Success—educated enthusiasm
Ah, that enchanting word, S-U-C-C-E-S-S. It does not require a magic key to unlock the door to business efficiency. There is nothing mystic, nothing mysterious in the applied method of the really resourceful men in this day of great successes, of marvelous achievements in business enterprise. The sum total is contained in two words, words that electrify, nevertheless. EDUCATED ENTHUSIASM.
Changing conditions make opportunities
The most formidable barrier to progress has always been the senseless opposition of those to whom it would be of the greatest benefit. Changing conditions are the order of the day, for enlightenment has worked wonders. In olden times, a man of affairs was obliged to guard his property and his loved ones by building a moat around his house and posting sentinels in and around his estate. The time is not long past when, because of prejudice, perversity or ignorance, many men believed that opportunity knocked only once at any man’s door. Today, thanks to deeper insight, most men believe that life itself is opportunity; that the very air we breathe is opportunity; that each new day presents broader opportunities for accomplishing
more because of better directed energy. This is not alone the accepted dogma of the man who is making his way in the world. It is the creed, doctrine, tenet or religion, whichever you may care to term it, of the great captains of industry everywhere.
New ideas count
The more successful the man, the more does he think, study, plan, as a part of his daily occupation in the development of the affairs in which he is interested. Newer and better ways to get things done is the business standard employed today by successful men in all lines. Only yesterday if a man of genius advanced a new idea, he found himself ridiculed and his innovation opposed on all sides because it was a new idea. Today, it is different. The man of ideas counts in the trend of affairs as he has never counted before.
Must keep step with changing times
Everything has a subjective reason. Progress is acting as a mighty dynamic force in changing men’s viewpoint of life and things. Suppose the stroke oar on a varsity crew, while in a race against an opposing crew from a competitive institution, should suddenly stop rowing in harmony with his associates and begin to row backwards—that crew would not get very far without trouble. Suppose a lawn mower should be reversed and forced to run backwards—there would not be much progress made in cutting grass on that lawn. Varsity crews and lawn mowers must move forward. Business men must advance with the times.
A great merchant in Chicago tells a good story of his youth. He was a member of a state regiment of militia. On a certain occasion, his company was sent out on dress parade. An old maiden aunt, with considerable colonial blood in her veins, took much pride in her nephew and his company. While reviewing the parade, she was suddenly heard to exclaim: “Why, every single man in that company is out of step excepting my nephew.” Most men who fail to get on in the world do not realize that success lies in keeping step—in making progress with changing conditions. They generally make the mistake of thinking that the world and everything in it is out of harmony with themselves.