,,illustration3 ,laugh and ,live ,laugh and ,live ,by ,,douglas ,,fairbanks ,,illustrated ,,new ,,york ,,britton ,,publishing ,,company #aiag ,,to ,,my ,,mother ,,contents ,i4 ,whistle and ,hoe--,sing ,as ,we ,go ,,ii4 ,taking ,stock of ,ourselves ,,iii4 ,advantages of an ,early ,start ,,iv4 ,profiting by ,experience ,v4 ,energy1 ,success and ,laughter ,,vi4 ,building ,up a ,personality ,,vii4 ,honesty1 the ,character ,builder ,,viii4 ,cleanliness of ,body and ,mind ,,ix4 ,consideration for ,others ,x4 ,keeping ,ourselves ,democratic ,,xi4 ,self-,education by ,good ,reading ,,xii4 ,physical and ,mental ,preparedness ,,xiii4 ,self-indulgence and ,failure ,,xiv4 ,living ,beyond ,our ,means ,,xv4 ,initiative and ,self-,reliance ,,xvi4 ,failure to ,seize ,opportunities ,,xvii4 ,assuming ,responsibilities ,,xviii4 ,wedlock in ,time ,,xix4 ,laugh and ,live ,,xx4 ,a ,close-,up of ,douglas ,fairbanks ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,laugh and ,live ,do ,you ,ever ,laugh8 ,over the ,hedge and on ,his ,way ,preparing to ,pair ,with the ,prickly ,pear ,a ,little ,spin ,among the ,saplings ,over the ,hills and ,far ,away--,father and ,son ,a ,scene from ,his ,picture in the ,papers ,a ,scene from ,the ,americano--,matching ,wits for ,gold ,taking on ,local ,color ,a ,scene from ,his ,picture in the ,papers ,douglas ,fairbanks in ,the ,good ,bad-,man ,squaring ,things ,with ,sister--,from ,the ,habit of ,happiness ,a ,scene from ,in ,again--,out ,again ,bungalowing in ,california ,demonstrating the ,monk and the ,hand-,organ to a ,body of ,psychologists ,wedlock in ,time--,the ,fairbanks' ,family ,here's ,hoping ,a ,close-,up ,,live ,,and ,,laugh ,,chapter ,i ,,whistle ,,and ,,hoe--,,sing ,,as ,,we ,,go ,there is one thing in this good old world that is positively sure--happiness is for all who strive to be happy--and those who laugh are happy4 ,everybody is eligible--you--me--the other fellow4 ,happiness is fundamentally a state of mind--not a state of body4 ,and mind controls4 ,indeed it is possible to stand with one foot on the inevitable banana peel of life with both eyes peering into the ,great ,beyond1 and still be happy1 comfortable1 and serene--if we will even so much as smile4 ,it's all a state of mind1 ,i tell you--and ,i'm sure of what ,i say4 ,that's why ,i have taken up my fountain pen4 ,i want to talk to my friends--you hosts of people who have written to me for my recipe4 ,in moving pictures all ,i can do is act my part and grin for you4 ,what ,i say is a matter of your own inference1 but with my pen ,i have a means of getting around the silent drama which prevents us from organizing a close-up with one another4 ,in starting ,i'm going to ask you foolish question number #a4-- ,do you ever laugh8 ,i mean do you ever laugh right out--spontaneously--just as if the police weren't listening with drawn clubs and a finger on the button connecting with the hurry-up wagon8 ,well1 if you don't1 you should4 ,start off the morning with a laugh and you needn't worry about the rest of the day4 ,i like to laugh4 ,it is a tonic4 ,it braces me up--makes me feel fine6--and keeps me in prime mental condition4 ,laughter is a physiological necessity4 ,the nerve system requires it4 ,the deep1 forceful chest movement in itself sets the blood to racing thereby livening up the circulation--which is good for us4 ,perhaps you hadn't thought of that8 ,perhaps you didn't realize that laughing automatically re-oxygenates the blood--your blood--and keeps it red8 ,it does all of that1 and besides1 it relieves the tension from your brain4 ,laughter is more or less a habit4 ,to some it comes only with practice4 ,but what's to hinder practising8 ,laugh and live long--if you had a thought of dying--laugh and grow well--if you're sick and despondent--laugh and grow fat--if your tendency is towards the lean and cadaverous--laugh and succeed--if you're glum and unlucky--laugh and nothing can faze you--not even the ,grim ,reaper--for the man who has laughed his way through life has nothing to fear of the future4 ,his conscience is clear4 ,wherein lies this magic of laughter8 ,for magic it is--a something that manufactures a state of felicity out of any condition4 ,we've got to admit its charm2 automatically and inevitably a laugh cheers us up4 ,if we are bored--nothing to do--just laugh--that's something to do1 for laughter is synonymous with action1 and action dispels gloom1 care1 trouble1 worry and all else of the same ilk4 ,real laughter is spontaneous4 ,like water from the spring it bubbles forth a creation of mingled action and spontaneity--two magic potions in themselves--the very essence of laughter--the unrestrained emotion within us6 ,so1 for me1 it is to laugh6 ,why not stick along8 ,the experiment won't hurt you4 ,all we need is will power1 and that is a personal matter for each individual to seek and acquire for himself4 ,many of us already possess it1 but many of us do not4 ,take the average man on the street for example4 ,watch him go plodding along--no spring1 no elasticity1 no vim4 ,he is in check-rein--how can he laugh when his pep is all gone and the sand in his craw isn't there any more8 ,what he needs is spirit6 ,energy--the power to force himself into action6 ,for him there is no hope unless he will take up physical training in some form that will put him in normal physical condition--after that everything simplifies itself4 ,the brain responds to the new blood in circulation and thus the mental processes are ready to make a fight against the inertia of stagnation which has held them in bondage4 ,illustration3 ,do ,you ,ever ,laugh8 7,white ,studio7 ,and1 mind you1 physical training doesn't necessarily mean going to an expert for advice4 ,one doesn't have to make a mountain out of a molehill4 ,get out in the fresh air and walk briskly--and don't forget to wear a smile while you're at it4 ,don't over-do4 ,take it easy at first and build on your effort day by day4 ,a little this morning--a little more tonight4 ,the first chance you have1 when you're sure of your wind and heart1 get out upon the country road1 or cross-country hill and dale4 ,then run1 run1 run1 until you drop exhausted upon some grassy bank4 ,then laugh1 loud and long1 for you're on the road to happiness4 ,try it now--don't wait4 ,today is the day to begin4 ,or1 if it is night when you run across these lines1 drop this book and trot yourself around the block a few times4 ,then come back and you'll enjoy it more than you would otherwise4 ,activity makes for happiness as nothing else will and once you stir your blood into little bubbles of energy you will begin to think of other means of keeping your bodily house in order4 ,unless you make a first effort the chances are you will do very little real thinking of any kind--we need pep to think4 ,think what an opportunity we miss when stripped at night if we fail to give our bodies a round of exercise4 ,it is so simple1 so easy1 and has so much to do with our sleep each night and our work next day that to neglect to do so is a crime against nature4 ,and laugh6 ,man alive1 if you are not in the habit of laughing1 get the habit4 ,never miss a chance to laugh aloud4 ,smiling is better than nothing1 and a chuckle is better still--but out and out laughter is the real thing4 ,try it now if you dare6 ,and when you've done it1 analyze your feelings4 ,i make this prediction--if you once start the habit of exercise1 and couple with it the habit of laughter1 even if only for one short week--you'll keep it up ever afterwards4 ,and1 by the way1 ,friend ,reader1--don't be alarmed4 ,the personal pronouns ,i and you give place in succeeding chapters to the more congenial editorial we4 ,i couldn't resist the temptation to enjoy one brief spell of intimacy just for the sake of good acquaintance4 ,have a laugh on me4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,taking ,,stock ,,of ,,ourselves ,experience is the real teacher1 but the matter of how we are going to succeed in life should not be left to ordinary chance while we are waiting for things to happen4 ,our first duty is to prepare ourselves against untoward experiences1 and that is best done by taking stock of our mental and physical assets at the very outset of our journey4 ,what weaknesses we possess are excess baggage to be thrown away and that is our reason for taking stock so early4 ,it is likely to save us from riding to a fall4 ,there is one thing we don't want along--fear4 ,we will never get anywhere with that1 nor with any of its uncles1 aunts or cousins--,envy1 ,malice and ,greed4 ,in justice to our own best interests we should search every crook and cranny of our hearts and minds lest we venture forth with any such impedimenta4 ,there is no excuse1 and we have no one to blame if we allow any of them to journey along with us4 ,we know whether they are there or not just as we would know ,courage1 ,trust and ,honor were they perched behind us on the saddle4 ,it is idle to squeal if through association with the former we find ourselves ditched before we are well under way--for it is coming to us1 sooner or later4 ,we might go far1 as some have done1 through the lanes and alleys of ill-gotten gains and luxurious self-indulgence1 but we would pay in the end4 ,so1 why not charge them up to profit and loss at the start and kick them off into the gutter where they belong8 ,they are not for us on our eventful journey through life1 and the time to get rid of them once and for all is when we are young1 and mentally and physically vigorous4 ,later on when the fires burn low and we still have them with us they will be hard to push aside4 ,to thine own self be true1 says the great ,shakespeare and how can we be true to our own selves if we train with inferiors8 ,we are known by our companionships4 ,we will be rated according to association--good or bad4 ,the two will not mix for long and we will be one sort of a fellow or the other4 ,we can't be both4 ,there was a time1 long years ago1 in the days of our grandfathers1 when men went to the bow-wows and1 later on1 came back as it were1 by making a partial success in life--measured largely by the money they succeeded in accumulating4 ,that was before the check-up system was invented4 ,today things are different4 ,questions are asked--,where were you last8--,why did you leave there8--,have you credentials8--and when we shake our weary head and walk away1 we fondly wish we had taken stock back there when the taking was good4 ,to thine own self be true2 and it must follow as the night the day1 thou canst not then be false to any man4 ,when we can analyze ourselves and find that we are living up to the quoted lines above we may safely lift the limit from our aspirations4 ,right here it is well to say that success is not to be computed in dollars and cents1 nor that the will to achieve a successful life is to be predicated upon the mere accumulation of wealth4 ,first of all1 good health and good minds--then we may laugh loud and long--we're safe on first4 ,so1 with these two weapons we may dig down into our aspirations1 and1 keeping in view that our policy is that of honesty to ourselves and toward our fellow man1 all we need to do is to go about the program of life cheerfully and stout of heart--for now we are in a state of preparedness4 ,we are at the point where vision starts4 ,along with this vision must come the courage of convictions in order that we may feel that our ideas are important1 and because we have such thoughts1 we shall surely succeed4 ,it has often been noticed that when we have had a large conception and have with force1 character1 and strength of will carried it into effect1 immediately thereafter a host of people have been able to say3 ,i thought of that myself6 ,most of us have had the same experience after reading of a great discovery that we had thrown overboard because it must not have been worth while or someone else would already have thought of it4 ,the man who puts life into an idea is acclaimed a genius1 because he does the right thing at the right time4 ,therein lies the difference between the genius and a commonplace man4 ,we all have ambitions1 but only the few achieve4 ,a man thinks of a good thing and says3 ,now if ,i only had the money ,i'd put that through4 ,the word if was a dent in his courage4 ,with character fully established1 his plan well thought out1 he had only to go to those in command of capital and it would have been forthcoming4 ,he had something that capital would cheerfully get behind if he had the courage to back up his claims4 ,to fail was nothing less than moral cowardice4 ,the will to do had not been efficient4 ,there was a flaw in the character1 after all4 ,going back1 therefore1 to the prescription1 we find that a sound body1 a good mind1 an honest purpose1 and a lack of fear are the essential elements of success4 ,so1 when we have conceived something for the good of the world and have allowed it to go by default we have dropped the monkey-wrench into the machinery of our preparedness4 ,we must look about us for a reason4 ,have we fallen by the wayside of carelessness8 ,have we allowed ourselves to be discouraged by cowardly ifs8 ,did we lack the sand8 ,exactly so2 we didn't have the courage of our convictions4 ,life is the one great experience1 and those who fail to win1 if sound of body1 can safely lay the blame to their lack of mental equipment4 ,what does it matter if disappointments follow one after the other if we can laugh and try again8 ,failures must come to all of us in some degree1 but we may rise from our failures and win back our losses if we are only shrewd enough to realize that good health1 sound mind1 and a cheerful spirit are necessary adjuncts4 ,as ,tennyson says3 ,i held it truth1 with him who sings ,to one clear harp in divers tones1 ,that men may rise on stepping-stones ,of their dead selves to higher things4 ,all truly great men have been healthy--otherwise they would have fallen short of the mark4 ,prisons are filled with nervous1 diseased creatures4 ,there is no doubt but that most of these who1 through ignorance1 sifted through to the bottomless pits could have saved themselves had they realized the truth and taken stock of themselves1 in time--of course1 allowing for those1 who are victims of circumstantial evidence4 ,the prime necessity of life is health4 ,with this1 for mankind1 nothing is impossible4 ,but if we do not make use of this good health it will waste itself away and never come back4 ,it often disappears entirely for lack of interest on the part of its thoughtless owner4 ,a little energy would have saved the day4 ,a little pep--and we laugh and live4 ,laughter clings to good health as naturally as the needle clings to the magnet4 ,it is the outward expression of an unburdened soul4 ,it bubbles forth as a fountain1 always refreshing1 always wholesome and sweet4 ,illustration3 ,over the ,hedge and on ,his ,way ,in taking stock of ourselves we should not forget that fear plays a large part in the drama of failure4 ,that is the first thing to be dropped4 ,fear is a mental deficiency susceptible of correction1 if taken in hand before it gains an ascendency over us4 ,fear comes with the thought of failure4 ,everything we think about should have the possibility of success in it if we are going to build up courage4 ,we should get into the habit of reading inspirational books1 looking at inspirational pictures1 hearing inspirational music1 associating with inspirational friends and above all1 we should cultivate the habit of mind of thinking clean1 and of doing1 wholesome things4 ,guard thyself6 ,that is the slogan4 ,let us take stock often and see where we stand4 ,we will not be afraid of the weak points4 ,we will get after them and get hold of ourselves at the same time4 ,some book might give us help--a fine play1 or some form of athletics will start us to thinking4 ,self-analysis teaches us to see ourselves in a true light without embellishments or undue optimism4 ,we can gauge our chances in no better way4 ,if we grope in the darkness we haven't much of a chance4 ,taking stock throws a searchlight on the dark spots and points the way out of the danger zone4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,advantages ,,of ,,an ,,early ,,start ,it is the young man who has the best chance of winning4 ,then why shouldn't youthfulness be made a permanent asset8 ,we have recovered from the idea of putting a man into a sanatorium just because a few grey hairs show themselves in his head4 ,we should not ask him how old he is 444 we should ask3 ,what can he do8 ,the young man may have the advantage of years but the older one has the advantage of experience and knowledge4 ,now if this older man could carry along with him that spirit of youth which actuated his earlier activities he would be prepared against incapacity4 ,our fate hangs on how we conduct ourselves in youth4 ,the world has great need of the sober1 thoughtful men above the fifty line4 ,by right of experience and knowledge they should become our leaders in the shaping of our policies4 ,it is all a matter of how a man comes through1 mentally1 physically and spiritually4 ,age should not count against him4 ,the first thought is to keep healthy4 ,in fact1 we cannot harp on this too much4 ,the second requirement is confidence in ourselves1 without which our career is short lived4 ,already we perceive that one must keep track of his inner self4 ,this breeds confidence4 ,the very fact that one stops to probe into that hidden land of thought shows that he is keeping tab on himself with a sharp eye4 ,that's the stuff6 ,we mustn't fool ourselves4 ,the majority of failures come as a result of not being able to trust one's self4 ,the moment we doubt1 or acknowledge that we cannot conquer a weakness1 then we begin to go down hill4 ,it is a subtle process4 ,we hardly realize it at the time but as the days go by1 the years roll on1 the final day of reckoning draws near and relentlessly we are swept along as driftwood toward the lonely beaches of obscurity4 ,and all because we lacked self-confidence6 ,we did not realize it until it was too late4 ,we were too busy with self-indulgence to struggle for success4 ,most of our troubles in later life started with failure to take hold of ourselves when we were young4 ,it may be that we put off making our choice of something to do4 ,if we had been companionable to ourselves we might have thought out the proper course while taking long walks in pursuit of physical development4 ,that would have been a fine time in which to fight out the whole problem--the time when optimism and the will to do are as natural as the laughter of a child1 or the song of a bird4 ,that was the time when the world appeared roseate and beautiful1 when success lay just beyond the turn of the road1 when failure seemed something illusory and improbable4 ,then was the time to jump in with both feet and a big hearty laugh to solve the problem of what to do and how to go about it4 ,it is surprising how readily the world follows the individual with confidence4 ,it is willing to believe in him1 to furnish funds1 to assist in any way within its power4 ,and that is where the man with a smile is sure to win--for the man who smiles has confidence in himself4 ,so long as we carry along with us our atmosphere of hearty good will and enthusiasm we know no defeat4 ,the man who is gloomy1 taciturn and lives in a world of doubt seldom achieves more than a bare living4 ,there have been a few who have groaned their way through to a competence but in proportion to that overwhelming number of souls who carry cheer through life they are as nothing--mere drops in the bucket4 ,if the truth were told their success came probably through mere chance and nothing else4 ,such people are not the ones for us to endeavor to follow4 ,we cannot afford to allow our visions to sour4 ,beginning early takes away timidity and builds for success while we are young enough to enjoy the benefits4 ,although it is never too late to start a cheerful life we don't have to kill ourselves in the attempt4 ,there is no necessity for throwing all caution to the winds1 but we should press our advantages4 ,with self-analysis comes a certain poise1 a certain dignity and kindliness that tempers every move with precision4 ,once we get the proper start we have only to take stock now and then in order to keep our machinery in a fine state of repair4 ,if we have chosen wisely we love our work and stick to it closely--not forgetting the home duties and our share in its success4 ,right here we run up against the danger signal if our business success wins us away from the hearthstone4 ,love of home is a quality of the workers of the earth4 ,what doth it profit a man to win the whole world if he loseth his own soul8 ,to sum up the case--once we have made up our minds to win and how we are going to do it1 the next step is to act4 ,health is synonymous with action4 ,the healthy man does things1 the unhealthy man hesitates4 ,and when we get ready to act we will act with the air of a conqueror4 ,we must supply from our own store our atmosphere of confidence in order to win confidence4 ,the successful man is the one who knows he is right and makes us realize it4 ,it is always worth while to study the successes among our acquaintances4 ,are they gloomy1 morose and irritable8 ,if they were to that extent they would not be successful4 ,on the contrary1 they are robust1 confident individuals who have taken advantage of every rightful opportunity and possessed the power to smile when all about them were in the dumps4 ,when everyone else thought that there wasn't a chance to win these fellows stepped in and took charge4 ,when we interview the failures we find that all of them give one excuse3 ,i didn't have the confidence4 ,they may not say it in exactly these words but the meaning is plain4 ,they ran through the whole gamut of self-distrust which is the natural result of not having started early in the study of self--the serious