,illustration3 ,wm ,c ,hunter ,,think ,a ,book for ,to-day ,by ,,col4 ,,wm4 ,c4 ,,hunter ,author of ,pep1 ,dollars and ,sense1 ,brass ,tacks1 etc4 ,illustration ,the ,reilly ,lee ,co4 ,chicago ,printed in the ,united ,states of ,america ,copyright1 #aiah by ,the ,reilly ,britton ,co4 ,made in ,u4 ,s4 ,a4 ,published ,september #bd1 #aiah ,second ,printing--,october #a1 #aiah ,third ,printing--,june #ae1 #aiai ,fourth ,printing--,june #a1 #aibj ,fifth ,printing--,april #c1 #aibb ,sixth ,printing--,february #bg1 #aibe ,seventh ,printing--,october #be1 #aibf ,eighth ,printing--,october #e1 #aibg ,think ,,publisher',s ,,note ,when ,colonel ,hunter wrote ,,pep in #aiad and offered it to ,the ,reilly ,britton ,company1 we immediately accepted the manuscript for publication4 ,so highly did we regard the work that the president of this company1 over his signature1 contributed an introductory note of endorsement1 citing his own experience in following the rules and principles laid down in ,,pep for the attainment of poise1 efficiency and peace4 ,our confidence and belief in ,,pep were amply justified4 ,eight large editions were printed in four years4 ,over #gj1jjj copies have been sold4 ,,think--the last book that ,colonel ,hunter wrote--is now published for the first time4 ,it is especially important1 coming1 as it does1 at a time when commonsense thinking1 good health1 good cheer1 optimism and rational methods of living are more necessary than ever before4 ,in this trenchantly written volume1 ,colonel ,hunter has given some golden advice to the man or woman who is facing the big problems of to-day in a wavering or hopeless spirit4 ,correct your thinking4 ,get a grip on yourself4 ,colonel ,hunter tells you how4 ,,think #a4 ,we all enter the world with an abundance of nerve energy1 and by conserving that energy we can adapt and adjust our nerve equipment to keep pace with the progress and evolution of our times4 ,the way to preserve and conserve nerve equilibrium and power is to rest and relax the nerves each day4 ,you may rest them by a change of the thought habit each day1 by relaxation1 by sleep1 and by the suggestions made in this book4 ,there are but few advance danger signals shown by the nervous system1 and in this there is a marked difference between the nerves and the organic system4 ,if you abuse your stomach1 head1 heart1 lungs1 liver1 kidneys or eyes1 you have distress and pain4 ,the nervous energy is like a barrel of water--you can draw water from the faucet at the bottom until you have almost exhausted the contents4 ,nature mends ordinary nerve waste each day1 like the rains replenish the cistern4 ,sidenote3 ,conserve ,your ,energy4 ,a reasonable use of your nerve force1 like a reasonable use of the rainwater1 means you can maintain a permanent supply4 ,but you must be reasonable2 you must give the cistern a chance to refill and replace that which you have drawn out4 ,you1 who have shattered and tattered your nerves1 are not hopeless4 ,you can come back1 but it must be done by complete change of the acts that brought on the condition4 ,get more sleep4 ,eliminate the useless1 harmful fads1 fancies and functions which disturbed and prevented you from living a sane1 rational life4 ,avoid extremes1 cultivate rhythm and regularity in your business and your home life4 ,keep away from excitement4 ,read really good books4 ,walk more1 talk less4 ,eat less heat-making foods and more apples4 ,follow the diet1 exercise and thought rules suggested in ,pep4 ,sidenote3 ,no ,need to ,despair4 ,maybe these lines are being read by a discouraged one who is all nerves1 which means lost nerve force4 ,to you ,i say there is hope and cheer and strength and courage if1 right here1 now1 you resolve to cut the actions1 habits and stunts that knocked you out and follow my suggestions4 ,i know1 my friend1 for ,i've trotted the heat1 danced the measure1 and been through the mill4 ,now ,i am fearless1 calm and prepared4 ,i can stand any calamity1 meet any issue1 endure any sorrow4 ,i can do prodigious work in an emergency1 go without rest or eating when required1 because ,i have poise1 efficiency--peace4 ,sidenote3 ,steer a ,middle ,course4 ,i realize nothing is as bad as it is painted4 ,nothing is as good as its boosters claim4 ,i go in the middle of the road1 avoiding extremes4 ,i have confidence in my heart4 ,courage1 hope1 happiness1 and content attend me on my way4 ,i've buried envy in a deep pit and covered it with quick lime4 ,i am keeping worry out by keeping faith1 hope and cheer thoughts in my brain-room1 and these are antiseptics against the ravages of the worry microbe4 ,i have my petty troubles and little make-believe worries1 just enough of them to make me realize ,i have them licked1 and to remind me ,i must not let up on my mastery of them4 ,worry growls once in a while just to make me grab tighter the handle of my whip4 ,and you may enjoy this serene state1 too4 ,there is no secret about it4 ,i will gladly give you the rules of the game in this book4 ,just prepare to receive some practical1 helpful suggestions4 #b4 ,sidenote3 ,how to ,use ,your ,assets4 ,you are a busy person1 so am ,i4 ,busy persons are the ones who do things4 ,the architect is a busy man1 but he has learned that the effort spent in preparing his plans is the most important part of his work4 ,the plans enable him to do his work systematically and lay down rules and methods to get the highest efficiency and accomplishment from those who do the work of erecting the building4 ,if the architect would order lumber1 stone and hardware1 without system1 and start to erect the building without carefully prepared plans1 the building would lack symmetry and strength1 and it would be most expensive4 ,the planning time therefor was time well spent4 ,few persons have the ability to control and conserve their talents so as to produce the highest efficiency4 ,men rush along thinking their busyness means business4 ,really1 it means double energy and extra moves to produce a given effect4 ,sidenote3 ,unnecessary ,moves4 ,the elimination of unnecessary moves means operating along lines of least resistance1 and any plan or method that will help to do away with unnecessary moves and make the necessary moves more potential will be received with welcome1 ,i am sure4 ,with the object of conserving energy and strengthening your force1 this book is written4 ,it shall not be a book of ultimate definiteness or a book of exact science4 ,there are no definite or exact rules that will apply1 without exception1 to any science except mathematics4 ,but we shall learn many helpful truths1 nevertheless1 and if ,i err1 or disagree with your conclusions1 just eliminate those lines and take the helps you find4 ,i particularly emphasize the importance of taking a few minutes each evening and using the time for sizing up things1 by inventory1 analysis1 speculation1 comparison and hypothesis4 ,many of the great captains of industry who are noted for their energy in accomplishing things worth while1 have learned the value of this daily habit4 ,sidenote3 ,know ,thyself4 ,i want to help ,,you to form the habit of thinking over each day's activities in the quiet1 relaxed1 uncolored1 unprejudiced1 secluded environment of your home4 ,when the day's work is over1 spend fifteen or twenty minutes each evening in seclusion1 and with closed eyes1 size yourself up4 ,think over your daily round and the work you are doing4 ,are you getting the best out of yourself8 ,or are you plodding along aimlessly1 scattering your energy in a haphazard1 hit-or-miss fashion that benefits nobody8 ,are you growing1 or are you standing still8 ,in these fifteen-minute sizing-up sessions1 you will come to grips with yourself4 ,you will see yourself as you really are1 and will discover your weaknesses1 your strength1 your real worth4 ,i have chosen the evening as the time for our little talks4 ,in the evening we can be cozy1 comfy and communicative4 ,the bank is closed4 ,we met the note and got through the day4 ,we are alive and well2 we can open our hearts4 ,there is no office boy to disturb us1 and the life insurance agent is away at his club4 ,yes1 we can be alone and tranquilly let down the tension1 lower the speed and with normal heartbeats play the low tones1 the soft strains1 the quieting music1 and soothe our nerves4 ,all day we've heard the band with its drums and trombones and shrieky music4 ,the day with its busy whirl kept our analyzing mental think-tank occupied with thoughts of gain and game and fame4 ,in the evening we have time to study logic and to reason1 to analyze and to take inventory1 to thresh out problems4 ,so let us relax and reflect in the evening quiet4 #c4 ,man's nature makes it imperative for him to be interested in something4 ,that interest is to his help or hurt1 according as he directs it4 ,there is much worry and misery in the world because so many are astatic1 like a compass that has lost its loadstone4 ,man is definitely the result of the materials the body and the mind feed upon4 ,character is the result of a determined purpose to be and to do right--to one's self and to one's fellows4 ,the man of character focuses his attention on truth1 and on fact4 ,sidenote3 ,theory and ,fact4 ,he uses theories with fact1 to aid his progress1 but he recognizes that theorizing1 without fact as a safety ballast1 is a useless expenditure4 ,theories without fact leave man in a rudderless boat2 he gets nowhere1 he merely drifts4 ,theory often helps to get at fact1 but the better way is to get at fact by proven experience1 of which there is an inexhaustible abundance in the world4 ,facts are based on natural laws4 ,the study of natural laws is beneficial4 ,we shall strive in our studies to keep close to fact with just enough speculation to enliven the interest in facts4 ,living the artificial life makes for worry1 illness and failure4 ,living in harmony with the great natural laws is the helpful way to live4 ,to abide by the law is safety2 to violate the law brings punishment4 ,every man is better if he follows scientific methods and habits of thought and living4 ,the loafing or astatic mind will fall into morbid tendencies4 ,the employed1 truth-seeking1 idealistic1 hopeful mind is never dependent on people or things for its pleasure4 ,the acquiring of helpful knowledge1 the seeking of worth-while truth1 are ever profitable employments1 paying present and future dividends1 and meanwhile those acts positively divert the thought from morbid tendencies4 ,i shall strive to bring helpful knowledge1 good cheer and interesting facts for your present occupation and benefit4 ,if ,i succeed in accomplishing my purpose1 even in part1 my time has been well spent4 ,sidenote3 ,thought ,never ,stops4 ,we have an unchallenged fact to rest our feet on1 a fact that shall follow us through all the pages of this book1 and that is3 ,our thoughts never stop1 our brains never sleep4 ,so then1 we must consider that thought current1 and reckon with it4 ,the motive power is turned on1 and we must grasp the helm if we sail the sea of life successfully1 baffling storms and avoiding rocks4 ,scientific books are usually dry1 uninviting reading2 they lack the human interest4 ,they are generally bloodless skeletons4 ,we shall try to weave science into new patterns and paint interesting pictures1 so that science will attract and not repel4 ,this book is different in its suggestions1 in its prescriptions1 in its language1 but it is universal with all scientific books1 in that its aim is helpful truth4 ,we go by different routes1 but our objective point is the same4 ,we will avoid technical names and symbols1 and will speak the common language that the multitude understands4 ,we shall deal with problems and aspirations that come to us all in this busy workaday world4 ,we shall try to cut the underbrush in the swamp and blaze a plain trail out on to the big high road4 ,we shall keep in step to the drum-beats of truth1 we will rest and recreate in cool shady places1 and then up and on to our purpose with smiles on our faces1 courage in our hearts1 and song on our lips4 ,every moment of our journey will be worth while and positively helpful if we take the trip with conscientious application and continuity of purpose4 ,our path is strewn with roses and thorns2 we must enjoy the roses and escape the thorns4 ,we welcome you1 the neophyte1 who have joined us in our pilgrimage4 #d4 ,let's be personal2 that's a good way to establish a good idea in place of a bad one4 ,are ,,you pleasant to live with8 ,keep this personal question before you1 even if you are cocksure that you can answer1 yes4 ,sidenote3 ,be ,pleasant4 ,maybe there are some little jars1 rattles1 gratings1 you are not aware of4 ,few of us are honest when looking for our own faults4 ,there may be some sand in your gear box4 ,it won't hurt you to keep the personal question alive for a few days1--,am ,i pleasant to live with8 ,i love the pleasant people whether they are fat1 lean1 tall1 short1 red heads1 brown heads1 homely1 handsome1 republicans or democrats1 business men or artisans4 ,the complaining1 unpleasant grouch is like a bear with a toothache4 ,miserable himself and spreading misery all around4 ,a freckle-faced1 red-headed1 cross-eyed man with a healthy funny bone will spread more cheerfulness and sunshine than a bench full of sad and solemn justices of the supreme court1 or a religious conference4 ,what a different story would be written of ,job1 if he had only possessed a servant who could dance a double shuffle and whistle ,dixie while cooking breakfast4 ,david was a man after my own heart2 he brought gladsome songs into the world4 ,he said1 ,live the way of pleasantness4 ,you can pray1 sing1 play1 work1 think1 rest1 hope2 you can be well or ill1 rich or poor and still be pleasant to live with4 ,sidenote3 ,pleasantness a ,tonic ,quality4 ,being pleasant helps you to be strong in body and mind1 and it keeps you young a long time4 ,it's good medicine2 ,i know it4 ,my little motto1 ,be pleasant every morning until ten o'clock1 the rest of the day will take care of itself1 has brought sunshine into many homes4 ,if you frown it will soon get to be a habit--and give you a heavy heart4 ,if you smile your face will be attractive1 no matter how unlucky you were in the lottery of beauty4 ,be pleasant and you will never feel old4 ,the pleasant disposition is a sure route to happy land and happy homes4 ,old ,ponce de ,leon lost out in searching for the fountain of youth4 ,if he had been pleasant1 he would have kept the smiles on his wife's face and there would have been no excuse to leave her to find the mythical fountain4 ,hoe cake1 bacon and smiles beat lobster1 champagne and frowns4 ,our land is thrice blessed with its peaceful1 happy homes--for happy homes are the strength of a nation4 ,be pleasant in your home4 ,make the children feel home is the pleasantest place in the world4 ,every act and example is written in the child's memory tablet4 ,let your hours with the children be loving1 laughing1 living hours4 ,pat them on the head1 joke with them1 whisper affection1 express love to them4 ,those acts will be remembered in all their years to come1 for you are planting everlasting plants that may pass on to a hundred generations and make children happy a thousand years from now4 ,sidenote3 ,cheerfulness ,its ,own ,reward4 ,be pleasant to live with and you will have more pleasant things to live for4 ,there will be kindnesses1 kisses1 beauty1 health1 peace1 fun1 happiness and content coming your way all along the great big road of life you are traveling4 ,be pleasant to live with and the people will turn to you as you pass and reflect your cheerfulness like the sunflowers turn to face the sun4 ,be pleasant2 don't be cross and crabbed because someone else in the household is not pleasant4 ,do your part2 you will likely thereby cure the frown habit on the face of the unfortunate disturber of your peace4 ,make yourself right before you criticise your life partner4 ,answer this question1 ,am ,i pleasant to live with8 ,don't fool yourself in the matter4 ,get right down to brass tacks with yourself1 watch your moves and acts and attitude for ten days carefully before answering the question4 ,if your answer is no1 now is your time to change your attitude and try the pleasant plan1 and here is my blessing and good wishes in such an event4 #e4 ,there is fun and interest and diversion all around us4 ,all we need is keen observation and we will see much that passes unnoticed to the preoccupied person4 ,what an interesting thing is the great round world we live in6 ,the people are as interesting as fish in an aquarium4 ,sidenote3 ,sitting on the ,side ,lines4 ,see the rushing1 surging crowd4 ,man pushes along searching for necessary things to be done2 he builds cities1 harnesses rivers1 makes ships to sail the seas to the uttermost parts of the earth4 ,man goes to war1 he builds death-dealing devices that destroy in a few minutes a beautiful cathedral which has taken centuries to build4 ,man makes the desert blossom like a rose4 ,here is the scientist in his laboratory1 trying to unite certain elements to produce new substance4 ,here is the beauty in her silken nest2 here the lover2 there the musician2 yonder the peanut man1 and in the office building is the captain of industry--all busy bees deeply absorbed in their respective interests1 and intoxicated in the belief that they are important and greatly necessary4 ,yet in the broad measure of ages they are mere ripples on the sea of time1 faint bubbles on the eternal deep1 and grains of sand at the mountain foot4 ,great man by his own measure--minute man by the great measure of time4 ,mammoths to the near-sighted--mites to the far-sighted4 ,hustle and bustle1 crowd and push4 ,they tramp down the weaker brothers in the mad race after the golden shekels1 which are only measures of the ability to buy and own material things2 symbols of power to make others serve you4 ,these golden shekels which men fret1 sweat and fight for1 can only buy physical and material things4 ,sidenote3 ,a ,great ,truth4 ,away from the crowd is the little group who have learned a great truth1 which is that happiness is not to be bought with gold4 ,this little minority knows that mental pleasures are best1 and that mental pleasures cannot be found on the great highway of material conquest4 ,the puffy1 corn-fed millionaire pities the man who is content to live with small means and enjoy what he has to the full extent4 ,sidenote3 ,real ,happiness4 ,the wise man is he who gets fullness out of life--happiness1 respect1 content1 freedom from worry2 who is busy doing useful things--busy helping his brother1 busy training his children1 busy spreading sunshine and love and the close-together feeling in his home circle4 ,the corn-fed1 hardened1 senseless1 money-mad1 dollar-worshipper knows not peace4 ,smiles seldom linger on his lips4 ,peace never rests in his bosom1 cheer never lights his face4 ,he is simply a fighting machine1 miserable in solitude1 suffering when inactive and sick when resting4 ,the money-chaser is up and doing1 working like a ,trojan1 because