,what ,you                              
,can ,do ,with ,your                    
,will ,power                            
,by                            ,,russell
 ,h4 ,,conwell                          
,,volume ,i                             
,,national                              
,,extension ,,university                
#eig ,fifth ,avenue1 ,new ,york         
,,what ,,you ,,can ,,do ,,with ,,your   
,,will ,,power                          
,copyright1 #aiag1 by ,harper  ,brothers
                 ,printed in the ,united
 ,states of ,america                    
,illustration3 ,russell ,h4 ,conwell    
,,preface   ,other writers have fully   
and accurately described the road1 and  
my only hope is that these hastily      
written lines will inspire the young man
 or young woman to arise and go4        
,,russell ,h4 ,,conwell4                
,the ,author is much indebted to ,mr4   
,merle ,crowell of the         ,american
 ,magazine who assisted most efficiently
 in the         preparation of the facts

 herein contained4                      
,,what ,,you ,,can ,,do ,,with ,,your   
,,will ,,power                          
,success has no secret--                
,i   ,success has no secret4 ,her voice 
is forever ringing through the          
market-place and crying in the          
wilderness1 and the burden of her cry is
 one word--,,will4 ,any normal young man
 who hears and heeds that cry is        
equipped fully to climb to the very     
heights of life4  ,the message ,i would 
like to leave with the young men and    
women of ,america is a message ,i have  
been trying humbly to deliver from      
lecture platform and pulpit for more    
than fifty years4 ,it is a message the  
accuracy of which has been affirmed and 
reaffirmed in thousands of lives whose  
progress ,i have been privileged to     
watch4 ,and the message is this3 ,your  
future stands before you like a block of
 unwrought marble4 ,you can work it into
 what you will4 ,neither heredity1 nor  
environment1 nor any obstacles          

superimposed by man can keep you from   
marching straight through to success1   
provided you are guided by a firm1      
driving determination and have normal   
health and intelligence4  ,determination
 is the battery that commands every road
 of life4 ,it is the armor against which
 the missiles of adversity rattle       
harmlessly4 ,if there is one thing ,i   
have tried peculiarly to do through     
these years it is to indent in the minds
 of the youth of ,america the living    
fact that when they give ,,will the     
reins and say ,,drive they are headed   
toward the heights4  ,the institution   
out of which ,temple ,university1 of    
,philadelphia1 grew was founded thirty  
years ago expressly to furnish          
opportunities for higher education to   
poor boys and girls who are willing to  
work for it4 ,i have seen ninety        
thousand students enter its doors4 ,a   
very large percentage of these came to  
,philadelphia without money1 but firmly 
determined to get an education4 ,i have 

never known one of them to go back      
defeated4 ,determination has the        
properties of a powerful acid2 all      
shackles melt before it4  ,conversely1  
lack of will power is the readiest      
weapon in the arsenal of failure4 ,the  
most hopeless proposition in the world  
is the fellow who thinks that success is
 a door through which he will sometime  
stumble if he roams around long enough4 
,some men seem to expect ravens to feed 
them1 the cruse of oil to remain        
inexhaustible1 the fish to come right up
 over the side of the boat at meal-time4
 ,they believe that life is a series of 
miracles4 ,they loaf about and trust in 
their lucky star1 and boldly declare    
that the world owes them a living4  ,as 
a matter of fact the world owes a man   
nothing that he does not earn4 ,in this 
life a man gets about what he is worth1 
and he must render an equivalent for    
what is given him4 ,there is no such    
thing as inactive success4  ,my mind is 
running back over the stories of        

thousands of boys and girls ,i have     
known and known about1 who have faced   
every sort of a handicap and have won   
out solely by will and perseverance in  
working with all the power that ,god had
 given them4 ,it is now nearly thirty   
years since a young ,english boy came   
into my office4 ,he wanted to attend the
 evening classes at our university to   
learn oratory4  ,why don't you go into  
the law8 ,i asked him4  ,i'm too poor6  
,i haven't a chance6 he replied1 shaking
 his head sadly4  ,i turned on him      
sharply4 ,of course you haven't a       
chance1 ,i exclaimed1 if you don't make 
up your mind to it6  ,the next night he 
knocked at my door again4 ,his face was 
radiant and there was a light of        
determination in his eyes4  ,i have     
decided to become a lawyer1 he said1 and
 ,i knew from the ring of his voice that
 he meant it4  ,many times after he     
became mayor of ,philadelphia he must   
have looked back on that decision as the
 turning-point in his life4  ,i am      

thinking of a young ,connecticut farm   
lad who was given up by his teachers as 
too weak-minded to learn4 ,he left      
school when he was seven years old and  
toiled on his father's farm until he was
 twenty-one4 ,then something turned his 
mind toward the origin and development  
of the animal kingdom4 ,he began to read
 works on zoology1 and1 in order to     
enlarge his capacity for understanding1 
went back to school and picked up where 
he left off fourteen years before4      
,somebody said to him1 ,you can get to  
the top if you will6  ,he grasped the   
hope and nurtured it1 until at last it  
completely possessed him4 ,he entered   
college at twenty-eight and worked his  
way through with the assistance that we 
were able to furnish him4 ,to-day he is 
a respected professor of zoology in an  
,ohio college4  ,such illustrations ,i  
could multiply indefinitely4 ,of all the
 boys whom ,i have tried to help through
 college ,i cannot think of a single one
 who has failed for any other reason    

than ill health4 ,but of course ,i have 
never helped any one who was not first  
helping himself4 ,as soon as a man      
determines the goal toward which he is  
marching1 he is in a strategic position 
to see and seize everything that will   
contribute toward that end4  ,whenever a
 young man tells me that if he had his  
way he would be a lawyer1 or an         
engineer1 or what not1 ,i always reply3 
,you can be what you will1 provided that
 it is something the world will be      
demanding ten years hence4  ,this brings
 to my mind a certain stipulation which 
the ambition of youth must recognize4   
,you must invest yourself or your money 
in a known demand4 ,you must select an  
occupation that is fitted to your own   
special genius and to some actual want  
of the people4 ,choose as early as      
possible what your life-work will be4   
,then you can be continually equipping  
yourself by reading and observing to a  
purpose4 ,there are many things which   
the average boy or girl learns in school