realization of their own capabilities4 ,illustration3 ,preparing to ,pair ,with the ,prickly ,pear ,this makes it easy to understand their plight4 ,if we know ourselves we are strengthened that much1 because we can bolster up our weaknesses4 ,we will know enough to combat timidity4 ,we can then know what we are capable of1 and thus become conscious of our innate powers that only need to be called into action in order to become useful4 ,we cannot imagine for an instant a great violinist going out on the concert platform in ignorance of the condition of his instrument4 ,and yet failures go out on the stage of life knowing nothing of their strengths and weaknesses--and still expect to win6 ,if we are to become successes we must keep success in mind--banish all thought of losing4 ,success is just as natural as anything else4 ,it is only a matter of the mind anyhow4 ,we are all successes as long as we continue to think so4 ,self-depreciation is a disease4 ,once it gets a hold on us--good-bye6 ,and that is why it is wise to begin early--to take hold of affairs while we are young4 ,superiority over our fellow man comes from a superiority of mind and body4 ,a healthy mind breeds a healthy body4 ,the most superficial study will convince us of this fact4 ,appearance counts for much in this world4 ,we judge largely by appearances4 ,we haven't time to know everyone we meet intimately and as a result must base our opinions upon first impressions4 ,the fellow who comes in an office with his head hanging down between his shoulders and a frown upon his face doesn't get far with us4 ,we find ourselves looking over his sagging shoulders toward the individual behind him who comes in with a swinging step and the confidence born of health and good spirits4 ,self-confidence in youth makes for self-confidence in after years4 ,this is far from meaning that one can be brazen and inclined towards freshness and get away with it4 ,it merely means the marshalling of one's forces1 the command of one's self and the ability to make others recognize that we are on the map because we belong there4 ,and one of the quickest ways to accomplish this is to have a smile tucked away for instant use4 ,again1 this does not mean that we are to carry round a ready-to-wear grin which we wear only as we are ushered into the presence of another4 ,a real smile1 or a hearty laugh1 is not to be counterfeited4 ,we easily know the genuine from the spurious4 ,a real laugh springs naturally out of a pure1 unadulterated confidence and a good physical condition4 ,what triumphs1 what splendid battles1 have been won through the ability to laugh at the right moment4 ,whenever we find that we are losing our ability to smile let's have no false notions4 ,we are neglecting our physical well being4 ,let us then and there drop the sombre thoughts and get out into the open air4 ,run down the street and if possible out into the country4 ,if we see a tree and have the inclination to climb it--well1 then1 climb it4 ,if we are sensitive about what our neighbors might say--too bad6 ,but we can romp with easy grace4 ,if we but knew how gladly our neighbors would emulate our gymnastics if they knew the value of them the laugh would be on us for dreading their opinion4 ,one thing we do know--they will envy us our good health and spirits4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,profiting ,,by ,,experience ,experience comes by contact4 ,there is no way we can have experiences without passing directly through them4 ,if we are up and doing they come thick and fast into our lives1 some of them weighted down by the peculiar twists and turns of circumstances1 others simple1 easily understood1 and still others complicated to the point of not being understood at all4 ,people are divided into two classes--those who profit by experience and those who do not4 ,the unfortunate part of it all is that the latter class is by far the larger of the two4 ,the man of vigorous purpose1 fine constitution1 and the full knowledge of self1 sees through an experience as clearly as through a window4 ,the glass may be foggy1 but he knows what lies beyond4 ,self-reliant and strong he seeks knowledge through experience1 while the weak man1 the unhealthy-minded1 the inefficient1 stands aside and gives him the right of way4 ,in later years1 however1 they bitterly complain that they were not given the same chance to succeed4 ,the man of experience having long since passed through the stages of indecision has1 through careful self-analysis learned to bridge difficulties that would make others tremble with fear4 ,he knows that every lane has a turning4 ,he may not see it at the moment4 ,he may not know where it is4 ,but that doesn't worry him4 ,he picks up his bundle and trudges ahead1 confident that victory awaits him somewhere along the line4 ,the fact that he believes in himself1 sets him apart from ordinary mankind4 ,many great men have been at loss to understand why they attained success4 ,it is well nigh impossible for them to outline the causes that led them to the top rungs of the ladder4 ,the reason is that their lack of fear of experiences was an unconscious one1 rather than a conscious one4 ,however1 they are willing to admit that acting on the principle of profiting by experience loaned them initiative with which to proceed4 ,they soon came to know opportunity at sight and had only to look around to find it4 ,the young man standing on the threshold of life is1 from lack of experience1 puzzled over the future4 ,he looks above him and sees the towering successes4 ,he reads in the papers of the massive characters who have risen from the bottom to the top4 ,naturally he would like to meet one of these giants of success and hear what he has to say4 ,the interview is quite needless4 ,get busy and profit by experience1 is about all the advice one man can give to another4 ,there is no way to profit by experience until we have had experience so there is nothing to do but get busy and experience will come as fast as we can absorb it4 ,our duty is to strive for success and not expect to attain it except by successive steps4 ,a wholesale consignment would be our undoing4 ,quick successes through luck or good fortune have not the lasting value of those won by virtue of knowing how--of accomplishing what we started out to do4 ,faith in one's self does not come from the outside--it must spring up naturally from within4 ,a healthy body and a sane mind are the best foundations for this4 ,the young man who begins his career with these facts in mind is given a running start over his competitors4 ,poverty and failure are the result of an ignorance of the value of experience4 ,worry1 anxiety1 fear of not doing the right thing1 lack of insight into character 444 these1 too1 are the result of a lack of experience4 ,good health is necessary to experience1 but a majority neglect to take care of it4 ,if we are to profit by what we learn we must have the vim with which to push forward4 ,we must have every ounce of vitality we possess at command--ready for use4 ,this we conserve for the big emergency which we know is coming4 ,new experiences are pushing us forward and previous experiences are helping to move the load4 ,experience tells us what to do at this point and that--and at last puts its shoulder to the wheel and over she goes6 ,every mind is in possession of an enormous amount of dormant power and only experience can release it into proper action4 ,we often hear a fond mother say that her son is full to bursting with the old nick1 which means that the youngster is overflowing with pent-up energy4 ,with experience he could find good use for it--but without it this surplus may turn out to be a dangerous possession4 ,young men of this type should be guarded most carefully and advised to get busy early in life at something worth while4 ,many a bright fellow brimming with excess power has gone as a lamb to the slaughter into the maelstrom of vice because of being held back from legitimate occupation4 ,he just had to blow off steam so he did it in a gin mill rather than a rolling mill4 ,this dynamo called the mind can be trained to do anything4 ,not only can it be guided at the start but it can be guided by all that follows4 ,it can be used for building additional dynamos to be called into action in times of need4 ,this statement may seem at first far-fetched4 ,if we think so it is proof that we have not profited by our experiences and should get down to stock taking before it is too late4 ,the practical man1 after all1 is only one who takes advantage of opportunities4 ,he could double and triple his power if he only realized how superficial the average setback really is4 ,the young man has just as much chance of being considered practical as the so-called older one1 always provided that he has a store of experiences to profit by4 ,the first big experience of life usually makes or breaks us4 ,for this experience we need to be prepared4 ,we must have a strong heart that we may bear defeat nobly from this is not to be our last kick--our last breath--not by a jugful6 ,we are going to start all over again after our setback and we are not going to wait any longer than it takes to bury the dead4 ,this will be done decently and in good order--our training will admit of no indecorum4 ,if the smash was a bad one we will assume the liability1 nevertheless1 and get back on the job4 ,we are out to win and eventually we will win4 ,and that is what we mean by taking profit from experience4 ,the powers that break down are also the powers that build up4 ,the electrician who handles the motor could just as well end his own existence by that mysterious current as he could make use of it for the good of humanity4 ,he spends years of conscientious study and masters the knowledge of it so that its uses are as simple as his ,a ,b ,c's4 ,there is no doubt in the world but that he had to learn by experience4 ,he had to go into the shop and climb up from the bottom4 ,there was no other way by which he could come to know how to turn a deadly force into a well-trained necessity4 ,yet the average man goes into life with as little knowledge of its forces as the baby who puts its foot upon the third rail4 ,that fact keeps the thoughtless man down until experience comes to the rescue4 ,when it does come1 if he has the sand1 the common sense1 the will to do1 there is naught to hold him away from his goal4 ,,chapter ,v ,,energy1 ,,success ,,and ,,laughter ,there are many essentials to success1 but there is one that is of such importance that without it all the others become as naught4 ,the man who wins success is invariably impelled to do the great work allotted him by something within that tells him he can4 ,he may not know exactly what it is1 but he knows he possesses it and is able to act on that faith1 accomplishing things which seem utterly impossible to other people4 ,this inner determination1 once firmly implanted in one's nature1 cannot be destroyed or conquered4 ,and this element is energy--energy of mind1 which rules the body4 ,but where does this come from8 ,how do the great minds generate this glorious means of self-propulsion8 ,the answer is that in a healthy body it is inherent from birth1 and proper care of the body therefore accentuates within their minds the will to do4 ,if the preceding chapters have been carefully read we may readily believe that the successful youth must start with a wholesome1 generous viewpoint1 a good constitution1 and a clean mind4 ,we have had an inkling by this time of what one must do to achieve success in a world where competition is keen4 ,we are beginning to realize that these matters are of vital importance and that we are face to face with a problem4 ,energy is the natural outpouring of a healthy body4 ,it must be directed1 it must be controlled1 the same as any other living force4 ,not only is it a positive necessity to the winner1 but it must grow and become a natural quality4 ,it does not stand after years of abuse4 ,it does not spring up in the night after a long season of neglect and ill-health4 ,all of us possess it in varying ways4 ,that fact ought to convince us that we can get hold of ourselves and build up that which nature has given us1 rather than allow it to die away4 ,we all have a certain amount of energy 444 why shouldn't we all be successes8 ,we might to a certain extent1 but that doesn't mean that we shall all get rich in the money sense of the world4 ,when we say3 ,why shouldn't we all be successes8 we do not mean that everybody in the world must be greedy for money1 nor for power and position4 ,it does not mean that we should be selfish and eager to take everything away from the other fellow4 ,on the contrary1 it means that1 with energy1 we shall be successful according to our brain tendency4 ,going back to our second chapter we find the phrase taking stock of ourselves4 ,done rightly that alone will inspire success4 ,now if we are a little farther along on the way towards sane living and the ability to laugh and we know that after this struggle is over the battle is won we must use the powers that self-analysis gives us--to fight4 ,the mere recognition of them is power and we must not let them go to waste4 ,energy is like steam--it cannot be generated under the boiling point4 ,in other words1 half-heartedness never produced it nor made it a practical working tool4 ,we must be energetic in order to augment energy4 ,we must have confidence along with it 444 the more the merrier4 ,the greater the confidence in ourselves the greater the energy which brought it about4 ,some minds naturally feel confident4 ,these are the lucky ones1 the slender few who have grasped life's meaning at the start by taking stock before they were threatened with defeat4 ,success comes to them as easily as rolling off the proverbial log4 ,they come sweeping along1 conquering1 sure of themselves1 confident1 aspiring1 true to their inner selves1 ready for work1 unafraid of experiences1 and sure of a smile when the clouds are darkest4 ,this does not mean that these successes have exceptional ability4 ,if that were the case we would not waste time either in reading or writing about the matter4 ,if we didn't feel that we were potentially able to become successes and possessed the elements of victory in our present make-up not another moment would be spent on the subject4 ,the very simplicity of this use of energy proves to us that it is a quality bubbling forth in the least of us and the strongest4 ,it only needs to be put to work and it becomes self-strengthening4 ,living in the open air1 sleeping out of doors1 taking the proper exercise1 looking wholesomely upon life1 believing in ourselves1 are all parts of the sane existence which leads to success and laughter4 ,we ought to feel that everything in life possesses elements akin to human feeling4 ,we should not arrogate to ourselves the sole right to rule and reason4 ,and what has this to do with energy8 ,it is only one of the many vistas that open to us when we learn how to laugh and live4 ,and man alive6 ,if we never learn to laugh we will never learn to live4 ,we must not forget that there can be more than one use made of energy4 ,in the same way that electricity might be misused so might energy be placed in the wrong service4 ,we must not waste any time1 therefore1 in getting this energy of ours worked into enthusiasm 444 enthusiasm for our life work1 for our fellow man1 for the zest of life4 ,we must throw ourselves into the battle and carry the standard4 ,we must leap to the front1 not waiting for the other fellow to show the way4 ,spend your enthusiasm freely and be surprised at how it thrives on usage4 ,enthusiasm being produced by energy must of a necessity depend largely upon that4 ,now the point is1 how shall we guard and keep fresh this element in ourselves8 ,we know that the body is producing this quality4 ,like the steam engine we are keeping the fires going by exercise1 wholesome thinking and sincerity of purpose4 ,we are the engineers4 ,our hand is on the throttle4 ,sharp turns lie ahead but our eyes look forward fearlessly4 ,we glance about us to see that we are in the pink of condition4 ,we know that our mind is functioning properly and that the awakened confidence is already inherent in our natures and stands beside us night and day like the officer upon the bridge of the ship4 ,indeed we are on our way6 ,illustration3 ,a ,little ,spin ,among the ,saplings ,out of energy and enthusiasm comes something else that must not be neglected 444 in fact it must be cultivated and guarded from the very beginning 444 laughter4 ,the mere possession of energy and enthusiasm makes us feel like laughing4 ,we want to leap and jump and dance and sing4 ,if we feel like that don't let us be afraid to do it4 ,get out in the air and run like a school boy4 ,jump ditches1 vault fences1 swing the arms6 ,never fail to get next to nature when responsive to the call4 ,indeed we may woo this call from within ourselves until it comes to be second nature4 ,and when we rise in the morning let us be determined that we will start the day with a hearty laugh anyhow4 ,laugh because you are alive1 laugh with everything4 ,let yourself go4 ,that is the secret--the ability to let one's self go6 ,if we follow this religiously we will be surprised how successful the day will be4 ,everything gives way before it4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,building ,,up ,a ,,personality ,more and more personality is coming into its own as man's greatest asset4 ,there was never a day when it was not1 but in former years this essential quality was not listed under the name 444 personality4 ,had we lived in the days of our fathers' youth we would have heard about remarkable men1 men of big caliber1 large character1 splendid presence1 and the like4 ,but it remained for our day and generation to discover the real word--personality--meaning the most perfect combination possible of man's highest attributes4 ,at least that would be the definition in its fullest sense4 ,of course everyone has a certain personality and1 no matter in what degree1 its possession is valuable4 ,personality is an acorn1 so to speak1 which may be cultivated into a sturdy oak4 ,personality is one's inner self outwardly expressed4 ,it represents the conquest of our weaknesses and naturally impresses our strength of character upon others4 ,with personality our foundation is firm4 ,on this pedestal we may stand squarely and face life with equanimity4 ,for such there is no end to achievement while good health and youthful spirit remain4 ,it is impossible to come into the presence of a personality without becoming immediately aware of it4 ,it is reflected by people of small stature 444 poor physiques 444 homely visages1 as well as men of the highest physical development4 ,the great ,napoleon was just above five feet while ,lincoln towered over the six-foot line4 ,men of personality are the last to say die4 ,their store of combativeness carries them beyond their real span of existence either in years or achievement4 ,thus1 the mind shows its mastery over matter4 ,alexander ,pope was still writing while propped upon the pillows of his death bed4 ,mark ,twain joked with friends when he knew his hour was at hand4 ,personality is magnetic4 ,it can charm the friend or put fear into the heart of the enemy4 ,joan of ,arc1 a frail woman1 won battles at the head of her troops4 ,history is filled with incidents where men of personality have turned defeat into victory by leading their soldiers back into the fray4 ,wholesome personality is the fulfillment of self-development--physically1 mentally and spiritually4 ,but all personality is not wholesome for it often shows in the face of the man who is a rogue at heart4 ,therefore1 all personality is not for the good of the world4 ,it is only of the wholesome kind that we speak4 ,to such as possess it the goal is divine4 ,personality could never be perfected without living a life of preparedness backed up by our most earnest and honest convictions4 ,personality is made up of many qualities and differs in man only as man is different from his brother man4 ,perfect personality requires constant care in its development and constant guard for its safety4 ,it cannot be purchased in the open market4 ,it must be built upon piece by piece and everything we are becomes a part of it4 ,personality would be indeed imperfect if it did not give us full poise4 ,if we neglect our physical poise we pull down our mental poise1 likewise our spiritual poise4 ,that is why personality must be kept constantly protected against encroachment2 but this can be so fixed by purpose1 plan1 and power of will that it becomes automatically safeguarded4 ,once in possession we have only to make it part of our natural selves and wear it unconsciously to the last breath of life4 ,then the question is1 why should we allow ourselves to be satisfied with an imperfect personality8 ,it only reflects back upon ourselves4 ,haven't we often heard a man say3 ,he is all right but4446 ,perhaps the personality in question was untidy1 or that his walk was that of a laggard1 or that he affected an egotistical air of superiority--whatever the impairment it should have been done away with4 ,a man of personality should never be haunted with worry from the sneers of his inferiors because of their own laxity4 ,some men perfect their manner of speech to a degree which takes it above that of their weaker fellows1 others develop fine qualities which are viewed by ordinary individuals as affectations but which are in reality the result of innate refinement4 ,the man of no refinement has indeed an uphill fight but with persistence and ambition to succeed he can win4 ,lincoln1 the rail splitter1 is the most shining example of the power to will victory4 ,for him to have fallen by the wayside would have caused no comment for it would have been expected in those early days of struggle1 but to those who have the benefit of inherited