occupation takes his mind off the painful picture of his misspent opportunity and his destroyed natural instinct4 ,when fighting for gold he forgets his appalling poverty in the really worth-while things in the world4 ,like the drunkard in his cups1 the intoxication makes him forget1 and he is negatively happy4 ,money received as reward for doing things worth-while is laudable4 ,we cannot sit idly by and neglect to earn money to provide food1 shelter and education for our loved ones1 but between times we should seek the wealth that comes from right mental employment4 ,the millionaire thinks1 dreams and gets dollars1 and that is all4 ,the worth-while man thinks kindness1 usefulness1 self-improvement1 brotherhood1 love and he gets happiness4 ,sidenote3 ,doing for ,others4 ,the man who discovers means to help his fellow man1 does a good act1 but is the man with the dollars in front of his eyes who commercializes the discovery and invention4 ,in the end1 the man that helped mankind fares better than the man who made the millions4 ,it's a great crowd surging by1 and very few have the good sense to learn the value of ,,to-,,day4 ,that great crowd ,i see below my window thinks ever of to-morrow and forgets the wondrous opportunities that to-day holds out4 ,those who think always of to-morrow will never get the beauties and joys from life that comes to the little group of ,to-day1 who appreciates and enjoys the real ,now1 rather than the pictured ,to-morrow that never comes4 ,it's mighty interesting to sit on the side lines and watch the crowds go by and speculate on their movements4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,road to ,disillusionment4 ,save up your pennies1 measure everything by the dollar standard1 think dollars1 dream dollars1 work1 slave1 push for the dollars and you will build a fortune4 ,you will never have peace or recreation or joy2 you will live only in hope of a some day when you will retire4 ,that's the way the millionaires travel life's highway4 ,some day the paper will announce the death of those millionaires1 and then the dollars will be blown in by reckless heirs1 and so the grinding wheels roll on4 ,surely there are many ways of looking at things4 ,surely there is much of interest in the crowd4 ,surely there is an unending amount of thought and speculation possible about that crowd way down on the street below my window4 ,what passions1 what hopes1 what joys1 what sorrows1 are in the hearts of that hurrying1 worrying crowd4 ,what noise this din of traffic makes2 what activity man has stirred up4 ,a picture1 a drama1 a tragedy1 a comedy--all these ,i see in the human ants that run along below the hive where ,i sit and write these lines4 ,the phone rings and my little ,nancy ,lou's voice says1 ,daddy1 will you please bring me a pencil and a tablet with lines on it4 ,so ,i must needs stop this1 whatever you may call it1 and push through the crowd to get that tablet with lines on it for my ,nancy ,lou2 and there is some feeling of happiness and content and peace in ,daddy's heart as he lays down his pen1 for ,daddy is going ,home1 and that word means a lot in his little family1 where they all say ,daddy instead of ,papa or ,father4 #f4 ,sidenote3 ,wasted ,energy4 ,it is hard enough to do duty once1 but doubly hard when you anticipate mentally everything you have to do to-morrow4 ,this doing things twice is a habit easily acquired if you don't watch out1 and it means wasted energy4 ,i have just read the experience of a housewife who was resting on a couch and reading4 ,her eye caught sight of a book lying on the floor across the room4 ,instantly her mindometer1 if ,i may coin a word1 registered1 ,when you get up1 pick up that book4 ,she went on reading1 but her mind was not on the magazine she held1 but on that book on the floor4 ,so obsessed did she become that she was miserable until she got up and picked up the book4 ,i was talking with a woman who was resting on her porch4 ,her day's work was over4 ,she was dressed for the afternoon4 ,everything in the home was neat1 sweet1 clean and tidy4 ,all was serene but her face1 and that was the window through which ,i saw worry working overtime4 ,by strategy ,i learned the trouble1 and here is her story3 ,to-morrow a lot of fruit will be ready to preserve4 ,i am worrying where ,i shall put it4 ,my fruit closet is full4 ,sidenote3 ,doing ,things ,twice4 ,the woman had every reason to say to herself1 ,sufficient unto the day1 yet she was doing the preserving mentally to-day and to-morrow she would do the work physically4 ,a tired mind is harder to rest than a tired body1 so we must nip this advance mental work in the bud4 ,we have all been mentally obsessed with worrying about the things we were going to take on our trip2 then worrying over the routine of our work when we should return from our trip4 ,if the housewife looks over her week's work and washes the dishes1 makes the beds1 cooks the meals1 dresses the children1 mends the clothes1 and does all these things in her imagination before she does them in reality1 she is indeed a hard working woman4 ,it's all right to plan your work2 that's economy in mental expenditure1 for it simplifies1 systematizes1 and saves work4 ,sidenote3 ,planning is ,efficiency4 ,plan your work in advance1 but do not keep your mind on the plans until the work is done4 ,when you have planned1 then close the mental book of to-morrow's duty1 and turn to pleasures1 rest1 relaxation and enjoyment of to-day4 ,it is to get a definite1 different thought habit fixed that ,i ask you to give me these few minutes each day1 so that we may consider various phases of life1 science1 pleasure1 morals and mental refreshment4 ,true1 we can only have a fleeting look at things1 but we'll get enough1 ,i hope1 to freshen your minds1 change the humdrum1 and elicit interest in things4 ,maybe these heart-to-heart1 confidential chats will help us and keep us from going through the mental motions of to-morrow's physical work4 ,if these evening talks interest you1 help clear your vision1 help cheer you1 help rest you1 then they are good for you1 and because they help you1 they certainly benefit me and make me very happy1 because happiness comes from doing something for others4 ,i write as the mood strikes me1 or as a phase of life comes before me1 or as an idea strikes in and just won't let go until ,i grasp my pen and let the words flow4 ,i mean this book to be human1 and not a studied literary effort4 ,i want to reach you right there alone in the room where you are reading this1 and ,i want the suggestions1 the good1 the help1 to soak in1 and ,i want you to pass the good you get to your brother2 you won't lose a bit by doing so4 #g4 ,she is all right--her only trouble is her ,,nerves4 ,how often we hear that and how little does the person with steady nerves appreciate the tortures of nerves4 ,sidenote3 ,about ,nerves4 ,a cut1 a bruise1 a headache1 or any of the physical ailments can be quickly cured4 ,nature will mend the break1 but tired1 worn1 stretched1 abused nerves take time to restore4 ,these nerve ailments call for most vigorous mental treatment4 ,neurasthenia means debilitated or prostrated nerves and it shows itself first of all by worry4 ,worry means the inability to relax the attention from a definite fear or fancied hard luck4 ,worry leads to many physical and mental disorders4 ,left alone this worry stage develops into an acute state and brings with it nervous prostration1 and sometimes a complete collapse of the will power4 ,before the acute stage of neurasthenia is reached1 there is noticed brain fag1 and brain fag is nature's warning signal calling upon you to take notice and change your mental habits4 ,worry sometimes develops into hysteria2 again it takes the form of hypochondria or chronic blues4 ,the hypochondriac has a chronic1 morbid anxiety about personal health and personal welfare4 ,frequently this state is accompanied by melancholia4 ,melancholia is the fork in the road4 ,one turning leads to incurable insanity1 the other to curable melancholia4 ,right here is where heroic action is needed by the sufferer4 ,sidenote3 ,cure the ,worry ,habit4 ,here is where the sufferer must exert his maximum will power1 and change completely his mental and physical habits and his surroundings4 ,occupation1 changed habits1 taking in of confidence1 faith and courage thoughts--these changes are necessary to the victim of melancholia1 or he will shatter his health on the danger rocks and go to pieces4 ,melancholia is an ailment that offers a good chance for ,christian ,science4 ,mental suggestion1 the powerful personality of a friend1 and the personal help such a friend can give by counsel1 example and suggestion1 are all helps4 ,i have abundant evidence that melancholia sufferers can be restored to peace1 efficiency and poise1 by proper thought direction1 and by proper physical employment4 ,pep1 which has principally to do with mental efficiency1 definitely lays down rules and practical suggestions for the employment of the mind and body4 ,i have letters and verbal proofs in quantity proving the efficiency of those rules and suggestions4 ,so wonderful have been the results1 so numerous the recoveries1 that the testimonials1 if published1 would make the fake nerve tonic manufacturer die of envy4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,importance of ,nerves4 ,only your nerves4 ,i cannot understand why the word1 only1 is used4 ,it makes it appear that nerves are of minor importance4 ,nerves are less understood than anything in the human anatomy and they are harder to understand4 ,experience has proved that nerves cannot be restored by dope1 patent medicines1 tonics or prescriptions4 ,the cure must come by and through the individual possessing the nerves1 and by and through the individual's power of will and mastery of the mind4 ,get the mental equipment right4 ,let the mind master the body4 ,let the nerve sufferer get hold of himself and fill his brain with faith-thought instead of fear-thought1 with courage instead of cowardice1 with strength instead of weakness1 with hope instead of despair1 with smiles instead of frowns1 with occupation instead of sluggishness1 and wonders will appear4 ,the little shredded1 tingling nerve-ends will then commence to synchronize instead of fight1 to harmonize instead of breaking into discord1 to build instead of destroy4 ,sidenote3 ,you ,can ,come ,back4 ,the building1 or coming back to a normal state1 is slow2 it takes time1 patience and will power1 but it can be done4 ,i know4 ,i have been through the mill1 and ,i pass the word to you and try to stir you to be up and doing1 even as ,i did4 ,your nerves can be steadied1 your thoughts uplifted1 your health restored1 your ambition re-established1 your normality fixed4 ,smiles1 love and content are to be yours4 ,poise1 efficiency1 peace1 your blessings4 ,health1 happiness and hope your dividends4 ,all these ,i promise you if you will read this book from cover to cover1 think1 and follow its plain1 practical teachings4 ,the curriculum is not hard2 it is not my discovery4 ,i am merely the purveyor of facts1 the gleaner of truth1 and the selector of helpful experiences1 first of all for my own benefit1 and having proved the truth in my own case1 for friends to whom ,i pass the truths and rules4 ,i made bold to write books1 but the writing has paid me well1 not alone in dollars1 but from having done a helpful thing in writing for other humans who have had problems1 worries and nerves4 ,the big books on nerves are discouraging and forbidding by their immensity and the labyrinth of technical1 scientific terms4 ,there are fine for teachers1 but discouraging for the layman4 ,the great everyday crowd is the class ,i want to talk to1 and so ,i endeavor to write in plain human1 sincere style from heart to heart1 with understanding1 feeling1 charity and sympathy4 ,i have felt the things you feel1 and if ,i can by example1 emphasis1 suggestion1 rule or good intent1 be a help to you1 then ,i have done a service4 #h4 ,there are men who cannot be kept down by circumstances or obstacles4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,men ,who ,do ,things4 ,these men carry on with confidence in their hearts and smiles on their faces4 ,they do not lie in wait for the band wagon or favorable winds2 they make things happen4 ,they are alert and alive to every favorable opportunity and helpful influence that comes their way4 ,these men are men of good health4 ,they are out of doors much2 they carry their heads high and breathe in good air deeply4 ,they greet friends with a smile and put meaning and feeling into every hand clasp4 ,let's you and ,i follow their trail1 for it leads out on to the big road4 ,do not fear being misunderstood2 right will finally come into its own4 ,we will keep our minds off our enemies1 and keep our thoughts on our purpose2 we will make up our minds what we want to do4 ,we will mark a straight line on the log and hew to that line4 ,fear is the dope drug that kills initiative2 hate the poison that shatters clear thinking4 ,hate and fear are the iron ore in our life's vessel2 they deflect the compass and prevent us from holding to the course4 ,sidenote3 ,grasp ,present ,opportunities4 ,there are splendid worth-while things for us to do1 and with continuity of action and singleness of purpose on our part the days will pass by as we are seizing opportunity and making use of the things required for the fulfillment of our desires4 ,we are like the coral insect that takes from the running tide the material to build a solid fortress4 ,our running tide is made up of the gliding golden days4 ,let's waste no time in trying to make friends or in seeking to attach ourselves to others4 ,true friends are not caught by pursuit2 they come to us2 they happen through circumstances we do not create4 ,self-reliance is ours1 and we must first use it for our own betterment4 ,we will then have a surplus of energy to allow us to help others4 ,our energy hours must be devoted to our purposes and ideals4 ,atween times1 we must rest and relax1 and repair the waste that strenuosity makes4 ,breathe good air1 bask in the sunshine1 see nature1 and say to yourself3 ,all these treasures are for me2 all these things ,i am part of4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,joy of ,living4 ,do not prepare for death2 prepare for life4 ,preparing for death brings the end before your allotted time4 ,like ,job of old1 that which we fear will come to us4 ,we must not think of death1 or waste time preparing for it4 ,it makes us miserable to-day4 ,it makes us weak and fills us with fear1 and it draws the day of our departure nearer4 ,to-day is ours4 ,live freely1 fully to-day4 ,be unafraid1 unhurried1 and undisturbed4 ,we are building character1 and the way we build it is by mental attitude1 by our acts1 and by the way we employ the precious moments of to-day4 ,put yourself in harmony with nature--realize the wonderful power of the will--and you will be strong1 a veritable king among men4 #i4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,pessimist4 ,the calamity howler is found everywhere4 ,in times of peace or war he is with us4 ,this pessimist sows seeds of discord1 plants envy1 generates the anarchist spirit1 and is an all-around nuisance4 ,a man may spend years erecting a building2 a fiend can demolish it in a minute with a stick of dynamite4 ,the calamity howler is a destroyer2 he doesn't think1 he spurts out words4 ,his words and arguments are simply parrot mimicry and void of intellectual impulse1 as are the movements of an angle worm4 ,these gloom merchants talk of their rights1 and they expect and demand the same privileges and benefits that are earned by the man who uses his head4 ,the pessimist sees good in nobody4 ,human nature to him is a cesspool of villainy and corruption4 ,he will not tolerate a word of praise for a thing well done4 ,disparagement is his favorite weapon4 ,he ascribes mean and selfish motives to public-spirited men4 ,every deed of kindness1 every act of generosity1 is given a sinister meaning when seen in the light of his own base soul4 ,at home he is a grumbler and a grouch4 ,his presence depresses1 and happiness fades away at his approach4 ,in the community1 he never reaches high office because he lacks civic spirit and the forward-looking view4 ,he obstructs progress instead of promoting it4 ,at his work1 he lags behind where others achieve4 ,he rails at conditions instead of changing them1 and eventually he finds himself shelfed and shunned as a back number4 ,these purveyors of panic eat into the vitals of the nation4 ,they breed discontent1 undermine morale1 and sow suspicion and distrust where previously there had been friendliness1 co-operation and the pull-together spirit4 ,wherever men gather1 you will find these ghoulish spirits4 ,they are in evidence in times of peace and plenty1 as well as in times of war and peril4 ,it matters not that our farmers are seeing to it that our granaries are filled to-day as never before1 and that every man has a job4 ,these prophets of disaster have only one string to their harp1 and they will twang on that and no other4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,danger of ,pessimism4 ,in times of war1 the pessimist is doubly dangerous1 for he spreads his iniquitous propaganda among people who are already under a great emotional strain4 ,always a menace1 when a people are in the throes of a great life-and-death struggle1 it is doubly necessary to stamp out this destroyer of morale1 with his insidious campaign of gloom and despair and his veiled innuendos of panic and destruction4 ,it is up to you and to me to denounce these breeders of discord2 to hold them up to the scorn of intelligent1 thinking people4 ,they are neither doers nor thinkers1 and the world has no need of them in these trying times4 #aj4 ,this evening ,i rode home in a crowded street car4 ,what an interesting study it was to watch the faces in that car4 ,discontent1 discomfort1 worry1 gloominess on nearly every face4 ,tired faces1 tired bodies drooped over from a hard day's work1 mouth corners depressed4 ,hopelessness stamped on the countenances4 ,sidenote3 ,gloom and ,cheer4 ,as the people came in the car1 some of them had smiles or at least passable expressions1 but when they got crowded together and saw the gloomy faces1 the gloom spread to their faces1 too4 ,at a picnic1 all are smiling and laughing4 ,in the street car at six o'clock1 the long procession of workers is a stream of solemn faces4 ,contagion1 example1 surroundings1 yes1 that's it--contagion and example4 ,at six o'clock in the cars1 all is gloom1 blueness and sorrow faces4 ,at eight o'clock many of these faces will be changed2 there will be joy1 smiles1 rosiness1 singing and dancing4 ,yet the actual conditions of finance1 health1 hope or prospects haven't changed since these people were in the car at six o'clock4 ,why1 then1 such a change in two hours8 ,sidenote3 ,good ,cheer ,contagious4 ,it is this3 ,at seven o'clock these workers sat down to supper2 they were out of that gloom-reflected street car atmosphere4 ,now they are talking2 they are rounding-up the day's activities2 they are ,,home with mother1 sister1 brother and the kiddies4 ,the home ones greet them with smiles1 the appetizing supper pleases the palate1 good cheer permeates1 and all around them is smiles and joy4 ,gloom spreads gloom4 ,joy spreads joy4 ,gloom is black2 joy is white4 ,one darkens1 the other brightens4 ,well1 then1 where's the moral8 ,what's the benefit from this little study of the street car passengers8 ,the lesson is plain3 ,it is that you and ,i are ferments of joy1 or acids of gloom4 ,we are influences to help or to hurt4 ,to hurt others by our example hurts us4 ,to help others by our example helps us4 ,we become happier than ever4 ,in the street car1 life was not worth living if you judged by the pained faces4 ,in two hours1 by changed thought1 the example of life was worth while4 ,what changes mental attitude makes6 ,when a man has spent ,his very last cent1 ,the world looks blue1 you bet2 ,but give him a dollar1 ,and loud he will holler ,there's life in the old world yet4 ,next time we get on the street car1 let's plant some smiles4 ,let's give that lady a seat and smile when we do it4 ,we can spread cheer by merely wearing a cheery face4 ,costs little1 pays big4 ,let's do it4 #aa4 ,some of our richest blessings are gained by not striving for them directly4 ,this is so true that we accept the blessings without thinking about how we came to get them4 ,sidenote3 ,be ,happy4 ,particularly true is this in the matter of happiness4 ,everyone wants to be happy1 but few know how to secure this blessing4 ,most people have the idea that the possession of material things is necessary to happiness1 and that idea is what keeps architects1 automobile makers1 jewelers1 tailors1 hotels1 railroads1 steamships and golf courses busy4 ,do your duty well1 have a worth-while ambition1 be a dreamer1 have an ideal1 keep your duty in mind1 be occupied sincerely with your work1 keep on the road to your ideal1 and happiness will cross your path all the while4 ,happiness is an elusive prize2 it's wary1 timid1 alert and cannot be caught4 ,chase it and it escapes your grasp4 ,sidenote3 ,one ,man's ,story4 ,i read today of a friend who walked home with a workman4 ,this is the workman's story3 ,he had a son who was making a record in school4 ,he had two daughters who helped their mother2 he had a cottage1 a little yard1 a few flowers1 a garden4 ,he worked hard in a garage by day1 and in the evening he cultivated his flowers1 his garden1 and his family4 ,he had health1 plus contentment a-plenty4 ,his possessions were few and the care of them consequently a negligible effort4 ,happiness flowed in the cracks of his door4 ,smiles were on his lips1 joy in his heart1 love in his bosom2 that's the story my friend heard4 ,then came a friend in an automobile on his way home from the club4 ,he picked up my friend1 and unfolded to him a tale of woe1 misery and discontent4 ,this club man had money1 automobiles1 social standing1 possessions1 and all the objects and material things envious persons covet--yet he was unhappy4 ,his whole life was spent chasing happiness1 but his sixty horsepower auto wasn't fast enough to catch it4 ,the poor man ,i have told you about was the man who washed the club man's auto4 ,the strenuous pleasure seeker fails to get happiness2 that is an inexorable law4 ,he develops into a pessimist with an acrid1 satirical disgust at all the simple1 wholesome1 worth-while1 real things in life4 ,this is not a new discovery of mine2 it's an old truth4 ,read ,ecclesiastes1 the pessimistic chronicle of the ,bible1 and you'll learn what comes to the pleasure-chaser1 and you will know about vanity and vexation of spirit4 ,sidenote3 ,making ,others ,happy4 ,do something for somebody4 ,engage in moves and enterprises that will be of service to the community and help the uplift of mankind4 ,this making others happy is a positive insurance and guarantee of your own happiness4 ,you must keep a stiff upper lip1 a stiff backbone2 you must forget the wishbone and the envious heart4 ,paul had trials1 setbacks1 hardships and hard labors2 he had defeats and discouragements and still the record shows he was always rejoicing4 ,paul was a man of ,pep4 ,in the dungeon1 with his feet in stocks1 he sang songs and rejoiced4 ,paul was happy1 ever and always1 not because he strove to get happiness1 but because he had dedicated his life to the service of mankind4 ,the real hero1 the real man of fame1 the real man of popularity1 doesn't arrive by setting out on a quest for any of these things2 the result is incidental4 ,the real hero forgets self first of all2 that is the essential step to greatness4 ,washington at ,valley ,forge had no thought that his acts there would furnish inspiration for a picture that would endure for generations4 ,lincoln1 the care-worn1 tired1 noble man1 in his speech at ,gettysburg1 never dreamed that that speech would stamp him as a master of words and thought1 in the hearts of his country-men4 ,he thought not of self4 ,he was trying to soothe wounds1 cheer troubled spirits1 and give courage to those who had been so long in shadowland4 ,ever has it been that fame1 glory1 happiness came as rewards1 not to those who strive to capture1 but to those who strive to free others from their troubles1 burdens and problems4 #ab4 ,i am often asked3 ,are you happy ,,all the time8 ,my answer is no4 ,sidenote3 ,continuous ,happiness ,impossible4 ,a continuous state of happiness cannot be enjoyed by any human4 ,there are no plans1 no habits1 no methods of living that will insure unbroken happiness4 ,happiness means periods or marking posts in our journey along life's road4 ,these high points of bliss are enjoyed because we have to walk through the low places between times4 ,continuous sunshine1 continuous warm weather1 continuous rest1 continuous travel1 continuous anything spells monotony4 ,we must have variety4 ,we need the night to make us enjoy the day1 winter to make us enjoy summer1 clouds to make us enjoy sunshine1 sorrow to make us enjoy happiness4 ,but1 dear reader1 mark this3 ,we can be philosophical1 and have content1 serenity and poise between the happiness periods4 ,when you get blue1 or have dread or sorrow1 or possess that indescribable something that makes you feel badly2 when you have worry or trouble1 then's the time to get hold of your thinking machinery and dispel the shadows that cross your path4 ,occupation and focusing your thoughts on your blessings--these are the methods to employ4 ,as long as you dwell upon your imagined or your real sorrows1 you will be miserable and the worries will magnify like gathering clouds in ,april4 ,sidenote3 ,think ,happiness4 ,change your thoughts to confidence1 faith1 and good cheer1 and busy your hands with work4 ,think of the happiness periods you have had1 and know that there are further happiness dividends coming to you4 ,keep this sort of thought1 and with it1 useful occupation1 and the sunshine will dispel your gloomy forebodings and sorrow thoughts like the sun dispels the ,april showers1 bringing about a more beautiful day because of the clouds and storms just passed4 ,when trouble or sorrows come1 sweeten your cup with sugar remembrances of joys that have been and joys you are to have4 ,envy no one2 envy breeds worry4 ,the person you would envy has his sorrows and shadows1 too4 ,you see him only when the sunlight is on the face2 you don't see him when he is in shadowland4 ,sidenote3 ,brace ,up1 ,cheer ,up4 ,no1 dear ones1 ,i1 nor you1 nor anyone on earth can have complete1 unruffled1 continued happiness1 but we can brace up and call our reserve will-power1 reason1 and self-confidence into action when we come to the marshy places along the road4 ,we can pick our steps and get through the mire1 and sooner than we believe it possible1 we can get on the good solid ground2 and as we travel1 happiness will often come as a reward for our poise and patience4 ,my friends say3 ,you always seem happy1 and in that saying they tell a truth1 for ,i am happy often--very1 very often--and between times ,i make myself seem to be happy4 ,this making myself seem to be happy gives me serenity1 contentment1 fortitude1 and the very seeming soon blossoms into a reality of the condition ,i seem to be in4 ,you can be happy often1 and when you are not happy1 just seem to be happy anyway2 it will help you much4 #ac4 ,a little child is crying over a real or fancied injury to her body or to her pride4 ,so long as she keeps her mind on the subject she is miserable4 ,distract her attention1 get her mind on another subject1 and her tears stop and smiles replace frowns4 ,this shows how we are creatures of our thoughts4 ,as a man thinketh in his heart1 so is he is a truth that has endured through the centuries4 ,we are children in so far as we cry and suffer when we think of our ills or hurts or wrongs or bad luck4 ,we can smile and have peace1 poise and strength if we change our thoughts to faith1 courage and confidence4 ,sidenote3 ,fear-,thought and ,faith-,thought4 ,our condition is what we make it4 ,if we think fear1 worry and misery1 we will suffer4 ,if we think faith1 peace and happiness1 we will enjoy life4 ,every thought that comes out of our brain had to go in first4 ,the kind of thoughts we have afford an indication of the kind of people we are4 ,if we feed our brain storehouse with trash and fear and nonsense1 we have poor material to draw from4 ,sidenote3 ,thought ,control4 ,the last thought we put in the brain before going to sleep is most likely to last longest4 ,so it is our duty to quietly relax1 to slow down1 to eliminate fear-thought and self-accusation1 and to substitute some good helpful thought in closing the mental book of each day4 ,therefore read a chapter or two from a worth-while book the last thing before going to bed4 ,say to yourself1 ,i am unafraid2 ,i can1 ,i will awake in the morning with smiles on my face1 courage in my heart1 and song on my lips4 ,these suggestions for closing the day will be of instant help to you4 ,the great power for good--the wherewith to give you strength1 progress and efficiency--is within yourself and at the command of your will4 ,you can't think faith and fear1 good and bad1 courage and defeat1 all at the same time4 ,you can only think one thing at a time4 ,your great power is your will1 and the wherewith to help yourself is your thought habit4 ,change your thought habit as you go to bed4 ,you can do it2 it's a matter of will determination4 ,the more faithful you are to your purpose1 the easier your task will be4 ,be patient1 conscientious1 rational and confident4 ,you are what your thoughts picture you to be4 ,your will directs your thoughts4 ,don't get discouraged if you can't suddenly change your life from shadow to sunshine1 from illness to wellness4 ,big things take time and patience4 ,the great ship lies in the harbor pointed ,north4 ,a tug boat could make a sudden pull and break the great chain or tow line4 ,yet you could take a half-inch rope and with your own hands turn the great ship completely around by pulling steadily and patiently4 ,the movement would be slow1 but it would be sure and you would finally accomplish your purpose4 ,don't jerk and fret and be impatient with yourself4 ,you have been for years perhaps worrying and thinking fear-thoughts4 ,you have put a lot of useless and harmful material in your brain4 ,you can't clean all your brain house in a day or a week1 but you can do a little cleaning each day4 ,you can take the faith-rope of good purpose and start to pull gently1 and finally you will turn your whole life's character toward the port of success4 ,the great crowd worries2 only the few have learned the power of the will1 and the benefits to be derived from mental control4 ,business and social duties call for strong men and woman4 ,you can't reach mastership if you remain a slave4 ,your first duty is to yourself1 and success or failure is your reward exactly in proportion as you exercise your will power and handle your thought habits4 #ad4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,best ,medicine4 ,the doctors are giving less medicine and doing more in the way of suggesting diet and exercise rules1 sanitation and preventive practices4 ,medicine is mostly poison and its effect is to shock the organs or glands to bring about reaction4 ,nature makes the cure4 ,in emergency drugs are all right1 but the doctor and not the individual should settle the matter of what drug to use and the proper time to use it4 ,when there's a pain or disease1 it's due to congestion of some organ1 to infection1 or to improper nourishment1 or improper habits4 ,ninety per cent of aches1 pains and ailments can be cured by a dominant mental attitude and by proper attention to eating and exercise4 ,the habitual medicine user is not cured by the medicine but by nature2 the medicine simply serves as a means to establish mental control and to create confidence in the sufferer that he is to get well4 ,recently ,i spent much time in a large hospital visiting a relative who had been operated on4 ,i know several members of the staff of doctors and nurses4 ,i have seen many operations1 some very heroic ones1 and my appreciation of the good work of good surgeons is greatly augmented by the wonderful helps ,i have seen them bring to suffering humanity4 ,i have talked with scores of patients and watched the progress of their cases4 ,i have by plausible logic1 mental suggestion1 and good cheer to the hospital patients1 brought many a smile through a mist of tears4 ,i have seen the wonderful results of mental suggestion to the discouraged patients4 ,to show the effects that faith-thought will produce1 ,i will relate some instances4 ,sidenote3 ,mental ,sickness4 ,one patient screaming for a hypodermic injection to relieve her pain was given an injection of sterilized water and the pain vanished4 ,another just could not sleep without her bromide4 ,the nurse fixed up a powder of sugar1 salt and flour2 the patient took the powder and went to sleep4 ,that was mind control and mental longing satisfied4 ,another patient had to take something to stop her pains2 she got capsules of magnesia4 ,the capsule satisfied her longing1 established her faith and gave her relief2 the relief was through her mind and not through the capsule4 ,sidenote3 ,changing ,thought ,direction4 ,i have seen several weary1 despondent patients fretting and wearing themselves out over their so-called weakness and run-down condition4 ,i have placed copies of ,pep in their hands and watched courage1 faith1 cheer and serenity come to them4 ,it diverted their minds from self-thought and self-accusation to faith-thought1 confidence and courage4 ,you can think of only one thing at a time1 and ,pep or any other book that can change the thought habit from fear to faith1 from worry to peace1 is doing a service4 ,i've been in shadowland in the hospital to see for myself the actual help that mental control will bring to sufferers1 and the evidence is far above my powers to describe4 ,i've seen the patient's eyes brighten up when the cheery surgeon came with hope1 smiles and confidence on his face4 ,i've seen the drooping of spirits when well-meaning but poor-expressing friends came into the patient's room and condoned and sorrowed with him4 ,verily1 as a man thinketh in his heart1 so is he4 ,verily1 good cheer and good thought are good medicines4 ,and to these truths all good doctors say ,amen6 #ae4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,pill ,fiend4 ,how often we see the pill fiend4 ,in his vest pocket he has a small apothecary shop--a collection of round paste-board boxes and little bottles4 ,every little while he dopes himself4 ,if his stomach is on a strike1 he pops in a pill4 ,if his head aches1 he takes a tablet4 ,if he sneezes1 he takes a cold-cure pill4 ,when anyone around speaks of a pain or ache1 he hands the person a pill4 ,the pill eater is a hypochondriac1 and very likely his doctor knows it4 ,his salvation is that the doctor probably gives him harmless stuff in pill form4 ,the patient doesn't know this1 and it's like a rabbit's foot or a piece of pork rubbed on a wart--it satisfies the mind and nature makes the cure4 ,often1 however1 the pills are not innocent2 the pill fiend buys the tablets and pills direct from the druggist4 ,the headache tablet is most likely one of the coal tar drugs like acetanilid1 and that is positively harmful when taken too often4 ,there are times to take pills--in cases of emergency1 when you can shock nature with a poison and bring a wholesome reaction4 ,these times are rare1 and the doctor should be the sole judge as to when such treatment is necessary4 ,exercise1 diet1 correct habits of living will prevent the congestion and clogging-up that causes illness and pain4 ,sidenote3 ,a ,dangerous ,habit4 ,the pill habit is nothing less than a drug habit1 and the drug habit positively weakens the system4 ,the headache tablet does not cure the headache2 it only stops the pain2 the evil is still there4 ,the headache is merely nature's signal that something is out of whack4 ,headaches are generally caused by stomach disorders1 eye strain1 or neuralgia2 the latter in turn is caused by too much uric acid in the system4 ,eat fruit1 drink plenty of water1 and that will flush the system and stop stomachic headache4 ,see the optician if it's eyes4 ,if you have a frequent headache in the forehead1 very likely it's the eyes1 even though you do not suspect it4 ,if it's neuralgia1 get a corrective diet from the doctor4 ,i know scores of men1 and women1 too1 who take pills enough to kill a person4 ,their systems have been educated up to it2 they are saturated with poison4 ,and the worst of it is they never get well while taking the pills2 it is only a temporary deadening of the pain4 ,then1 there are many who take pills to make them sleep4 ,that's a crime4 ,it's self-murder by slow degrees1 for they are surely shortening their lives by this poison dope pill habit4 ,sidenote3 ,nature1 the ,curer4 ,mark this3 ,nature1 and ,nature alone1 effects cures1 and it's in very1 very few instances that a poison pill can be used to advantage4 ,you can keep well by getting good air1 good water1 good sunshine1 good food1 good exercise1 good rest1 good cheer and good thought4 ,that is what ,i call my golden prescription1 and it will do wonders for you1 and every doctor will tell you so4 ,pills kill1 if you keep up the habit4 ,there are no two ways about it4 ,i say positively and knowingly that this pill habit is absolutely life shortening4 ,don't try to argue2 the evidence is unshakable on this point4 ,if you could have seen the derelicts in the hospitals that ,i have1 if you could have seen the wretched bodies1 destroyed nerve systems1 the broken-down1 emaciated1 hopeless shells of men and women addicted to the baneful pill habit1 you would be as positive as ,i am that pills kill if you keep up the habit4 ,life is sweet and precious to us all4 ,do not shorten it by taking pills and tablets for every ache or pain4 ,try nature's way4 ,realize that mental suggestion and will-power will