 that could be learned outside just as  
well4  ,almost any man should be able to
 become wealthy in this land of opulent 
opportunity4 ,there are some people who 
think that to be pious they must be very
 poor and very dirty4 ,they are wrong4  
,not money1 but the love of money1 is   
the root of all evil4 ,money in itself  
is a dynamic force for helping humanity4
  ,in my lectures ,i have borne heavily 
on the fact that we are all walking over
 acres of diamonds and mines of gold4   
,there are people who think that their  
fortune lies in some far country4 ,it is
 much more likely to lie right in their 
own back yards or on their front        
door-step1 hidden from their unseeing   
eye4 ,most of our millionaires          
discovered their fortunes by simply     
looking around them4  ,recently ,i have 
been investigating the lives of four    
thousand and forty-three ,american      
millionaires4 ,all but twenty of them   
started life as poor boys1 and all but  
forty of them have contributed largely  

to their communities1 and divided fairly
 with their employees as they went      
along4 ,but1 alas1 not one rich man's   
son out of seventeen dies rich4  ,but if
 a man has dilly-dallied through a      
certain space of wasted years1 can he   
then develop the character--the motor   
force--to drive him to success8 ,why1 my
 friend1 will power cannot only be      
developed1 but it is often dry powder   
which needs only a match4 ,very         
frequently ,i think of the life of      
,abraham ,lincoln--that wonderful man6  
and ,i am thankful that ,i was permitted
 to meet him4 ,yet ,abraham ,lincoln    
developed the splendid sinews of his    
will after he was twenty-one4 ,before   
that he was just a roving1 good-natured 
sort of a chap4 ,always have ,i         
regretted that ,i failed to ask him what
 special circumstance broke the         
chrysalis of his life and loosened the  
wings of his will4  ,many years ago some
 of the students of ,temple ,university 
held a meeting in a building opposite   

the ,bellevue-,stratford ,hotel4 ,as    
they were leaving the building they     
noticed a foreigner selling peanuts on  
the opposite curb4 ,while buying peanuts
 they got to talking with the fellow1   
and told him that any one could obtain  
an education if he was willing to work  
for it4 ,eagerly the poor fellow drank  
up all the information he could get4 ,he
 enrolled at ,temple ,university and    
worked his way through1 starting with   
the elementary studies4 ,he is to-day an
 eminent practising physician in the    
national capital4  ,often ,i think of an
 office clerk who reached a decision    
that the ambitions which were stirring  
in his soul could be realized if he     
could only get an education4 ,he        
attended our evening classes and was    
graduated with a ,b4,s4 degree4 ,he is  
now the millionaire head of one of the  
largest brokerage houses in the country4
  ,where there's a will there's a way6  
,but one needs to use a little common   
sense about selecting the way4 ,a       

general may determine to win a victory1 
but if he hurls his troops across an    
open field straight into the leaden     
sweep of the enemy's artillery he       
invites disaster and defeat4 ,the best  
general lays his plans carefully1 and   
advances his troops in the way that will
 best conserve their strength and       
numbers4 ,so must a man plan his        
campaign of life4  ,no man has a right1 
either for himself or for others1 to be 
at work in a factory1 or a store1 or    
anywhere else1 unless he would work     
there from choice--money or no money--if
 he had the necessities of life4  ,as a 
man thinks1 so he is1 says the writer of
 ,proverbs2 but as a man adjusts        
himself1 so really is he1 after all4    
,one great trouble with many individuals
 is that they are made up of all sorts  
of machinery that is not adjusted1 that 
is out of place--no belts on the wheels1
 no fire under the boiler1 hence no     
steam to move the mechanism4  ,some folk
 never take the trouble to size         

themselves up--to find out what they are
 fitted to do--and then wonder why they 
remain way down at the bottom of the    
heap4 ,i remember a young woman who told
 me that she did not believe she could  
ever be of any particular use in the    
world4 ,i mentioned a dozen things that 
she ought to be able to do4  ,if you    
only knew yourself1 ,i said1 you would  
set yourself to writing4 ,you ought to  
be an author4  ,she shook her head and  
smiled1 as if she thought ,i was making 
fun of her4 ,later1 force of            
circumstances drove her to take up the  
pen4 ,and when she came to me and told  
me that she was making three thousand   
dollars a year in literary work1 and was
 soon to go higher1 ,i thought back to  
the time when she was a poor girl making
 three dollars a week when she failed   
accurately to estimate herself4         
,there is a deplorable tendency--       
,,ii   ,there is a deplorable tendency  
among many people to wait for a         
particularly favorable opportunity to   

declare themselves in the battle of     
life4 ,some people pause for the rap of 
opportunity when opportunity has been   
playing a tattoo on their resonant      
skulls for years4  ,hardly a single     
great invention has been placed on the  
market without a number of men putting  
forth the claim that they had the idea  
first--and in most cases they proved the
 fact4 ,but while they were sitting down
 and dreaming1 or trying to bring the   
device to a greater perfection1 a man   
with initiative rose up and acted4 ,the 
telegraph1 telephone1 sewing-machine1   
air-brake1 mowing-machine1 wireless1 and
 linotype-machine are only a few        
illustrations4  ,the most wonderful idea
 is quite valueless until it is put into
 practical operation4 ,the ,government  
rewards the man who first gets a patent 
or first puts his invention into        
practical use--and the world does       
likewise4 ,thus the dreamer must always 
lag behind the door4  ,true will power  
also predicates concentration4 ,i shall 