tendencies toward personality1 to fail in its development is in the nature of a crime4 ,personality does not mean over-refinement4 ,sturdy qualities are the necessary ones4 ,over-refinement leads to the softer life and ofttimes to degeneracy4 ,exalted ego is an indication of degeneracy and may have been inherited4 ,of those things we inherit that are good we must hold1 and everlastingly must we watch those which are bad4 ,it is never wise to wander far away from basic principles into preachment4 ,what we need is guidance along the road to the goal of personality4 ,first of all we need health and second1 the will to do4 ,next1 we must use these weapons in the right direction1 for personality is at its zenith when backed up by strong physique and brain power4 ,from previous chapters we have learned that success of any kind is predicated upon keeping ourselves in trim1 and in good humor4 ,keeping in trim is no trick at all4 ,we can make it a part of every physical action and as keeping in trim means perfection of body and soundness of mind we should never neglect to utilize any effort that will help us toward bodily efficiency4 ,there is exercise in stooping over to pick up a pin if we will go about it the right way4 ,we can correct an ill-formed body by adopting and maintaining a certain carriage4 ,we may hold our chin in such a way as to provide against stooped shoulders4 ,we have opportunities both morning and evening to indulge in various forms of light1 systematic exercises which will push forward the day's work with zest and vim4 ,poise has everything to do with personality1 therefore the physical structure must come in for its share of proper attention4 ,no man of refined personality would walk the streets with a soiled face or uncombed hair4 ,such things do not give poise4 ,they are the evidences of a laggard spirit4 ,the more we exercise the more energetic we become1 the surer we are of ourselves1 the farther we get in the development of our personality4 ,illustration3 ,over the ,hills and ,far ,away--,father and ,son ,,chapter ,,vii ,,honesty1 ,,the ,,character ,,builder ,just as the straight line is the shortest distance between two points so is honesty the only proper attitude of one person toward another4 ,without it there is no understanding possible4 ,it must always remain supreme as a quality without which character becomes a sham1 a superficial thing that has no basis in fact4 ,the ability to look the other fellow in the eye is as necessary to character as the foundation is to a house4 ,it comes out of that great within which we are now exploring4 ,it arises from the courageous facing of our weaknesses and becomes a part of the man who knows himself and laughs with life1 at the mere joy of living1 doing1 accomplishing 444 winning against all odds4 ,honesty accompanies a proper self-esteem and its cultivation should become a part of our earliest education4 ,it doesn't grow anywhere except within ourselves and will never be handed to us on a silver platter4 ,if we fail to find it when we are young it will have small chance of obtaining a grip on us later4 ,it is the one quality with which to crown our highest attributes4 ,it is final proof that we are capable of just thought and square dealing1 and is proof positive that we are part and parcel of the wholesome spirit which rules the universe4 ,its possession is greater than riches for its dividend is happiness and contentment and we cannot go wrong if we so live that we can look any man in the eye and tell him the truth4 ,to live in the full sense means to be alert4 ,whatever high moral plane we shall achieve must be held against all temptation4 ,there is no compromise4 ,self-deceit is nothing less than self-stultification4 ,we only fool ourselves and soon find ourselves slipping down hill4 ,it will be hard climbing getting back4 ,and what of the wear and tear on our ambitions meanwhile6 ,honesty does not grow naturally out of a dull1 uninspired life4 ,it goes with the energetic1 the forceful4 ,the dull soul who is content to plod along year after year in the same rut may be honest1 and this one redeeming feature may be of such inestimable value to him that it sweetens and softens his entire days4 ,it will bring him friends 444 true-blue friends1 who will excuse all other shortcomings because of his honesty4 ,it gives him the unadulterated trust of his employer and it arouses a certain admiration among his narrow circle of acquaintances4 ,if this is true with the dullard1 the weakling1 then what must it mean when possessed by the great8 ,we know1 for instance1 how the nation instinctively turned to ,general ,washington when it came to choosing their ,president after the ,revolutionary ,war4 ,he may have been gifted1 he may have been one of the world's greatest captains1 but the one quality which endeared him to his countrymen was a tremendous moral superiority4 ,he never told a lie rang around the world4 ,summed up1 his virtues amounted to those five words4 ,some statesmen may have been more astute but ,washington was honest--he never told a lie4 ,the people knew they could trust this man so they elected him to fill the highest place within their gift4 ,honesty with ourselves is the first thing to remember4 ,unless we are1 it will be impossible for us to enter into that spiritual contentment enjoyed by those who are honest with themselves4 ,if we are untrue to ourselves how can we be true to others8 ,the framework of a man's moral being must be that of honesty4 ,it must become his very nature and become automatic in its processes4 ,it belongs to the healthy1 those who keep themselves well through vigorous exercise and temperate living4 ,it is not a quality set aside for the lucky few4 ,every man1 woman and child possesses it in some degree and only its constant neglect trims it to a minimum4 ,it is one of those fundamentals of life1 one of those powerful and moving forces that rule society4 ,we are either honest or we are not4 ,we cannot be nearly honest and get away with it4 ,when one stops to consider honesty1 even for a moment1 its full importance is realized4 ,for example1 imagine having a dishonest friend4 ,could we go to him with the secrets of our heart8 ,could we trust him8 ,would we trust anyone who might turn traitor8 ,again3 suppose we were untrue to ourselves1 and the fact became known4 ,could we blame others if they passed us up as a companion8 ,never in a thousand years4 ,we must sleep in the beds we prepare for ourselves4 ,men have grown accustomed through the years to certain standards4 ,these are now the moral laws which control and guide the destinies of entire races1 whole generations4 ,there must have been a good reason for these laws or they could never have come into being4 ,society does not adopt many unnecessary rules1 but among the vital laws honesty stands out in bold relief4 ,it has become deeply imbedded in the minds of mankind that everyone must be true to himself4 ,it is taken for granted that those who are not would naturally be false to everybody4 ,the reason for this lies in the fact that society will not proceed with any course of action without being able to trust its members4 ,the general in charge of an army would have a hard time of it if he were unable to place faith in the subordinate to whom he gave instructions that might lead to a crisis in the battle4 ,society would dash itself upon the rocks were it not conscious that certain people are courageously honest1 and in these it finds its leaders4 ,to rise in life means that our fellow man believes in us and wishes us to do so4 ,without his co-operation it would be futile to arouse our own ambitions4 ,we could not hope to win a victory all alone and against the great majority who believe in certain standards and conditions4 ,we might fool ourselves into thinking that because of some stroke of fortune we had established an immunity for ourselves4 ,but some day our consciences would tell us how feebly we had succeeded4 ,there is only one method1 only one way 444 rise through honesty and an optimistic belief in self4 ,and let us not plume ourselves because of our virtue4 ,personal honesty is our due to ourselves and our fellow man4 ,one of the distinctive elements in the honest man's make-up is that of laughter4 ,the ones who live up to their ideals1 do not feel that life is such a dark place1 after all4 ,it may mean hard work1 little play and often delayed rewards but the fact that there is a world1 and that it is filled with other honest souls is reward enough to give us courage to laugh as we go along4 ,we can always afford to laugh--when we're honest4 ,the man who is innately honest has no reason to fear the snares of fortune4 ,he knows that he can win the trust of men2 he knows that he already has it4 ,he has no dread of looking into the other fellow's eye4 ,he knows where he stands in life4 ,he has won that which he has through struggle1 and he does not intend to lose it4 ,he does not intend to fail4 ,he cannot fail--he cannot lose4 ,no matter how things might go at this moment or that the next will find him on the rising tide of new opportunities---new chances4 ,his reputation travels before him like the advance agent4 ,his coming is heralded and he is welcomed into any community4 ,it isn't as though there were only a few honest men4 ,this welcome1 this glad hand1 is always extended by society to the honest man as a token of approval4 ,the world's work is a tremendous matter4 ,there is always room for another worker to handle some part of it4 ,and only the true1 the sincere1 are capable of doing this in the proper way4 ,the leaders of society in the broader sense are those who win the faith of the average man4 ,we look up to ,lincoln because we know that he was the one man in a million to accomplish the greatest task ever set before a human being4 ,we realize that he was honest--honest in the huge sense so necessary to the accomplishment of big ideals4 ,and we know that in order to win some part of that great trust we must obey the standards of honesty and decency that lie below the surface and only need to be called to life and action in order to be used4 ,and laughter will arouse that sense as quickly as anything else4 ,the man who is capable of laughing heartily is not apt to be the one who carries some conscience-stricken thought around with him4 ,it is the easiest thing in the world to detect an untrue laugh4 ,the real laugh springs out of the depths of being and comes with a ringing sense of security and faith in one's self4 ,it goes with the workman in the early morning when he swings along the road to the factory4 ,it accompanies the soldier into battle4 ,it arouses the clerk from lethargy4 ,it brightens the sick room4 ,it raises us all to unexplored heights1 and as evidence of our state of mind it can only mean one thing--honesty and sincerity4 ,no character can exist without this outward exhibition of an inward honesty4 ,the mere cultivation of laughter would eventually lead to honesty4 ,the fact that you are laughing1 enjoying life1 awakens you to a spirit of security and a feeling of the joy of living4 ,gloomy men are the ones whose tendency is toward crime and trouble4 ,laughing men are the ones who stir the world with new desires and make life worth living4 ,therefore we say--laugh and live6 ,illustration3 ,a ,scene from ,his ,picture in the ,papers ,,chapter ,,viii ,,cleanliness ,,of ,,body ,,and ,,mind ,if we interview many of life's failures we will find that the overwhelming majority went down because of their neglect to get out of an environment that was not stimulating and because their ambitions had grown rusty and inefficient to cope with depressing circumstances4 ,the prisons and other institutions are filled with people who did not make any attempt to get away from the vicious surroundings in which they lived4 ,they were like tadpoles that had never grown to frogs 444 they just kept swimming around in their muddy puddles and1 not having grown legs with which they could leap out onto the banks and away to other climes1 they continued to swim in monotonous circles until they died4 ,in other words1 the failure is a man who dwells in muddy atmosphere all his days1 who is content to remain a tadpole and who never attempts to take advantage of any opportunity4 ,he becomes unclean1 so to speak4 ,and that is what we mean by this chapter heading ,cleanliness of ,body and ,mind4 ,it was not intended to point out the proper way to keep our faces and hands clean1 or as a sermon1 but rather to show ourselves that the clean body begets the clean mind1 the two together constituting compelling tendencies toward the clean spirit4 ,a move in the direction of these takes us out of the rut of life4 ,no matter what cause we dig up with which to explain our success in life we cannot neglect this most important one--the careful selection of our acquaintances4 ,and this doesn't mean that one must be a snob4 ,far from it4 ,it only means that the successful man1 the man who wishes to rise in life1 should not spend his days in the company of illiterate companions who do not possess ambition of heart or the will to do the work of the world4 ,it means that life is too short to hang around the loafing places with the driftwood of humanity listening to their stories of failure and drinking in with liquor some of their bitterness against those who have toiled and won the fruits of their toil4 ,it means that we will not go out of our way to seek the friendship of men and women who are simply endeavoring to gain happiness in life without paying for it4 ,it means that we will do all in our power to win friends who aspire nobly and by so doing inspire those with whom they come in contact4 ,such men are naturally clean of mind and body4 ,we must remember always to live in a world of clear thought that will stimulate our ambitions4 ,dwelling in the dark corners of life and traveling with the dbris of humanity will not arouse us to action and give us that swinging vigor of heart and mind so necessary to the accomplishment of great things4 ,while we will ever lend the helping hand to those who need it we will naturally associate with those who have vim and courage4 ,we will not be dragged down by our associates4 ,until we meet the right kind we will hold aloof1 and we will not be morose and gloomy because it happens that at this moment our acquaintanceship does not include these successes4 ,when we have succeeded in doing something big they will come to us and if we think big things we are likely to do them4 ,it is all a matter of the will to do4 ,nothing succeeds like success1 said some very wise man and if there ever was a phrase that rang with truth this does4 ,it means that the thought of success1 the courage that comes with success1 leads to more and more success4 ,it means that the thinker of these thoughts is living in a clean1 wholesome atmosphere along with those who are determined and in earnest4 ,it means that they have caught the fervor of true life 444 a healthy1 contagious fervor which permeates the blood swiftly once it gets a hold1 and like electricity it vivifies and stirs the spirit with renewed energy day after day1 year after year4 ,once it wins us it will stick with us4 ,the success of those about us will shake our lethargic limbs and stimulate us to a desire to do as they do4 ,we will be in a world of clean thought and action and our lives will mirror their lives1 our thoughts will be filled with wholesome things and with good health4 ,we will win in spite of all obstacles4 ,cleanliness is the morale of the body and the mind4 ,the man who is careful of his linen and who does not neglect his morning plunge is not apt to be gloomy and morose4 ,we notice him in the car or on the street in the morning4 ,he comes striding along1 fresh and full of the zest of living4 ,his mind is clear and unclouded4 ,his eyes are full of that vigorous light of conscientious desire to win and do so honestly4 ,he has none of the hypocritical elements in his nature strong enough to rule him4 ,there may be and probably are many weaknesses in his character4 ,his very strength consists in his ability to crush them and make them his slaves4 ,the man who has taken his morning plunge and dressed himself agreeable to comfort and grace1 has his battles of the day won in advance4 ,he knows the value of keeping himself in trim4 ,he does it for the sake of his own feelings4 ,our approval of his appearance goes without saying4 ,if a man thinks well of himself in matters of appearance his general deportment is likely to coincide4 ,such men never overdo4 ,they are at ease with themselves and thus impart ease to others who come in contact with them4 ,they have1 in other words1 a distinction of their own and their distinction is their power4 ,they know that the highest moral law of nature is that of cleanliness1 that filthiness should not be allowed to dominate any man's ethics or physical condition4 ,they rule such things out of their lives4 ,a vast magnetic force comes out of those friends of ours who are doing things and making the world sit up and take notice4 ,the mere fact that we live near to them1 know them and associate with them is proof-positive that we1 too1 shall go through life with clean minds and bodies4 ,they would not tolerate us if we were to slip into shoddy ways4 ,nothing is revealed quicker to our intimates than the losing of ambition 444 the slipping into careless habits4 ,we cannot conceal it from them4 ,we fool only those who brush by4 ,the loss of this self-respect has a terrible effect upon the system and every tendency toward success is thereby stunted and weakened4 ,we have fallen into unclean ways6 ,it will not be long before we sink to the bottom or else remain among the vast crowd who have neither the courage to fall nor the courage to rise4 ,nothing produces failure quicker than filthiness of mind and body4 ,those who are successful keep away from the very thought of such a condition4 ,they live as much as possible in the open4 ,they take morning and evening exercises4 ,they read good books1 attend good plays and are continually in touch with the finer developments of thought and art in the world4 ,their faces are open and full of sunlight4 ,they are determined that life will not beat them in a game that only requires sureness of aim and the ability to take advantage of the thousand and one opportunities that surround them on every side4 ,cleanliness stands paramount in its importance to success4 ,perhaps no other one thing has so vital a hold upon the individual who succeeds4 ,the general of an army first looks to the morale of his troops4 ,he knows that with clean minds and bodies his soldiers are capable of doing big things4 ,the battleship1 that efficient and highly-developed instrument of war1 is so immaculate that one could eat his meals on its very decks4 ,its officers are wholesome1 athletic fellows2 its crew consists of hardy men who live sanely and vigorously and who have plenty to occupy their minds4 ,and if cleanliness is fundamental in their case why not in our own8 ,when we come to analyze ourselves we find that we are like a great institution of some kind4 ,here is the brain1 the heart1 the lungs1 the stomach1 the nerves and the muscles4 ,each department acts separately and yet is connected absolutely with all the others4 ,the entire system is under one supreme department 444 the mind4 ,now if this ruling department is kept clean and full1 of kindly1 beautiful thoughts does it not seem natural that the rest will follow its lead being so completely in its power8 ,we realize this and the mere realization is something done towards the accomplishment of an ideal life in a world of cleanliness and beauty4 ,system is one of the finest tools in existence with which to build one's life into something worth while4 ,the body must be run on a system as well as the mind4 ,the stomach must not be overloaded with unnecessary food4 ,the lungs must not be filled with impure air4 ,the nerves must not be worn threadbare in riotous and ridiculous living4 ,the muscles must be kept in trim with consistent exercise of the proper sort4 ,we must recognize the wants1 the needs of the physical system and see that they are supplied4 ,roosevelt1 perhaps more than any other living man today1 has given vitality to the supreme necessity of cleanliness of mind and body4 ,he has1 by reason of his great prominence1 been able to emphasize these two vital essentials4 ,he called a spade a spade and his message went far4 ,from those who knew the value of his words came nods of approval--others took heed4 ,from boyhood he has systematized his life1 taking the exercise needed1 filling his mind with the learning of the world1 winning when others would have failed1 profiting by experience allotted to him through fate's kindly offices and association with the healthy1 true men4 ,what has been the result8 ,he has risen to the very pinnacle of human endeavor 444 no honors await him4 ,he has lived consistently and cleanly and he can look any man in the eye and say honestly3 ,i have lived as ,i have believed4 ,it is not necessary to become ,president in order to live sanely1 to gain from circumstances the fruits that are ours for the asking and which have fallen into ,roosevelt's hands with such profusion4 ,we cannot all become ,presidents but we can all emulate a shining example of mental and bodily morale4 ,just as we plunge into the cold water in the early morning so should we regularly during the day plunge into the society of those whose splendid enthusiasm is helping to make the world a better place to live in4 ,they are the kind who go into the struggle with heads high and with clean hearts4 ,their eyes see beyond the daily toil of life4 ,they are in touch with the big things and it is up to us to keep step with them4 ,they want us and they will give us the glad hand4 ,all they want to know is whether our courage is equal to our ambitions and whether our house of life