|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 7
He wants time to reflect; his hesitation is his ruin; the enemy passes
unmolested, or overwhelms him; while on the other hand, the general of
pluck, perseverance and self-reliance, goes into battle with a will,
and, amid the clash of arms, the booming of cannon, the shrieks of the
wounded, and the moans of the dying, you will see this man persevering,
going on, cutting and slashing his way through with unwavering
determination, inspiring his soldiers to deeds of fortitude, valor, and
triumph.
WHATEVER YOU DO, DO IT WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT
Work at it, if necessary, early and late, in season and out of season,
not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour that
which can be done just as well now. The old proverb is full of truth and
meaning, "Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well." Many a
man acquires a fortune by doing his business thoroughly, while his
neighbor remains poor for life, because he only half does it. Ambition,
energy, industry, perseverance, are indispensable requisites for success
in business.
Fortune always favors the brave, and never helps a man who does not help
himself. It won't do to spend your time like Mr. Micawber, in waiting
for something to "turn up." To such men one of two things usually "turns
up:" the poorhouse or the jail; for idleness breeds bad habits, and
clothes a man in rags. The poor spendthrift vagabond says to a rich man:
"I have discovered there is enough money in the world for all of us, if
it was equally divided; this must be done, and we shall all be happy
together."
"But," was the response, "if everybody was like you, it would be spent
in two months, and what would you do then?"
"Oh! divide again; keep dividing, of course!"
I was recently reading in a London paper an account of a like
philosophic pauper who was kicked out of a cheap boarding-house because
he could not pay his bill, but he had a roll of papers sticking out of
his coat pocket, which, upon examination, proved to be his plan for
paying off the national debt of England without the aid of a penny.
People have got to do as Cromwell said: "not only trust in Providence,
but keep the powder dry." Do your part of the work, or you cannot
succeed. Mahomet, one night, while encamping in the desert, overheard
one of his fatigued followers remark: "I will loose my camel, and trust
it to God!" "No, no, not so," said the prophet, "tie thy camel, and
trust it to God!" Do all you can for yourselves, and then trust to
Providence, or luck, or whatever you please to call it, for the rest.
DEPEND UPON YOUR OWN PERSONAL EXERTIONS.
The eye of the employer is often worth more than the hands of a dozen
employees. In the nature of things, an agent cannot be so faithful to
his employer as to himself. Many who are employers will call to mind
instances where the best employees have overlooked important points
which could not have escaped their own observation as a proprietor. No
man has a right to expect to succeed in life unless he understands his
business, and nobody can understand his business thoroughly unless he
learns it by personal application and experience. A man may be a
manufacturer: he has got to learn the many details of his business
personally; he will learn something every day, and he will find he will
make mistakes nearly every day. And these very mistakes are helps to him
in the way of experiences if he but heeds them. He will be like the
Yankee tin-peddler, who, having been cheated as to quality in the
purchase of his merchandise, said: "All right, there's a little
information to be gained every day; I will never be cheated in that way
again." Thus a man buys his experience, and it is the best kind if not
purchased at too dear a rate.
I hold that every man should, like Cuvier, the French naturalist,
thoroughly know his business. So proficient was he in the study of
natural history, that you might bring to him the bone, or even a section
of a bone of an animal which he had never seen described, and, reasoning
from analogy, he would be able to draw a picture of the object from
which the bone had been taken. On one occasion his students attempted to
deceive him. They rolled one of their number in a cow skin and put him
under the professor's table as a new specimen. When the philosopher came
into the room, some of the students asked him what animal it was.
Suddenly the animal said "I am the devil and I am going to eat you." It
was but natural that Cuvier should desire to classify this creature, and
examining it intently, he said:
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|