| OCR Text |
Show SELF HELP. Fight your own battles, asking favors of no one, and you will succeed far better than those who are ever turning, first this way and then that, for a little help. No one can help you as you can help yourself, for no one will have the interest in your affairs that you, or course, feel. The man who pushes on through thick and thin with unflagging purpose and indomitable courage, in nine cases out of ten, makes a name and place for himself which people honor and admire. The old motto, "There is no such word as fail," should be impressed upon the young, Life's ways are rugged and full of thorns, and it is only the brave in heart who can hope to reach fame and fortune. He who waits for others to push him will find himself passed on the road by those who push themselves. People who have been bolstered up all their lives are like reeds in an emergency. No one can lean upon them, and if they cannot find a prop for themselves, down they go, and cannot help themselves up again, but must wait for some friendly hand to raise them. These "boosted" people never accomplished anything in the world. They are not trusted because they do not trust themselves. It is of little consequence to the world if they sink or swim, and even a man's best friends grow tired of helping him over obstacles he ought to surmount alone. The man who learns to conquer circumstances is independent of fortune, and will receive more smiles than frowns from the fickle goddess. The ambitious and industrious man had little patience with, or regard for, the man content to remain at the bottom of the ladder all his life. The man who keeps his wagon-wheel in the rut all the way to town simply because it is too much trouble to get it out, is apt to accomplish as little good to mankind as the one who expects to be "boosted" along through life. Both belong to the same family, and merit pity more than reproach. |
