Up (Lumiere)] + +When he isn't before the camera, or fooling with an airship or a motor, +or playing with children, or "gettin' acquainted" with a tramp or a +trapper, or practising stunts with a rope or a horse, young Mr. +Fairbanks fills in his spare time writing scenarios. As everyone knows, +the motion-picture drama has been a tawdry thing for the most +part--either a rehash of old stage plays, novels, and short stories, or +else mediocre "originalities" that epitomized banality. Young Mr. +Fairbanks dissented from the established custom from the very start. + +"It's all wrong," he declared. "We've got to stand on our own feet. +Develop your own dramatists!" + +Practically every play in which he has appeared sprang from his personal +suggestion, and in many of them he has collaborated with the scenario +writer. The three things that he demands are Action, Wholesomeness, and +Sentiment that rings true. + +Never make the mistake of thinking that Douglas Fairbanks starts and +finishes with mere good humor and physical exuberance. There is more to +him than his grin, for his mind is as strong and vigorous as his body. +He reads and thinks, and behind his smile is a quick and eager sympathy +that takes account of the sadnesses of life as well as its promises. + +"The Habit of Happiness" was very much his own idea, and in it he took +occasion to show a midnight bread-line, the misery of the slums, and +various forms of social injustice. It isn't that he thinks himself +called to uplift and reform, but, as he expresses it, "Every little bit +helps." + +In the last talk that I had with him, he was enthusiastic over the +future of the movies as a world force. He speaks in ideas rather than +words, for when he feels that he has indicated the thought he never +troubles to finish the particular sentence. + +"Pictures are like music," he declared. "They speak a universal +language. Great industry--just in its infancy--before long films will +pass from one country to another--internationalism. Why not? Love, hate, +grief, ambition, laughter--they belong to one race as much as +another--all peoples understand them. It's hard to hate people after you +know them. Pictures will let us know each other. They'll break down the +hard national lines that now make for war and suspicion." + +Other things followed, for we discussed everything from cabbages to +kings, and then I plumped the question at him that I had been waiting to +ask from the first. + +"How do you like the movies as compared to the speaking drama? Come now, +cross your heart and hope to die. When the night comes down and the +lights go up, isn't there a blue minute now and then?" + +"Surest thing you know," he grinned. "It isn't because there's such a +radical difference between the 'talkies' and the movies, however." [He +refers to musical comedy as the "screamies."] "The play in the theatre +is largely a matter of pantomime, you know. Dialogue is employed to +advance the actual plot only when it is impossible or impracticable to +do it with dumb show. And when I think of some of the lines I've been +called upon to spout, I can't say that I regret the movies' lack of +dialogue. + +"What does hurt, though," he admitted, "is the absence of response. I +don't mean applause, but the something that comes up over the footlights +to you from the audience, the big something that tells you instantly +whether you have hit it or missed, whether you are ringing true or +false. You don't get that in the pictures. Your audience is the +director, and you know that it will be weeks or months before your work +is going to get its test. + +"But in everything else, the movie has the talkie skinned a mile. +Instead of mouthing somebody else's words, you are doing the thing +yourself. There's action, and life--one day you are in the forest, the +next in the desert, the next on the sea." + +"Nonsense!" I exclaimed. "I understand that it's all done in a studio." + +"I had the idea myself," he laughed. "But no more. When I was in the +'talkies,' I used to hear a lot about realism. Father must wash in a +real basin with real water and real soap. There had to be two hens at +least in every barnyard scene, and when Lottie came home from the cruel +city, she had to have a real baby in her arms. Lordy, I never knew what +realism was until I struck the movies. They've gone crazy over it. + +"'The Half-Breed,' you know, was adapted from one of Bret Harte's +stories, and nothing would do the director but a trip up to the +Carquinez woods in northern California. A forest fire figured in one of +the scenes, but I never thought much about it until I saw them bringing +up some chemical engines, hose reels, and five or six fire-brigades. + +"'What's the idea?' I asked. + +"'To keep the flames from spreading,' they told me. + +"And let me tell you, it was _some_ fire. After I got out of it I felt +like a shave from a Mexican barber." + +"What effect is the movie going to have on the speaking drama?" was my +next question. + +"Look at the effect it's had already," he said. "Shaw is the only +playwright clever enough to write dialogue that will hold any number of +people in the theatre. The motion picture has made the public demand +_action_. It has changed the plot and progress of the drama completely." + +"Do you think that a good thing? Doesn't it mean the substitution of +feeling for thinking?" + +"Well," he answered slowly, "the world goes forward through the heart +rather than through the head. Happiness, to my mind, is emotional, not +mental. And the movie _has_ brought happiness to millions whose lives +were formerly drab and sordid. I love to go into these little halls in +out-of-the-way places, and see the men, women, and children packed there +of an evening. Theatrical companies never reached the villages, and the +men had no place but the saloon, the women no place but the kitchen or +the front porch. The camera has brought the world to their doors, and +life is richer, happier, and better for it." + +Take him as he stands, and Douglas Fairbanks comes close to being the +"real thing." Men like him as well as women, and, best proof of all, the +"kids" adore him. On a recent visit to Denver, his old home town, +youngsters followed him in droves, clamoring for a chance to "feel his +muscle." The mayor, no less, had him address a public meeting, the +feature of which, by the way, was this piped inquiry from the gallery: + +"Say, Doug, can youse whip William Farnum?" + +And let no one quarrel with this popularity. It is a good sign, a +healthful sign, a token that the blood of America still runs warm and +red, and that chalk has not yet softened our bones. + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Laugh and Live, by Douglas Fairbanks + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAUGH AND LIVE *** + +***** This file should be named 12887.txt or 12887.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/8/8/12887/ + +Produced by Steven desJardins and Distributed Proofreaders. + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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