is kept in good order4 ,and so we journey along together in all good nature1 not forgetting to laugh as we live4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,consideration ,,for ,,others ,consideration for others is man's noblest attitude toward his fellow man4 ,for every seed of human kindness he plants1 a flower blooms in the garden of his own heart4 ,in him who gives in such a way there is no hypocritical feeling of charity bestowed4 ,his very act disarms the thought4 ,it is as natural for an honorable man to show consideration to others as it is for him to eat and sleep4 ,acts of kindness are the outward manifestations of gentle breeding--a refinement of character in the highest sense of the word4 ,what would we do in this world without the helping hand1 the friendly word of cheer1 the thought that others shared our losses and cheered our victories8 ,if consideration for our feelings and thoughts did not exist on this earth we would never know the depths of the love of our friends4 ,there would be no such thing as an earthly reward of merit4 ,we know that no matter what happens to us in the battle of life there will be someone to cheer us on our way4 ,we may be strong and thoroughly able to rely upon ourselves but there comes a time when we need friendship and sympathy4 ,society would crumble into dust without these influences4 ,the family circle would degenerate into a hollow mockery if consideration each for the other was absent4 ,it sweetens and makes wholesome what otherwise might only be an existence of monotonous toil4 ,consideration for others is the milk of human kindness4 ,for what we do for others our recompense is in the act itself 444 we should claim no other reward4 ,observation brings to view that they who give in real charity cloak their acts from the eyes of all save the recipient4 ,givers of this type rise to the supreme heights of greatness4 ,it is a part of their wisdom to know what is best to be done and they go about it as a pleasure as well as a duty4 ,consideration for others pays big dividends4 ,it is a virtue that makes for strong friendships and true affections4 ,those who possess it have a hard time hiding their light under a bushel4 ,in teaching fortitude to others they partake of the same knowledge4 ,in the hours of their own affliction they retain their courage and keep their minds unsoured4 ,they are the sure-enough good fellows of life and their presence is the signal for instantaneous good cheer4 ,we all know them by their gentle knock at the door4 ,in a thousand ways they impress themselves upon our lives1 have entered into our councils1 have given us the right advice at the right time--and when the sad day comes along their strong shoulders are there for us to lean upon4 ,consideration for others is apt to be an inherent quality1 but like everything else it can be accentuated or modified according to our own determination4 ,it is a growth that should be inculcated early in the lives of children--the earlier the better4 ,a child's most impressionable age is said to be between its fourth and fifth years4 ,then is the time to teach it the little niceties of life--the closing of a door softly--tip-toeing quietly that mother may not be awakened from her nap--tidiness--cleanliness--good morals--all of which are to become vital factors in a life of consideration for others4 ,a great many of us have the desire to be of service to others but timidity holds us back4 ,say1 for instance1 one might see a person in great distress and because of diffidence withhold the proffered hand--someone we've known who comes to the point of penury but has too much pride to ask assistance--we pass by fearful that we might offend4 ,how many times has this happened to us8 ,who knows but the best friend we have at this very moment would give anything in the world if his pride would let him bridge that distance between us4 ,illustration3 ,a ,scene from ,the ,americano--,matching ,wits for ,gold ,nevertheless the desire to do the right thing was in itself helpful4 ,the thought of doing something for someone was a correct impulse and should have been carried into action4 ,early in life we should have started our foundation for doing things in the cause of others4 ,putting off the time when we shall begin to obey our higher impulses toward helpfulness to our fellows is but a reaction in our own characters which dulls determination4 ,we want to do but we don't4 ,as time goes on we just don't--that's all4 ,our good intentions have gone to pave the bottomless pits containing our unfulfilled heart promptings4 ,we meant well--but we failed to act--we didn't have the courage4 ,our failures spread a gloom before us4 ,we lost our chances for a happy life6 ,the man with the ability to laugh has little diffidence about these matters4 ,having confidence in himself and being happy and alert he goes to the friend in need with courage and the kind of help that helps4 ,if he doesn't do it directly he finds a way to reach him through mutual friends4 ,he does not go about parading his kindness1 either4 ,he has gained a sincere and beautiful pleasure out of aiding an old friend and he can go on his way rejoicing that life is worth living when he has lived up to its higher ideals4 ,consideration for others does not necessarily involve only the big things4 ,it is the sum and total of numberless acts and thoughts that make for friendships and kindliness4 ,people who are thoughtful surely brighten the world4 ,they are ever ready to do some little thing at the correct moment and after a time we begin to realize how much their presence means to us4 ,we may not notice them the first time1 or the third1 or the fifth1 but after a while we become conscious of their persistence and we esteem them accordingly4 ,such men are the products of clean1 straightforward lives4 ,they are never too busy to exchange a pleasant word4 ,they do not flame into anger on a pretext4 ,their code of existence is well ordered and filled to the brim with lots to do and lots to think about4 ,the old saying3 ,if you want anything go to a busy man1 applies to them in this regard4 ,the busier men are the more time they seem to have for kindliness4 ,another word for consideration is service4 ,nothing brings a greater self-reward than a service done in an hour of need1 or a favor granted during a day's grind4 ,the generous man who climbs to the top of the ladder helps many others on their way4 ,the more he does for someone else the more he does for himself4 ,the stronger he becomes--the greater his influence in his community4 ,doing things for others may not bring in bankable dividends but it does bring in happiness4 ,such actions scorn a higher reward4 ,we have only to try out the plan to learn the truth for ourselves4 ,a good place to begin is at home4 ,then1 the office1 or wherever life leads us4 ,and in doing these things we will laugh as we go along--we will laugh and get the most out of living4 ,our little day-by-day kindnesses when added together constitute in time a huge asset on the right side of our ledger of life4 ,we should start the day with something that helps another get through his day 444 even if it isn't any more than a smile and a wave of the hand4 ,and he will remember us for it4 ,it is said that advice is cheap and for that reason is given freely4 ,but the proper kind of advice is about as rare as the proverbial hen's tooth4 ,in order to give real advice we must understand the man who asks for it4 ,if what we say to him is to become of value we must see to it that his mind is put in proper shape to receive advice4 ,be sure that he laughs1 or smiles at least1 before we seriously take up his case4 ,and when we have done our stunt in the way of advice let's send him away with a fine good humor4 ,a friendly pat on the back as he goes out our doorway may mean a bracer to his determination4 ,you'll put it over1 we shout after him--and thus we have been of real help4 ,he needed sympathy and courage4 ,he needed a cheerful spirit--so came to us and we didn't let him go away until we gave him all these4 ,bully for us6 ,consideration for others does not admit of ostentation and hypocrisy4 ,we never allow our left hand to know what our right hand does in charity1 nor do we boast of our helpful attitude toward our fellow men4 ,it is well to make a point of this fact--in this world are many ne'er-do-wells who fail to profit by advice and thereby become professional in the seeking of favors4 ,consideration owes them nothing and to withstand their persistent appeals would in time dull our natural tendencies toward helping others4 ,the world helps those who help themselves4 ,we have little admiration for the man who is forever whining4 ,society has no work for such people as these4 ,when we have exhausted every means of helping such a man we must in self-defense pass him up before he contaminates our sense of justice4 ,we must keep our visions clear4 ,consideration for others is a prime refinement of character4 ,to be able to use it in our daily lives becomes one of our greatest consolations4 ,sympathy begets affection and kindly deeds--in a relative sense it binds together the properties which go to make the soul within us4 ,browbeating1 scolding1 irascibility and the like are microbes which react against the milk of human kindness1 to which1 if we succumb1 leaves us stranded and alone amid a world of friendliness and good fellowship4 ,,chapter ,x ,,keeping ,,ourselves ,,democratic ,big words and pomposity never were designed for the highest types of men4 ,our great national figures have almost without exception had one quality which was a keynote to their ultimate success--this was their simplicity4 ,next was their accessibility4 ,there are numberless big-hearted and big-brained individuals in the world whose duties are so manifold that in order to accomplish what has been placed in their hands they must be saved from interruption1 but the truly great individual is never hidden away entirely from his fellow man4 ,he never becomes such a slave to detail that he does not find time to fraternize with ordinary mortals4 ,we do not find him concealed behind impenetrable barriers1 guarded and pampered by courtiers like unto a king on his throne--or tucked away in some dark office4 ,he wants to know everybody worth while and everybody worth while is welcomed by him4 ,he doesn't affect to know so much that he cannot be told something new4 ,he is not the sort to refuse to see us at any reasonable time4 ,we should not confound greatness1 however1 with notoriety4 ,a man who by virtue of large publicity has compelled public notice isn't necessarily a great man no matter how hard he may strive to make himself appear so4 ,especially is this true of the man who does not make a personal success corresponding to his advertised fame4 ,in time he may have the ear-marks of notability but1 as ,lincoln said3 ,you can't fool all of the people all of the time4 ,it is to be noted with satisfaction that the big captains of industry keep themselves free from petty details4 ,i surrounded myself with clever men1 said ,andrew ,carnegie in accounting for his success and by the same token the men who took over his great affairs and gave them larger scope and power surrounded themselves with still other clever men1 thus reserving their judgment and thought for the higher policies of their institutions4 ,they keep themselves in readiness for consultation1 and having men of initiative and self-reliance underneath them1 they find time to take in hand other affairs than those of the tremendous businesses they manage4 ,men of this type often become prominent in public affairs and develop into highly important citizens4 ,the bigger the man1 the less he encumbers himself with matters which can be delegated to others4 ,his desk is clear of all litter and minutia--likewise his mind4 ,such men keep their physiques and mentalities in fine working order and are not to be goaded into ill temper4 ,a refinement of mind is supremely essential to the man who desires to climb to the very top of the ladder4 ,he cannot afford to close his brain to outside information4 ,he is forced to keep it open in order to let in continuous currents of new thought4 ,he doesn't want his visage to cream and mantle as a standing pond as ,shakespeare aptly puts it--therefore the windows of his thinking department are kept open for refreshing draughts from the outside4 ,he reasons that always there are new guests1 new faces1 new things to talk about at the banquet board of life4 ,illustration3 ,taking on ,local ,color ,and here is the point--if men who carry on the great industries of the world find a way to keep themselves democratic surely men of less importance should be able to do the same8 ,the snob is about as offensive a person as could be described4 ,he is usually a hypocrite or an ignoramus--sometimes both4 ,his pomposity is naturally repellent4 ,we easily become accustomed to dodging such characters4 ,the detriment is theirs--not ours4 ,they are left by the wayside and sooner or later wake up to the fact that they stand alone in the world4 ,the world loves the man with an open mind4 ,this is the usual spirit of the progressive citizen4 ,he wants to know--and by reason of his accessibility knowledge is brought to him4 ,no one cares to take up the task of informing the egotist who already knows it all4 ,such is his inherent cussedness that we would rather let him warp in the oven of his own half-baked knowledge4 ,life is too short to waste our time in educating him4 ,how can ,i see ,mr4 ,so-and-so8 says one man to another4 ,don't try1 is the answer4 ,he's not worth seeing4 ,you can't tell him anything4 ,and this sort of a chap misses the big opportunities just because he chooses to build up a reputation for being exclusive4 ,he digs himself a hole and crawls into it and pulls the hole in after him4 ,we can safely imagine him treating the members of his family as though they were servants1 and his employees as though they were slaves4 ,he may succeed in small things but in the big game of life we may write him down as a failure4 ,if we have a big idea we take it to a big man--the man of vision4 ,anything less is to putter around aimlessly4 ,the bigger he is1 the more democratic4 ,he will not look for imperfections in our personal make-up when we show him the new process we have discovered4 ,to be democratic is a triumph of the soul--tending to bring us in close touch with the throbbing heart of humanity4 ,there is no isolation for those of unaffected charm and manner--no barrier in the way of friendship worth having4 ,it is our lack of judgment if we hide ourselves so that we cannot be approached4 ,no matter how high we rise1 for the sake of our own brains we must allow men of ideas to get to us4 ,we must not allow our minds to become stagnant4 ,if we fail to get into daily contact with other people1 we soon grow dull and uninteresting even to ourselves4 ,great men may have no time to fritter away but they have plenty of leisure for men worth while--the pushers and the thinkers4 ,a democratic spirit does not come to the selfish man4 ,he is absorbed in himself and is quite a hopeless case4 ,he is a natural born faultfinder and grouchy by nature4 ,for him life holds no joy save the one in sight4 ,taking the big look at the man of this type we can only be sorry for him because of his lack of early training4 ,he started off on the wrong foot and thereafter drifted along4 ,seldom do we overcome the habits with which we arrive at man's estate4 ,those who do are entitled to a right hand seat among the chosen4 ,being democratic is another phrase for being human and kind4 ,it means that we ought to be able to see behind every face and find the truth of that individual's existence4 ,it means that life is largely a matter of how we look at it and being human is one way to get the proper slant at things4 ,the human mind has great adaptive power and can be molded into a thousand ways of thinking4 ,the intelligent man1 the man who has taken stock of himself1 is able to smile and extend a hearty handclasp whether he feels tip-top or not4 ,he doesn't have to look glum simply because the world hasn't thrown itself at his feet4 ,he has only to persevere and success will come eventually4 ,we must correct our failings as we go along or we will slip down into the rut and stay there4 ,it is a simple matter to be good natured and full of the zest of life if we poise ourselves right--keep ourselves democratic4 ,it is this great soul quality which brings us true friends and boosts us into the fulfillment of our ambitions4 ,then we may truly laugh and live4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,self-,,education ,,by ,,good ,,reading ,the character of a man expresses itself by the books he reads4 ,every well-informed man since the invention of printing has been a close reader of a few books that stand out from among the many4 ,we read of ,lincoln devouring the few books he had1 over and over again and studying from cover to cover and word for word the ,webster's dictionary of his day4 ,we know that ,grant had his favorite volumes from which he drew inspiration and solace4 ,these men made eternal friends of certain great thinkers and drank in their learning with all the fervor of their natures4 ,a few good books1 digested well1 do feed ,the mind4 ,feed the mind6 ,that's the idea--but how shall we feed it8 ,the answer is easy--with something worth while--something that will inform and inspire4 ,we can cram our minds to the point of indigestion with useless1 frivolous information just as easily as we may cram our stomachs with certain foods that tear down rather than build up4 ,the habit of reading the right sort of books should begin early in life and continue throughout our days4 ,good books are real 444 and as we read we feel1 hear1 see and understand in the way the author did4 ,if what is said appeals to our way of thinking a new world is unfolded to our vision filled to the brim with things we can think about and add to our stock of knowledge4 ,while we are buried in its leaves we may live over the thoughts that the writer lived4 ,for the time being he becomes as real and vital to us as the dearest friend we possess4 ,gradually1 as the time passes by1 he creeps into our affections until our lives would not be complete without the comradeship of his cherished book4 ,books that become our pals are not necessarily books of the so-called classical type4 ,little known volumes may prove to have enough thought stored away between their covers to keep us interested all our days4 ,the great books will prove their worth in a short time no matter how poor the binding1 how bad the type or how cheap the paper4 ,these things are after all only the outward manifestations and though we like to see our friends dressed well yet we know that the clothes do not make character unless there is character there in the first place4 ,and so it is with books4 ,these little ungainly volumes which we purchase on the stands may be the classics of tomorrow 444 who knows8 ,we select our library carefully4 ,no matter if we live in a tiny hall bedroom on the top floor of a boarding house we have a shelf somewhere with a few good books on it4 ,emerson's ,essays can be had in one volume and are well worth having4 ,no other ,american writer has been so inspiring1 so invigorating as this thinker of ,concord4 ,one cannot read his essays without having a desire to get up and do4 ,it is like a breath of fresh air 444 a tonic 444 a stiff morning walk4 ,it stirs the mind to action and inspires us to lift ourselves out of the rut into which we have fallen4 ,one returns to them time after time1 each reading opening up new vistas of thought1 new lines of mental development4 ,illustration3 ,a ,scene from ,his ,picture in the ,papers ,as a man's stomach is what he eats1 a man's mind is what he reads4 ,it goes without saying that no healthy1 active mind could exist without the companionship of ,shakespeare4 ,nowadays it is possible to secure the entire works of the immortal poet in one volume4 ,there is a special ,oxford ,university edition which can be had for a small sum4 ,the type is large1 the paper good and there are many notes to help one over the rocky places4 ,there is no doubt of the truth of the saying that a man who reads ,shakespeare consistently and with understanding needs no other education4 ,like the philosopher ,emerson he boiled down the world's thoughts into terse sentences and one goes into a new universe when reading any of the plays4 ,it is a good thing to learn parts of them by heart so that we can apply them to our own lives4 ,they strengthen the mind 444 their beauty lifts us into a great realism of splendid thought 444 and they fill the heart with a longing to do something great4 ,such books should become steady companions through life4 ,no matter where our duties call us we should see to it that we do not leave behind the thoughts of this master mind of ,shakespeare4 ,the very fact that we have them near us lifts us out of the monotony of nothing to do4 ,among the books about ,america for ,americans perhaps ,roosevelt's ,winning of the ,west is among the best4 ,not only has he thrown the whole vigor of his interesting personality into the writing of it1 but he has given us a vivid picture of the conquest of the ,states by the settlers4 ,no man could read it without being thrilled at the dangers our forefathers faced 444 at the great courage they possessed 444 at their hardihood 444 their bulldog tenacity4 ,the reading of such a book is like going back over the years and living with them1 sharing their troubles and their enthusiasms4 ,the man who contemplates gathering a small library could not afford to do without the inspiration of what his countrymen have done for him4 ,in choosing our books we must bear in mind one thing--let them be inspiring4 ,let them be of such a nature that when we read them we will feel like going out