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Page 8
"Divided hoof; graminivorous! It cannot be done."
He knew that an animal with a split hoof must live upon grass and grain,
or other kind of vegetation, and would not be inclined to eat flesh,
dead or alive, so he considered himself perfectly safe. The possession
of a perfect knowledge of your business is an absolute necessity in
order to insure success.
Among the maxims of the elder Rothschild was one, all apparent paradox:
"Be cautious and bold." This seems to be a contradiction in terms, but
it is not, and there is great wisdom in the maxim. It is, in fact, a
condensed statement of what I have already said. It is to say; "you must
exercise your caution in laying your plans, but be bold in carrying them
out." A man who is all caution, will never dare to take hold and be
successful; and a man who is all boldness, is merely reckless, and must
eventually fail. A man may go on "'change" and make fifty, or one
hundred thousand dollars in speculating in stocks, at a single
operation. But if he has simple boldness without caution, it is mere
chance, and what he gains to-day he will lose to-morrow. You must have
both the caution and the boldness, to insure success.
The Rothschilds have another maxim: "Never have anything to do with an
unlucky man or place." That is to say, never have anything to do with a
man or place which never succeeds, because, although a man may appear to
be honest and intelligent, yet if he tries this or that thing and always
fails, it is on account of some fault or infirmity that you may not be
able to discover but nevertheless which must exist.
There is no such thing in the world as luck. There never was a man who
could go out in the morning and find a purse full of gold in the street
to-day, and another to-morrow, and so on, day after day: He may do so
once in his life; but so far as mere luck is concerned, he is as liable
to lose it as to find it. "Like causes produce like effects." If a man
adopts the proper methods to be successful, "luck" will not prevent him.
If he does not succeed, there are reasons for it, although, perhaps, he
may not be able to see them.
USE THE BEST TOOLS
Men in engaging employees should be careful to get the best. Understand,
you cannot have too good tools to work with, and there is no tool you
should be so particular about as living tools. If you get a good one, it
is better to keep him, than keep changing. He learns something every
day; and you are benefited by the experience he acquires. He is worth
more to you this year than last, and he is the last man to part with,
provided his habits are good, and he continues faithful. If, as he gets
more valuable, he demands an exorbitant increase of salary; on the
supposition that you can't do without him, let him go. Whenever I have
such an employee, I always discharge him; first, to convince him that
his place may be supplied, and second, because he is good for nothing if
he thinks he is invaluable and cannot be spared.
But I would keep him, if possible, in order to profit from the result of
his experience. An important element in an employee is the brain. You
can see bills up, "Hands Wanted," but "hands" are not worth a great deal
without "heads." Mr. Beecher illustrates this, in this wise:
An employee offers his services by saving, "I have a pair of hands and
one of my fingers thinks." "That is very good," says the employer.
Another man comes along, and says "he has two fingers that think." "Ah!
that is better." But a third calls in and says that "all his fingers and
thumbs think." That is better still. Finally another steps in and says,
"I have a brain that thinks; I think all over; I am a thinking as well
as a working man!" "You are the man I want," says the delighted
employer.
Those men who have brains and experience are therefore the most valuable
and not to be readily parted with; it is better for them, as well as
yourself, to keep them, at reasonable advances in their salaries from
time to time.
DON'T GET ABOVE YOUR BUSINESS
Young men after they get through their business training, or
apprenticeship, instead of pursuing their avocation and rising in their
business, will often lie about doing nothing. They say; "I have learned
my business, but I am not going to be a hireling; what is the object of
learning my trade or profession, unless I establish myself?'"
"Have you capital to start with?"
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