Cannot afford vs. can afford
Show me the man who says he has no patience for such things, and I will show you a man, like the stroke oar and the lawn mower, who does not believe in moving forward in progress. Show me the man who says he has no time to read of new methods and principles, and I will show you the one who utterly fails to perceive that familiarity with business literature of this kind means pecuniary advancement. Show me the man who says
he cannot afford to invest in such a set of books, and I will show you one who apparently CAN afford to waste his energy in misdirected effort—that energy and effort which are to every wage-earner and tradesman both his stock in trade and his invested capital.
Failures unnecessary
Someone has said, “There are three kinds of people in the world—the Can’ts, the Won’ts and the Wills. The first fail at everything; the second oppose everything; the third succeed at everything.” I would add a fourth kind—the largest class of all—the Don’t Trys, the “Oh-what’s-the-use,” “It-doesn’t-interest-me” sort of people. Their name is legion; their fault is lack of confidence. Knowledge is the greatest inspiration of confidence to be found on earth. You may not personally be held in the hope-paralyzing bondage that produces the “Oh-what’s-the-use,” or “I’m-not-interested” germ, but if you are not, you are exceptional. Most people are, and that is the reason that such persons are just about what luck, good fortune or chance make them, succeeding if fortune favors them, failing if they are left to depend upon their own resources. Result: Nine fail where one succeeds.
It is very fortunate, indeed, for most men that so much of their happiness depends upon success. There is nothing on earth quite so terrible to think of as failure, especially that due to lack of effort, unless possibly it be the failure of a man who lacks the courage or initiative to try to make the most of himself, and thus lets his best opportunities escape him. And this last is really the most pitiful thing that can befall a man. It is well enough to plan opportunities, but if we had the wisdom to take advantage of such opportunities as naturally come to us, results would more often be found in the balance on the right side of the ledger. And so I am of the opinion that a clear explanation of why a very large class of people do not succeed is found in some of these expressions—“I don’t care,” “I can’t,” “It doesn’t interest me,” or “Oh, what’s the use.”
Basis of all business success
One of the great objects set forth in this Business Administration series is to supply the positive energy which begets courage, confidence, initiative and success. We want to make you feel the necessity of doing some reading, a little plain thinking, and to make as clear as possible the important things that are involved in the serious but very fine game of business.
With business becoming with each succeeding day more and more of a science, it is high time to understand what is essential to it. Speaking of the subject of “Organized Business,” a great authority recently said, “It is time even for business men to understand business.” Again, the purpose of this course in Business Administration is, if possible, to measure the power and principles of business, to trace their ramifications, define
their elements, get hold of their vital fundamentals, and so comprehend them, both in technical detail and as a mighty unit. And I am confident we have done all this. I find that at the foundation, the machinery of business is simple, but whether it is plain or complicated, all who would succeed must make every effort to comprehend it thoroughly. All I care to emphasize at present is the great truth that knowledge, established and classified, is the basis of all business success. This is clearly established in this course of reading, and I am trying to incite your imagination in writing of its merits just as I would endeavor to enable you to realize it if I could talk to you personally right across my desk. The observant man can see clearly the things I am talking about, but to most men the mind’s eye perceives not by observation, but only when the imagination is stimulated. So I would stir all men to look earnestly into these things, with a view to their personal betterment.