into the world to accomplish something big6 ,that is probably the mission of great books--to inspire and uplift4 ,the world's greatest men have been readers--would they have cared for books unless they were inspiring8 ,it is said that when ,napoleon was being taken to ,st4 ,helena he advised one of the officers never to stop reading4 ,most of the things worth while are at some time or other stored away in books by the thinkers4 ,every phase of history1 every movement to better mankind and lift it above the drudgery of mere toil1 every beautiful thought is to be found in them and the better the book the more will be found in it of these very things4 ,when we have finished the day's work we can pull down a volume from the shelf and in a moment be lost in an entirely different world4 ,the man who neglects to read surely misses the one best means of broadening his mind4 ,all books of the better class furnish food for thought and are excellent tools for the man of initiative4 ,to read means keeping in touch with the big visions4 ,we cherish these dreams and make them real in plans of our own4 ,aspiration is behind the pages of every worth-while volume4 ,it was the motive power which drove the author to produce it and it should become a part of the forces which drive us on to victory4 ,without such inspiration we grope as children in the dark4 ,we are without a light to guide us on our way4 ,books by such men as ,marden and ,hubbard are great generators of the electricity of doing things4 ,they have put into words those innermost emotions which are the instruments of success4 ,they point out a way we may safely follow4 ,they loan us inspiration which causes us to act for ourselves4 ,they give us thoughts that are useful and practical which we never would have gained by virtue of our own reasoning power4 ,they made it a life work to coin into phrases words that inspire4 ,out of their large experience came the logical sequences of cause and effect4 ,not to profit by their teachings is a crime against our own prospects--without them we lag behind4 ,instead of progressing we look on in wonder at what is going on in the world4 ,somehow we cannot connect ourselves with the big enterprises4 ,and all because we failed to feed our minds properly4 ,there is much to be gained both in pleasure and knowledge by reading historical novels1 and the lives of great men4 ,the books of ,sir ,walter ,scott and ,james ,fenimore ,cooper are rated among the best in the world4 ,grant's autobiography and the personal stories of other famous ,americans provide fascinating material with which to establish and fortify our test for good literature4 ,the tales of modern ,american financiers is another field of absorbing interest4 ,the man with small means can provide himself with a working library for a very little money4 ,books are cheap4 ,the public library is always nearby and there is hardly a town of any size but what has one4 ,when we purchase a book we should be sure to obtain the best edition and be careful that it is printed from good type and on clear paper4 ,books are likely to become warm friends4 ,we should never purchase an abridged edition4 ,binding is not such an important factor1 although we like to have our favorite books put up in a handsome fashion4 ,with ,shakespeare1 ,emerson1 ,roosevelt1 ,scott1 ,cooper1 ,marden and ,hubbard one would have quite a representative collection for a start4 ,it would be easy to expand the list into many more4 ,of course1 those collecting a small library who have a specialty1 will want books dealing with the subjects in which they are interested4 ,however1 every practical library includes books of inspirational character1 and if one makes a study of the books written by great authors it will be found that all of them profited by the reading of books which caused them to think4 ,the ,bible causes us to think6--and no library is complete without it4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,physical ,,and ,,mental ,,preparedness ,it is not the object of this chapter to deal with a set course of physical culture1 but rather to emphasize the necessity of keeping our physical house in order4 ,there are plenty of books on physical culture which can be relied upon and also any number of physical instructors who are able to advise and help along a set program4 ,there are hundreds of places1 institutions1 clubs1 ,y4,m4,c4,a4's1 and the like1 which provide gymnasiums and every other facility for those who determine to build themselves up through consistent physical exercise4 ,that is all very well to begin with1 but afterward we must have some simple methods of our own which will not make it a hardship or a chore to keep ourselves in trim--a state of physical preparedness4 ,it should become a part of our daily scheme to obey certain1 simple rules which tend toward an automatic effort instead of a discipline1 and we should persevere in these until they become fixed habits4 ,it is no trouble at all to take exercise unconsciously1 and we only arrive at this by turning into an exercise any of our ordinary physical actions during the day as we go along4 ,for instance1 we can sit down in a chair and in so doing can add a certain amount of exercise to the action itself--also in rising4 ,with very little effort we can come into the habit of sitting correctly--posing the body as it should be--holding the shoulders in proper position--also the chin so that it becomes a hardship to sit improperly4 ,all of this has to do with general physique4 ,in walking we can go along with a spring1 elasticity1 and vigor of motion which forces a fine blood circulation throughout the entire system4 ,we can stoop over in the act of picking up some object from the floor and at the same time make it a matter of physical exercise1 and we may take a hat from the rack while standing away from it1 thus stretching ourselves1 as it were1 into a little needful action4 ,putting on an overcoat1 or any part of our clothing1 may be done in such a way as to set the blood to racing through the body4 ,morning and night--upon getting up and upon retiring--there is every reason to make it a rule to exercise freely4 ,the morning exercise wakes us up and sits us down finally at the breakfast table with a zest for the food set before us4 ,the morning bath is an agency for good in this direction after we have given ourselves a good shake-up from head to foot4 ,by the same token1 exercises at night before retiring induces sound sleep and takes away the strain of the preceding day4 ,a very successful system is that of exercising in bed4 ,instead of immediately jumping to the floor in the morning it is very inviting to go through some simple form of gymnastics in which the physical structure is brought into play4 ,physical exercise is something which can be carried to extremes4 ,we can go at the work so intensely that we become muscle-bound and develop some structural enlargements that we do not need4 ,this happens very often among athletes4 ,the ordinary man should fight shy of such plans4 ,superfluous strength is only for those who have need of it4 ,what we really want is strength enough to carry us through our daily rounds with comfort and a feeling of efficiency4 ,in a sense we all live by our wits and these decline when not properly fed by our general physical organization4 ,prize fighters are not the longest lived people1 nor are the professional athletes4 ,their calling requires extra building up which would be a positive handicap to the average man whose manner of life doesn't require this super-development4 ,in other words1 there are intemperate methods of exercising just as there are of eating and drinking4 ,we may easily go too far4 ,again1 we can sin just as greatly by not going far enough4 ,there was a time when men of forty were as worn and old as men of sixty-five and seventy are today4 ,as a matter of fact1 nowadays a half-century mark is no longer a badge of senility when a man has kept himself fit and treated himself right4 ,we all have friends who are pretty well along in years by virtue of their carefully planned physical training1 plus their cheerful dispositions4 ,they are as sprightly and companionable as though they were many years younger4 ,we should come to know early in life what a large part good humor plays in physical fitness4 ,in previous chapters hearty laughter was extolled as one of the very best of exercises4 ,it is an organizer in itself and opens up the heart and lungs as nothing else will do4 ,it makes the blood go galloping all through the system4 ,it is one of the best automatic blood circulators in the business4 ,laughter takes the stress off of the mind1 and whatever is ahead of us for the day that seems likely to become a burden is soon turned into an ordinary circumstance4 ,we smile as we go about doing it4 ,a friend once said to a banker3 ,how do you know when to lend money8 ,the banker replied3 ,i look a man in the eye and then ,i do or ,i don't4 ,the friend said3 ,i would like to borrow ten thousand dollars--now6 ,you shall have it1 ,sir1 the banker replied4 ,this meant that the man who asked for the loan was in a state of physical and mental preparedness4 ,if he had gone into the banker's office looking like an animated tombstone he wouldn't have had much of a chance to borrow the ten thousand4 ,it goes without saying that the open-faced1 hearty fellow inspires confidence4 ,there is nothing coming to the dried-up1 sour chap1 and that's what he usually gets4 ,and what we get is largely a matter of our physical well being4 ,a modern philosopher observed that the blues are the product of bad livers--and there is no doubt but that he was right4 ,the problem of life is to fill our days with sunshine4 ,in so doing we shall find that the little graces are those which will lend us the most help4 ,tiny favors extended1 words of encouragement1 courtesies of all sorts1 unselfish work carried out in an open manner1 true friendships and love1 a hearty laugh1 a sincere appreciation of the other fellow's struggle to keep his head above water1 the conscientious carrying out of all tasks assigned us--these are our helpmates and they are the products of our physical and mental equipment4 ,through these we come into our knack of detecting friends among those who are the salt of the earth4 ,it is impossible for the person who desires good health to obtain it1 or having it1 to retain it1 without consistent effort4 ,a watch will not run without the proper regulation of the mainspring4 ,we must keep up our activities4 ,we have taken the earth and are turning it into something to serve us--therefore the need of fine bodily preparedness4 ,nothing can take the place of achievement and it comes through physical and mental efficiency4 ,the one must not be neglected for the other2 both must be cultivated and developed alike in order that each may help the other4 ,happiness comes only to those who take care of themselves4 ,it is the natural product of clean-mindedness4 ,no pleasure can surpass that of a conscious feeling of our strength of character4 ,it is an all important element in men who aspire to succeed4 ,the man who rises in the morning from a healthy slumber and plunges into the bath after some vigorous exercise is prepared to undertake anything4 ,his world seems fair1 and though the sun may not be shining literally1 it is to all intents and purposes4 ,thus1 we go swinging along with a cheery smile1 carrying the message of hope and joy to all those with whom we come in contact4 ,oh6 it's fine to be physically and mentally fit6 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,self-,,indulgence ,,and ,,failure ,the correct definition of self-indulgence is failure--because self-indulgence is comprised of an aggregation of vices1 large and small1 and failure is the logical sequence thereof4 ,even the habit of eating may be cultivated into a vice4 ,indeed1 there are those who gorge without restraint1 which in itself is unchaste and immoral4 ,we've often seen them as1 with napkin under foot or tucked under the collar1 they eat their way through mountains of food and wash it down as they reach for more4 ,no use to say how and what we feel when we attend such performances4 ,it is all right to say ,look the ,other ,way1 but it can't be done4 ,it is human nature to gaze upon horror--sometimes in sympathy1 but more often in amazement4 ,sometimes a well staged scene of gormandizing viewed from a seat in the second or third row center of a softly lighted1 thick carpeted food emporium saves us the price of our own meal4 ,we no longer hunger on our own account4 ,our appetite is appeased by proxy1 so to speak1 and we calmly fix our eyes on the big show and sigh for a baseball bat4 ,no wonder a noted bachelor of medicine declares ,people are what they eat6 ,the exclamation point is our own4 ,we quite agree with our medical brother for we have seen people eat until we thought we would never be hungry again4 ,but there is more to self-indulgence than the food specialist has to answer for1 so we will be on our way4 ,for instance1 there is the spendthrift2 surely he is entitled to a short stanza4 ,we all know him4 ,he goes on the theory that he has all the spending money in the world1 and that long after he is dead those on whom he spent it will remember his generosity4 ,vain hope6--,whatever memory of him remains will be of a different kind4 ,those who have been bored by his gratuitous attentions will take up the threads of their existence where they left off when he drove them away from their usual haunts4 ,no longer will they have to dodge down alleys and run up strange stairways in an effort to avoid his overtures4 ,illustration3 ,douglas ,fairbanks in ,the ,good ,bad-,man ,when alive and in full operation he knew more about what was best for us than we could possibly think of knowing4 ,left to his own devices he would have us smoke his particular brands1 drink his labels1 eat his selections1 wear his kind of a cravat1 overcoat1 cap1 hat1 shoes1 and underwear4 ,and to make his proposition sound business like he would willingly pay the bills6 ,in this little amusement we are supposed to play the part of receiver and praise his generosity4 ,whatever may be our verdict on this chap we must keep in mind that his inordinate desire to waste his substance was no less than a vice if for no other reason than its example upon others2 it is just as bad to be a receiver as it is to be a spendthrift4 ,if we cannot build up a reputation for generosity without becoming ostentatious we might better take lessons in refinement from someone to the manor born4 ,there is no desire to single out and set down by name and number every sort of self-indulgence4 ,excesses of any kind are indulgences1 and it is easy to fall into them if we have not built up our stamina to resist4 ,our failures are usually traceable to ourselves4 ,no matter what excuses may be offered in our behalf we know in our own minds that we are to blame4 ,somewhere along the line of our endeavors we faltered--then we fell4 ,our conservatism reinforced by our strength of character finally gave way at a given point and put the whole plant out of business4 ,our system of inspection had become cursory instead of painstaking4 ,everything had been running along so smoothly we forgot that everything must wear out in time if it isn't looked after properly4 ,a previous chapter entitled1 ,taking ,stock of ,ourselves1 has a specific bearing upon the subject in hand4 ,it emphasizes the necessity of taking stock of ourselves early in life in order that we may know our weak spots and take immediate steps to dig them out by the roots and replace them with hardy perennials which thrive on and on unto the last day4 ,and that reminds us that it is well to take stock of ourselves every little while4 ,even hardy perennials have to be looked after--the ground kept fertile and watered against the draughts of forgetfulness and neglect4 ,and so it must be with our mental and physical processes in order that each day of our lives we may go forth with renewed forcefulness--with every atom of character in full working order4 ,having started off on the right foot1 we are less likely to have trouble with our higher resolves during the lean and hungry years of our youth when we go plunging headlong toward the goal of our ambitions4 ,usually it is not until we come into ,easy ,street that we find that we dropped something somewhere along the line which we must replace at once or we will be laid up for repairs4 ,but lo and behold6 ,easy ,street is fair to look upon4 ,it dazzles the eye--it takes hold of the sensibilities4 ,everybody wears ,sunday clothes on this street and seems to be superlatively happy4 ,surely it wouldn't hurt to linger awhile and see what is going on4 ,why1 this is the most talked about street in the world6 ,some of the people we have dealt with have told us about it4 ,they said it was the only street for a man of means1 for there could be found the very things for which we strive in life4 ,they told us that the people we would meet represented the higher order of intelligence1 brainy1 alert1 accomplished--a grand thoroughfare for those who would know life in the fullness thereof4 ,now it is a fact that ,easy ,street may be crossed and recrossed in safety every day of our lives if we do not tarry4 ,financial competence might permit of it1 but competent efficiency demands that we trot along--keep moving--get away before we settle down into its ways4 ,the action we need is not along this brilliant lane4 ,but suppose we do take a chance just to test the serene confidence which we think is so safely nailed down within us4 ,the very thought of it makes the caution bell tinkle in our ears--but caution is a species of cowardice1 after all1 we say--a man of courage may dare anything once4 ,and just at the moment we waver who comes along but our old friend ,self-indulgence6--the well dressed1 carefree fellow who once told us all about ,easy ,street and invited us to look in on him sometime4 ,nothing would please him more than to show us the whole works--and here he is shaking us by the hand and pulling us along--for he is an affable fellow and will not take no for an answer4 ,our struggle is feeble--a huge chunk of our strength of character falls off into space then and there4 ,even at the gilded entrance we try again to beg off--to slip away--but ,self-indulgence will not hear4 ,so together we go through the portals leading into a grandeur we had never known--beyond our experience and power to believe4 ,this is likely to become the turning point in our career4 ,bill ,nye once said ,when we start down hill we usually find everything greased for the occasion4 ,we might add--except the bumps6 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,living ,,beyond ,,our ,,means ,living beyond our means is a big subject that must be treated broadly1 for circumstances alter cases4 ,there is a sane way to look at every problem1 and the matter of living beyond our means is one of the major problems we have to face4 ,if every man was alike and every avocation in life was on a parity1 it would be possible to dispose of this subject in a paragraph4 ,but men are not alike4 ,what one could do successfully might easily baffle another4 ,therefore1 it seems advisable to consider the subject by looking into its depths4 ,to most people debt is terrifying4 ,to some it means nothing--and thus we have individual temperament as an angle from which to consider4 ,living beyond our ability to pay means going into debt via the shortest route4 ,getting out of debt means a revision of our code to the extent of ceasing to live beyond our means and saving something with which to pay off what we owe4 ,some men can do this successfully--others fail while seemingly trying their best to succeed--and still others do nothing to stem the tide4 ,with these it is a matter of how the tide serves4 ,if favoring winds should drive them to opulence they would more than likely pay up1 particularly those imbued with sufficient personal honor to make good4 ,such are the exigencies of life1 we may as well concede that a vast majority at some time or other find it necessary to owe more than they can readily pay4 ,emergencies arise which force us into expenses that require credit1 and if we have so ordered our lives that when the pinch comes we have no credit established the fact that we pay out our last dollar and go hungry to bed does not bring us much sympathy4 ,thus it would seem that to be able to say3 ,i pay as ,i go1 or1 ,i owe no man a dollar1 or1 ,i never live beyond my means is not much of a boast1 when1 after a death in the family1 or other unforeseen circumstances1 we find ourselves broke and nowhere to turn for accommodation4 ,it has been aptly said that ,people can save themselves to death4 ,in other words1 one may develop the saving habit to such an extent that ,laugh and ,live can find no room beside us on the perch of our existence4 ,we must admit that the systematic saver of pennies misses a lot as he goes along1 and1 with time1 degenerates into a sort of ,kill ,joy4 ,in the matter of regulating his family to his way of thinking he usually has an uphill job4 ,sons leave home as soon as they can2 daughters marry and breathe a sigh of relief1 leaving mother behind to slave on in order that the hoard may grow4 ,while all of this is true it only represents extreme cases1 therefore it should not be construed that this chapter is launched against the habit of saving4 ,rather1 its purpose is to suggest the thought of not over-saving at the expense of personal welfare4 ,our best plan would be to save in reason1 not forgetting that life is here to enjoy as we go along4 ,then1 too1 we must have a credit rating among our fellow mortals1 just the same as a business person must have credit rating among financial institutions4 ,illustration3 ,squaring ,things ,with ,sister--,from ,the ,habit of ,happiness ,credit in business is worth more