never forget the time ,i went to see    
,president ,lincoln to ask him to spare 
the life of one of my soldiers who was  
sentenced to be shot4 ,as ,i walked     
toward the door of his office ,i felt a 
greater fear than ,i had ever known when
 the shells were bursting all about us  
at ,antietam4 ,finally ,i mustered up   
courage to knock on the door4 ,i heard a
 voice inside yell3  ,come in and sit   
down6  ,the man at the table did not    
look up as ,i entered2 he was busy over 
a bunch of papers4 ,i sat down at the   
edge of a chair and wished ,i were in   
,peking or ,patagonia4 ,he never looked 
up until he had quite finished with the 
papers4 ,then he turned to me and said3 
,i am a very busy man and have only a   
few minutes to spare4 ,tell me in the   
fewest words what it is you want4  ,as  
soon as ,i mentioned the case he said3  
,i have heard all about it1 and you do  
not need to tell me any more4 ,mr4      
,stanton was talking to me about that   
only a few days ago4 ,you can go to the 

hotel and rest assured that the         
,president never did sign an order to   
shoot a boy under twenty1 and never     
will4 ,you may tell his mother that4    
,then1 after a short conversation1 he   
took hold of another bunch of papers and
 said1 decidedly1 ,good morning6        
,lincoln1 one of the greatest men of the
 world1 owed his success largely to one 
rule3 whatsoever he had to do at all he 
put his whole mind into1 and held it all
 there until the task was all done4     
,that makes men great almost anywhere4  
,too many people are satisfied if they  
have done a thing well enough4 ,that is 
a fatal complacency4 ,well enough has   
cursed souls4 ,well enough has wrecked  
enterprises4 ,well enough has destroyed 
nations4 ,if perfection in a task can   
possibly be reached1 nothing short of   
perfection is well enough4 ,governor    
,talbot of ,massachusetts got his high  
office because ,general ,swift made a   
happy application of the truth in saying
 to the convention1 ,i nominate for     

,governor of this state a man who1 when 
he was a farmer's boy1 hoed to the end  
of the row4 ,that saying became a       
campaign slogan all up and down the     
state4 ,he hoed to the end of the row6  
,he hoed to the end of the row6 ,when   
the people discovered that this was one 
of the characteristics of the man1 they 
elected him by one of the greatest      
majorities ever given a ,governor in    
,massachusetts4  ,yet we must bear in   
mind that there is such a thing as      
overdoing anything4 ,young people should
 draw a line between study that secures 
wisdom and study that breaks down the   
mind2 between exercise that is healthful
 and exercise that is injurious2 between
 a conscientiousness that is pure and   
divine and a conscientiousness that is  
over-morbid and insane2 between economy 
that is careful and economy that is     
stingy2 between industry that is a      
reasonable use of their powers and      
industry that is an over-use of their   
powers1 leading only to destruction4    

,the best ordered mind is one that can  
grasp the problems that gather around a 
man constantly and work them out to a   
logical conclusion2 that sees quickly   
what anything means1 whether it be an   
exhibition of goods1 a juxtaposition of 
events1 or the suggestions of           
literature4  ,a man is made up largely  
of his daily observations4 ,school      
training serves to fit and discipline   
him so that he may read rightly the     
lesson of the things he sees around him4
 ,men have made mighty fortunes by just 
using their eyes4  ,several years ago ,i
 took dinner in ,new ,york with one of  
the great millionaires of that city4 ,in
 the course of our talk he told me      
something about his boyhood days--how1  
with hardly a penny in his pocket1 he   
slung a pack on his back and set out    
along the ,erie ,canal1 looking for a   
job4 ,at last he got one4 ,he was paid  
three dollars a week to make soft soap  
for the laborers to use at the locks in 
washing their hands4 ,one can hardly    

imagine a more humble occupation2 but   
this boy kept his eyes open4 ,he saw the
 disadvantages of soft soap1 and set to 
work to make a hard substitute for it4  
,finally he succeeded1 and his success  
brought him many1 many millions4  ,every
 person is designed for a definite work 
in life1 fitted for a particular sphere4
 ,before ,god he has a right to that    
sphere4 ,if you are an excellent        
housekeeper you should not be running a 
loom1 and it is your duty to prepare    
yourself to enter at the first          
opportunity the sphere for which you are
 fitted4  ,george ,w4 ,childs1 who owned
 the ,philadelphia ,ledger1 once blacked
 boots and sold newspapers in front of  
the ,ledger building4 ,he told me how he
 used to look at that building and      
declare over and over to himself that   
some day he would own the great         
newspaper establishment that it housed4 
,when he mentioned his ambition to his  
associates they laughed at him4 ,but    
,childs had indomitable grit1 and       

ultimately he did come to own that      
newspaper establishment1 one of the     
finest in the country4  ,another thing  
very necessary to the pursuit of success
 is the proper employment of waiting    
moments4 ,how do you use your waiting   
time for meals1 for trains1 for         
business8 ,i suppose that if the average
 individual were to employ wisely these 
intervals in which he whistles and      
twiddles his thumbs he would soon       
accumulate enough knowledge to quite    
make over his life4  ,i went through the
 ,united ,states ,senate in #ahfg and   
asked each of the members how he got his
 early education4 ,i found that an      
extremely large percentage of them had  
simply properly applied their waiting   
moments4 ,even ,charles ,sumner1 a      
university graduate1 told me that he    
learned more from the books he read     
outside of college than from those he   
had studied within4 ,general ,burnside1 
who was then a ,senator1 said that he   
had always had a book beside him in the 

shop where he worked4  ,before leaving  
the subject of the power of the will1   
there is one thing ,i would like to say3
 a true will must have a decent regard  
for the happiness of others4 ,do not get
 so wrapped up in your own mission that 
you forget to be kind to other people1  
for you have not fulfilled every duty   
unless you have fulfilled the duty of   
being pleasant4 ,enemies and ignorance  
are the two most expensive things in a  
man's life4 ,i never make unnecessary   
enemies--they cost too much4  ,every one
 has within himself the tools necessary 
to carve out success4 ,consecrate       
yourself to some definite mission in    
life1 and let it be a mission that will 
benefit the world as well as yourself4  
,remember that nothing can withstand the
 sweep of a determined will--unless it  
happens to be another will equally as   
determined4 ,keep clean1 fight hard1    
pick your openings judiciously1 and have
 your eyes forever fixed on the heights 
toward which you are headed4 ,if there  