drive away most pains or temporary aches4 ,brace up1 cheer up2 chuck the pills in the garbage can4 #af4 ,sidenote3 ,two ,kinds of ,pleasures4 ,there are two principal kinds of pleasures that man seeks2 one is material pleasures1 and about ninety-nine per cent of the human family devote themselves to these4 ,the remainder--the one per cent--seek mental pleasures1 and this little group is the one that gets the real1 lasting1 satisfying and improving pleasures out of life4 ,the material pleasures are the social pleasures of eating1 displaying1 possessing1 and so forth4 ,material pleasures generate in the human the desire for fluff1 feathers1 and four-flushing4 ,material pleasures accentuate the desire to possess things1 and in the strife for possession1 hearts are broken1 fortunes wasted1 nerves shattered1 and the finer sentiments calloused4 ,the homes where material pleasures abound are the ones where worry1 neurasthenia and nervous prostration abound4 ,material pleasures are merely stimulants for the time being1 and there always come the intermittent reflexes of gloom and depression4 ,the desire to show off1 to excite envy in others1 is always present at the homes where material pleasures are the rule4 ,material pleasures call for crowds4 ,mental pleasures are best enjoyed in solitude4 ,the material pleasure-seeker lives a life of convention1 engagements1 routine1 strain1 and high tension4 ,sidenote3 ,mental ,pleasures ,are ,best4 ,the person who is so fortunate as to appreciate and follow mental pleasures is serene1 natural1 happy and content4 ,a cozy room1 loved ones around1 music1 books1 love and social conversation--those are mental pleasures2 those are best4 ,he who can pick up a book and read things worth while1 gets satisfaction unknown to those whose life is a round of banquets1 theaters1 dances1 automobiles1 parties1 bridge1 clubs and society doings4 ,when you spend the evening playing cards1 the chances are you come home late1 and when you retire1 it takes perhaps an hour or so before you fall to sleep4 ,and during the night you dream of cards1 of certain hands1 of certain circumstances1 or certain persons who were prominent in the evening's game4 ,the reason you do not go to sleep after an exciting evening is that you have set your nerve carburetor at high tension and have forgotten to lower it before you go to sleep4 ,sidenote3 ,good ,reading4 ,on the other hand1 when you have been reading a restful book1 full of good thought1 you establish an equilibrium1 a relaxed state of nerves1 and particularly1 you have switched the current or direction of your day's thoughts4 ,that change spells rest1 and you retire and go to sleep easily4 ,you will scarcely believe what a wondrous change for the better you will notice in yourself if you make it a rule to have a brain clearing1 mental inventory1 and nerve relaxation every night before you go to sleep4 ,your brain works at night always2 oft-times you have no remembrance of your dreams1 but if your last hour1 before retiring1 was an hour of excitement1 tension or unusual occupation1 you will likely go over it all again in your dreams4 ,if you will let nothing prevent your evening period of soliloquy1 you will establish your mental habits into a rhythm that will give you peace1 rest and benefit4 ,in the olden days1 when most families had evening worship or family prayers1 the members of those households slept soundly and restfully4 ,particularly was this so because of the habit formed of getting the mind on peaceful1 helpful1 comforting1 soul-satisfying thoughts that remained fresh on the brain tablets as the members of the home circle went to sleep4 ,too often the books read in the home circle are all of the exciting1 fascinating1 highly colored imaginative type4 ,people read stories of love1 adventure or crime1 and they dream these same things almost every night4 ,i have found that it pays to read two classes of literature in the same evening4 ,first read your novel1 story1 or fascinating book1 but fifteen minutes before you are ready to go to sleep1 read some good1 wholesome1 helpful1 uplifting book1 and that good stuff will be lastingly filed away in your brain4 ,sidenote3 ,what to ,read4 ,finish your evening with books that are interesting1 yet educational4 ,such books as ,life of the ,bee by ,maeterlinck1 or any one of ,fabre's wonderful books on insect life2 ,riddle of the ,universe by ,haeckel2 ,darwin's books2 ,drummond's ,ascent of ,man2 ,walks and ,talks in ,geological ,fields is a splendid mental night cap2 ,power of ,silence2 ,physiology of ,faith and ,fear2 ,emerson's ,essays2 ,holmes' ,autocrat of the ,breakfast ,table2 ,rubaiyat of ,omar ,khayyam2 ,tom ,moore's ,poems2 ,plutarch's lives2 ,seneca2 ,addison2 ,bulwer ,lytton2 ,hugo2 ,carlyle's ,sartor ,resartus4 ,this latter book will not fascinate you like ,carlyle's ,french ,revolution1 but you will learn to love its fine language1 its fine analysis of character1 of times1 and of things4 ,sidenote3 ,what ,you ,gain4 ,there are countless books of the good improving kind4 ,always save one of them for your solid reading1 after you have read light literature or novels4 ,if you will get the habit1 you will notice great benefits and rapid advancement in your mental equipment4 ,you will sleep better1 think clearer2 you will learn to enjoy mental pleasures more than material pleasures4 ,fifteen minutes1 then1 to be yours1 yours alone1 in which you quiet1 soothe1 strengthen and pacify yourself and add abundant resources and assets4 ,let the last reading in the evening be something worth storing up in that precious brain of yours1 and the good1 worth-while deposit will grow and produce beautiful worth-while mental fruit4 ,sidenote3 ,don't ,overdo ,it4 ,get the home reading habit4 ,don't overdo it4 ,call on friends2 go to a good picture show once in a while1 to good concerts1 to good plays1 but do not make this going-out-in-the-evening-plan a habit4 ,let it be merely a dessert1 or a rarity4 ,like candy and ice cream1 it is proper and enjoyable when it is not overdone4 ,the lover of books and home can enjoy the play1 because he only goes to plays worth while1 and he doesn't overdo it4 ,the confirmed theater-goer is a pessimist2 he roasts nearly every play1 and he is universally bored4 ,when you get started reading worth-while books on science1 on history1 on geography1 on travel1 on natural history1 you tap an inexhaustible field of pleasure and satisfaction4 ,at any time1 you can pick up your book and be happy4 ,waits in railway stations will be opportunities2 trips on trains will be pleasant2 evenings alone will be enjoyable1 if you can get into a book you like4 ,mental pleasures are best4 ,material pleasures are merely passing shadows--to be enjoyed for the brief moment before they disappear4 #ag4 ,sidenote3 ,verbomania4 ,the malady ,verbomania is spreading rapidly4 ,what's that8 ,you have never heard of ,verbomania8 ,well1 then1 it's taken from verbosus1 the ,latin word meaning abounding in words1 the using of more words than is necessary4 ,mania1 also ,latin1 means to rage--excessive or unreasonable desire4 ,therefore1 ,verbomania is the excessive desire to use more words than are necessary4 ,there is too much talk nowadays and too little thinking4 ,some persons start their gab carburetors1 and they talk and talk mechanically1 without any effort spent in thinking4 ,just like walking1 the motion just goes by itself4 ,scientists have suggested that perhaps too much talking without thinking is a disease4 ,i don't see that there is any perhaps about it4 ,disease is an unnatural condition--a function of the mind or body out of its natural order of working4 ,we know we can sit down and run ideas through our brain without words1 and we can use a lot of words without ideas4 ,you have read whole pages in a book without receiving an idea4 ,one can rattle off words and not have ideas4 ,when the fountain of words flows in a desert of ideas1 it's ,verbomania4 ,sidenote3 ,think ,more1 ,talk ,less4 ,people in all walks of life have the disease2 they talk together too much without any reason other than to take up time or make themselves at ease4 ,pink teas1 receptions and society functions are great rookeries for these ,verbomania birds to gather and indulge in their gabfest4 ,the pianist through long practice is able to play a difficult composition without thinking about it2 it's automatic2 it's habit in action4 ,the society dodo bird is just as dexterous in spinning words without thought1 as the pianist with his difficult piece4 ,our rapid mode of living1 our conventions and customs are responsible for much of the ,verbomania4 ,i should like to take my ,dictophone to a fussy afternoon and record the word evacuations1 the footless conversation1 the forced pleasantries1 the set sentences that mingle into a hum and buzz4 ,a wilderness of words in a barrenness of ideas4 ,this abuse of the use of speech makes headaches1 weariness1 worry1 unrest2 it saps strength1 lowers pep1 and lessens resistance4 ,the cure for ,verbomania is to keep away from these butterfly buzz bees2 put the clothes-pin of caution on your lips2 spend more time alone with your thoughts4 ,nourish your idea plants that have been starved2 prune your word plants4 ,don't expose yourself to the crowds where the ,verbomaniacs gather4 ,the disease is contagious2 it's easy to acquire and hard to retire4 ,these are ideas put in type to convey a truth for the benefit of all who read these lines1 and it is some truth1 too4 #ah4 ,love builds homes1 gold builds houses4 ,the home has a mongrel dog which is called ,prince1 and all the family love it4 ,the house had a pedigreed bull pup that is kept in the barn4 ,sidenote3 ,house and ,home4 ,there is all the difference between the family which has a home and the family which has a house4 ,in houses we find broken hearts1 worry1 nervous prostration1 because there is idleness1 artificiality and aimlessness4 ,in homes we find warm hearts1 happiness and love1 because those in the home have natural1 helpful occupation4 ,in the house is cold reserve2 the occupants read when compelled to stay indoors2 they grow crabbed and cross and get into a state of habitual dumbness and selfishness4 ,in the home there is unselfishness1 thoughtfulness1 and love expressed4 ,meal time is joy time2 it's the get-together period of smiling faces4 ,in the house the breakfast table is merely a lunch station in the hurried trip from the bedroom to the office4 ,the sensitive wife of the house gets stinging remarks that abide with her after the lord and master of the house has departed4 ,sidenote3 ,what ,makes ,home4 ,in the home the family gets up plenty early enough4 ,songs and jokes1 kisses and love pats are found2 the family is on time1 and there is happiness all around4 ,homes are sweet1 because love is present4 ,houses built by gold are just hotels4 ,i've noticed the difference when a friend invites me to come to his home or to his house2 the word he uses1 home or house1 indicates to me what ,i will find when ,i go there4 ,in the house ,i meet a maid or butler at the door4 ,i see conventional furniture1 conventional rooms4 ,i am shown into a conventional waiting room1 and ,i wait conventionally for the hostess to come forward with a stiff backbone1 a forced smile1 and a languid handshake4 ,when ,i go to a home built with love1 ,i find a tidy dressed wife at the door1 rosy children1 and ,i get a warm1 old-fashioned hand clasp1 and a beaming1 smiling face that spells welcome4 ,and the dinner--that1 too1 tells the difference between the depend-on-the-cook establishment and the wife-who-is-the-boss home4 ,at the house is formality and frigidity2 at the home is ease and enjoyment4 ,the children of the home make breaks and we love them for it2 it's natural instinct and frankness4 ,in the house is worry2 in the home is happiness4 ,verily1 there's a difference in the atmosphere of the house built with gold and the home built with love2 one is worthless existence1 the other worth-while living4 #ai4 ,sidenote3 ,seven ,simple ,health ,suggestions4 ,i haven't space in this book to give reasons or show proofs for everything ,i suggest1 but ,i want right here to give you a few definite1 short1 positive1 helpful rules about food1 thought1 habit and exercise that will pay you the most wonderful dividends in health and happiness4 ,first--,drink two or three glasses of warm1 not hot1 water1 the first thing when you arise in the morning4 ,second--,repeat this resolve as you are drinking the water3 ,i will be pleasant this morning until ten o'clock1 and the rest of the day will take care of itself4 ,third--,walk to your office or place of business1 unless it is over four miles1 in which case walk the first three miles and ride the remainder of the distance4 ,fourth--,eat one or two apples every day1 and do not insult ,nature's proper adjustment by peeling the apple4 ,you want the skin because it has things in it you need for your body1 and especially for your brain1 and you have especial need of the roughage the skin gives4 ,sidenote3 ,get ,enough ,sleep4 ,fifth--,spend eight or nine hours a day in bed4 ,i belong to the sixty-three hour club2 that means nine hours a day rest1 seven days in a week1 which is sixty-three hours4 ,if1 through business1 travel or other circumstances1 ,i stay up late one or two nights a week1 ,i balance books before the week is up by taking a rest on ,sunday afternoon or going to bed earlier one or two nights4 ,sixth--,don't stay in bed ,sunday morning4 ,it will make you tired1 loggy1 stupid and cross4 ,get up ,sunday1 say1 a half hour or an hour later than week days4 ,later in the day take a nap if you wish4 ,seventh--,spend fifteen minutes just before going to bed in quiet1 relaxed solitude4 ,this is the time to slow down your tension1 relax your muscles and soothe your nerves4 ,these rules you can easily remember and if you follow them as ,i hope you will1 the red blood will course in your veins and joy will be in your countenance and the halo of happiness will be around your face4 #bj4 ,every once in a while the human has a negative day4 ,every act1 thought1 or spoken sentence has a but1 a don't1 a can't1 or some other negative attachment to it4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,negative ,attitude4 ,the children laugh1 play and cut up in the morning1 and mother says3 ,i don't know what ,i shall do with you1 you are just wearing me out4 ,this puts a fear-thought and a weakness-germ both in mother and the kiddies4 ,on ,sunday afternoon the family is resting4 ,mother maybe gets the blues1 and says3 ,what's the use1 ,i never get anywhere1 go any place2 it's just grind1 work and worry all the time4 ,mother worries because there's a leak in the roof and the water stained the paper in the spare room4 ,she worries because she lives in a rented house1 and says3 ,i have no heart to fix things up because this is a rented house4 ,this negative thought brings on a misery state2 it's worry1 and the worry comes because you dwell on the off side of things4 ,you rehearse your problem1 you go over your work1 you count your obstacles1 and you pile up the negative and fear thoughts4 ,bless you1 my dear sister1 ,i know what this negative can't1 don't1 but1 and what's-the-use thought is and how it brings misery4 ,i know how the children get on your nerves and make you say don't all day to them4 ,sidenote3 ,show ,your ,positive ,side4 ,there's only one way to drive out this negative thought and that is to switch your will power to the positive current4 ,next time you have a negative day and the fear thoughts come1 just start in one by one and count your blessings of health1 blessings of home1 and blessings of love4 ,nothing can hurt you4 ,you've been through these negative days time and time again2 the clouds gathered1 you were blue1 lonesome1 homesick and heartsick1 but next day you got busy with work1 and occupation drove away the clouds1 and the sunshine came4 ,the next ,sunday you get in this negative state1 just put on your hat and go out to see some neighbor1 or go to the park1 or take a walk4 ,don't sit and stew and fret over your magnified troubles4 ,let the children play and laugh2 they are not hurting anyone4 ,god bless them4 ,they don't have worries2 their little lives are all too short4 ,their example of smiles and laughter should make you happy4 ,soon1 too soon1 they will grow up and go their ways in life and how precious will be the memories of their carefree1 golden1 happy childhood days4 ,cut out envy2 that's a mighty bad negative wire4 ,it's the devil's favorite food to make worry and discontent4 ,sidenote3 ,envy ,makes ,worry4 ,many of the people you envied in the past are dead and buried4 ,many of the people you envy now are at heart miserable1 and you wouldn't envy them if you could look through the artificial outside and know their real hidden thoughts and lives4 ,what's-the-use--that's a bad thing to say2 it plants worry seed4 ,you are all right2 you have far more blessings than sorrows4 ,you can never be entirely free from troubles1 care or little irritations4 ,rise superior to these things2 those around you are affected by and susceptible to your influence and example4 ,if you have a but1 an if or a don't tied to every command to your children1 they will recognize your uncertainty and your negative1 hurtful attitude1 and they will take your threats1 as well as your promises1 with a grain of salt4 ,be careful in giving commands2 don't put a ,spanish bit in the children's mouths to jerk them and torture them4 ,be positive1 make your promises and orders stick1 and the kiddies will soon know you mean what you say4 ,sidenote3 ,exposing ,your ,weakness4 ,these negative driving me crazy attachments to your commands spell weakness1 and make you drive1 cajole and spin out your orders1 and the children hesitate and are slow to obey4 ,let them see your positive side4 ,let them learn to obey with a yes1 mamma spirit1 and your orders will be less frequent1 shorter1 and they will be obeyed on the instant4 ,the kiddies learn to size you up1 mamma1 and if they see a wobbly1 worried1 despondent1 unsure attitude in you1 they will discount your threats and make allowances1 saying3 ,that's mamma's way4 ,don't show your cry side but show your smile side4 ,sunday is a great trial day for you1 mamma1 but don't let your negative wires get the best of you4 ,sing as you make the beds and tidy up2 let sunshine in and drive out the gloom4 ,blue ,sundays are horror days for the children2 you can't expect them to sit still like older folks4 ,they are full of red blood and active muscles4 ,don't make ,sunday a day of punishment to your children4 ,they get their cue from you4 ,don't you be negative and cross and gloomy4 ,it's bad business for you and all the family4 #ba4 ,the benefits of walking are so quickly apparent that ,i hope to get you to make the start and keep it up for two weeks4 ,then you will require no further urging4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,best ,exercise4 ,in walking1 there are two most important things to do in order to get the greatest benefits3 first--walk alone2 