than money because it allows for expansion whereas money in the bank is only good as far as it goes4 ,many a merchant who bought and sold for cash all his life found when he came to enlarge his business that one thing was lacking--credit4 ,the fact that he had always paid cash threw a doubt upon his financial condition when he proposed to borrow4 ,he had neglected to build up a credit as he went along4 ,the business world only knew him as a man who paid cash and exacted cash4 ,taken at his fullest inventory he had scalped a living out of the world for which he had done but little to make happier or better4 ,one calamity might easily scuttle his prospects forever--for instance1 a fire1 or a bank failure4 ,and without credit it would be difficult to start over again4 ,by all means we must save something for the rainy day as we go along--and our savings can be made up of other things than actual cash in bank4 ,one item of our savings is the habit of keeping up our appearances4 ,living beyond our means does not incorporate the thought that1 in order to save every possible cent1 we should become slipshod and shabby4 ,carelessness in dress takes away from our rating as nothing else will for it has to do with first impressions of those with whom we come in contact4 ,gentility pays dividends of the highest order1 being1 as it is1 a badge of character4 ,neatness bespeaks character1 and it is just as cheap in dollars and cents to keep ourselves respectably clothed as to indulge in shoddy apparel under the delusion that we have saved money on the purchase price4 ,good clothing1 costing more at the start1 lasts long and looks well as long as it lasts4 ,shoddy apparel never is anything else but shoddy1 and well might it proclaim the shoddy man4 ,when we throw away our opportunity to present a genteel appearance1 just for the sake of the bank roll1 we doom ourselves to defeat in the pursuit of knowledge4 ,we cannot get all we want to know by the mere reading of books4 ,we must mingle with people2 we must interchange thought that we may crystallize what we know into practical knowledge so it can be made into tools to work with4 ,while a man of brains is welcome everywhere the matter of his appearance has a lot to do with how he is received and with whom he may fraternize4 ,isn't it a pity1 we hear people say1 that1 with all his brains1 he hasn't sense enough to make himself presentable8 ,but the worst phase of the situation is that the unkempt man sooner or later loses faith in himself and either ceases to hoard at the expense of his gentility or he gives up his opportunity to mingle with others and lapses into habits consistent with miserly thoughts4 ,the phrase a happy medium is well known and decidedly applicable to the subject of saving as we go along so that we may avert the sorrows which follow in the wake of living beyond our means4 ,it suggests a desirable middle course which permits us to adopt a sane policy1 rather than flying to an extreme4 ,it cannot be said that we are living beyond our means when by reason of our association with men of affairs we need to spend more money and thereby save less in preparing ourselves for the larger opportunities which will naturally follow4 ,young men often go through college on their uppers1 so to speak4 ,there is not a cent which they could honestly save as they went along without cheating themselves4 ,the point is that their situations in life force them to spend rather than to save money4 ,but in so doing the real saving was in the spending thereof4 ,they enlarged their knowledge and decreased their bank accounts for the time being4 ,what man parts with in an emergency is no license1 however1 for him to fall back into profligacy4 ,never should a man entirely lose the idea of putting something by4 ,the college boy in this case has simply invested his money in an education instead of a bank account4 ,once on the highroad of life with a plan of action well defined and a regular income the habit of putting money away should become a fixed procedure4 ,in no other way do we accumulate except by investment1 and investment means putting away money at interest or in some project which promises better returns4 ,if we were to interview a thousand men on the subject of saving and draw upon their experiences we would find that by investing money at interest we pursue the safest course1 far safer1 in fact1 than the seeking of outside investments that promise greater returns4 ,the latter invites the mind away from the regular avocation and educates it in time to take chances that are likely to turn into setbacks4 ,the mind1 instead of applying itself to the duty of making the most out of its regular employment1 allows its interest to become scattered over too broad a field4 ,it is not within the province of all men to become wealthy and1 after all1 wealth is not the only desideratum2 the happiest of mortals are found in the middle walks of life and not in the extremes4 ,the struggle should be to escape the life which saps our strength1 keeps our nerves on edge and drives us away from the green pastures4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,initiative ,,and ,,self-,,reliance ,the late ,elbert ,hubbard defined the man with initiative as the one who did the right thing at the right time without being told4 ,at this point it may be definitely stated that such a man would naturally be self-reliant4 ,such a man would not lean on his friends4 ,he would stand up with them4444 ,he would be found fighting his own battles without crying for help4 ,once a cub reporter was ordered by his city editor to go and interview a certain man4 ,after an awkward pause the youngster inquired3 ,where can ,i find him8 ,smiling scornfully into his eyes the city editor replied3 ,wherever he is4 ,this would seem to have been the start and finish of this youngster's newspaper career1 but quite the reverse was true4 ,he took the lesson well to heart1 thus starting himself on the road to self-reliance4 ,if he had repeated the offense it is likely he would have lost his job and also his nerve--thereby spoiling his chances for a successful career4 ,the fact that he did not1 but went on and made of himself a famous newspaper man1 proves that he lost no time in developing initiative and self-reliance4 ,there is no questioning the vast importance these two words mean to all of us4 ,many a man who did not grasp the significance of initiative became a leaner for the rest of his life4 ,many a man also missed his chances by doing just as he was told and nothing more4 ,his work ended there4 ,in due course it is inevitable that such a man should become part of the great army of discontented ne'er-do-wells who help to block the pavements in front of the loafing places4 ,hesitation1 vacillation and growing diffidence take the place of self-reliance4 ,he falls to the bottom like a stone4 ,and there he rests--a drag anchor in the mire4 ,his job gets the best of him because he lacks initiative4 ,once stranded he becomes an arrant coward--afraid of his own shadow4 ,illustration3 ,a ,scene from ,in ,again--,out ,again ,we must make our own opportunities otherwise we are children of circumstance4 ,what becomes of us is a matter of guesswork4 ,we have no hand in compelling our own future4 ,diffidence is a species of cowardice4 ,it causes a man's courage to ooze out at his toes faster than it comes into his heart4 ,such men often have big ideas1 but having no confidence in themselves they lack the power to compel confidence in others4 ,when they go into the presence of a man of personality they lose their self-confidence and all of the pent-up courage which drove them forward flies out at the window4 ,their weakness multiplies with each failure until finally the jig is up--their impotency is complete4 ,very largely those who have big ideas to present expect to be taken in on them and to be given an opportunity to succeed along with their scheme4 ,when a man becomes so unfortunate as to be unable through diffidence to explain himself1 his big idea goes into the waste basket and with it all of the hopes he has built upon it4 ,another nail has been driven into his casket of failures4 ,to such a man1 all pity1 but we will not allow him to escape until we have given him a pat on the back and pointed out the right road to travel4 ,we mustn't preach to him or undertake to force him to do anything1 but we will at least give him a helping hand and show him that there is a royal road to his goal4 ,this man needs first of all to build upon his physique4 ,perhaps he has a bad stomach1 and likewise bad teeth4 ,exercise--regular exercise1 should be the first thing on his program4 ,fresh air1 long walks1 deep breathing1 dumb bells1 boxing1 rowing1 skating in season--and wholesome companionship day by day4 ,in the long run boxing will become his most efficient exercise4 ,when a man can take a blow between the eyes and come back for more he has begun to fortify his own combativeness4 ,that is what he needs in life's battles--the nerve to come back for more after a slam on the jaw that would lay another man low4 ,and when it's all said and done and the exercise game has become a feature of his day's work1 he must settle down to good plain food and plenty of sleep4 ,there is nothing in all the world like these things combined for the upbuilding and upholding of health and courage4 ,our success is a matter of our courage4 ,a man who can steel himself to be knocked down and get up immediately afterwards and hand the other fellow a ripping punch has added to his own pep4 ,all courage is of the same cloth1 whether physical1 moral or spiritual4 ,to build upon one is to build up the others--the human system being constructed on such a basis that if one part is affected all the rest follow suit4 ,a man who isn't afraid of a physical combat will readily match his wits with his fellow man4 ,physical training is therefore all important to initiative and self-reliance4 ,our natural aim is to make for ourselves a true personality that does not know defeat4 ,when we come to an obstacle we must be able to hurdle it4 ,it is all very well to say that the longest way around is the shortest way across1 but it doesn't sound like initiative and self-reliance4 ,there is one thing about men who rely upon themselves--they make no excuses1 nor do they puff up over victory4 ,posing for applause is as distasteful to them as standing for abuse4 ,all they ask is a square deal and the confidence of their associates4 ,if they fall down on a proposition they get up and go at it again until success crowns their efforts4 ,such men have a way of turning defeat into victory4 ,how immeasurably inferior to such a spirit is the fellow who whines and moans at every evil twist of fortune4 ,he has no confidence in himself and nothing else to do except confide his woes to all who will listen to his cowardly story of defeat4 ,such men are least useful in the important work of this world4 ,they are the humdrum hirelings--the dumb followers4 ,the pitiful part of it all is that they could have succeeded had they but taken stock of themselves when the taking was good4 ,but while there is life there is hope--likewise a chance4 ,it is up to us4 ,one of the startling things about men of initiative is the way they come forward in times of trouble4 ,we don't have to point to ,andrew ,jackson in the ,war of #ahab4 ,we can look around us4 ,take1 for example1 a great fire4 ,haven't we often read of the brave fireman who sprang forward and by doing the right thing instantly1 saved a multitude of lives8 ,well1 such a man is possessed of self-reliance4 ,he is trained for the hazardous life he leads4 ,when the emergency arose he was ready in a jiffy to do the work expected of him4 ,it is safe to say that without training such men would have botched the job and instead of being praised to the skies would have sunk into oblivion under the heap of public scorn4 ,sometimes it happens that a man accidentally becomes a hero1 but it was no accident that he was able to become one4 ,he must have had initiative--he must have had self-reliance4 ,archibald ,c4 ,butt was such a man4 ,he went down on the ,titanic4 ,the last act of his life was to help women and children into the boats and calm their minds as they were lowered away4 ,astor was of the same metal--both sublimely oblivious to the terrible fate which hung over them4 ,here was initiative and self-reliance in its highest form4 ,and this sort of man is everywhere4 ,the car in which we ride to work every morning contains one or more of them4 ,let something happen and we will see them spring forward with a line of action already formed4 ,at their word of command we automatically obey--and then when the worst is over a kindly voice reassures us and we go on our way rejoicing4 ,what would the world do without these men8 ,history is filled with the tales of heroes and heroines4 ,and for every ,joan of ,arc there are thousands upon thousands who have done heroic things without a word of praise4 ,moreover1 the really brave soul declines all ovation4 ,no real hero claims reward4 ,to have done the right thing at the right time is reward in itself4 ,this quality of self-strength and self-dependence is not confined to any race of people1 but in nations where personal liberty survives initiative is at its best4 ,somehow1 whenever the emergency1 the man comes forth to do and dare4 ,the great world war1 still raging as these lines are penned1 has furnished untold thousands of examples of courageous action---enough to last until the end of human affairs1 but they will go on and on in multiplied form1 each day's score superseding those of the day before4 ,it would be bully to know that we are doing our share in safeguarding the supply of ,initiative and ,self-reliance needed in this world4 ,we must keep moving4 ,the fellow who gets in a rut through lack of initiative finds that with advancing years it becomes harder and harder to get out of it1 so that the best plan is to make the move now while there is time to succeed4 ,when we come to think of it1 there are plenty of positions in the world for the right man1 and if we have something to say for ourselves that lends credit to our ability we stand a chance for the job4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,failure ,,to ,,seize ,,opportunities ,there is an old saying to the effect that opportunity knocks but once at our door--and that is all fol de rol4 ,opportunity knocks at some people's doors nearly every day of their lives and is given a royal welcome4 ,that's what ,opportunity likes--appreciation4 ,it goes often to the home where the latchstring hangs on the outside4 ,it's like a sign reading ,hot coffee at all hours1 day or night--very inviting4 ,very much different1 however1 from the abode whose windows shed no light and whose door is barred from within4 ,nobody ,home6 that's the sign for this door4 ,mister ,numbskull lives here and most of the time he sleeps4 ,when anyone knocks on his door he pulls the covers up over his head to shut out the noise4 ,he's down on his luck anyhow1 therefore it would be a waste of good shoe leather for him to be up and puttering around4 ,if ,opportunity ever knocked at his door he could say in all truth that he never heard it4 ,he had often heard of ,opportunity being in the neighborhood1 but one thing is certain--someone else had invariably seen him first4 ,he felt sure he would know ,opportunity if ever he met him face to face1 and if ever he did he would have it out with him then and there4 ,meanwhile--dadgast the luck6--always the fates pursued him with some sort of hoodoo4 ,and his neighbors--well1 some of them had sense enough to keep their distance and let him alone4 ,others1 however1 had not been considerate of the fact that a ,jinx was on his trail1 and were given to making sarcastic remarks concerning him4 ,and thus it was that ,mister ,numbskull spent his days1 dodging his neighbors1 sidestepping the highways and obscuring himself from the very individual he wanted so much to behold--,opportunity4 ,at last there came a time when1 in despair1 and in disrepute1 he took to the woods and is yet to be heard from4 ,opportunity still visits the neighborhood1 but the path leading to ,mister ,numbskull's home is grown up in weeds4 ,the fact is that our real opportunity knocks from within4 ,through experience1 built upon consecutively by continuous effort1 our vision expands and pounds its way out through the portals of our brain4 ,we see the thing that we ought to do and we go to it6 ,to the man who didn't see it the opportunity did not exist4 ,what we don't know doesn't hurt us any--so runs the old saw4 ,and here's a case where we who didn't see1 were hurt1 but we didn't know it4 ,for those of us who have vision there are all sorts of opportunities1 but many of them are not good for us4 ,the ones we make for ourselves are the healthy ones1 and generally they are the best for us4 ,our own baby is the one we will take the greatest pride in and enjoy the most4 ,then we become masters of our own destiny in a sense and can be more independent through having no senior partners in the enterprise4 ,often our dreams bring forth a need for many kinds of special knowledge and for these we go into the open market offering opportunity to many others in return for their assistance4 ,thus we find that everything we do is in relation to other things and dependent in part on other people4 ,this should make us careful and a wee bit wary4 ,opportunities are widely divergent in nature--through a stroke of hard luck one might have difficulty in finding employment4 ,the first opportunity might lead to a job in a bar-room1 but having fortified ourselves by developing our highest attributes such as honesty1 integrity1 cleanliness of body and mind--we are able to somehow or other pinch along until something better shows itself4 ,first-class principles are not to be thrown away upon the first provocation1 therefore1 in order to take away the temptation1 we might as well figure out that a great many employments in the world do not represent real opportunities and therefore should not be considered4 ,failure to seize such so-called opportunities becomes a virtue in the same sense that the failure to seize a decent opportunity becomes a shame4 ,often opportunity comes through meeting men of affairs who have power and wealth at their command4 ,these are usually in connection with enterprises of the greater magnitude4 ,those of us who have the power to control our destinies to a reasonable degree should not stand back in our support of these4 ,if we have carefully built up our initiative1 self-reliance1 preparedness in the way of efficiency1 good health and the will to do1 there is no reason why we should not aspire to take a hand in anything in which we are confident we can succeed4 ,among the men who control the big affairs of the business world we find a true democracy--they want the man4 ,the fact that he appears before them neatly attired1 bright of eye and ready of wit will surely count in his favor4 ,in other words1 we should live up to the opportunity in whatever form it presents itself after we have accepted its responsibilities4 ,to make this perfectly plain we must live up to the job6 ,if we are to be superintendent of a coal mine underneath the ground we will put on our overalls and jumpers1 but if we are to be manager of a grand opera house we will appear in our dress suits4 ,the thought is obvious1 but as we journey along we find many of our fellow mortals neglecting to live in line with what they are doing4 ,we mention this fact hopeful that we will not fail to seize our opportunities by setting up obstacles whereby we may become persona non grata through lack of discernment4 ,opportunity is within ourselves and when we have seized our rightful share1 then we may look with pride upon our endeavor and proceed to laugh and live6 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,assuming ,,responsibilities ,those who fear to assume responsibility necessarily take orders from others4 ,the punishment fits the crime perfectly and being self-inflicted there is no injustice4 ,it is true that many men possessed of great brain power play second fiddle to shallow-minded men of inferior wisdom from sheer lack of forcefulness on their own part4 ,they lack the full quality of leadership while possessing all save one essential--courage4 ,fear abides in their hearts and spreads itself as a mantle of gloom over their super-sensitive souls until finally they struggle no more4 ,henceforth they are doomed and become the subject of apology on the part of friends and relations4 ,he's all right1 they say1 but he suffers from over-refinement4 ,he lacks something--we cannot make out just what4 ,it is altogether too bad for he is such a superior man among his social equals4 ,we must take our hats off to those who have the goodness of heart to make allowance for our shortcomings4 ,a disinterested listener1 however1 is seldom taken into camp by such well intended argument4 ,he knows that friend husband or friend brother as the case may be1 needs some sort of swift kick that will stir his combativeness into action--that will cause him to turn upon his mental inferior and have it out with him then and there--once and for all4 ,as a courage builder fighting for justice is not to be sneezed at4 ,courage can be built up just the same as any other soul quality4 ,it is all a matter of early training as to which we start out with--courage or fear4 ,unthinking parents have a lot to do with the propagation of fear in the hearts of children4 ,a neglectful father plus a fear-stricken mother constitute the most logical forces which tend toward the overdevelopment of fear in a child4 ,once the seed is thoroughly implanted the growth can be depended upon4 ,how to get rid of it later is not so easy to figure out4 ,had the child been born with a clubfoot these same parents would have spent their last dollar