be any other formula for success1 ,i do 
not know it4                            
,the biography of that great patriot--  
,,iii   ,the biography of that great    
patriot and statesman1 ,daniel ,manin of
 ,venice1 ,italy1 contains a very       
romantic example of the possibilities of
 will force4 ,he was born in a poor     
quarter of the city2 his parents were   
without rank or money4 ,venice in #ahje 
was under the ,austrian rule and was    
sharply divided into aristocratic and   
peasant classes4 ,he was soon deserted  
by his father and left to the support of
 his mother4 ,he was a dull boy1 and    
could not keep along with other boys in 
the church schools2 his mind labored as 
slowly as did the childhood intellects  
of many of the greatest men of history4 
,daniel seemed destined to earn his     
living digging mud out of the canals1 if
 he supported himself at all4 ,no       
,american boy can be handicapped like   
that4 ,but the children who learn slowly
 learn surely1 and history1 which is but

 the biography of great men1 mentions   
again and again the fact that the great 
characters began to be able to acquire  
learning late in life4 ,napoleon and    
,wellington were both dull boys1 and    
,lincoln often said that he was a dunce 
through his early years4 ,daniel ,manin 
seems to have been utterly unable to    
learn from books until he was eight or  
ten years old4 ,but his latent will     
power was suddenly developed to an      
unexpected degree when he was quite a   
youth4 ,kossuth1 who was a personal     
friend of ,manin1 said in an address in 
,new ,york that the ,american ,republic 
was responsible for the awakening of    
,manin1 and through him had made ,italy 
free4  ,it appears that an ,american    
sea-captain1 while discharging a cargo  
in ,venice1 employed ,daniel as an      
errand-boy1 and when the ship sailed the
 captain made ,daniel a present of a    
gilt-edged copy of the lives of ,george 
,washington and ,john ,hancock in one   
volume4 ,the captain1 who had greatly   

endeared himself to ,daniel1 made the   
boy promise solemnly that he would learn
 to read the book4 ,but ,daniel was     
utterly ignorant of the ,english        
language in print and had learned only a
 few phrases from the captain4 ,the gift
 of that book made ,venice a republic1  
led to the adoption of sections of the  
,united ,states ,constitution by that   
state and carried the principles on into
 the constitution of ,united ,italy4    
,that book awakened the sleeping will   
power of the industrious dull boy4 ,even
 his mother protested against his waste 
of time in trying to read ,english when 
he was unable to conquer the primers in 
,italian4 ,but he secured a phrase-book 
and a grammar1 and paid for them in hard
 labor4 ,with those crude implements1   
without a teacher1 he determined to read
 that book4 ,only one friend1 a young   
priest in ,st4 ,mark's ,cathedral1 gave 
him any word or look of encouragement4  
,but his candle burned late1 and the    
returning daylight took him to his book 

to study until time for breakfast4 ,then
 came the daily task as a messenger1 or 
gondolier4 ,some weeks or months after  
he began his seemingly foolish problem  
he rushed into his mother's room at     
night1 excited and noisy1 shouting to   
her3 ,i can read that book6 ,i can read 
that book6 ,there comes a moment in the 
life of every successful student of a   
foreign language when he suddenly       
awakens to the consciousness that he can
 think in that language4 ,from that     
point on the work is always easy4 ,it   
must have been a similar psychological  
change which came into ,daniel's        
intellect4 ,so sudden was it1 so amazing
 the change1 that the priest reported   
the case as a miracle1 and the little   
circle of the poor people who knew the  
boy looked on him with awe4             
,consul-,general ,sparks1 who           
represented the ,united ,states at      
,venice in #ahdh1 wrote that ,manin     
often mentions his intellectual new     
birth1 and his success in reading the   

life of ,washington in ,english spurs   
him on in the difficult and dangerous   
undertakings connected with the efforts 
of ,venice to get free4  ,when ,daniel  
began to appreciate his ability to      
determine to do and to persevere1 his   
ambition and hope brought to him larger 
views of life4 ,he resolved to learn in 
other ways4 ,he took up school books and
 mastered them thoroughly1 and he became
 known as a boy who works slowly1 but   
what he does at all he does well4 ,he   
soon found helpers among kind gentlemen 
and secured employment in a bookstall4  
,the accounts of his persistence and his
 achievements are as thrilling and as   
fascinating as any finished romance4 ,he
 managed to get a college education1    
recognized by ,padua ,university2 he    
studied law and was admitted to the bar 
when he was twenty-two years of age4    
,the ,austrian judges would not admit   
him to their courts1 and it is said he  
visited his law-office regularly and    
daily for nearly two years before he had

 a paying client4 ,but his strong will1 
shown in his perseverance in the        
presence of starvation1 won the respect 
and love of the daughter of a wealthy   
patrician4 ,they had been married but a 
short time when the ,austrians          
confiscated the property of his         
father-in-law because of suspicions     
circulated concerning his secret        
connection with the ,americani4 ,that   
patriotic secret society was called the 
,carbonari by the ,austrians1 and ,manin
 became the leading spirit in the       
,venetian branch4 ,his will seemed      
resistless4 ,he refused the ,presidency 
in #ahcb1 when revolution shook the     
tyrannies of all ,europe and ,venice    
fell back under ,austrian control4 ,but 
in #ahdh he was almost unanimously      
elected ,president of the ,american     
,republic of ,venice2 and in his second 
proclamation before the great siege     
began he issued a call for the election1
 using1 as ,consul-,general ,sparks     
records1 the following language 7as     

translated73 and until the election is  
held and the officers installed the     
following sections of the ,constitution 
of the ,united ,states of ,america shall
 be the law of the ,city4 ,he was       
determined to secure an ,american       
republic in ,italy4 ,he lived to see it 
in ,venice4 ,statues of ,daniel ,manin  
are seen now in all the great cities of 
,italy2 and when the statue was         
dedicated at ,venice and a city park    
square named after him1 he was called   
the father of the new kingdom of ,italy4
 ,general ,garibaldi said that when     
,manin made a draft of the ,constitution
 he proposed for ,united ,italy1 he     
quoted the ,american ,declaration of    
,independence4 ,the general also said   
that ,manin insisted the ,government of 
,italy should be like the ,american     
,republic1 and that it was difficult to 
convince ,manin that a king--so         
called--could be as limited as a        
,president4 ,even ,mazzini1 the         
extremist1 and both ,cavour and ,gavazzi

