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LAUGH AND LIVE
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 oue 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.
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 worthwhile. 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 "stocktaking" 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.
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