The Power of Concentration | Page 7

he is seeking the path that leads to
success.
Many persons read good books, but say they do not get much good out of them. They do
not realize that all any book or any lesson course can do is to awaken them to their
possibilities; to stimulate them to use their will power. You may teach a person from now
until doom's day, but that person will only know what he learns himself. "You can lead
him to the fountain, but you can't make him drink."
One of the most beneficial practices I know of is that of looking for the good in everyone
and everything, for there is good in all things. We encourage a person by seeing his good
qualities and we also help ourselves by looking for them. We gain their good wishes, a
most valuable asset sometimes. We get back what we give out. The time comes when
most all of us need encouragement; need buoying up. So form the habit of encouraging
others, and you will find it a wonderful tonic for both those encouraged and yourself, for
you will get back encouraging and uplifting thoughts.
Life furnishes us the opportunity to improve. But whether we do it or not depends upon
how near we live up to what is expected of us. The first of each month, a person should
sit down and examine the progress he has made. If he has not come up to "expectations"

he should discover the reason, and by extra exertion measure up to what is demanded
next time. Every time that we fall behind what we planned to do, we lose just so much for
that time is gone forever. We may find a reason for doing it, but most excuses are poor
substitutes for action. Most things are possible. Ours may be a hard task, but the harder
the task, the greater the reward. It is the difficult things that really develop us, anything
that requires only a small effort, utilizes very few of our faculties, and yields a scanty
harvest of achievement. So do not shrink from a hard task, for to accomplish one of these
will often bring us more good than a dozen lesser triumphs.
I know that every man that is willing to pay the price can be a success. The price is not in
money, but in effort. The first essential quality for success is the desire to do--to be
something. The next thing is to learn how to do it; the next to carry it into execution. The
man that is the best able to accomplish anything is the one with a broad mind; the man
that has acquired knowledge, that may, it is true, be foreign to this particular case, but is,
nevertheless, of some value in all cases. So the man that wants to be successful must be
liberal; he must acquire all the knowledge that he can; he must be well posted not only in
one branch of his business but in every part of it. Such a man achieves success.
The secret of success is to try always to improve yourself no matter where you are or
what your position. Learn all you can. Don't see how little you can do, but how much you
can do. Such a man will always be in demand, for he establishes the reputation of being a
hustler. There is always room for him because progressive firms never let a hustler leave
their employment if they can help it.
The man that reaches the top is the gritty, plucky, hard worker and never the timid,
uncertain, slow worker. An untried man is seldom put in a position of responsibility and
power. The man selected is one that has done something, achieved results in some line, or
taken the lead in his department. He is placed there because of his reputation of putting
vigor and virility into his efforts, and because he has previously shown that he has pluck
and determination.
The man that is chosen at the crucial time is not usually a genius; he does not possess any
more talent than others, but he has learned that results can only be produced by untiring
concentrated effort. That "miracles," in business do not just "happen." He knows that the
only way they will happen is by sticking to a proposition and seeing it through. That is
the only secret of why some succeed and others fail. The successful man gets used to
seeing things accomplished and always feels sure of success. The man that is a failure
gets used to seeing failure, expects it and attracts it to him.
It is my opinion that with the right kind of training every man could be a success. It is
really a shame