in an effort to straighten it into natural condition4 ,they could see the unshapely foot day by day with their own eyes--and so could their neighbors4 ,but the fear-warped little brain struggling for courage with which to combat its weakness needs must battle alone with chances largely against it4 ,the mere thought of what is in store for this little one as it stumbles along from one period to another1 fearful of this1 and fearful of that1 is disconcerting to say the least4 ,we can almost trace our friend ,second ,fiddle directly back to such a childhood4 ,we can almost hear his fond mother shout1 ,keep away from the brook1 darling1 you might get your feet wet and catch your death of a cold4 ,another well known and highly respected admonition belonging to childhood's hour is1 ,come in1 deary1 it's getting dark--,bogie man will get you if you don't watch out4 ,illustration3 ,bungalowing in ,california ,some years later when little son runs breathless into the home portal after being chased from school by some turrible boys we can hear this same little mother as she storms about the place and tells what papa must do about the matter4 ,according to her notion1 if teachers could not control the criminal element among their pupils then it was high time for the police to step in4 ,never a word about little son taking his own part6 ,father listens in silence and half formulates the notion of going direct to the parents and laying down the law1 while little son listens in fear and trembling in anticipation of what is coming to him if father carries out his threat4 ,tall oaks from little acorns grow--if the twig is not bent in the sprouting4 ,little son is bound to grow into manhood some day and when he arrives he must have one particular attribute--courage4 ,somehow he will get along if he has that4 ,he may also wear a clubfoot or a hunch back1 but with courage as a running mate he will assume his responsibilities and become a force in the world4 ,once a great orator sat upon a rostrum listening to a speech by a man who cautioned his countrymen against taking steps to defend the national honor4 ,we'll outlive the taunts of those who would drag us into war6 he bellowed forth4 ,whereupon the orator jumped to his feet and with clarion voice shouted1 ,god hates a coward6 and then sat down again4 ,dazed at first the vast throng sat stupefied--but only for a moment4 ,then as one man they jumped to their feet and by reason of prolonged cheering gave national impulse to a thought which has since been sermonized from thousands of pulpits4 ,the orator had simply paraphrased and put pep into the old ,biblical slogan3 ,the ,lord helps those who help themselves4 ,the effect was electrical4 ,the whole country rallied to the idea with the result that we saved ourselves from war by showing the solid front of being ready and willing to defend ourselves4 ,everything that tends to build up courage is an asset in life4 ,the more we have of it the further we go and the more interesting our lives become4 ,for the man of the lion heart all things unfold and unto him the timid must bring their offerings4 ,no one of ordinary gumption consults the human flivver4 ,advice from him would be unavailing4 ,his point of view would be inadequate--his ability to advise1 impotent4 ,we go to the man who does things and say to him3 ,here is my little idea--do you want to help me put it over8 ,if it is good1 he does4 ,if not1 his experience tells him so1 for men of courage are naturally possessed of large vision4 ,their lack of fear has given them right-of-way over vast areas of the world of action4 ,they fail only as their lights go out forever4 ,with courage we order our own lives and take orders only from those of superior wisdom4 ,this we can never afford not to do4 ,the courageous man of largest vision commands by his power to reason logically and therefore assumes the air of comradeship rather than overseer or boss4 ,only through lack of moral and physical courage are we to become the slaves of these4 ,courage--the child of ,hope--the despair of ,failure4 ,born of ,good ,cheer it links its fate with the higher attributes and tramples under foot the fears which spring up before it4 ,when sown early into the hearts of the young its companionship becomes unerring in its efficiency for good throughout their lives4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,wedlock ,,in ,,time ,it is a happy idea to marry while we are young--a fine thing--a good thing--a pleasant duty indeed to marry the woman of our choice at a time of life when both are at an age when adjustment is natural and lasting loyalties are implanted in our hearts and minds for all time4 ,we make a sad mistake when we postpone so important a step just for the sake of becoming a rich man first so that our bride-to-be may step into luxurious quarters and never have to lift her dainty hands except to sip from the glass of nectar we have set before her4 ,the real facts compiled by the statistical ,system ,sams are against this idea4 ,the balance comes up in red ink on the wrong side of the ledger4 ,according to these gentlemen the average mortal is likely to be very fat and much over forty before he can make an offering according to his first generous impulses and the chances are he will never reach the goal in this life4 ,by the time he might be financially ready there is a hard glint in his eye1 and he will be looking for the mote in the eye of his lady love4 ,the waiting game is a hard one and it makes us worldly4 ,after the lapse of years what once seemed a rose might appear to be more of a hollyhock4 ,naturally we never blame ourselves for the changes4 ,had we obeyed the grand impulse in the hour of our youth we might have kept the garden full of roses and the hollyhocks would never have sprouted there4 ,then the home nest would have tinged our sensibilities with its loveliness and our affections would have been nailed down hard and fast forever and a day4 ,among the many baffling problems which the young man faces1 and for that matter1 any man1 is marriage4 ,more thought1 more energy and more time is taken up over this one decisive step than over any other4 ,the reasons are obvious4 ,it involves for life the happiness of the contracting parties--not only in a direct and personal way1 but also in a general sense4 ,the man's business success largely depends upon the helpmate he has in his home4 ,his career is at her mercy4 ,for example1 if the wife should turn out to be unsympathetic1 and uninterested in his ambitions1 this fact might warp his prospects by causing him to lose heart in facing the large problems awaiting him along the road of opportunity4 ,however1 if she is of a cheerful1 energetic disposition and willing to do all that she can to help him over the rough spots as they travel along together he will be inspired into action and will do his level best4 ,he will be conscious as he goes about his work that there is one person above all upon whom he can depend--his wife4 ,marriage is a serious business and usually we concede that point in the beginning4 ,however1 this is not aimed as a blow at life's greatest romance 444 it is merely the recognition of an elemental fact4444 ,marriage must have its practical side4 ,to become successful in the highest degree man and wife must establish a comradeship4 ,it is not the part of wisdom that either should rule the other1 but rather that each should have the interest of the other at heart and should strive to be helpful one unto the other4 ,two men can go through life the best of friends1 each holding the respect and confidence of the other4 ,so can two women4 ,then1 why not a man and wife8 ,needless to say they can1 and do4 ,such partnerships are sure of success4 ,it is only through lack of comradeship that love flies out of the window--and lights on a sea-going aeroplane4 ,the marriage state is a long contract--it should not be stumbled into by man or woman4 ,nor should we become cowardly to the point of backing out of it altogether4 ,love is blind only to the blind4 ,either party to the tie that binds has a chance to know in advance whether the venture is safe and sane4 ,all a man has to consider after he knows his own heart is that the woman of his choice is sensible1 considerate and healthy4 ,other things being equal he can take the leap without hesitancy4 ,we shouldn't borrow trouble4 ,illustration3 ,demonstrating the ,monk and the ,hand-,organ to a ,body of ,psychologists ,of course there are those who should never marry4 ,they do1 however1 and when they do they loan themselves to the mockery of the marriage state4 ,there is no time to dwell on this thought for it is just something that goes on happening anyway and has no bearing upon the advisability of wedlock in time between people of horse sense4 ,given a good wife1 after his own heart1 no manly man has a righteous kick coming against the fates4 ,under such circumstances if things go wrong he will find the fault within himself4 ,of course we should1 to the fullest possible extent1 be prepared for marriage before assuming its responsibilities4 ,we should at least have a ticket before embarking--and it is the real man's duty to provide the ticket4 ,since it is to be a long voyage a round trip isn't necessary4 ,in other words1 a man needn't be rich when he marries--but he should not be broke1 either4 ,lack of funds a few days after the honeymoon is too hard a test for matrimony to bear nobly4 ,it is too much like inviting a catastrophe through lack of good1 hard sense to begin with4 ,it shows poor generalship at the very start--and there is the liability of causing great distress and hardship to a tender-hearted little woman4 ,it would be a sad blow to her to find that the man of her choice was1 after all1 just an ordinary fellow--a man without foresight4 ,there are four seasons in married life--spring1 summer1 fall and winter1 and we are going to need a comrade as we go through each of them4 ,and the one we want is the one we start with--the gentle partner in all our joys and sorrows4 ,it is she who will stand back of us when all others fail4 ,when the children come along to bless our days and inspire us to greater efforts we are glad to look into their happy1 smiling faces and find that they resemble their mother--their soft cheeks are like hers1 their hands1 their dainty ways1 their caresses4 ,and when mama looks into those same bright eyes they make her think of their daddy4 ,the fond affection bestowed upon the children by both parents is but another mode of expressing their regard for each other4 ,springtime days1 these6 ,when little tots climb up and entwine their arms about our necks4 ,if this were married life's only compensation it would not prove in vain--for when the babies enter the home the tie that binds becomes hard and fast--if the man is a manly man4 ,to become the father of a bright-eyed babe is an experience of the highest importance to a young man getting started4 ,it reinforces his courage1 doubles up his ambitions and puts him on his metal4 ,he has a new responsibility and it adds to his strength of character to assume it in all its phases4 ,another thing it brings comfort and joy to the mother during the long days while her man is out in the fray4 ,it drives ennui out of the household throughout our springtime days4 ,and when summer comes along new hopes dawn within us4 ,springtime had found us up and doing and when it merged into the new season we found our aspirations even stronger than before4 ,children must be educated and their futures prepared in advance as far as may be4 ,they must not go into the world without tools to work with4 ,meanwhile the household teems with plans and becomes a veritable dreamland of youthful fervor4 ,we find that having helped our children into attractive personalities they have become magnets with which to draw about us their comrades4 ,thus we hold on to our youth by virtue of our surroundings--creatures of our thoughtfulness concerning wedlock in time4 ,that the fall season is coming has no terrors for us4 ,there will be the weddings and plannings for new homes close by--if we have our say4 ,and in due course1 the grandchildren will come who will favor grandpa and grandma and once again youth knocks at our door4 ,there will be no dread winter days for us for we have been forehanded--we have a new crew on board to chase away the cares of old age and infirmities4 ,try how we will there is no way to forestall the operation of the law of compensation4 ,we reap as we sow4 ,the world will be good to those who compel its respect by becoming the right sort of citizens4 ,wedlock in time--that's the answer6 ,,chapter ,,xix ,,laugh ,,and ,,live ,again ,i find it expedient to resort to the personal pronoun and therefore this final chapter is to be devoted to you and me4 ,there are facts you may want to know for sure and one of them is whether or not ,i live up to my own prescription4 ,i do--and it's easy6 ,i have kept myself happy and well through keeping my physical department in first class order4 ,if that had been left to take care of itself ,i would surely have fallen by the wayside in other departments4 ,once we sit down in security the world seems to hand us things we do not need4 ,fresh air is my intoxicant--and it keeps me in high spirits4 ,my system doesn't crave artificial stimulation because my daily exercise quickens the blood sufficiently4 ,then1 too1 ,i manage to keep busy4 ,that's the real elixir--activity6 ,not always physical activity1 either1 for ,i must read good books in order to exercise my mind in other channels than just my daily routine--and add to my store of knowledge as well4 ,then there is my inner-self which must have attention now and then4 ,for this a little solitude is helpful4 ,we have only to sense the phenomena surrounding us to know that we must have a working faith--something practical to live by1 which automatically keeps us on our course4 ,the mystery of life somehow loses its density if we retain our spark of hope4 ,all of my life since childhood ,i have held ,shakespeare in constant companionship4 ,aside from the ,bible--which is entirely apart from all other books--,shakespeare has no equal4 ,my father1 partly from his love for the great poet1 and partly for the purpose of aiding me to memorize accurately1 taught me to recite ,shakespeare before ,i was old enough to know the meaning of the words4 ,i remembered them1 however1 and in later years ,i grew to know their full significance4 ,then ,i became an ardent follower of the ,master ,philosopher1 than whom no greater interpreter of human emotions ever lived4 ,in the matter of sage advice there has never been his equal4 ,in ,hamlet we find the wonderful words of admonition from ,polonius in his farewell speech to his son ,laertes--as good today as four hundred years ago1 and they will continue to be so until the end of time4 ,it matters not how familiar we may be with these lines it is no waste of time to read them over again once in awhile4 ,they seem to fit the practical side of life perfectly4 ,if we have any complaint by reason of their brusqueness we have only to temper our interpretation according to our own sense of justice4 ,in other words if we wanted to loan a ten-spot now and then we would just go ahead and do it--meanwhile1 to save you the trouble of looking up these lines1 here they are in ,laugh and ,live-- ,and these few precepts in thy memory ,see thou charcter--,give thy thoughts no tongue1 ,nor any unproportioned thought his act4 ,be thou familiar1 but by no means vulgar4 ,the friends thou hast1 and their adoption tried1 ,grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel2 ,but do not dull thy palm with entertainment ,of each new-hatch'd1 unfledged comrade4 ,beware ,of entrance to a quarrel3 but1 being in1 ,bear't that the opposed may beware of thee4 ,give every man thine ear1 but few thy voice3 ,take each man's censure1 but reserve thy judgment4 ,costly thy habit as thy purse can buy1 ,but not express'd in fancy2 rich1 not gaudy3 ,for the apparel oft proclaims the man2 ,and they in ,france of the best rank and station ,are of a most select and generous sheaf in that4 ,neither a borrower nor a lender be2 ,for loan oft loses both itself and friend1 ,and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry1 ,this above all--to thine ownself be true2 ,and it must follow1 as the night the day1 ,thou canst not then be false to any man4 ,illustration3 ,wedlock in ,time--,the ,fairbanks' ,family ,the time has come to close this little book4 ,it has been a great pleasure to write it and a greater pleasure to hope that it will be received in the same spirit it has been written4 ,these are busy days for all of us4 ,we go in a gallop most of the time1 but there comes the quiet hour when we must sit still and take stock4 ,i know this from the letters that come to me asking my opinion on all sorts of subjects4 ,people believe ,i am happy because my laughing pictures seem to denote this fact--and it is a fact6 ,in the foregoing chapters ,i have told why4 ,if1 in the telling ,i shall have been instrumental in adding to the world's store of happiness ,i shall ever thank my lucky stars4 ,very ,sincerely ,douglas ,fairbanks ,a ,,close-,,up ,,of ,,douglas ,,fairbanks by ,george ,creel ,reprinted from ,everybody's ,magazine by ,permission of ,the ,ridgway ,company1 ,new ,york4 ,,chapter ,,xx ,a ,,close-,,up ,,of ,,douglas ,,fairbanks ,young ,mr4 ,douglas ,fairbanks1 star alike in both the speakies and the movies1 is well worth a story4 ,he is what every ,american might be1 ought to be1 and frequently is not4 ,more than any other that comes to mind1 he is possessed of the indomitable optimism that gives purpose1 punch1 and color to any life1 no matter what the odds4 ,he holds the world's record for the standing broad grin4 ,there isn't a minute of the day that fails to find him glad that he's alive4 ,nobody ever saw him with a grouch1 or suffering from an attack of the blues4 ,nobody ever heard him mention hard luck in connection with one of his failures4 ,the worse the breaks of the game1 the gloomier the outlook1 the wider his grin4 ,he has made cheerfulness a habit1 and it has paid him in courage1 in bubbling energy1 and buoyant resolve4 ,we are a young nation and a great nation4 ,judging from the promise of the morning1 there is nothing that may not be asked of ,america's noon4 ,a land of abundance1 with not an evil that may not be banished1 and yet there is more whining in it than in any other country on the face of the globe4 ,if we are to die1 ,nibbled to ,death by ,ducks may well be put on the tombstone4 ,little things are permitted to bring about paroxysms of peevishness4 ,even our pleasures have come to be taken sadly4 ,we are irritable at picnics1 snarly at clambakes1 and bored to death at dinners4 ,the ,government ought to hire ,douglas ,fairbanks1 and send him over the country as an agent of the ,bureau of ,grins4 ,have him start work in ,boston1 and then rush him by special train to ,philadelphia4 ,if the wealth of the ,united ,states increased #da1jjj1jjj1jjj during the last three peevish1 whining years1 think what would happen if we learned the art of joyousness and gained the strength that comes from good humor and optimism6 ,doug ,fairbanks--now that he is in the movies we don't have to be formal--is the living1 breathing proof of the value of a grin4 ,his rise from obscurity to fame1 from poverty to wealth1 has no larger foundation than his ever-ready willingness to let the whole world see every tooth in his head4 ,good looks8 ,artistry8 ,bosh6 ,the ,fairbanks features were evidently picked out by a utilitarian mother who preferred use to ornament2 and as for his acting1 critics of the drama1 imbued with the traditions of ,booth and ,barrett1 have been known to sob like children after witnessing a ,fairbanks performance4 ,it is the joyousness of the man that gets him over4 ,it's the #ajj per cent interest that he takes in everything he goes at that lies at the back of his success4 ,he does nothing by halves1 is never indifferent1 never lackadaisical4 ,at various stages in his brief career he has been a ,shakespearean actor1 ,wall ,street clerk1 hay steward on a cattle-boat1 vagabond1 and business man1 knowing poverty1 hunger1 and discomfort at times1 but never1 never losing the grin4 ,things began to move for him when he left a ,denver high school back in #aijj for the purpose of entering college4 ,as he says1 ,a man can't be too careful about college4 ,he started for ,princeton1 but met a youth on the train who was going to ,harvard4 ,he took a special course at ,cambridge--just what it was he can't remember--but at the end of the year it was hinted to him that circus life was more suited to his talents1 particularly one with three rings4 ,a friend1 however1 suggested the theatre1 and gave him a card to ,frederick ,warde1 the tragedian4 ,mr4 ,warde fell for the ,fairbanks grin1 and as a first part assigned him the role of ,franois1 the lackey1 in ,richelieu4 ,what he lacked in experience he made up for in activity and unflagging merriment4 ,it got to be so that ,warde was almost afraid to touch the bell1 for he never knew whether the amazing ,franois would enter through the door or come down from the ceiling4 ,after the company had done its worst to ,richelieu1 it changed to ,shakespearean repertoire1 and for one year young ,fairbanks engaged in what ,mr4 ,warde was pleased to term a catch-as-catch-can bout with the immortal ,bard4 ,when friends of ,shakespeare finally protested in the name of humanity1 the strenuous ,douglas accepted an engagement with ,herbert ,kelcey and ,effie ,shannon in ,her ,lord and ,master4 ,five months went by before the two stars broke under the strain1 and by that time news had come to ,mr4 ,fairbanks that ,wall ,street was ,easy ,money's other name4 ,armed with his grin1 he marched into the office of ,de ,coppet ,doremus1 and when the manager came out of his trance ,shakespeare's worst enemy was holding down the job of order man4 ,the name ,coppet appealed to me1 he explains4 ,he is still remembered in that office1 fondly but fearfully4 ,he did his work well enough2 in fact1 there are those who insist that he invented scientific management4 ,how about that8 ,i asked him1 for it puzzled me4 ,well1 you see1 it was this way3 ,for five days in a week ,i would say1 ',quite so' to my assistant1 no matter what he suggested4 ,on ,saturday ,i would dash into the manager's office1 wag my head1 knit my brow1 and exclaim1 ',what we need around here is efficiency4' ,and once ,i urged the purchase of a time-clock4 ,the way he filled his spare time was what bothered4 ,what with his tumbling tricks1 boxing1 wrestling1 leap-frog over chairs1 and other small gaieties1 he mussed up routine to a certain extent4 ,but he was not discharged4 ,at a point where the firm was just one jump ahead of nervous prostration1 along came ,jack ,beardsley and ,little ,owen1 two husky football players with a desire to see life without the safety clutch4 ,the three approached the officials of a cattle-steamship1 and by persistent claims to the effect that they had a way with dumb animals1 got jobs as hay stewards4 ,we found the cows very nice1 comments ,mr4 ,fairbanks4 ,no one can get me to say a word against them4 ,but those stokers6 ,and those other stable-maids6 ,pow6 ,we had to fight 'em from one end of the voyage to the other1 and it got so that ,i bit myself in my sleep4 ,the three of us got eight shillings apiece when we landed at ,liverpool1 and tickets back1 but there were several little things about ,europe that bothered us1 and we thought we'd see what the trouble was4 ,they hoboed it through ,england1 ,france1 and ,belgium1 working at any old job until they gathered money enough to move along1 whether it was carrying water to ,english navvies or unloading paving-blocks from a ,seine boat4 ,after three joyous months1 they felt the call of the cattle1 and came home on another steamer4 ,back on his native heath1 young ,fairbanks took a shot from the hip at law1 but missed4 ,then he got a job in a machine-manufacturing plant1 but one day he found that his carelessness had permitted fifty dollars to accumulate1 and he breezed down to ,cuba and ,yucatan to see what openings there were for capital4 ,back from that tramping trip1 he figured that since he had not annoyed the stage for some time it certainly owed him something4 ,his return to the drama took place in ,the ,rose of ,plymouth ,town1 a play in which ,miss ,minnie ,dupree was the star4 ,meeting ,miss ,dupree1 ,i asked her what sort of an actor ,fairbanks was in those days4 ,well1 she said judiciously1 ,i think that he was about the nicest case of ,st4 ,vitus' dance that ever came under my notice4 ,william ,a4 ,brady got him next4 ,mr4 ,brady is quite a dynamo himself1 and there was also a time in his life when he managed ,james ,j4 ,corbett4 ,the two fell into each other's arms with a cry of joy1 and for seven years they touched off dramatic explosions that strewed fat actors all over the landscape and tore miles of scenery into ribbons4 ,some boy6 was ,mr4 ,brady's tribute4 ,put him in a death scene1 and he'd find a way to break the furniture4 ,there was never a part that ,doug ,fairbanks lay down on4 ,to every role he brought joy and interest and enthusiasm1 and the night came inevitably that saw his name in electric letters4 ,it is not claimed that his work as a star elevated the drama1 but it may safely be claimed that he never appeared in any play that was not wholesome1 stimulating1 and helpful4 ,nothing was more natural than that the movies should seek such an actor1 and they set the trap with attractive bait4 ,come over to us1 they said1 and we'll let you do anything you want4 ,outside of poison gas and actual murder1 the sky's the limit4 ,without even waiting to kick off his shoes1 ,doug ,fairbanks made a dive4 ,the movie magnates got what they wanted1 and ,fairbanks got what he wanted4 ,for the first time in his life he was able to let go with all the force of his dynamic individuality1 and he took full advantage of the opportunity4 ,in ,the ,lamb1 his first adventure before the camera1 he let a rattlesnake crawl over him1 tackled a mountain lion1 jiu-jitsued a bunch of ,yaqui ,indians until they bellowed1 and operated a machine-gun4 ,in ,his ,picture in the ,papers1 he was called upon to run an automobile over a cliff1 engage in a grueling six-round go with a professional pugilist1 jump off an ,atlantic liner and swim to the distant shore1 mix it up in a furious battle royal with a half dozen husky gunmen1 leap twice from swiftly moving trains1 and also to resist arrest by a squad of ,jess ,willards dressed up in police uniforms4 ,the ,half-,breed carried him out to ,california1 and1 among other things1 threw him into the heart of a forest fire that had been carefully kindled in the redwood groves of ,calaveras ,county4 ,amid a rain of burning pine tufts1 and with great branches falling to the ground all around him1 ,douggie was required to dash in and save the gallant sheriff from turning into a cinder4 ,hair and eyelashes grew out again1 however1 his blisters healed1 and in a few days he was as good as new4 ,the ,habit of ,happiness was rich in stunts that would have made even ,battling ,nelson turn to tatting with a sigh of relief4 ,five gangsters1 sicked on to their work by the villain1 waylaid our hero on the stairs1 and in the rough-and-tumble that followed1 it was his duty to beat each and every one of them into a state of coma4 ,he performed his task so conscientiously that his hands were swollen for a week1 not to mention his eyes and nose4 ,as for the five extra men who posed as the gangsters1 all came to the conclusion that dock-walloping was far less strenuous than art1 and went back to their former jobs4 ,the ,good ,bad ,man was a ,western picture that contained a thrill to every foot of film4 ,our hero galloped over mountains1 jumping from crag to crag1 held up an express train single-handed in order to capture the conductor's ticket-punch1 grappled with gigantic desperadoes every few minutes1 shot up a saloon1 and was dragged around for quite a while at the end of a lynching party's rope4 ,reggie ,mixes ,in was one joyous round of assault and battery from beginning to end4 ,happening to fall in love with a dancer in a ,bowery cabaret1 ,reggie puts family and fortune behind him and takes a job as bouncer so as to be near his lady-love4 ,aside from his regular duties1 he is required to work overtime on account of the hatred of a gang-leader who also loves the girl4 ,five scoundrels jump ,reggie1 and1 after manhandling four1 he drops from a second-story window to the neck of the fifth1 and chokes him with hands and legs4 ,after which he carries the senseless wretch down the street1 and gaily flicks him1 as it were1 through a window at the villain's feet4 ,as a tasty little finish1 ,reggie and his rival lock themselves in an empty room1 and engage in a contest governed by packing-house rules4 ,three days after the combat1 by the way1 the company heads were pleased to announce that both men were out of danger unless blood-poisoning set in4 ,illustration3 ,here's ,hoping6 7,white ,studio7 ,the ,mystery of the ,leaping ,fish was what is known as a water picture1 and ,doug1 as a comedy detective1 was compelled to make a human submarine of himself1 not to mention several duels in the dark with ,japanese thugs and opium smugglers4 ,another day of it1 he grinned1 and ,i'd have grown fins4 ,manhattan ,madness was really nothing more than ,st4 ,vitus's dance set to ragtime4 ,our hero climbed up eaves-pipes1 plunged through trap-doors down into dungeons1 jumped from the roof of a house into a tree1 kicked his way in and out of secret closets1 and engaged in hair-raising combats with desperate villains every few minutes4 ,it is not only the case that ,doug ,fairbanks made good with the movie fans4 ,what is more to the point1 he made good with the bunch itself4 ,in nine cases out of ten1 the legitimate star1 going over into pictures1 evades and avoids the rough stuff4 ,to some humble1 hardy double is assigned the actual work of falling off the cliff1 riding at full speed across granite hedges1 taking a good hard punch in the nose1 or plunging from the top of the burning building4 ,many an honest cowpuncher1 taking his girl to the show with him to let her see what a daredevil he is1 has died the death upon discovering that he was merely doubling for some cow-eyed hero who lacked the nerve to do the stunt himself4 ,doug ,fairbanks is one of the few movie heroes who have never had a double4 ,he asks no man to do that which he is afraid to do himself4 ,no fall is too hard for him1 no fight too furious1 no ride too dangerous4 ,there is not a single one of his pictures in which he hasn't taken a chance of breaking his neck or his bones2 but1 as one bronco-buster observed1 ,he jes' licks his lips an' asks for more4 ,to be sure1 few actors have brought such super-physical equipment to the strenuous work of the movies4 ,fairbanks1 in addition to being blessed with a strong1 lithe body1 has developed it by expert devotion to every form of athletic sport4 ,he swims well1 is a crack boxer1 a good polo player1 a splendid wrestler1 a skilful acrobat1 a fast runner1 and an absolutely fearless rider4 ,there is never a picture during the progress of which he does not interpolate some sudden bit of business as the result of his quick wit and dynamic enthusiasm4 ,in one play1 for instance1 he was supposed to enter a house at sight of his sweetheart beckoning to him from an upper window4 ,as he passed up the steps1 however1 his roving eye caught sight of the porch railing1 a window-ledge1 and a balcony1 and in a flash he was scaling the facade of the house like any cat4 ,in another play he was trapped on the roof of a country home4 ,suddenly ,fairbanks1 disregarding the plan of retreat indicated by the author1 gave a wild leap into a near-by maple1 managed to catch a bough1 and proceeded to the ground in a series of convulsive falls that gave the director heart-failure4 ,during ,the ,half-,breed picture1 some of the action took place about a fallen redwood that had its great roots fully twenty feet into the air4 ,climb up on top of those roots1 ,doug1 yelled the director4 ,instead of that1 ,douggie went up to a young sapling that grew at the base of the fallen tree4 ,bending it down to the ground1 as an archer bends his bow1 he gave a sudden spring1 and let the tough birch catapult him to the highest root4 ,what do you want me to do now8 he grinned4 ,come back the same way1 grinned the director4 ,most legitimate actors--the valuation is their own--find the movies rather dull4 ,time hangs very heavily upon their hands4 ,as one remarked to me in tones that were thick with a divine despair3 ,there's absolutely nothing for a chap to do4 ,in lots of the ,god-forsaken holes they drag you to1 there isn't even a hotel4 ,no companionship1 no diversion of any kind1 and oftentimes no bathtubs4 ,douglas ,fairbanks enters no such complaint4 ,he draws upon the energy and interest that ought to be in every human being1 and when entertainment is not in sight1 he goes after it4 ,when they were making ,the ,half-,breed pictures in the ,carquinez woods of ,northern ,california1 he was never seen around the camp except when actually needed by the camera man4 ,upon his return from these absences1 it was noticed that his hands were usually bleeding1 and his clothing stained and torn4 ,what in the name of mischief have you been doing now8 the director demanded on a day when ,fairbanks's wardrobe was almost a total loss4 ,trappin'1 chirped the star4 ,beating about the woods1 ,bret ,harte in hand1 he had managed to discover an old woodsman who still held to the ancient industries of his youth4 ,the trapper's specialty was bob cats1 and the bleeding hands and torn clothes came from ,doug's earnest efforts to handle the varmints just as his venerable preceptor handled them4 ,out of the experience1 at least1 he brought an intimate knowledge of field1 forest1 and stream1 for over the fire and in their walks he had pumped the old man dry4 ,in the same way he made ,the ,good ,bad ,man hand him over everything of value that frontier life contained4 ,the picture was taken out in the ,mohave desert2 for the making of it the director had scoured the ,west for riders and ropers and cowboys of the old school4 ,he men--every one of them1 and for a time they looked with dislike and suspicion upon the star1 but when they saw that ,fairbanks did not ask for any double1 and took the hardest tumble with a grin1 they received him into their fellowship with a heartfelt yell4 ,dull in the ,mohave desert8 ,why1 he had to sit up nights to keep even with his engagements4 ,from one man he learned bronco-busting1 from another fancy roping1 and from others all that there is to know about horses1 cattle1 mountain1 and plain4 ,and around the camp-fires he got stories of the winning of the ,west such as never found their way into histories4 ,when one picture called for jiu-jitsu work1 he didn't rest satisfied with learning just enough to get by4 ,every spare moment found him in a clinch with the ,japanese expert1 mastering every secret1 perfecting himself in every hold4 ,same way with boxing4 ,when no pugilists came handy1 he put on the gloves with anyone willing to take chances on a black eye1 keeping at it until today they have to hire professionals when he figures in a movie fight4 ,when they made a water picture he never stopped until he could duplicate every trick known to the professor who drilled the extra men4 ,he took advantage of a biplane flight to make friends with the aeronaut1 and by the time the picture was done1 he was as good a driver as the expert4 ,no matter where he is1 or what the job1 he finds something of interest because he goes upon the theory that every minute is meant to be lived4 ,maroon him at a cross-roads1 with five hours until train time1 and he'd have the operator's first name in ten minutes and be learning the ,morse alphabet1 after which he would rush up to his new friend's house to see the babies or to pass judgment on a ,holstein calf or a ,black ,minorca brood4 ,it is the tremendously human quality1 more than anything else1 that gets him across4 ,people like him because he likes them4 ,he attracts interest because he takes interest4 ,talk with any of the big men in the motion-picture industry1 that is1 those with brains and education1 and they will tell you that personality counts more in pictures than it does on the stage4 ,h4,b4 ,aitken1 president of the ,triangle ,film ,corporation1 said to me3 ,the screen is intimate4 ,the camera brings the actor right into your lap4 ,in the speaking drama1 make-up and footlights change and hide1 but not the least flicker of expression is lost in the picture4 ,it's a test of real-ness1 and it takes a real man or a real woman to stand it4 ,art isn't the thing at all1 nor do looks count for half as much as people suppose4 ,it's what's back of the art and the looks that makes the hit1 and if they haven't got something1 the artist and the beauty don't last long4 ,we picked ,douglas ,fairbanks as a likely film star1 not on account of his stunts1 as the majority think1 but because of the splendid humanness that fairly oozed out of him4 ,illustration3 ,a ,close-,up 7,lumiere7 ,when he isn't before the camera1 or fooling with an airship or a motor1 or playing with children1 or gettin' acquainted with a tramp or a trapper1 or practising stunts with a rope or a horse1 young ,mr4 ,fairbanks fills in his spare time writing scenarios4 ,as everyone knows1 the motion-picture drama has been a tawdry thing for the most part--either a rehash of old stage plays1 novels1 and short stories1 or else mediocre originalities that epitomized banality4 ,young ,mr4 ,fairbanks dissented from the established custom from the very start4 ,it's all wrong1 he declared4 ,we've got to stand on our own feet4 ,develop your own dramatists6 ,practically every play in which he has appeared sprang from his personal suggestion1 and in many of them he has collaborated with the scenario writer4 ,the three things that he demands are ,action1 ,wholesomeness1 and ,sentiment that rings true4 ,never make the mistake of thinking that ,douglas ,fairbanks starts and finishes with mere good humor and physical exuberance4 ,there is more to him than his grin1 for his mind is as strong and vigorous as his body4 ,he reads and thinks1 and behind his smile is a quick and eager sympathy that takes account of the sadnesses of life as well as its promises4 ,the ,habit of ,happiness was very much his own idea1 and in it he took occasion to show a midnight bread-line1 the misery of the slums1 and various forms of social injustice4 ,it isn't that he thinks himself called to uplift and reform1 but1 as he expresses it1 ,every little bit helps4 ,in the last talk that ,i had with him1 he was enthusiastic over the future of the movies as a world force4 ,he speaks in ideas rather than words1 for when he feels that he has indicated the thought he never troubles to finish the particular sentence4 ,pictures are like music1 he declared4 ,they speak a universal language4 ,great industry--just in its infancy--before long films will pass from one country to another--internationalism4 ,why not8 ,love1 hate1 grief1 ambition1 laughter--they belong to one race as much as another--all peoples understand them4 ,it's hard to hate people after you know them4 ,pictures will let us know each other4 ,they'll break down the hard national lines that now make for war and suspicion4 ,other things followed1 for we discussed everything from cabbages to kings1 and then ,i plumped the question at him that ,i had been waiting to ask from the first4 ,how do you like the movies as compared to the speaking drama8 ,come now1 cross your heart and hope to die4 ,when the night comes down and the lights go up1 isn't there a blue minute now and then8 ,surest thing you know1 he grinned4 ,it isn't because there's such a radical difference between the 'talkies' and the movies1 however4 ,he refers to musical comedy as the screamies4 ,the play in the theatre is largely a matter of pantomime1 you know4 ,dialogue is employed to advance the actual plot only when it is impossible or impracticable to do it with dumb show4 ,and when ,i think of some of the lines ,i've been called upon to spout1 ,i can't say that ,i regret the movies' lack of dialogue4 ,what does hurt1 though1 he admitted1 is the absence of response4 ,i don't mean applause1 but the something that comes up over the footlights to you from the audience1 the big something that tells you instantly whether you have hit it or missed1 whether you are ringing true or false4 ,you don't get that in the pictures4 ,your audience is the director1 and you know that it will be weeks or months before your work is going to get its test4 ,but in everything else1 the movie has the talkie skinned a mile4 ,instead of mouthing somebody else's words1 you are doing the thing yourself4 ,there's action1 and life--one day you are in the forest1 the next in the desert1 the next on the sea4 ,nonsense6 ,i exclaimed4 ,i understand that it's all done in a studio4 ,i had the idea myself1 he laughed4 ,but no more4 ,when ,i was in the 'talkies1' ,i used to hear a lot about realism4 ,father must wash in a real basin with real water and real soap4 ,there had to be two hens at least in every barnyard scene1 and when ,lottie came home from the cruel city1 she had to have a real baby in her arms4 ,lordy1 ,i never knew what realism was until ,i struck the movies4 ,they've gone crazy over it4 ',the ,half-,breed1' you know1 was adapted from one of ,bret ,harte's stories1 and nothing would do the director but a trip up to the ,carquinez woods in northern ,california4 ,a forest fire figured in one of the scenes1 but ,i never thought much about it until ,i saw them bringing up some chemical engines1 hose reels1 and five or six fire-brigades4 ',what's the idea8' ,i asked4 ',to keep the flames from spreading1' they told me4 ,and let me tell you1 it was some fire4 ,after ,i got out of it ,i felt like a shave from a ,mexican barber4 ,what effect is the movie going to have on the speaking drama8 was my next question4 ,look at the effect it's had already1 he said4 ,shaw is the only playwright clever enough to write dialogue that will hold any number of people in the theatre4 ,the motion picture has made the public demand action4 ,it has changed the plot and progress of the drama completely4 ,do you think that a good thing8 ,doesn't it mean the substitution of feeling for thinking8 ,well1 he answered slowly1 the world goes forward through the heart rather than through the head4 ,happiness1 to my mind1 is emotional1 not mental4 ,and the movie has brought happiness to millions whose lives were formerly drab and sordid4 ,i love to go into these little halls in out-of-the-way places1 and see the men1 women1 and children packed there of an evening4 ,theatrical companies never reached the villages1 and the men had no place but the saloon1 the women no place but the kitchen or the front porch4 ,the camera has brought the world to their doors1 and life is richer1 happier1 and better for it4 ,take him as he stands1 and ,douglas ,fairbanks comes close to being the real thing4 ,men like him as well as women1 and1 best proof of all1 the kids adore him4 ,on a recent visit to ,denver1 his old home town1 youngsters followed him in droves1 clamoring for a chance to feel his muscle4 ,the mayor1 no less1 had him address a public meeting1 the feature of which1 by the way1 was this piped inquiry from the gallery3 ,say1 ,doug1 can youse whip ,william ,farnum8 ,and let no one quarrel with this popularity4 ,it is a good sign1 a healthful sign1 a token that the blood of ,america still runs warm and red1 and that chalk has not yet softened our bones4