Progress and Achievements of the Colored People / Containing the Story of the Wonderful Advancement of the Colored Americans—the Most Marvelous in the History of Nations—Their Past Accomplishments, Together With Their Present-day Opportunities and a Glimpse Into the Future for Further Developments—the Dawn of a Triumphant Era. A Handbook for Self-improvement Which Leads to Greater Success

by Kelly Miller; Joseph R. Gay

Fix your mind on what you aim at and never lose sight of it. It is your target.

Fix a straight road toward it. This will enable you to get there sooner, and if there are competitors, you will out-distance them.

Make a start. You may not be entirely ready and may have to stop on the way for repairs, but all the same—start. Some people are always making ready and never starting, so they never get anywhere because they never start. It is better to start, even if you have to return and begin over again. It shows your intention to win out, and that will encourage your backers, or find backers if you have none.

Don’t wander. Keep on the straight road, and don’t let counter attractions tempt you away. Keep thinking about what you are going to do when you arrive, and build up a strong castle.

Let tomorrow’s troubles take care of themselves. The saying is: “Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.” Fight the troubles that you have in hand now, and you will gain skill to fight those of tomorrow.

Attend to your own business and let other people’s alone. You can’t take care of your own business and that of another at the same time. To do that a man must sit on two stools at once. A difficult thing to do and not fall between. Try this as an experiment.

Keep your nerve, and your eyes in front. There are always times when a man meets some obstacle that spells failure if he lets it. Don’t let failure appear in any shape. Cut the word out of your dictionary.

Make haste slowly. This is an old saying of the Romans who knew a few things about success. Hurry, but hurry slowly. That is, be careful in getting everything ready and then make a break for the target. A man can act quickly and methodically, which is making haste slowly.

Take plenty of physical exercise. You do not have to go to a gymnasium to get enough exercise. Take a walk for the sake of walking. You can not make exercise work and derive any benefit from it. You must take pleasure in it or it is work and not exercise.

Do not work ahead. Keep your mind up with your work. Do not think about the hours it will take to complete it. If you do that, you will tire out your mind and make it do extra work. Mind and body should keep together.