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About The Chemawa American (Chemawa, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 1935)
Printed at Chemawa, Oregon, and Devoted to the Interests of Indian Education VOL. XXXVI WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1935 WHAT IS THUE SUCCESS? Compiled by MURIEL PRATT, Chemawa student Success! Perhaps you ought to have a more definite idea of success. Is it a success to be happy, to get money, to have extensive property and by doing great deeds so as to make the world admire you? Or is it a success to do all things, be it great or small contin ually in order that men may be better, and live better, happier, and more nobly? Success intelligently defined is the attainment of high ideals, the winning of great thoughts, accomplishments of noble purposes, and character. A man may get money and he may win a great name but still be a failure. What I want you to un derstand is that money doesn’t mean success. A per son may have a lot of money and still be a failure. He thinks that because he has money he doesn't have to work so you see where money is an evil thing because it robs many men of their ambitions, it ruins their ideals and ideas of constructive nature. Their money will bring only disease and an early death. Money has not made them successful and it will not make you successful. Let me say this much, however, mon ey is a very useful item to possess in order to become a success. To be a true success you must have first of all a character, a good character and true success depend largely on high ideals. Make it a point to keep your ideals high. Now I wonder what that means to most of you?—Simply this, you should never be satisfied with anything that is ugly, mean, half-done or infer ior and never be satisfied short of the best suited to your particular circumstance but to be satisfied only with good companions, books and thoughts that expand your mind and make it grow. Out of these things good deeds will grow. If you really want to succeed I want you to ask your self this question; Am I willing to pay the price of suc cess? Remember that all good things come from striving and all bad things from neglect. If you strive you will succeed and on the other hand if you are neglect ful you will fail. Another thing I want to impress on your mind is that striving and work costs time and effort. There is nothing in this world that is free. Everything has to be paid for either by thinking or by working. Everything has to be paid for somehow. In fact everything must be paid for even success. No NO. 11 thing in all the wcrld is free and the sooner you get this in your head the better. I want to show you how you may succeed and what you need in order to win lasting success. I know exactly. In a minute I can tell you it and in one word. If you will develop what I mention the world will be yours and your name will live long after your bones have turned into clay, for the world doesn’t forget a great success. What you need my young friends and what people need to regain their heritage as a people is character! That word means a great deal. I will tell you some of the things it means. Character is what a man or woman really stands for down in the bottom of his heart and it is the thing which prompts all his actions. A person’s character springs out of his principles and one’s principles come from his own knowledge of right and wrong. A person with no principle has a weak character. He is a curse to himself and the people about him. He is made of cheap shoddy ' ‘stuff’ ’ and cannot stand. A test of your own character lies in a knowledge of your thoughts, your love of your fellow men, your admiration for the good in others and their success and your ideals and the leaders you follow, ability to stick to a thing, to with-stand temptation and your own consciousness of your integrity. There can be no development of character where there is no ability to sacrifice one’s own convenience for the good of others. No man or woman can be a success until he learns the great importance of team play. There are times when you can help most by doing things that do not get you any credit whatever from the crowd but brings deep respect from those who know the real game of life. Strong character is the ability to do for others without ever asking, ‘ ‘ what good is it doing me.” The entire progression of the world has been achieved through the sacrifice of others that you and I might enjoy better things. In conclusion I wish you the opportunities of life, to know how to take on responsibility and a good character. To gain these great things it is necessary to work with definite purposes in view. You must desire success with all your heart and then scarcely knowing how, every move you make will bring you nearer the prized goal. For you, personally, the first hope of your friends everywhere is that you may reach out and be satisfied only with the greatest things in life as ideals. The second great hope of your friends and the hope that must become a very part of your life is to be useful. Then in attaining this you will not only have become successful but happy.