 finally came to accept ,manin's demands
 for freedom and equality as they were  
set forth in the ,constitution of the   
,american ,republic4 ,manin did not live
 to see the final union1 nor to see his 
son a general in the ,italian army1 but 
his vigorous will gave a momentum to    
freedom in ,italy which is still        
pressing the people on to his noblest   
ideals4 ,what man has done man can do1  
and what ,manin did can be done again in
 other achievements4  ,the normal reader
 never was anxious that the ,north ,pole
 should be located1 and he does not care
 now whether it has been discovered4    
,mathematicians and geographers may find
 delight in the solution of some        
abstract problem1 but the busy citizen  
who seizes his paper with haste to see  
if ,peary has found the ,north ,pole has
 no interest in the spot4 ,he would not 
visit the place if some authority would 
give him a thousand acres or present him
 with a dozen ice-floes4 ,what the      
reader desires is to learn how the will 

power in those discoverers worked out   
through hair-breadth escapes1 long      
winters1 and starvation's pangs4 ,it is 
a great game1 and the world is a grand  
stand4 ,the man with the strongest will 
attracts the admiration of the world4   
,all the world which loves a lover also 
admires a hero1 and a hero is always a  
man of forceful will4 ,when we read of  
,louis ,joliet and ,james ,marquette in 
their terrible experience tracing the   
,mississippi ,river--,indians as savage 
as wild beasts1 marshes1 lakes1 forests1
 mountains1 burdens1 illness1 wounds1   
exhaustion1 seeming failures--all       
testify to their sublime strength of    
purpose4 ,peter ,lemoyne1 ,jonathan     
,carver1 ,captain ,lewis1 ,lieutenant   
,clark1 ,montgomery ,pike1 ,general     
,fremont1 ,elisha ,kent ,kane1 ,charles 
,francis ,hall1 ,david ,livingstone1    
,captain ,cook1 ,paul ,du ,chaillu1 and 
,henry ,m4 ,stanley carved their names  
deep in walls of history when differing 
from other men only in the cultivation  

of a mighty will4  ,mary ,lyon1 the     
heroine of ,mount ,holyoke1 used to     
quote frequently the saying of ,doctor  
,beecher that he once had a machine     
admirably contrived1 admirably adjusted1
 but it had one fault2 it wouldn't go6  
while ,catherine ,beecher would retort  
that ,miss ,lyon had too much go for so 
small a machine4 ,but what a monumental 
triumph was the dedication of the first 
building of ,mount ,holyoke ,college at 
,south ,hadley1 ,massachusetts4 ,mrs4   
,deacon ,porter wrote to ,henry ,ward   
,beecher3 ,i wish you could have seen   
,miss ,lyon's face as the procession    
moved up the street4 ,it was indeed the 
face of an angel4 ,from that immortal   
hour when that little woman1 peeling    
potatoes as her brother's housekeeper at
 ,buckland1 ,massachusetts1 suddenly    
determined to start a movement for the  
higher education of young women1 she had
 written1 had traveled1 had begged1 had 
given all her inheritance1 had visited  
colleges and schools1 going incessantly1

 working1 praying1 appealing1 until the 
material embodiment of her martyr       
sacrifices was opened to women4 ,all    
women in all countries are greatly in   
her debt4 ,men feel grateful for what   
the higher education of women has done  
for men4 ,one cannot now walk over the  
embowered campus of ,mount ,holyoke     
,college without meditating on what a   
forceful will of a frail woman1 set     
toward the beautiful and good1 can do   
within the severest limitations4        
,vassar1 ,wellesley1 ,smith1 ,bryn      
,mawr1 and the thirty-five other        
colleges for women in ,western and      
,southern states are the children of    
,mount ,holyoke4 ,one lone woman1 one   
single will1 a large heart6 ,god sees   
her and orders ,his forces to aid her6  
,richard ,arkwright1 ,stephenson1 and   
,edison in the pursuit of an invention1 
with stern faces and clenched teeth1    
work far into the morning4 ,john        
,wesley1 ,whitfield1 and the list of    
religious reformers from ,st4 ,augustine

 to ,dwight ,l4 ,moody have been men of 
dynamic confidence in the triumph of a  
great idea4 ,neal ,dow1 ,elizabeth ,fry1
 and their disciples1 urging on the     
cause of temperance with that motive    
force which they discovered in          
themselves1 aroused the people wherever 
they went to assistance or to           
opposition4 ,fulton said1 ,i will build 
a steamboat4 ,cyrus ,field said1 ,i will
 lay a telegraph cable to ,europe4 ,sir 
,christopher ,wren1 imitating the       
builders of ,st4 ,peter's1 said1 ,i will
 build the dome of ,st4 ,paul's         
,cathedral4 ,general ,washington said1  
,i will venture all on final victory1   
and ,general ,grant said1 ,i will fight 
it out on this line4 ,when ,abraham     
,lincoln gave his eloquent tribute to   
,henry ,clay in #aheb he said1 ,henry   
,clay's example teaches us that one can 
scarcely be so poor but that1 if he     
will1 he can acquire sufficient         
education to get through the world      
respectably4 ,to such men log cabins    

were universities4 ,daniel ,webster     
decided1 at the end of his day's work   
plowing a stony field in the ,new       
,hampshire hills1 that he would be a    
statesman4 ,thomas ,h4 ,benton1 when    
nearly all men supposed the wilderness  
unconquerable1 decided to push the      
,republic west to the ,rocky ,mountains4
 ,salmon ,p4 ,chase1 from the time he   
ran the ferryboat on the ,cuyahoga      
,river1 kept in his pocket-book a motto1
 ,where there is a will there is a way4 
,charles ,sumner had a disagreeable     
habit of talking about himself and      
boasting of his learning4 ,he was       
frankly told one day by ,james ,t4      
,fields that it was a weakening trait4  
,mr4 ,sumner thanked ,mr4 ,fields and   
told him that he had determined to      
discontinue such foolish talk4 ,he      
fought himself1 wrote ,mr4 ,fields1 and 
he conquered4 ,james ,g4 ,blaine1 in    
college at ,washington1 ,pennsylvania1  
saw a student who had been too devoted  
to football weeping over his failure to 