second--walk your natural gait4 ,so many people tell me they would like to walk all1 or part of the way1 between their home and office if they had company4 ,company is the very thing you don't want in walking1 and there are two reasons for this4 ,one is1 if you walk with a friend1 you will hold yourself back1 or else you will be walking faster than your natural gait4 ,in either case it is a conscious effort1 and this conscious effort1 to a large degree1 will cause you to lose much of the benefit from your walk4 ,the most important reason1 however1 is that if you walk with a friend1 you are sure to talk1 and thus you are using your nervous energy and tiring your brain--the very thing you want to avoid4 ,sidenote3 ,walk1 ,not ,talk4 ,walking gives you physical exercise which is absolutely necessary for health4 ,it is the best exercise ,i know of1 because you do not overdo your strength4 ,walking is beneficial1 because when you walk alone1 you give your brain a rest4 ,you cannot read the papers1 you cannot talk1 and your mental apparatus gets complete rest4 ,i recommend that you walk anywhere from three to four miles in the morning4 ,if your home is more than four miles from the office1 walk three or four miles of the distance and then take the car4 ,do not walk home in the evening unless the walk is a short one4 ,in the evening you are tired1 and you should conserve your strength4 ,in the morning you are fresh1 and the exercise comes to you at a time it is most needed4 ,it will give you strength and courage1 and help to keep you in a good mood all day4 ,i cannot too strongly emphasize the importance of walking alone1 for it is then that you shift your nerve energy from the dry cell battery of the brain to the magneto1 which is the spinal cord4 ,the spinal cord works automatically and it doesn't wear itself out4 ,the brain tires if it uses its energy4 ,in walking you use the thought and the brain impulse to start the magneto1 and then the spinal cord action is automatic4 ,this automatic action of the spinal cord is a wise provision of nature to conserve strength4 ,the spinal cord energy is what you might call automatic habit4 ,for instance1 in dressing and undressing yourself1 you will recall that you put on or take off your clothes in regular order without giving the matter any thought4 ,it is just habit4 ,if you wish to demonstrate the difference between the control of the physical body by brain impulse1 and the spinal cord impulse1 try this some morning3 ,start out for your exercise and mentally frame sentences like this as you walk--right step1 left step1 right step1 left step1 and so on4 ,give thought to each step you have taken1 and notice how tired you will be when you have gone half a mile4 ,the next morning1 start to walk naturally2 give no thought to walking2 keep your mind on the beauties of nature which you are passing1 or indulge in pleasant soliloquy1 and you will feel no fatigue4 ,there isn't a bit of theory in this chapter2 it is positive1 practical sense that ,i have proved by my own experiences and by the experiences of everyone to whom ,i have made this suggestion of walking alone4 ,the moral is this--walk every morning and walk ,,alone4 #bb4 ,the body is made up of billions of little cells4 ,these individual cells are in a state of perpetual activity4 ,they exhaust1 wear away1 break down with work1 and rebuild on food and rest4 ,every process of life--the beat of the heart1 the throb of the brain in thought1 the digestion of food1 the excretion of waste--all are due to the activity of groups of highly specialized individual cells4 ,sidenote3 ,body ,waste4 ,every cell uses up its own material and throws off poisonous by-products during activity4 ,these by-products1 or wastes1 are very poisonous to the individual cell as well as to the entire organism4 ,to get rid of this waste is one of the first duties of the system4 ,it is with the body1 made up of its countless millions of individual cells1 just as it is with a city and its myriad people3 the sewage of the community must be collected and disposed of4 ,the city forms its poisons which we call sewage and the body its poisons1 which we call excreta 7or carbonic acid1 urea1 uric acid1 faeces1 etc474 ,it is no more important for a city to gather up and get ride of its poisonous sewage than for the animal organism to collect and excrete its cell-waste4 ,hence1 the importance of maintaining normal and constant elimination throughout the body4 ,sidenote3 ,health's ,safety-,first4 ,elimination is kept up by the alimentary tract1 the kidneys1 the skin1 and the lungs4 ,these four are the great pipe-line sewerage systems1 so to speak1 by which the body throws off its gaseous1 liquid and solid poisons4 ,the lungs momentarily strain carbonic acid out of the blood and throw it out in the expired air4 ,they likewise exhale other noxious matters from the system4 ,the alimentary tract throws off faeces1 made up of the waste tissue from the whole system1 especially the digestive organs1 as well as indigestible and non-nutritious portions of the food4 ,the kidneys strain out urea1 uric acid1 and certain other poisons from the blood and eject them through the urinary tract4 ,finally the skin likewise is an excretory organ and exhales a very definite amount of gaseous and fluid waste in the course of each twenty-four hours4 ,the skin throws off all the way from a pint to two quarts of liquid each day in the form of vapor4 ,sidenote3 ,proper ,functioning4 ,thus1 to carry on normal elimination from the body1 the breathing1 digesting1 urinary and cutaneous systems must be kept working normally4 ,to impair the work of any of these is to retard bodily drainage4 ,to make certain that elimination is going on naturally1 it is necessary to secure perfect functioning of lungs1 bowels1 kidneys and the skin4 ,any stoppage in the process of elimination means that some fault has crept into the work of one of these excretory systems4 ,it must be plain now why a disorder of any one of these organs of elimination means so much more profound disturbance to the whole organization than merely disease in one structure4 ,it means that waste products are retained which ought to be thrown out of the body2 so straightway every cell in the body begins to be more or less affected4 ,some poisons disturb one organ more and some another1 but in the end the whole body must inevitably be affected4 ,lack of exercise1 bolting of food1 eating soft1 starchy things1 failure to chew properly1 failure to get enough roughage1 insufficient water1 insufficient fruit--these are the general causes of stoppage in the elimination processes4 ,drink one or two glasses of warm water1 not hot1 the first thing in the morning4 ,eat one or two apples1 skins and all1 every day4 ,eat toast1 especially the crust4 ,eat cracked wheat or whole wheat bread often4 ,exercise plenty4 ,keep cheerful4 ,eat regularly4 ,very likely you eat too much4 ,you don't need three big meals a day unless you work outdoors at hard physical labor4 ,your body is an engine4 ,no use to keep the boiler red hot and two hundred pounds of steam on if your work is light4 ,good health depends upon proper assimilation and elimination as nature intended4 ,eat less1 exercise more1 you who work indoors4 ,if you don't use this caution1 you are just slowly killing yourself4 #bc4 ,sidenote3 ,never ,say ,can't4 ,many have the habit of keeping their minds on their weaknesses or their shortcomings4 ,if they read of some one doing a great thing or making a worth-while accomplishment1 they say3 ,i never could do such a thing4 ,these persons are always saying1 ,i never have luck4 ,i can't do this4 ,i can't do that4 ,always knocking1 always thinking can't instead of can makes for fear1 irresoluteness1 uncertainty and weakness of character4 ,to say1 ,i can't1 ,i haven't the ability1 ,i am unlucky makes you weak and knocks out all chance for doing things4 ,nothing comes out of the brain that wasn't burned in by thought4 ,if you disparage yourself1 belittle your capacity1 or drown your good impulses with doubt and self-accusation1 you are putting away a lot of bad thought in your brain1 and no wonder you will lack in initiative1 ambition1 confidence and courage4 ,to those who claim to be unlucky1 ,i want to say you are not unlucky--you simply lack pluck4 ,you start at undertakings with a handicap of fear4 ,you have made up your mind that you can't accomplish4 ,you are half beaten before the game starts4 ,in place of the will to achieve1 you approach your task in fear and trepidation4 ,in place of confidence and courage and high aspirations1 you set out on your journey with the millstone of doubt and irresolution around your neck4 ,sidenote3 ,confidence and ,success4 ,there is but one way to succeed4 ,that is to cast fear and self-accusation aside1 and throw your full weight into the struggle with a song on your lips and confidence in your heart4 ,victory should be your battlecry and ,confidence should be emblazoned on your shield4 ,many a man has been whipped in a fight1 defeated in a contest1 or beaten at an undertaking1 but he didn't show it or let the other fellow know it4 ,he just kept on with a brave front1 and finally the other fellow quit1 mistaking grim determination1 pluck and perseverance for strength and victory4 ,ethan ,allen with his handful of men were asked to surrender by the ,british general with his superior force4 ,by all the rights and rules of war1 ,ethan was licked1 but he didn't give in4 ,he replied3 ,surrender h--ll2 ,i've just commenced to fight4 ,if ,ethan had accused himself and said1 ,i can't whip that big bunch2 there's no hope1 he would have been whipped to a finish4 ,don't show the enemy or the world your weakness4 ,don't admit anything impossible that is capable of accomplishment4 ,it's the ,i can man who wins4 ,no man ever won a fight if he started out by saying1 ,i can't whip him1 he is too much for me2 ,i am no match for him1 but ,i'll try4 ,no person ever made success in business if he started in with uncertainty1 lack of confidence and unbelief in his ability4 ,confidence has ever been half the battle4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,world's ,judgment4 ,knock yourself1 and the world will accept you at your own estimate4 ,show streaks of yellow cowardice1 and the mob will pounce on you like a pack of hungry wolves4 ,accuse yourself1 curse your luck1 belittle your worth1 be afraid1 and you will remain a mere bump on a log1 unnoticed1 uninteresting1 uninvited4 ,the world welcomes men who do things4 ,the world judges by outward appearances4 ,if your heart is sick1 if your courage is low1 don't show it4 ,put up a stiff attitude and act with confidence1 and that attitude will carry you over many a pitfall and past many an obstacle4 ,show strength and the world will help you2 show weakness and the world will shun you4 ,you are prejudiced when it comes to judging yourself4 ,you compare your weakness with your friends' strength1 and this comparison is unfair2 it makes you lose confidence4 ,sidenote3 ,doubt and ,belief4 ,nothing hurts one worse than doubting one's own ability1 assets1 and character4 ,when you find yourself experiencing doubt1 or inability1 or hard luck1 turn square around and say3 ,begone1 doubt2 henceforth ,i have belief4 ,say3 ,i have ability2 ,i have pluck1 and pluck means luck4 ,always express confidence1 faith1 courage1 and cheer thoughts1 whether you feel them or not4 ,do this heroically and persistently1 and soon the fear shadows and weakness feelings will leave you1 and you will be in reality strong1 courageous1 active1 and will do things you never thought possible4 ,as a man thinketh1 so is he4 ,always remember that4 ,get hold of your thoughts2 make yourself think up1 and have faith and courage4 ,hold to your resolve1 and the whole world will change4 ,you will prosper1 you will have poise1 and every once in a while happiness will come as a reward4 ,no man will be more surprised at your complete change of attitude and character than yourself4 ,your problems can only be solved by yourself4 ,friends can advise1 ,i can suggest1 but ,,you must act4 ,henceforth1 never accuse yourself1 never feel sorry for your condition or position1 cut out fear thoughts1--be strong4 ,think faith1 courage1 cheer1 confidence1 and strength1 and by-and-by the habit will be fixed and natural4 ,this is as certain truth as ,i have ever experienced4 ,i know it4 ,i've tried it4 ,i've watched others and the results are always good4 ,don't be passive and forget this chapter4 ,start right this minute to ,,think ,,right4 ,and you will never regret and never forget this chapter on ,self-accusation4 #bd4 ,sidenote3 ,dare to ,dream4 ,the great colleges turn out thousands of graduates each year1 and the great newspapers have much sport ridiculing them in funny pictures4 ,every great man was once a boy with a dream1 and that dream came true because the boy had pep that made him stick to his ambition and kept him from being discouraged because of ridicule or obstacles4 ,thomas ,carlyle1 the poor ,scotch tutor1 dreamed he wanted to be a great author4 ,his clothes were threadbare1 his poverty apparent4 ,friends taunted and ridiculed him until1 goaded to indignation1 he cried3 ,i have better books in me than you have ever read4 ,the crowd laughed incredulously and said3 ,poor fellow1 he's batty4 ,carlyle stuck to his dream and the world has the ,history of ,frederick the ,great and the ,french ,revolution and ,sartor ,resartus4 ,when he had finished the manuscript of the ,french ,revolution1 a careless maid built a fire with it4 ,he wasn't discouraged1 but went to work and wrote it over again and very likely better than he wrote it the first time4 ,bonaparte in the garden of his military school dreamed of being a great general4 ,he stuck to his dream and he realized his hopes4 ,joseph ,pulitzer1 a poor emigrant1 crawled in a cellar way in ,new ,york to sleep1 and he dreamed of owning a great newspaper4 ,his dream came true1 and the newspaper is printed in a building erected on the spot where he dreamed in the cellar way4 ,livingston dreamed of exploring darkest ,africa2 his dream came true4 ,edison dreamed of great electrical discoveries4 ,his monument is ,menlo ,park with its great laboratories4 ,ford dreamed of making an automobile for the purse-limited masses--he was jeered2 to-day the world cheers him4 ,my friend1 ,bert ,perrine1 was chucked off a stage in the middle of ,idaho's great sage brush desert4 ,he said to the driver1 ,some day ,i'll own that stage and ,i'll use it for a chicken house4 ,he dreamed and schemed1 and to-day the desert is the famous ,twin ,falls country1 blossoming like a rose4 ,and on his beautiful ranch at ,blue ,lakes1 that old stage is used for a chicken house4 ,rockefeller dreamed1 ,lincoln dreamed--so did ,garfield1 ,wilson1 ,grant1 ,clay1 ,webster1 ,marshall ,field1 ,richard ,w4 ,sears and all the other men who have done things worth while in the world4 ,the great ,west is the result of dreams come true4 ,dream on1 my boy2 hitch your wagon to a star and stay hitched4 ,that dream and that determination are the things that are to carry you over obstacles1 past thorny ways1 and through criticism1 jeers and ridicule4 ,your time will come4 ,dream and scheme1 and make your ideals materialize into living1 pulsating realities4 #be4 ,there are many persons who act and advocate ideals merely for effect--they are hypocrites4 ,here's a little true heart story that probably passed unnoticed except to a very few persons4 ,sidenote3 ,real ,charity4 ,little ,spencer ,nelson1 a poor boy1 eight years old1 recently died in a hospital with a little bank clasped to his breast4 ,the bank held #c4da in pennies which the boy had saved to buy presents for the poor children in his city4 ,the little hero had fought manfully through three months' suffering1 enduring the torture of five lacerating operations4 ,the pain failed to dim the spirit of unselfishness which burned brightly and clearly in his tired1 fever-racked body4 ,after each operation his mind became more securely fixed on his project to help bring cheer to poor children4 ,the little savings bank was his companion1 and each visitor was asked to contribute to his fund4 ,three hours before he died1 a smile beautified his thin wasted face as the nurse dropped a dime in his bank4 ,his last words--a message to his mother--were in a scarcely audible whisper1 asking her to remember to use the money to make poor children happy4 ,that was real charity2 that boy had no hypocrisy in his heart4 ,sidenote3 ,seek and ,you ,will ,find4 ,the daily paper chronicles instances of sensational charity1 where men vie with each other to see who can give most and get the most advertising4 ,these men overlook the wonderful opportunities at their door--they do not realize the beautiful love and charity that would stir in their hearts if they would but look into the out-of-the-way places and get direct connection with pain and suffering4 ,little ,spencer looked from his cot and saw the suffering of other little children and he wanted to help them1 and the very resolve and impulse made him forget his own pain and misery4 ,in the ,book of ,good ,deeds1 the name of ,spencer ,nelson will be recorded as a sweeter act of charity than any million-dollar gift to a great institution4 ,what one of you who read these lines can read the story of that little hero and not be touched by the generous love and beautiful conception of charity he possessed4 ,i don't believe much in this far-away charity idea so many have4 ,sidenote3 ,do ,good ,here ,at ,home4 ,i believe in helping those near where ,i am rather than sending money to ,siam4 ,poverty and destitution1 unhappily1 are familiar spectres at home1 as elsewhere4 ,he who seeks to do good will not need to range afar4 ,he can find opportunity close at home1 near by1 where all of us can find it if we only look4 ,it may be a pleasurable sensation for you to contribute fifty dollars to a missionary scheme in ,siam1 and get the ,missionary report of the budget made up by the committee for the foreign missionary fund4 ,i know that a bucket of coal in an empty stove1 a basket of bread and a liberal hunk of round steak to the starving family around the corner brings the donor a better sensation4 ,take a trip to the hospitals1 learn about the homes of the suffering patients in the charity ward1 and you will resolve it's a better act to send flour to the poor than flowers to the rich4 ,little ,spencer ,nelson had the right idea of charity3 definite1 immediate help to those he could reach right where he was1 rather than sending money to sufferers far1 far away4 ,let your gifts be principally flour and beef2 they help those who need help4 ,flowers are all right in their place1 but there are more places where flour can be used to better purpose4 ,i'm keener for filling the coffee can of my suffering neighbor than filling the coffers of the big charity five thousand miles away4 ,i try to help both ways1 but the home help pays the bigger dividends4 ,what do you think about it8 #bf4 ,you have found a friend who has been so much help and comfort to you4 ,i have such a friend too4 ,to-night ,i am in the mood to think of that friend and write him a letter like this3 ,sidenote3 ,what ,i ,think of ,you4 ,this is to ,you4 ,it is for ,you4 ,it is about ,you4 ,you ,i have in mind and the good influence you have had on me4 ,it is a happiness and satisfaction to know you1 and to bask in the sunshine of you4 ,the world is better because of you4 ,you have helped to raise the average4 ,you and your goodness--you do not appreciate what that means4 ,you are so modest1 so loath to think of yourself1 so thoughtful of others1 so unselfish that ,i must tell you of you and about you4 ,you have a warm heart that throbs for others' woes and holds sympathy4 ,the great world is cold1 selfish1 and cares little for others4 ,but you are different2 you are a great pillow of rest on which ,i and others who love you may lay our tired1 weary heads1 and you wrap your arms of friendship and goodness about us and feel our very heartbeats4 ,sidenote3 ,what ,i ,love in ,you4 ,you with your great goodness1 your quiet1 sympathetic understanding--you soothe our troubled spirits and make us glad of you and glad we have the precious privilege of knowing you4 ,even now1 as ,i am telling you how ,i love you1 you are trying to wave me aside and stop me1 but ,i am in the mood and ,i want to express myself4 ,you know that it is a great sin of omission to refrain from expressing our gratitude for goodness extended to us4 ,i want to express my gratitude4 ,i do not want to be guilty of the sin of omission4 ,so here1 then1 is this little message for you1 to tell you that ,i appreciate you and love you1 and these words will last after you are gone and after ,i am gone1 to tell those of to-morrow about you and what those of to-day thought about you4 ,your life1 your goodness1 is an everlasting plant that will flourish in many hearts4 ,your influence will last beyond the calendar of time2 it is indestructible4 ,you have a great credit in the universal bank of good deeds1 where you have deposited worth-while acts1 deeds1 kindnesses1 cheer1 help1 friendship1 sympathy1 courage1 gratitude1 and all the most precious jewels of humanity4 ,i am happy the very moment ,i think of you4 ,i try to express myself but the feelings and emotions ,i would describe have not words or sentences to express them4 ,you understand4 ,you are so big in heart1 so sensitive in fabric of feeling1 so wise in understanding1 that ,i want you to think and feel all the genuine1 noble1 lovable1 appreciative thoughts you can gather together about the one you can most appreciate4 ,think hard1 sincerely1 deeply1 about that one1 with all your resources of beautiful thought4 ,think hard that way1 and now you will begin to understand my feelings about you1 and how ,i appreciate you4 ,you1 my inspiration1 who are so sensitized to feeling1 so delicately adjusted to read heart vibrations--you must feel this within me that ,i am trying to express4 ,not the love between sweethearts1 not the love of kin1 not the love of friends1 but a great universal love ,i have for you--a love which all who are fortunate enough to know you have for you4 ,it is a love you cannot return to me in equal measure1 because you have not the object in me that can merit such love4 ,that you should love me in the way ,i love you even in the smallest measure is satisfaction supreme4 ,it is glorious to know you4 ,you water the good impulses ,i have2 you encourage all that is noble1 elevating1 and bettering1 in me4 ,i shall try to be like you--that is1 so far as ,i can4 ,you are my model2 there is but one ,you4 ,many may copy you1 none may equal you4 ,you my comfort1 you my joy4 ,a great glorious ,you that a little ,i am trying to paint a picture of4 ,how futile my efforts4 ,i might as well try to improve the deep beautiful colors of the morning-glory1 or try to retint the lily with a more beautiful white4 ,and so ,i bid you good-bye1 happy that there is such a one as you in the world--more happy that ,i know you1 and most happy that ,i know how to appreciate you4 ,the sum of all good things ,i can say is1 ,i love you1 and the word love ,i use in its greatest1 broadest sense1 which covers all the good adjectives4 ,this is what ,i think of ,,you4 #bg4 ,there is a time in the business man's life1 between the age of #dh and #eb1 when he undergoes a pronounced change4 ,more big men are cut off at #ej than at any other age between #de and #fj4 ,from #dh to #eb most men change vitally in their physical and mental make-up4 ,sidenote3 ,dangers of ,middle ,life4 ,many men--hitherto straight1 moral men--go to the bad at this time1 and per contra1 many men quit their immoral and health-hurting habits and change to moral men4 ,this danger period is when the newly-rich find fault with the wives who have helped them to their success4 ,they grow tired of their wives and seek the companionship of younger women4 ,the divorce courts give most interesting figures on this point4 ,at this danger period1 men who have been high livers1 voracious eaters and heavy drinkers find themselves victims of diabetes1 ,bright's disease or other forms of kidney trouble4 ,the country is full of prematurely broken-down men who have failed to heed the danger signals along their way4 ,to persist in self-indulgence is to invite disaster4 ,you must deliberately set about to change your mode of living if you would avoid these shoals on which so many men of middle age have foundered4 ,almost every man between #dh and #eb who works indoors1 eats too much1 exercises too little1 sleeps insufficiently4 ,in this book ,i have made practical suggestions that have been tried in the furnace of experience and proven adequate4 ,they have helped me2 they will help you4 ,they will enable you to gain pep and efficiency2 they will give you a new lease on life and make life more worth living4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,simple ,life4 ,first1 live simply2 eat simply4 ,if you have in the past1 eaten rich foods1 drunk fine wines1 and have been what the world knows as a good fellow1 your course is clear4 ,you must call a halt on yourself4 ,this path leads inevitably to the graveyard4 ,follow the seven simple health suggestions laid down in an earlier chapter1 and you will feel better1 feel happier and will attack the day's work with vim and vigor4 ,avoid undue excitement4 ,excitement uses up nerve force4 ,it is an energy consumer4 ,your mind needs repose as well as your body4 ,when you have finished your day's work1 leave business behind you4 ,do not drag it into your home4 ,in the evening1 occupy yourself with a good1 worth-while book4 ,nothing is more conducive to calm and contentment4 ,let supper be your one hearty meal of the day4 ,and after supper1 play with the kids or joke with your wife2 get a smile on your face4 ,when you are home1 interest yourself in home concerns4 ,the home men are the men who live longest4 ,they lead healthy1 regular lives1 and they keep alive the outside interests that make for peace1 poise1 content and happiness4 ,keep a sharp look-out for tendencies to change your habits and morals4 ,at #ej you are walking on thin ice2 look out1 danger is near4 ,after you are #ee1 your habits are pretty well established4 ,if you have lived rightly till then1 you're safe thereafter and very likely are on your way to a good ripe old age if you take reasonable care of yourself4 #bh4 ,sidenote3 ,our ,sons4 ,we love our own the best2 maybe that's why we indulge our own too much4 ,our duty to our boys2 that's a subject as old as the hills1 and it is as important as it is old4 ,it is a subject that has come to the forefront in recent years4 ,multitudes of paid juvenile workers and sociological experts throughout the country are engaged in the work of keeping the youth of the nation healthily occupied and away from corrupting influences4 ,modern conditions have created a boy problem which was unknown two generations ago4 ,then there were no slums reeking with vice and squalor and ugliness4 ,the era of great manufacturing enterprises was just beginning4 ,there were no densely populated cities numbering millions of souls4 ,amusements were simple4 ,everywhere were stretches of open country1 and boys were allowed to run wild in field and woodland and stream4 ,sidenote3 ,times ,have ,changed4 ,the great cities of to-day have done away with all this4 ,the good1 old-fashioned1 healthful recreations have disappeared in all but rural communities4 ,in their place has come the lurid movie with its tales of crime and violence and passion4 ,at every crowded street corner1 vice beckons1 and glaring signs lure the curious boy into the vicious cabaret and dance-hall4 ,to-day ,i had the boy problem forcibly presented to me4 ,i saw in a court twenty-four boys who had been brought before the ,judge charged with petty crimes4 ,three were sent to the penitentiary1 seven to the reform school and fourteen let go temporarily on good behavior4 ,a friend of mine interested in criminology tells me the great bulk of hold-ups1 thefts1 burglaries and murders are committed by boys between #af and #bb years of age4 ,these twenty-four boys ,i mentioned were just ordinary boys1 capable of making good citizens if they had had the right kind of home treatment and surroundings4 ,most of them got in trouble through their association with the gang or the bunch1 or the crowd1 and this because daddy didn't have his hand on the rein4 ,that boy must have companionship2 he must have a confidant with whom he can share his joys1 his sorrows1 his hopes1 his ambitions4 ,if he doesn't get this comeraderie at home1 he gets it 'round the corner4 ,we know where the boy is when he is at school1 but how few of us know the boy's doings between times4 ,pool halls tempt the boys1 and these resorts are breeding places where filthy stories1 criminal slang and evil practices are hatched4 ,pool halls and saloons invite and fascinate the boy4 ,he sees the lights4 ,there is a keen pleasure in watching the pink-shirted dude with cigarette in his mouth making fancy shots4 ,there is no one to nag him or bother him2 it gets to be his hang-out1 and soon he drifts into a crowd that knows the trail to the red-light district4 ,painted fairies dazzle the giddy boy4 ,it takes money to go the pace4 ,crime is gilded over with slang words4 ,stealing is called easy money4 ,robbery is turning a trick1 and so on4 ,a boy becomes what he lives on mentally and physically2 that's the net of it4 ,it is a common saying1 but a good one1 that the boys of to-day are the men of to-morrow4 ,if you train a boy with care and kindness1 he will grow up to be an honest and upright citizen4 ,but let him run a wild1 undisciplined course1 leave him free to explore the crime-spots and plague-pools of the city1 and sooner or later his moral fibre is weakened and ultimately snaps4 ,at best he will become an indifferent citizen2 at worst a drifter or a criminal4 ,there is nothing better for a boy than discipline properly administered4 ,and that brings up the whole matter of army life4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,army3 ,a ,maker of ,men4 ,the army is a great maker and developer of men4 ,boys who were headed for perdition have found in the army a new sense of honor and respect4 ,the rigorous training1 the idea of duty1 the heroic traditions of the service--all these are renewers and rekindlers of manhood4 ,many a lad who has wasted his health1 wealth and substance on the primrose path1 has come back gloriously in the service of the flag4 ,look at the average soldier or sailor you meet4 ,his skin is tanned by sun and wind to a deep brown4 ,his eyes are crystal clear4 ,there is youth and strength in his tread4 ,there he stands1 clean as a whistle4 ,no fat1 no flabbiness--just solid sinew and ruddy health4 ,he is a living exponent of what military training can do for every boy in the country4 ,hard work1 strength-building exercises1 sufficient sleep1 regular hours1 simple1 wholesome food1 systematic training--these are the things the army and navy offers4 ,and these are the things that make real men4 ,but no training that school or church or army can give him relieves you1 ,dad1 of your obligation to the boy4 ,in the last analysis1 it is your influence that will either make him or break him1 for it is to you that he looks for guidance and comradeship in his most impressionable years4 ,if you are his chum1 if sister shares his amusements with him1 if the family work and live on the all for one and one for all basis1 if the boy is kept busy and interested1 he can be easily trained4 ,sidenote3 ,be ,worth ,copying4 ,neglect him and he will neglect you4 ,love him and he will love you4 ,meet him half way1 he's impressionable4 ,show him a kindness1 he will respond4 ,show him a good example1 he will follow4 ,you have to be with him1 or know where he is every minute4 ,during his period of adolescence1 say from twelve or thirteen years to sixteen or seventeen1 that boy is a mass of plaster of paris1 easily shaped while plastic1 but once set1 all but impossible to recast4 ,that's the time1 ,dad1 you must be on ,,your job with your boy4 ,your counsel1 example1 love1 interest and teaching will ,,make the boy4 ,think of these things1 ,dad1 and think hard1 and think hard ,,now4 ,to-morrow may be too late4 #bi4 ,sidenote3 ,our ,daughters4 ,our daughters--how much we love them6 ,how happy we are to have their fresh1 smiling faces about us6 ,their girlish laughter lightens our home hours and creates an atmosphere of joy4 ,what would we not give if we could but insure their happiness6 ,our fondest and most cherished hopes are bound up in them as they grow up under our eyes and blossom into womanhood4 ,girl1 what a wonderful creature you can be4 ,what a glorious success you can make of your life if you get the right start1 find the right hands to help you1 the right hearts to love you1 and the right eyes to watch you1 the right thoughts to make you1 and the right ideals to guide you4 ,there are so many influences to spoil you--so much convention1 so much artificiality1 so much snobbery1 so much caste1 so much foolish frivolity4 ,then there are the wrong examples1 the wrong grooming1 the wrong environments1 the wrong influences surrounding you4 ,really1 it is not to be wondered at why so many girls lose their heads and make a fizzle of their young lives4 ,the fizzle is generally made because daddy and mama have a lot of foolish notions about bringing up girls4 ,especially is this so if the parents are wealthy4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,wrong ,way4 ,here is the history of many a rich girl3 ,she is born without welcome1 fed on a bottle1 reared by a nurse1 grows up in a nursery1 becomes estranged from her mother2 later on1 she is sent away to school1 mixes with a lot of other rich girls1 gets lots of foolish notions1 false estimates1 and prejudiced views4 ,she graduates and comes home1 and then1 to commemorate the event1 there are a lot of doings which she attends4 ,following this is the show-off1 which is called a debut4 ,she is exhibited like a filly at the horse show1 and some high-collared young man wins her head1 although she thinks it's her heart4 ,she believes it is the proper time for her to marry1 and he is such a swell fellow1 he is such good company1 and he dances so well--these qualities win her head4 ,so the girl marries and has children2 the husband goes broke1 and the girl awakens to the necessity of coming down from her pedestal1 facing stern necessity1 and raising her children as her mother should have raised her4 ,that's the picture of the poor rich girl whose parents are to blame for the nonsense she crammed into her head4 ,but1 you1 ,girl--you are going to learn your cooking on a gas range instead of a chafing dish2 you'll learn to bake bread before fudge2 you'll learn how to cook solids before you learn to make salads4 ,you will combine simplicity1 sentiment1 sense sereneness1 sweetness1 rather than envy1 frills1 feathers and foolishness4 ,god's noblest calling for woman is the raising of children and the founding of a home4 ,sidenote3 ,cooking and ,sewing4 ,to cook and sew is a higher duty and better occupation than bridge parties and society4 ,not that you must cook and sew1 my dear1 but that you should be able to in case the need should arise4 ,with the ability to cook and sew1 you can properly direct the cook or seamstress1 and they will respect you for your education4 ,i want you to be golden girls--girls who love home and children2 girls who love simple things1 natural things4 ,i want you to be sweet rather than pretty1 lovable rather than popular4 ,do not look upon matrimony as a means to provide food and finery for yourself4 ,do not be ashamed of an old-fashioned mother4 ,do not be a good fellow4 ,do not be afraid to say1 ,i can't afford it4 ,help the family4 ,be part of it1 and not apart from it4 ,when you are old enough to have a beau1 do not be afraid to bring him into your home1 no matter how humble it is4 ,do not esteem your boy friends for the amount of money they spend on your entertainment4 ,happiness does not consist of lobster-suppers and taxi-rides to the theatre4 ,ten cents will bring just as much real happiness as ten dollars spent for mere display4 ,be modest1 girls2 it is your greatest asset4 ,don't gossip or belittle other girls4 ,find the good you can say of others2 that quality makes you more attractive4 ,watch out for candied words and flattery2 these things mark the hypocrite1 and a hypocrite is an abomination4 ,flattery is a practiced deceit--a dishonorable bait to catch affections4 ,do not allow any young man to relate a story in your presence that has the slightest risque turn to it4 ,show by your words and your actions that such presumption is an insult4 ,be square with yourself2 be square to the man who is after your heart4 ,put yourself mentally in the place of a wife when a man gets serious4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,right ,man4 ,don't hurry1 girls2 don't judge the man by his money prospects but by his character and ambition4 ,have nothing to do with any young suitor who isn't always kind1 considerate and attentive to his mother4 ,and when real love comes to you and you decide to marry1 marry a man of character who courts you in the sweet1 simple1 old way4 ,if a young man spends money extravagantly before marriage1 hard times will always be around during his married life4 ,the most precious possessions in the world are happiness and love1 and these come from simple things1 genuineness1 and usefulness4 ,the painted1 powdered1 tinsel1 fluff1 feathers and furbelow girl may be a dashing creature now1 and you may envy her1 but you1 with your quiet1 sweet1 simple1 sensible ways--you will win real love1 real respect1 real affection1 real pleasures1 real satisfaction1 in all the days to come2 you will make a success of your life4 ,frills and feathers may have an attraction for the girl who makes a fizzle of her life1 but sweetness and simplicity1 sentiment and sense1 are precious jewels that will endure for all time4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,road to ,unhappiness4 ,the world is full of new-fashioned1 slangy1 dancy1 fancy1 foolish girls who marry for style1 stunts and society1 and their married life is failure1 worry and regret4 ,they do not realize1 poor things1 until it is too late1 that money and luxury are not enough to bring happiness4 ,when this truth comes home to them1 there is nothing left but disillusion1 heartache and sorrow4 ,be the golden1 pure1 old-fashioned1 sweet1 simple1 quiet1 modest girl who knows things1 rather than one who is a show-off girl4 ,when the right young man comes along1 he will recognize the kind of girl you are when he meets you4 ,he will see in you a girl of pure gold2 a sweet1 natural1 sensible girl1 who will be a helpmate to him and not a drawback4 ,so then1 here is the hope that you1 girl1 will start right1 keep right1 and end right4 ,i want you to think of sense1 sentiment1 and simplicity rather than dances1 dollars1 duds and doings4 ,i want your life to be one of poise1 happiness and serenity instead of noise1 worry and nerves4 ,this little message is all for you--,,girl4 #cj4 ,many churches to-day are running to extremes in one way or another4 ,on the one hand1 they are conducted along the lines of form1 ceremony and ritualism2 the other extreme results in excitement1 ecstasy and fanaticism4 ,the church of forms1 rituals and ceremonies attracts the passive who are willing to let the priest or pastor or prelate take charge of the religious work while they1 the attendants or worshippers1 sit quietly by and say amen and join in the responses4 ,sidenote3 ,real ,religion4 ,paul said1 ,away with those forms4 ,christ1 in ministering to humanity1 gave no forms and made no set sentences for his followers4 ,the ,lord's ,prayer was given with the admonition1 ,after this manner pray ye1 and certainly not with the command1 ,pray ye with these words4 ,form1 ceremony and ritual are much like most associated charities--a sort of convention4 ,forms cannot express the deep emotions1 the natural longings1 or the human desires2 they are echoes1 hollow and unsatisfying4 ,for those who do not feel1 for those who do not act1 for those who belong to churches because of convention1 or for social reasons1 forms and frills fill the bill4 ,form is an exterior religion1 an outward show4 ,form doesn't touch the heart or awaken the soul4 ,form in religion is like a formal dinner4 ,it is a gaudy display rather than a plan to satisfy human heart hunger4 ,sidenote3 ,scare-,you-to-,death ,method4 ,opposite to formal religion is the frenzied scare-you-to-death excitement method1 which relies upon mental intoxication to stir the people4 ,like other forms of intoxication1 the effect soon wears off4 ,i have little patience or sympathy for the business men who hire professional evangelists to come to town to start revivals4 ,the sensational revivalists have too acute an appreciation of the dollar to convince me of their sincerity in their work4 ,a laborer is worthy of his hire1 and a preacher1 teacher or benefactor of any sort should be well paid4 ,but when ,i see these big guns taking away from ten to one hundred thousand dollars in cold cash for a three weeks' campaign converting the poor suffering people1 the thought comes to me that if the evangelist were sincere1 he would buy a lot of bread1 coal and underwear1 and hire a lot of trained nurses with a big part of that money4 ,christ and his ,apostles were of the people2 they worked with and among the people2 they had no committees1 no guarantees and no business men's subscription lists4 ,it's mighty hard to read about these sensational evangelists taking in thousands of dollars for a couple of weeks' revival meetings1 and harmonize that religion with the religion of ,christ1 the carpenter1 and his ,apostles1 who were fishermen and workmen4 ,sidenote3 ,how ,they ,do ,it4 ,the exciting1 intoxicating1 frenzied revival method is pretty much the same in its working wherever it is practised4 ,the evangelist starts in with the song1 ,where is ,my ,wandering ,boy ,to-night2 then follows the picture of mother1 which is painted with sobs of blood4 ,then follows mother's death-bed scene until the audience is in tears4 ,gesticulation1 mimicry1 acting1 sensationalism1 slang and weepy stories follow1 until the ferment of excitement is developed to a high pitch1 and droves flock down the sawdust trail to be made over on the instant into sanctified beings4 ,the evangelist stays until his engagement is up1 and then departs with a pocket full of nice fat bank drafts4 ,sidenote3 ,an ,old-,time ,method4 ,but there is nothing new about this method4 ,it is as old as humanity4 ,it is the same method that is practised in the more remote and uncivilized portions of the world to-day1 where garishly painted savages congregate and render homage to their gods in an orgy of yelling1 whooping and beating of the tom-tom4 ,it is a sad commentary on the established profession of the ministry that sensational professionals are called in and paid fabulous prices to convert the people in their community4 ,i do not take much stock in either the frigid form-and-ceremonial method with its frills1 or the frenzied fire-and-brimstone1 scare-you-to-it extreme4 ,somewhere between these extremes is the rational1 natural1 sane road to travel--the religion of brotherly love2 of cheers1 not tears2 of hope1 not fear2 of courage1 not weakness2 of joy1 not sorrow2 of help1 not hindrance4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,religion of ,love4 ,the religion that makes us love one another here--not the kind that says we shall know each other there2 the religion that has to do with human passions1 human trials1 human needs1 instead of the frigid form or the fevered frenzy2 the religion that avoids the extremes of heat and cold--that's the kind the world needs most4 ,christ taught love1 kindness1 charity4 ,he spoke not of beautiful churches and opera-singing choirs4 ,he spoke not of robes1 vestments1 forms or rituals4 ,one of the most beautiful things in the ,bible is the story of the good ,samaritan with his simple1 unostentatious aid to a wounded man--a man whom the ,samaritan knew as an enemy of his people1 but who was none the less a brother4 ,and you will remember how the priest of the temple--the man who taught charity and love--drew up his skirts and passed the wounded man by4 #ca4 ,sidenote3 ,love of ,country4 ,patriotism--one's love for one's country--is a natural and a beautiful sentiment4 ,with the spirit of idealism behind it1 it becomes one of the noblest sentiments that has been developed in the course of humanity's long upward march to civilization4 ,to-day1 on ,europe's battlefields1 millions of men are hazarding their lives4 ,they do so gladly1 willingly1 with a firm and reasoned conviction in the justice of the cause for which they fight4 ,that is intelligent patriotism--the kind of patriotism that is based on understanding and knowledge4 ,but the world to-day is conscious that there is another kind of patriotism--a false patriotism that is fostered and fomented by ambitious governments for purposes of aggression and aggrandizement4 ,this false patriotism is not a free or voluntary thing4 ,it is the blind1 instinctive feeling of sheep-like men who have been bred beneath the yoke of servility and obedience and are like clay in the hands of their overlords4 ,they know not why they fight1 but through fear or intimidation or force1 they slavishly submit to the will of their ,kaiser or ,emperor and his minions4 ,this great war1 and most every great war of the past1 was made possible by a distorted understanding of patriotism4 ,this false patriotism is one of the narrowest and most cruel forces in the world1 and when linked with militarism1 it becomes the most dangerous4 ,it causes wars1 waste and desolation4 ,it creates jealousies1 inspires jingoism and braggadocio1 keeps alive the fight spirit1 and menaces the peace and security of nations4 ,sidenote3 ,militarism4 ,militaristic rulers1 fired by selfish egotism1 know full well what a powerful force patriotism is1 and they nurse the babes with fatherland stuff and give them tin soldiers to play with and tin helmets to wear4 ,patriotism1 when it reflects love of the place of one's nativity1 when it is based on home ties and associations1 is a beautiful and touching thing4 ,but when unscrupulous autocrats utilize this sentiment for their own aggressive purposes1 it becomes a menace that must be put down if other nations are to enjoy the blessings of peace and liberty4 ,sidenote3 ,false ,patriotism a ,menace4 ,to keep this false patriotism alive1 wars must be made1 so that human blood can be secured to keep the monster from famishing4 ,and so1 on slight pretexts1 or no pretexts at all1 the war lords and imperial autocrats rattle their swords in their scabbards and let loose the avalanche of war on the world4 ,such patriotism is failure and worse than failure4 ,it is a reversion to the brute age of mankind4 ,it flings a moral challenge to the world that the world must either accept or perish4 ,so much for this monstrous perversion of ,right and ,reason that has turned ,europe into a shambles1 and has banded the civilized nations of the world together in a mighty struggle for freedom and democracy4 ,true patriotism is one of the world's constructive forces4 ,it overleaps national frontiers1 and is inspired by the ideals of international peace1 good-will and amity4 ,it looks forward to the time when national barriers will be let down1 and the brotherhood of man will be recognized the world over4 ,such patriotism is the patriotism of ,right ,makes ,might--not ,might ,makes ,right4 ,it is the kind of patriotism that prevails only among the free1 democratic1 peace-loving peoples of the world who are fighting to-day for the preservation of free institutions and the rights of humanity4 ,the opposite sort of patriotism is the autocratic1 militaristic kind that has furnished the world with an example of savage ferocity and vindictive cruelty that it will not soon forget4 ,in this great struggle1 we see ,democracy ranged against ,autocracy1 ,right against ,might1 ,true ,patriotism against ,false ,patriotism4 ,the ,right will triumph1 as it always has1 when pitted against the forces of hate1 greed and reaction4 #cb4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,happy ,medium4 ,danger lies in extremes4 ,too much of anything is bad for the human being's health4 ,there is a certain comfortable proportion of exercise and rest which1 when mixed together1 will give bodily efficiency4 ,too much exercise is bad1 too little is bad4 ,until recent years1 our vocations and the habit of going to or from our places of business gave us a well-balanced amount of exercise1 rest1 work and pleasure1 and all went well4 ,lately1 we hear much about worry1 neurasthenia1 nervous prostration and the like4 ,there are several contributing causes to the mental and physical ills which are caused by nerves4 ,first of all1 we have an epidemic of labor-saving devices4 ,the principal argument used by the manufacturer of a labor-saving device is1 ,it makes money and saves work4 ,making money and getting soft snaps seem to be the objectives of most human beings4 ,the labor-saving devices take away exercise4 ,the machine does the work4 ,the artisan simply feeds the hopper1 puts in a new roll1 or drops in the material4 ,he sits down and watches the wheels go around1 likely smoking a cigarette in the meanwhile1 and more than likely reading the sporting sheet of a yellow newspaper4 ,sidenote3 ,changed ,conditions of ,work4 ,possibly few of my readers have given the matter serious thought1 and they will be astounded at the changed conditions of work which have come into our modern life4 ,it will be interesting to note here some of these changes4 ,men used to live within walking distance of their work4 ,now the electric street railway and the speedy automobile have eliminated the necessity for much walking4 ,men used to climb stairs4 ,the elevator has now so accustomed us to the conveniences that stairs are taboo4 ,machines have replaced muscles4 ,the old printer walked from case to case and got exercise4 ,to-day he sits in an easy backed chair and uses a linotype4 ,telephoning is quicker than traveling4 ,no one runs for a doctor4 ,our houses have electric washers1 electric irons and many other labor-saving devices4 ,even the farmer has his telephone1 his auto1 his riding plow1 his milking machine and his cream separator4 ,in the stores1 the cash boy has disappeared4 ,the cash carrier takes the money to a girl who sits in the office1 a machine makes the change1 and another machine does her mathematics4 ,sidenote3 ,perils of ,inactivity4 ,the modern idea of efficiency puts a premium on the sedentary feature of occupations1 and employees are frequently automatons that sit4 ,the business man sits at his desk1 sits in a comfortable automobile as he goes home1 sits at the dinner table and sits all evening at the theater1 or at the card table4 ,it is sit1 sit1 sit until he gets a big abdomen1 a puffy skin and a bad liver4 ,he tries to counteract this with forced exercise in a gymnasium or a couple of hours golfing a week4 ,very likely1 his golfing is more interesting because of the side bets than because of the exercise4 ,we are losing out on the natural1 pleasurable1 and practical exercises1 mixed in the right proportions to promote physical poise and health4 ,things are too easy1 luxury and comfort too teasing1 for the ordinary mortal to resist1 and the great mob sits or rides hundreds of times when they should stand or walk4 ,when my objective point is five or six blocks1 ,i walk1 and ,i think on the way4 ,i probably get in from two to four miles of walking every day1 which my friends would save by riding in the street cars or autos4 ,i walk to my office every morning--a distance of nearly four miles4 ,i walk alone1 so that ,i may relax and not expend conscious effort as is the case when ,i walk with another4 ,that morning walk prevents me from reading slush and worthless news1 and relieves me of the necessity of talking and using up nerve energy4 ,i get the worth-while news from my paper by the headlines and by trained ability to separate the wheat from the chaff4 ,sidenote3 ,four ,great ,body-,builders4 ,i just feel fine all the time1 and it's because ,i get to bed early1 sleep plenty1 exercise naturally1 think properly and get the four great body-builders in plenty3 air1 water1 sunshine1 food2 and the other four great health-builders1 which are3 good thought1 good exercise1 good rest1 and good cheer4 ,the great crowd aims at ease1 and so the business man sits and loses out on the exercise his body and mind must have4 ,and therefore the great crowd pays tribute to doctors1 sanitariums1 rest cures1 fake tonics1 worthless medicines1 freakish diet fads1 and crazy cults1 isms1 and discoveries that claim to bring health by the easy1 lazy1 comfortable sitting route4 ,believe me1 dear reader1 it is not in the cards to play the game of health that way4 ,there ain't no sich animal said the ruben as he saw the giraffe in the circus1 and likewise1 there aint no sich thing as health and happiness for the man who persistently antagonizes ,nature1 and hunts ease where exercise is demanded4 ,the law of compensation is inexorable in its demand that you have to pay for what you get and that you can't get worth-while things by worthless plans4 ,you must exercise enough to balance things1 to clear the system1 to preserve your strength2 it doesn't take much time4 #cc4 ,this afternoon ,i am sitting on a glacial rock in the forest at the foot of ,mount ,shasta4 ,a beautiful spot in which to rest and a glorious page from the book of nature to read4 ,sidenote3 ,back to ,nature4 ,a canopy of deepest blue sky above1 with sunshine unstopped by clouds4 ,the rays of old ,sol pulsate themselves into an endless variety of flowers1 plants and vegetable life which ,mother ,earth has given birth to4 ,glorious trees of magnificent size reach up into the blue and give us shade4 ,ozone sweeps gently through the forest1 impregnated with the perfume of fir1 balsam1 cedar1 pine and flowers4 ,in this spot1 nature has thrown up mountains of volcanic rock1 which hold the winter's snow in everlasting supply to quench the thirst of plant1 of animal1 and of the millions of humans in the lower country4 ,the whole hillside around me is a community of springs of crystal water laden with iron and precious salts4 ,it is the breast of ,mother ,earth which nurses her offspring4 ,here are no noises of the street2 the newsboy's cry of extra is not heard4 ,the raucous voice of the peddler1 the din of trucks1 the honk of automobiles1 the clatter of the city--all these are absent4 ,there is no noise here--just the sweet music of falling water1 and the aeolian lullaby made by the breeze playing on the pine needles4 ,my eyes take in a panorama of beautiful nature in colors and contrasts that would give stage fright to any artist who tried to paint the scenes on canvas4 ,sidenote3 ,gaining ,pep4 ,i am getting pep4 ,this is my treatment for tired nerves2 'tis the medcin' of the hills2 'tis nature's cure1 and how it brings the pill box and the bottle of tonic into contempt6 ,i'm letting down the high tension voltage and getting the calm1 natural pulsation that nature intended the human machine to have4 ,so quiet1 so peaceful1 so natural is the view that ,i drink in inspiration of a worth-while kind4 ,no war news to read1 no records of tragedy1 no degrading chronicles of man's passions1 of man's meanness and man's selfishness4 ,a little chipmunk sits upright on a rock before me wondering at the movements of my yellow pencil and the black mark it makes on the paper4 ,a delicate lace-winged insect lights on my tablet1 and a saucy camp robber1 or mutton bird1 wonders at the unusual sight of me1 the big man animal brother4 ,a big beetle is getting his provisions for the winter4 ,i recognize his occupation1 for ,i've read about him in ,fabre's wonderful books on insect life4 ,sidenote3 ,nature's ,lodge4 ,here1 in the sanctum sanctorum of the forest1 ,i am made a member of ,nature's lodge1 and the ants and bugs and beetles and flowers and plants and trees are initiating me and telling me the secrets of the order4 ,i can only tell you1 who are in the great busy world outside1 the lessons and morals4 ,the real secrets ,i must not tell2 you will receive them when you1 too1 come to the hills and forests1 and sit down on a rock alone and go through the initiation4 ,you are invited to come in2 your application is approved1 and you are eligible to membership4 ,come to ,nature's lodge-meeting and clear away the cobwebs from your weary brain2 get inspiration and be a man again4 ,come--soothe and rest and build up those shredded1 weakened1 tired1 weary nerves4 ,let the sun put its coat of health on you1 and let the ozone put the red blood of strength in your veins4 ,sidenote3 ,rest and ,recreate4 ,come and get perfect brain and body-resting sleep4 ,come to this wonderful1 happy1 helpful lodge and get a store of energy1 and an abundance of vital ammunition with which to make the fight1 when