WHERE ONE’S BEST CHANCE IS—THE KNOWLEDGE OF MEN
“In what part of the country do you think the best chances for young men may be found?”
“The best place for a young man to make money is the town in which he was born and educated. There he learns all about everybody, and everybody learns about him. This is to his advantage if he bears a good character, and to the advantage of his towns-people if he bears a bad one. While a young man is growing up, he unconsciously absorbs a vast deal of knowledge of people and affairs, which would be equal to money if he only has the judgment to avail himself of it. A knowledge of men is the prime secret of business success. Upon reflection, how absurd it is for a man to leave a town where he knows everything and everybody, and go to some distant point where he doesn’t know anything about anybody or anything, and expect to begin on an equal footing with the people there who are thoroughly acquainted.”