pass an examination4 ,warned by the     
failure of this student1 ,james told his
 mother that he would not play another  
game of football while he was in        
college4 ,he kept his resolution        
unbroken throughout the course4 ,when   
,james ,a4 ,garfield was earning his    
tuition as a bell-ringer at ,hiram      
,college he resolved that the first     
stroke of the bell should be exactly on 
the minute throughout the year4 ,the    
president of the college stated that the
 people in the village set their clocks 
by that bell1 and not once in the year  
was it one minute ahead or behind time4 
,grover ,cleveland at eighteen was      
drifting about from one job to another1 
and men prophesied that he would be a   
disgrace to his over-pious father1 who  
was a preacher4 ,mr4 ,cleveland said in 
a speech that1 like ,martin ,luther1 ,i 
was stopped in my course by a stroke of 
lightning4 ,it does not appear to what  
he referred1 but it does appear that he 
decided firmly that he would choose some

 calling and stick to it4 ,he decided   
upon the law1 and was so fixed in his   
determination to know law that he stayed
 in his tutor's office three years after
 he had been admitted to the bar1 and   
there continued persistently in his     
studies4                                
,in a small town in ,western            
,massachusetts--                        
,,iv   ,in a small town in western      
,massachusetts1 forty years ago1 a      
young1 pale youth was acting as cashier 
of the savings bank4 ,he was dyspeptic1 
acutely nervous1 and often ill-natured4 
,one day several large factories closed 
their doors1 and the corporations to    
whom the bank had loaned money gave     
notice of bankruptcy4 ,the president of 
the bank was in ,europe and the people  
did not know that the bank was a loser  
by the failure4 ,the cashier was almost 
overcome by the sense of danger1 for he 
could not meet a run on the bank with   
the funds he had on hand4 ,he entered   
the bank after a sleepless night1       

fearing that the people might in some   
way learn of the bank's responsibility4 
,he was sleepy1 faint1 discouraged4 ,an 
old farmer came in to get a small check 
cashed1 and the glum cashier did not    
answer the farmer's usual salutation4   
,his face was cloudy1 his eyes          
bloodshot1 and his whole manner         
irritating4 ,he counted out the money   
and threw it at the farmer4 ,the old man
 counted his money carefully and then   
called out to the cashier3 ,what's the  
matter8 ,is your bank going to fail8    
,when the farmer had left the bank the  
young cashier could see that his manner 
was letting out that which he wished to 
conceal4 ,he then paced up and down the 
bank and fought it all out with himself4
 ,he determined he would be cheerful1   
brave1 and strong4 ,he forced himself to
 smile1 and soon was able to laugh at   
himself for presenting such a ridiculous
 appearance4 ,he met the next customer  
with a hearty greeting of good cheer4   
,all the forenoon he grew stronger in   

his determination to let nothing move   
him to gloom again4 ,about noon the     
daily ,boston paper came and announced  
the possible failure of that bank4      
,almost instantly the news flew about   
town1 and a wild mob assailed the bank1 
screaming for their money4 ,but the     
cheerful cashier met them with a smile  
and made fun of their excitement4 ,the  
eighteenth man demanding his money was  
an old ,german1 who1 seeing the cashier 
count out the money so coolly and       
cheerfully1 drew back his bank-book and 
said3 ,if you have the money1 we don't  
want it now6 ,but we thought you didn't 
have it6 ,that suggestion made the crowd
 laugh1 and in half an hour the crowd   
had left and those who had drawn their  
money in many cases asked the cashier to
 take it back4 ,the cashier now is a    
most successful manufacturer and        
railroad director1 stout-hearted and    
cheerful4 ,he often refers to the fight 
he had that morning with his            
insignificant1 flabby little self4  ,to 

appreciate one's power at command is the
 first consideration4 ,a man from       
,cooperstown1 ,new ,york1 visited ,st4  
,anthony ,falls1 ,minnesota1 in the     
early fifties of the last century and   
laughed loud and long at the ridiculous 
little mill which turned out a few bags 
of flour and sawed a few thousand feet  
of lumber4 ,it was indeed ludicrous4 ,he
 could think of no comparison except an 
elephant drawing a baby's tin toy4 ,his 
laughter led to a heated discussion and 
investigation4 ,an army officer at ,fort
 ,snelling1 who was a civil engineer1   
was asked to make an estimate of the    
,mississippi ,river's horse-power at    
,st4 ,anthony ,falls4 ,his report was   
beyond the civilian's belief4 ,he said  
there was power enough to turn the      
wheels to grind out ten thousand barrels
 of flour a day and to cut logs into    
millions of square feet of board every  
hour4 ,the estimate was below the facts1
 but was not accepted for ten years4    
,then was constructed the strong dam    

which built up the great city of        
,minneapolis and represents the finest  
and most vigorous civilization of our   
age4 ,nevertheless1 there still runs to 
waste ten thousand horse-power4 ,in the 
first paper-mill erected at ,south      
,hadley ,falls1 ,massachusetts1 the     
horse-power used was less than one      
hundred1 yet an engineer employed by    
,mr4 ,chapin1 of ,springfield1 to       
determine the possible power of the     
,connecticut ,river at that point       
reported it so great that unbelief in   
his figures postponed for a long time   
all the proposed enterprises4 ,but one  
poor man1 determined to do something    
about it1 promoted a system of canals   
which now so utilizes the water that a  
large city1 manufacturing annually      
products worth many millions1 draws from
 it comfort and riches4 ,massive as are 
the present works at ,holyoke1 regret is
 often expressed that so much of the    
water-power still goes over the mighty  
dam and ridicules the smallness of the  

