Everywhere the land young men at this moment are starting business or skilled careers. They need done with college and college and now they're about to start creating their own approach in the world. To store and office, factory and mill, mine and lumber-camp, to at least one or another scene of productive endeavor they turn their steps. An eager throng are they, alert with the urgings of youth, youth's ardent searching for success.
But youth too typically forgets that success depends on several things. And too typically youth forgets that it depends largely on the definite-ness of a young man's aim and the vigor with which he organizes his life with that aim in view. No young man will drift to success. No young man can possibly succeed if he lets the ability that's in him lie latent, or if he scatters it in foolish activities. Each young man who would win must energize himself by concentration.
Reynolds Brown once drew a little word-picture specially important to young men beginning out for themselves. Here it's: "A pile of steel filings and shavings lying on the floor of a foundry might be fine in quality, they'll weigh a ton when put upon the scales, but unorganized they have very little value. Organize and weld them into a shaft, attach one finish of the shaft to an engine and the opposite to a screw propeller and it can send a mighty ocean liner from New York to Liverpool in five days."
He goes on: "In like manner a mind, a heart, a soul, is nothing more than a confused heap of thoughts and wishes, impulses and desires, longings and aspirations, until by the ability of a purpose all these are brought into unity and made effective in their thrust toward some worthy fulfillment." That is what each young man wants to do - he desires to prepare his life.
And he can not timely begin the task of organizing it. For if he delay, habits that could create life-organizing tough, if not impossible, are pretty positive to fasten on him. The habit of energy waste, the habit of contentment with the mediocre, the habit of indolence, the habit of amusement craving, once gripped by these he is well-nigh doomed. As, since the primary peopling of the world, a lot of men have demonstrated by the futility of their lives.
Perpetually the winners are those who clearly recognize that life is for accomplishment of a worthwhile type, and, impressed by the recognition, subordinate everything else to accomplishment. They may not win fame, they may not win wealth. However they're bound to win and hold self-respect, the esteem of others, self-satisfaction, happiness.
And incidentally, they may into the discount win each fame and wealth. Though, to be sure, he is foolish indeed who sets the winning of either fame or wealth as his great object in life. There are more life purposes infinitely a lot of important. Besides, to repair the aspiration solely on fame or wealth is to invite disaster. It could even mean mental wreckage, as in the case of 1 unfortunate young man of my acquaintance.