THE CHEMAWA AMERICAN
9
T h is is th e day of specialists. T h e range of h um an know ledge has in
creased so enorm ously th a t th e m ind cannot grapple w ith it. F or this
reason a necessary requisite to success is concentration, or devotion to
one subject, one course in life. T h e g reat nam es know n in history are
identified w ith some one achievem ent upon w hich all th eir life force was
spent. T h e m an w ho succeeds has a program ; he fixes his course and
sticks to it; he lays his plans and executes them ; he goes stra ig h t to his
goal. H e is not pushed aside every tim e a difficulty is th ru st in his way.
If he cannot go over it he goes around, th ro u g h it, or u n d er it. T he
m ost successful men are those who have b u t one m ain object and who
pursue it w ith g reat persistence.
M any vocations th a t pay well in the beginning pay b u t little better
after years of service and usually those slow est in b eg inning to yield a
retu rn pay best in th e long ru n .
A boy often m akes a m istake in
choosing a place because the pay seems good and after a few years w ith
but little increase he is crow ded out because younger boys can be hired
to do the w ork for less pay. Select th e job in w hich th e re is chance for
prom otion and increase of pay even tho u g h the pay is not so good at
first. C om plaint is often m ade th a t boys will not stay in one trad e long
enough to learn it. A boy begins on $ 4 a week and after a few m onths
learns th a t he can get $5 a week in an other trade, so he changes. One
boy started in a shoeshining stand, then w orked in a lau n d ry , later in a
cigar factory, then in an office, and as newsboy on a train . H e never
earned m ore th an $5 a week and at the end of th is tim e could not w rite
an intelligent letter.
Find out in w hat trade you have special ability. W hat occupation
appeals to you? I)o you like to handle tools? Be a carpenter, a cab in et
m aker, a m achinist or a blacksm ith. Do you like to bargain or trade?
Be a m erchant, a banker, a broker, a real estate m an. Do you like to
draw? Be an architect or an artist. If you like to handle stock and
watch th in g s grow , be a farm er, a gardener, an orchardist, or a stock-
m an. Begin early to m ake your preparation. H orace G reely said,
“ To m ake an editor you m ust catch him y o ung and feed him on p r in t
e r ’s in k .” Skill w ith the hands can best be acquired in y o u th . A fter
selecting your trad e or calling do not be asham ed of your w ork and
th in k it is m ore honorable if you could do som ething else. A nybody
engaged in any one of the trad es ju st m entioned can be ju st as genteel
and dignified as the clerk, the law yer, th e doctor, or the m inister. In
the second place, fall in love w ith your w ork. Do not alw ays be listen
ing for the w histle to blow, for play to begin.
E ver bear th is in m ind: If you w ant to do a n y th in g very m uch, you
can. Q uakers say, “ W h at you w ill, th a t you can d o .” M any have
no choice and th eir lives are shaped by accident or chance.
Some