faith of those who tried to harness it4 
,such is the intellectual force in a    
young person's mind4 ,it is reasonable  
to conclude that no mind ever did its   
very best1 and that no will power was   
ever exerted continuously to its        
greatest capacity4 ,but the first       
essential in the making of noble        
character is to gain a full appreciation
 of the latent or unused force which    
each individual possesses4 ,when one    
without foolish egotism realizes how    
much can be done with his wasting       
energies1 then he must carefully        
consider to what object he will turn his
 power4 ,great wills are often wasted on
 unworthy objects1 and the strong       
current of the mind1 which could be     
applied to the making of world-enriching
 machinery1 is used to manufacture some 
unsalable toy4 ,the mind is often       
compared to an electric dynamo4 ,the    
figure is accurate4 ,it is an automatic1
 self-charging battery which1 when      
applied to worthy occupation or to a    

high purpose1 distributes happiness1    
progress1 and intelligence to mankind1  
and as a natural consequence brings     
riches and honor to the industrious     
possessor4  ,forty years ago there was  
on the lips of nearly every teacher and 
father a fascinating story of a         
,massachusetts boy whose history        
illustrates forcibly the power to will  
which is latent in us all4 ,i need not  
state the details of the life1 as it is 
only the illustration which we need     
here4  ,a young fellow sat on a barrel  
at the door of a country grocery-store  
in a small village not far from ,boston4
 ,he was the son of an industrious      
mechanic who had opened a small shop for
 making and repairing farm utensils1    
such as rakes1 hoes1 and shovels4 ,but  
the son1 encouraged by an indulgent     
mother1 would not work4 ,he gave way to 
cards1 drink1 and bad company4 ,he would
 not go to school1 and was a continual  
source of alarm to his parents1 and he  
became the talk of the neighbors4 ,he   

either was ill with a cough or pretended
 to fear consumption2 the doctor's      
advice to set him at work in the open   
air was not enforced by his anxious     
mother4 ,he was a fair sample of the    
many thousand young men seen now about  
the country stores and taverns4 ,he had1
 however1 the unusual disadvantage of   
having his board and clothing furnished 
to him without earning them4 ,if he     
exercised his will1 it was to turn it   
against himself in a determined         
self-indulgence4 ,i heard him once refer
 to those days and quote ,virgil in     
saying that the descent to ,avernus is  
easy4  ,one evening with his hands in   
his pockets he strolled up to the store 
and post-office to meet some other young
 men for a game of checkers4 ,under the 
only street lamp near the store a       
patent-medicine peddler had opened one  
side of his covered wagon and was       
advertising his universal cure4 ,the    
boy--then about nineteen years          
old--listened listlessly to the songs   

and stories1 but was not interested     
enough to learn what was offered for    
sale4 ,the vender of medicines held up a
 chain composed of several seemingly    
solid rings which he skilfully took     
apart4 ,he then offered a dollar to any 
one who would put the rings together as 
they were before4 ,the puzzle caught the
 eye and interest of the careless boy2  
as the rings were passed from one to    
another they came to him4 ,he looked    
them over and said1 ,i can't do it1 and 
passed them on4 ,the ,yankee peddler    
yelled at the boy1 ,if you talk like    
that you will land in the poorhouse6    
,the young fellow was cut to the heart  
with the short rebuke4 ,he was inclined 
to answer hotly1 but lacked the courage4
 ,after the other boys had had their    
chance to see the rings1 he asked to    
examine them again2 but he still saw no 
way to cut or open the solid steel and  
contemptuously threw them at the peddler
 and shouted1 ,you're fooling2 that     
can't be done6 ,the smiling vender      

rolled the rings into a chain in an     
instant and1 throwing it to the boy1    
said1 sarcastically3 ,take it home to   
your mother2 she can do it6 ,the young  
fellow1 ashamed1 angry1 and crushed1    
caught the chain and crept out of the   
crowd and went home1 entering his room  
by the back stairs4 ,he hated the       
peddler with a murderous passion1 but   
despised himself and must have wept     
great tears far into the night4 ,the    
next morning he sat on the side of his  
bed1 gazing at the chain1 long after his
 father had gone to work4 ,that was a   
terrible battle6 ,all who succeed must  
fight that battle to victory at some    
time1 or life is a failure4 ,he who     
conquers himself can conquer other men4 
,he who does not rule himself cannot    
control other people4 ,for the first    
time that boy was conscious of his lack 
of ,,will4 ,he was painfully ashamed4   
,he could not again meet the boys1 or   
the one girl who was at the post-office1
 unless he solved that riddle4 ,it was  

far worse to him than the riddles of the
 ancient oracles or the questions of    
,samson had been to the ancients4 ,no   
victory so glorious to any man as that  
when he rises over his dead self and can
 shout with unwavering confidence1 ,i   
,,will4 ,that young man's battle was    
furious and a strain on body and soul2  
he kept saying over and over again1 ,i  
will solve that riddle4 ,he was sorely  
tempted by hunger1 as he would not stop 
to eat4 ,he determined to win out alone1
 and did not ask aid even of his mother4
 ,that night the rings fell apart in his
 hands and rolled on the floor4 ,he had 
won6 ,life has few joys like that hour  
of victory4 ,the rings had little value 
as pieces of steel1 but his triumph over
 self was worth millions to him1 and    
worth a thousand millions to his        
country4  ,the next morning his parents 
were surprised to see him the first one 
at the breakfast-table4 ,he told of his 
solution of the puzzle1 and said to his 
astonished but delighted parents that he

 had loafed around long enough and that 
he had determined to take hold and do   
things4 ,he asked for an especially hard
 place in the shop1 and entered that    
week on a noble1 triumphant career1     
having few equals save those of like    
experience4 ,his health became robust1  
his work became profitable1 new business
 ideas were developed1 and in a few     
years he controlled the inside business 
and far distanced all outside           
competitors4 ,he said to his wife1 ,i   
will have a million dollars1 and every  
dollar shall be a clean and honest      
dollar4 ,in those days a million looked 
like a mountain of gold4 ,but he secured
 the million and steadily raised the pay
 of his workmen4 ,he became the sheik of
 the town1 the father and adviser of    
every local enterprise4 ,he was sent to 
,congress by a nearly unanimous vote4   
,for eleven years he was a safe         
counselor of the administration at      
,washington and was a close friend and  
trusted supporter of ,president         

