THE STEADY WORKER
The habit of looking on the bright side of things is worth more than a thousand pounds a year.—Samuel Johnson.
Whene’er the sun was shining out, Squire Pettigrew would say,
“Now, hurrah, boys! it’s just the time to be a-making hay,
Because, you see, the sun’s so hot ’twill cure it right away!”
Then all the mowers kept right on a-mowing.
But when a cloud obscured the sun Squire Pettigrew would shout,
“Oh, now’s the time for working while the sun is blotted out,
A cooling cloud like that will make our muscles twice as stout!”
And that’s the way he kept his men a-going.
Nothing of worth or weight can be achieved with a half mind, with a faint heart, and with a lame endeavor.—Barrow.
Hence, little did it matter were the weather wet or dry,—
If sunshine filled the valleys or if clouds o’erspread the sky,
He’d always think of something which he deemed a reason why
’Twas just the time for him to keep a-working.
The strong man is the man with the gift of method, of faithfulness, of valor.—Carlyle.
But, now and then, or so it seemed, the reasons he would seek
For working on, were quite far-fetched and faulty, so to speak,
But, oh, they were not half so “thin” as are the many weak
Excuses lazy people give for shirking.
LONGFELLOW’S BIRTHPLACE PORTLAND ME.
[CHAPTER V]
THE VALUE OF SPARE MOMENTS
Not only strike while the iron is hot, but make it hot by striking.—Cromwell.
“If I had the time!”
Yes, indeed! Time is a very necessary factor in the doing of things. Time is money. Money is capital. Capital is power. The one who is in the possession of the most power and uses it to the best purpose has the best chance for winning success.
The greatest work has always gone hand in hand with the most fervent moral purpose.—Sidney Lanier.
Other things being equal, the boy who devotes an extra half-hour every morning or evening to the study of the forthcoming day’s lessons will get on better than his classmates who do not thus mentally fortify themselves.
No true and permanent fame can be founded except in labors which promote the happiness of mankind.—Sumner.
So in the world’s big life-school, the man who finds time to think about and to study the tasks and duties that confront him will make a better showing than the ones who thoughtlessly and in an unprepared manner blunder into the work that is before them.
“If I had the time!”
The greatest men have been those who have cut their way to success through difficulties.—Robertson.
That is the sorry cry coming from the lips of thousands of unhappy persons of all classes and ages. But the saddest feature of it all is, that they have the time and do not know it. Or, if they do know it, they still go on trying to deceive themselves and others by repeating the same old, threadbare excuse the world has always offered as the reason why it has not made the progress it should have done.
One has only to know the twenty-six letters of the alphabet in order to learn everything else that one wishes.—Duke of Argyle.
Now, my boy, stop a moment and honestly think it over. Haven’t you the time? Isn’t it the disposition to make the most of your opportunities that is lacking? How much time did you waste yesterday? How much time are you going to waste to-day?
Strength is like gunpowder; to be effective it needs concentration and aim.—Mathews.
Let us not lose sight of the sorry fact that in wasting an hour we suffer a double loss and commit a double wrong. We not only lose that particular hour, but we are suffering a moral weakness to impair the strength of our life purpose, which will result in making us more likely to waste other golden hours yet to come.
And what is a wasted hour? This is a question well worth considering. Moments spent in bright, healthful, joyous play are not wasted. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” It should be remembered, also, that “All play and no work makes Jack a dull shirk.”
Success treads on the heels of every right effort.—Smiles.
We should play with the same keen zest with which we should work. We must not work all the while; we must not play all the while. Good, vigorous play prepares one for the enjoyment of work; good, vigorous work prepares one for the enjoyment of play. Those who dawdle in a listless, half-and-half way find no joy in working or playing.
The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.—Emerson.
It is an error to think that play cannot be made to serve a good and useful purpose. Give one boy a knife and a stick and he will produce only a lot of shavings as the result of his whittling. Give another boy a knife and a stick and he will carve out some object or invention of use and beauty. Give one man leisure and he will produce nothing or worse than nothing to show for his wasted hours. Give another man leisure and he will master some trade or profession or theme of study that will make him of happy worth to himself and the world.
That is the best government which teaches us to govern ourselves.—Goethe.
It is not the lack of time, but the lack of the will to improve our spare moments, that keeps us from going toward success. We mean to do great things some time, but we haven’t the will to begin to build just now. We prefer to belong to that great host of procrastinators who are known as