,lincoln4  ,one day in #ahfd the        
,federal armies had been defeated by the
 ,confederate forces and gloom shadowed 
the faces of the people4 ,president     
,lincoln had a sleepless night--it      
looked like defeat and disunion4 ,the   
danger was greatly increased by the     
abandonment of the scheme to hold       
,california to the ,union by building a 
railroad through the mountainous        
wilderness of the ,sierra ,nevada and   
,rocky ,mountains4 ,the chief engineer  
who surveyed the route said that it     
could not be done because of the great  
cost4 ,three great financiers had been  
consulted and refused to undertake the  
hopeless task4 ,the great ,massachusetts
 ,senator told ,mr4 ,lincoln that there 
was just one man who could do that      
gigantic feat4 ,the ,senator said to    
,lincoln3 ,if that ,congressman makes up
 his mind to do it1 and it is left to   
him1 he will do it4 ,he is a careful    
man1 but he has a will which seems to be
 irresistible4 ,president ,lincoln sent 

for the ,congressman and said3 ,a       
railroad to ,california now will be more
 than an army1 and it will be an        
army--in the saving of the ,union4 ,will
 you build it8 ,the ,congressman asked  
for three weeks to think4 ,before the   
end of that time he asked the ,secretary
 of ,war to take his card to ,president 
,lincoln1 then in ,philadelphia2 on the 
card was written1 ,i will4 ,what a      
startlingly fascinating story from real 
life is the history of that mighty      
undertaking4 ,now1 when the traveler    
passes the highest point on that        
transcontinental railroad1 #h1eej feet  
above the sea at ,sherman1 ,wyoming1 and
 lifts his hat before the monument      
erected to the memory of that civil     
nobleman and hero1 he is paying his     
respect to the self-giving heart and    
mighty brain of the boy who conquered   
the three links4  ,it may not be        
necessary to multiply illustrations of  
this vital question1 but no one who     
lived in the journalistic circles of    

,washington subsequent to the ,civil    
,war can forget the power and fame of   
that feminine literary genius who1 as   
the ,washington correspondent of the    
,new ,york ,independent1 wrote such     
brilliant letters4 ,the fact that she   
bore the same name as the ,congressman  
we have mentioned1 though no relative of
 his1 does not account for this         
reference to her4 ,she was nearly       
thirty-three years old when a divorce   
and the breaking up of her home left her
 poor1 ill1 and under the cloud of      
undeserved disgrace4 ,her acquaintances 
predicted obscurity1 daily toil with her
 hands1 and a life of lonely sorrow4    
,poor victim of sad circumstances6 ,she 
had but little education1 and had been  
too full of cares to read the books of  
the day4 ,her start in the profession   
which she later so gracefully and       
forcibly adorned was the foremost topic 
in corners and cloakrooms at her largely
 attended literary receptions in        
,washington4  ,she had been told by     

those who loved her that a divorced     
woman would be shunned by all cultured  
women and be the butt of ridicule for   
fashionable men2 and that as she must   
earn a living she should sew or         
embroider or act as a nurse4 ,she       
certainly was too weak to wash clothes  
or care for a kitchen4 ,but within her  
soul there was that yearning to do      
something worth while which seems given 
to almost every woman4 ,few women reach 
old age without feeling that somehow the
 great object of living has not been    
attained4 ,the ambitions to which a man 
can give free wings1 a woman must       
suppress or hide in deference to custom 
or competition4 ,as yet she has seldom  
under our civilization seemed to do her 
best or accomplish the one great ideal  
of her heart and intellect4 ,while she  
has the same ,god-given impulses1       
visions1 and sense of power1 she builds 
no cathedrals1 spans no rivers1 digs no 
mines1 founds no nations1 builds no     
steamships1 and seldom appears in       

painting1 sculpture1 banking1 or        
oratory4 ,she is conscious of the native
 talent1 sees the ideals1 but must hide 
them until it is too late4 ,but this    
woman from the interior of ,new ,york   
,state was an exception2 like ,charlotte
 ,bronte1 she said1 ,i will write4 ,like
 the same great author1 she had her     
rebuffs and returned manuscripts1 and   
all the more since at that time women   
were unknown in the newspaper business4 
,but her invariable answer to critics   
and discouraged friends was1 ,i will4   
,when in #ahhc she said1 ,i will1 to the
 great editor who became her second     
husband1 the ,president of the ,united  
,states wrote a personal letter to say  
that1 while he wished her joy1 he could 
but admit that it would be a distinct   
loss to humanity to have such a         
brilliant genius hidden by marriage4    
,in an automobile ride from ,lake       
,champlain to ,new ,york ,i saw the city
 of ,burlington1 ,vermont1 with its     
university1 where ,barnes had said1 ,i  

will4 ,at ,st4 ,johnsbury the whole city
 advertises ,fairbanks1 who said1 ,i    
will4 ,at ,brattleboro the hum of       
industry ever repeats the name of the   
boy ,esty1 who said1 ,i will2 at        
,holyoke1 the powerful canals seem to   
reflect the faces of ,chase and         
,whitney1 who1 when poor men1 said1 ,i  
will4 ,at ,springfield the signs on the 
stores1 banks1 and factories suggest the
 young ,chapin1 who made the city       
prosperous with his ,i will4 ,at ,new   
,haven ,whitney's determination stands  
out in great streets and university     
buildings4  ,chicago1 ,denver1 ,los     
,angeles1 ,new ,orleans1 ,atlanta1      
,raleigh1 ,niagara1 ,pittsburg and a    
hundred ,american cities like them are  
the outcome of ideas with wills behind  
them in the heads of common men4 ,if    
every man had in the last generation    
done all that it was in his power to do1
 what sublime things would stand before 
us now in architecture1 commerce1 art1  
manufactures1 education1 and religion4  

,the very glimpse of that vision        
bewilders the mind4 ,but the many will  
not to do1 while the few great          
benefactors of the race will to do4 ,my 
young friend1 be thou among those who   
will with noble motives to do4          
,,the ,,end