you go back to your factory or office4 ,the doctor can lance the carbuncle1 but ,nature's outdoor medicine will prevent your having a carbuncle4 ,the doctor can stop a pain with a poison drug1 but ,nature's outdoor medicine will prevent your having the disorder which makes the pain4 ,no1 brother1 you can't get health out of a bottle or a pill box4 ,but you can get it from ,mother ,nature's laboratory1 where she compounds air1 water1 sunshine1 beauty1 music1 thought2 where she gives you exercise and rest1 health1 happiness1 all summed up into cashable assets for the human in the shape of poise1 efficiency and peace4 #cd4 ,sidenote3 ,mother4 ,mother1 you are the one person in all the world whose kindness was never the preface to a request4 ,that's the sweetest tribute we can pay you1 and the most truthful one4 ,it covers devotion1 love1 sentiment1 motherhood1 and all the noble attributes that go to make the word ,mother the most hallowed1 most sacred1 most beautiful word in the ,english language4 ,there are not words or sentences that can express to you what we think of you or convey our appreciation of you4 ,you want our love2 you have it4 ,you should be told of our love2 we tell you4 ,appreciation and gratitude are payments on account1 but with all our appreciation and with our whole life's gratitude1 the debt we are under can never be paid4 ,we have careful words for the stranger1 ,and smiles for the some-time guest-- ,but oft to our own the bitter tone1 ,though we love our own the best4 ,we've hurt you1 ,mother1 many times1 by our thoughtlessness and by the resentment we felt over your plans and your views about the things we did1 and you have had heartaches because of such actions of ours4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,mother ,love4 ,forgive us1 ,mother1 we're sorry4 ,and there you are1 dear2 the moment we ask your forgiveness1 your great1 tender1 loving heart has forgiven us and erased the marks of transgression4 ,always thinking of us1 always excusing us1 always doing for us1 always watching us and always loving us in the most unselfish way4 ,we love you1 ,mother2 we appreciate you4 ,we are going to show our appreciation and love so much more from now on4 ,we have just come to our senses and realized what a wonderful1 necessary1 helpful being you are4 ,your sweetness1 your gentleness1 your goodness1 your love1 are parts of you4 ,they all go to make up that word ,mother4 ,your life1 your acts1 your example1 your ,motherhood1 have all helped the world so much more than you will ever know4 ,in the everlasting record of good deeds1 your name is in gold4 ,in the everlasting memory of those who appreciate you1 your face1 your life1 is a sacred1 helpful picture that grows more beautiful as the days pass4 ,in tenderness1 in appreciation1 in love1 let us dedicate these thoughts and voice these expressions to ,mother1 who gives her life by inches1 and who would give it all on the instant for her children1 if necessity called for the sacrifice4 ,how feeble are words when we try to describe ,mother6 #ce4 ,this is your inning1 ,dad4 ,sidenote3 ,just ,dad4 ,there have been so many beautiful things written about ,mother and all the rest of the family that it is high time we should tell you how much we love you and how much we appreciate you4 ,you've worked so hard2 you've been so ambitious to do things for your loved ones1 and they have accepted your sacrifice and work and watchfulness as matter of fact4 ,you've had dreams of a some day when you would relax and play and enjoy1 but you have set that some day too far ahead4 ,you consider yourself only after all your loved ones are comfortable and happy1 and time is passing1 ,dad4 ,you are too unselfish1 too much centered in that some day4 ,let's change things a bit1 ,dad4 ,sometimes the some day doesn't come4 ,you are entitled to happiness and pleasure and health and joy right here1 now1 to-day4 ,it's your duty to have them4 ,your loved ones do not want you to spend your health in getting wealth4 ,they don't want to see you worn-out1 tired1 weary and unhappy1 in the evening of your life4 ,besides it's your duty to let them share the responsibility1 and work out their own problems4 ,they will be better equipped for life after you are gone if you let them gain knowledge by practical experience4 ,sidenote3 ,keep ,alive the ,spirit of ,youth4 ,come on1 ,dad2 get in the group and enjoy things now and you will live longer1 and get more out of life1 and give more pleasure to your loved ones4 ,get in the game1 ,dad2 let's see the old light and twinkle in your eyes2 let's have the sunshine on your face2 the love-light on your lips1 and the happiness in your heart4 ,leave your cares at the office2 prepare your mind for play1 and you will feel so much better and stronger and so much more successful in your business4 ,we don't want to hear any more sh-h-h--sh-h-h--or whispers when you come home4 ,we don't want to feel that uncomfortable feeling of restraint2 let's laugh and sing and love and play--let's make your home-coming a joyous event4 ,we all love you1 ,dad1 but you haven't made it as comfortable as you might for us when we try to express our love4 ,you've been too tired1 too busy1 too much occupied with those business thoughts4 ,don't you see how we love you and how we appreciate you8 ,don't you know that there is no one in the world who can take the place of ,dad8 ,keep your heart young1 ,dad2 we will help if you only say1 ,come on4 ,we are waiting for the signal4 ,let's start the new schedule tonight4 ,come on1 ,dad1 what do you say8 #cf4 ,sidenote3 ,what ,our ,bodies are ,composed ,of4 ,we speak of the three kingdoms3 the animal1 the vegetable and the mineral kingdoms1 and every substance is classified into one of these4 ,the exact truth is there is but one kingdom1 which is the mineral4 ,the vegetable substances and animal combinations are made of mineral elements4 ,in a rough way we distinguish the mineral kingdom as those substances called elements1 such as iron1 sulphur1 carbon1 oxygen1 hydrogen1 sodium and the like4 ,these elements are unchangeable in themselves2 they do not grow4 ,the animal is made of mineral elements associated in certain proportions1 such as albumin1 carbon1 lime1 water1 salt and the like4 ,the vegetable kingdom also consists of these various chemical combinations4 ,seed1 when planted1 extracts the minerals from the air and the earth and combines them into a plant1 which grows and has for its object the making of seeds to reproduce and perpetuate itself4 ,the plant has life1 but it has no spiritual or mental equipment1 and therein vegetable life differs from the animal life4 ,the animal eats vegetable and animal flesh4 ,through the vegetable he gets the mineral matter necessary for body-building4 ,he also gets a plentiful supply of mineral from the flesh he eats1 which flesh was first built up through the vegetables the animal ate4 ,these are definite facts4 ,the human body may be analyzed and separated into something like a dozen substances1 among which are water1 which is three-fourths of the body's structure1 carbon1 lime1 phosphorus1 iron1 potassium1 salt and so on4 ,by reading a book on anatomy you can learn just exactly the proportions of the substances in the human body4 ,all these chemicals are formed in the shape of little cells1 myriads of which are in the body4 ,these cells are constantly being destroyed and new ones made to take their place4 ,parts of the body are replaced every twenty-four hours2 other parts less often4 ,sidenote3 ,what ,our ,bodies ,need4 ,scientists tell us that the whole body is replaced every seven years4 ,every move you make destroys cells which nature has to replace4 ,isn't it reasonable then to conclude that if a man should fail to eat enough lime for his body-building1 his bones would suffer8 ,if he does not get enough iron1 his blood will suffer1 and so on4 ,i am convinced that most physical ailments are caused by a deficiency of the mineral elements in the body4 ,phosphorus and potash are necessary to human welfare4 ,these elements are in the husk of the wheat1 and when the husk is taken off in making flour1 the resulting product is mostly starch4 ,the person who lives mostly on white bread will suffer from lack of phosphorus and potash4 ,nothing could be better for the health of the ,american people than the nation-wide food campaigns the government is conducting4 ,the educational value of these campaigns is enormous4 ,eat less wheat6 ,white bread is unessential4 ,bran1 or whole wheat bread1 is far more healthful and nourishing1 and contains more of the elements the human body needs4 ,eat more fruit4 ,people do not eat enough fruit4 ,every year thousands of bushels of peaches and grapes and other fruit go to waste because the demand is not great enough to ship the entire output to the great consuming centers4 ,study your body's needs4 ,health is maintained at its proper level only so long as you eat carefully and wisely4 #cg4 ,the practice of medicine in the past has been directed towards the curing of disease and physical ailments already developed4 ,the practice of medicine in the future is to be along preventive lines4 ,science is showing us how to prevent infection4 ,science is fighting the deadly microbe which comes to us in the air we breathe1 the water we drink1 and the food we eat1 and the infected things we touch4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,why of ,disease4 ,nature has supplied the human body with a home guard of necessary bacteria1 and in the circulation system are phagocytes which fight the invading microbes and generally destroy them4 ,when the system is weakened through disease1 through lack of exercise1 or through improper food1 disease has an easy time4 ,i want you to remember this golden prescription4 ,it is composed of the following3 ,good ,air1 ,good ,water1 ,good ,sunshine1 ,good ,food1 ,good ,exercise1 ,good ,cheer1 ,good ,rest and ,good ,thought4 ,if you take this golden prescription1 you will make of yourself a giant in brain and brawn strength4 ,you can't get health out of a bottle4 ,you can't get the system to absorb iron if you take it in the form of tincture of iron4 ,you can eat a pound of rust1 which is oxide of iron1 and none of that iron will be absorbed in the system4 ,sidenote3 ,what to ,eat4 ,as ,i have explained in another chapter1 you must take the mineral in the system through the vegetable route4 ,you will get iron that will be assimilated when you eat beefsteak4 ,beefsteak has blood2 the blood has iron4 ,you will also get iron when you eat spinach4 ,every element necessary for your body is found in some vegetable or animal food2 therefore1 you should refrain from confining yourself to a very few articles of food4 ,sidenote3 ,fads1 ,cults1 ,isms4 ,don't pay any attention to the faddist who gives you a rigorous diet or unpalatable food4 ,you simply make yourself miserable1 and you generate more worry and unhappiness by your discipline than the good you get from these freak fads4 ,there are a thousand different fads and cults and isms1 each one claiming to be right4 ,probably each one contains a small portion of right4 ,but it is a sure thing that ,the ,right is too big a thing to be confined within narrow formulae and creeds4 ,we all eat too much meat1 but that a strict vegetarian diet is the necessary thing for good health ,i deny4 ,the sheep1 the cow1 and horse are vegetarians1 and they are short lived4 ,the eagle1 the lion1 the man1 eat animal food1 and they are long lived4 ,i may be prejudiced1 but it does seem to me that the strict vegetarians are a skinny1 sallow-looking lot of humans1 speaking generally4 ,i do find that the healthier specimens of vegetarians are those who eat plenty of eggs and drink plenty of milk1 both of which are animal food1 and both of which have nearly all the elements necessary to sustain life4 ,i don't like fads in the matter of eating4 ,the amount a person consumes should be in exact accord with the body's requirements--neither more nor less4 ,the human body is a machine from a food standpoint4 ,it is an engine that has work to do1 and accordingly the amount of fuel necessary for the engine should be in proportion to the amount of work that the engine is called on to perform4 ,sidenote3 ,eat ,less1 ,exercise ,more4 ,the majority of city-dwelling people eat too much4 ,this is especially true of men in sedentary occupations1 and women whose household duties are light4 ,if your engine needs twenty pounds of steam1 how foolish it is to keep up a hundred pounds pressure6 ,if you had five-horsepower work to perform1 how foolish it would be to install a two-hundred-and-fifty-pound engine6 ,eat less of everything4 ,fat and flabbiness and over-feeding is a national vice with us4 ,the fashionable cafes and restaurants are thronged with puffy1 heavy-jowled men and women1 eating and drinking4 ,hotels and food-purveyors are constantly inventing new palate-tickling dishes to tempt your appetite4 ,orchestras and dramatic troupes are engaged to entertain and amuse you while you overload your stomach1 take on fat1 and lay the foundation for future cases of indigestion or dyspepsia4 ,there is no escaping a day of reckoning for such mistreatment of yourself4 ,if you would keep yourself fit1 it is important that you eat only what is necessary to maintain yourself at normal weight and strength4 ,you do not often find dyspepsia or indigestion among men or women who work hard physically4 ,isn't it reasonable to suppose that this is because they work hard8 ,you who work indoors1 with little physical exercise1 will find wonderful benefits if you will cut down the fuel4 ,much of the physical trouble comes from filling up the boiler too much4 ,cut down the food and you will feel better4 #ch4 ,anger and revenge are great pull-backs to health4 ,anger makes the blood rush to the head1 weakens the body1 and distorts the vision4 ,when a woman gets angry1 she quarrels with her lover1 her husband or her children4 ,any one of these things is a calamity4 ,when a man gets angry1 he is a wild man4 ,his eyes glitter1 his mouth is cruel1 his fists clinch1 his body trembles1 his blood veins strain1 and he does more harm to his system in five minutes of anger than nature can repair in a day4 ,sidenote3 ,anger and ,poise4 ,anger makes weak stomachs1 dizzy heads1 poor judgment1 lost friends1 despair and sickness1 and if the habit becomes confirmed1 will likely lead to apoplexy4 ,when two men have differences1 watch the cool man finish victor2 the angry man always loses4 ,keep your head2 let the other fellow fret and fume4 ,he will tie himself up in a knot1 and when the gong is rung1 he will be the loser4 ,serenity is one of ,god's blessings4 ,fortunate is the man who can hold his serenity4 ,when you get a letter that stirs you to anger1 don't answer that letter for forty-eight hours1 then write a moderately vitriolic letter--and then tear it up4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,futility of ,revenge4 ,i know you are tempted and goaded1 and your limit of endurance is sometimes reached4 ,but ,i know that revenge is sweet only in anticipation4 ,i know that revenge by anger and by the cruel eye for an eye measure is never1 never sweet4 ,i have been the victim of imposition1 ingratitude and insincerity1 and advantage has been taken of me because ,i kept my poise and serenity4 ,i have been called easy1 and soft1 and friends have shown me where ,i was imposed upon1 but ,i was stooping to conquer4 ,i kept my reserve1 my resistance1 and my power ready until time1 place1 and preparedness let me spring my coup1 and then ,i cashed in beautifully in principal and interest for those acts and hurts4 ,i have power now in my hands to make others suffer keenly and deeply for wrongs they have done me4 ,yet ,i do not exercise that power to revenge4 ,i have been misjudged and misunderstood1 because cowardly persons have lied and villified me1 and have accused me of motives and acts of which ,i was innocent4 ,i am well hated now by one person in particular1 who blames me for things another is guilty of4 ,a word from me would clear myself1 but it would bring gloom and despair to that person and would not make me any more cognizant of my innocence4 ,sidenote3 ,time1 the ,arbiter4 ,time somehow will bring out the truth2 the cowardly1 guilty individual who basks in the favor of the one who is angry at me will surely pay for his wrong4 ,this ,i know1 and ,i am satisfied with the ultimate result4 ,my former friend1 who is angry at me1 would simply switch the anger current to the guilty one if ,i told the facts2 the guilty person couldn't stand that anger like ,i can4 ,my act would break up a home and bring misery4 ,the satisfaction ,i would receive would not equal the sorrow my act would cause to others4 ,i am far removed from the location where these people live1 and ,i can stand the anger of the one who puts the blame on me by accepting the lies of another as truth4 ,i have the documents in black and white1 yet ,i don't use them because ,i have poise and the consciousness of knowing ,i am right1 and those who are dear to me know it1 too4 ,i've tried both plans1 the plan of anger and the plan of poise1 and ,i like poise better4 ,i believe ,i hear more birds1 ,i believe ,i get more pleasure out of life and living than the man who gets angry and loves revenge4 ,anyway1 ,i think so1 and as a man thinketh in his heart1 so is he4 #ci4 ,sleeping1 like breathing and digesting1 is controlled by the subconscious brain centers4 ,natural sleep requires no positive mental impulse2 it's just relaxing1 and nature takes care of the process4 ,sidenote3 ,can't ,sleep4 ,that is natural sleep1 but when you start your dry cell battery1 the brain1 and commence to worry and fear1 you are going to stay awake4 ,then the conscious mind dominates the subconscious mind1 and you banish the very comforter you seek to woo4 ,business men who work under high tension all day on business matters1 and high tension all evening in threshing over again the business of the day1 are almost sure to suffer from insomnia4 ,the continuance of this habit of thinking of business day and night brings on the insomnia habit and that1 in turn1 gives rise to the delusion that you are fighting for your natural sleep4 ,this produces worry1 the demon that kills and maims4 ,to have an occasional wakeful night is natural2 it is an evidence of intelligence3 the mental dullard never has wakeful nights4 ,unless the fear of sleeplessness becomes a full grown phobia1 no anxiety need be felt4 ,the fear of insomnia1 the over-anxiety to go to sleep1 is to be more dreaded than insomnia itself4 ,sidenote3 ,to ,get ,results4 ,to get refreshing sleep you must put yourself in a state of actual physical tiredness4 ,take exercise4 ,walk in one direction until the first symptoms of becoming tired appear1 then walk home4 ,take a hot bath1 then sponge with cold or cool water4 ,put a cold cloth at the head1 and rub the backbone with cold water4 ,open your windows wide1 then relax4 ,don't worry2 you are going to sleep4 ,lie on your back1 open your eyes wide1 look up as if you were trying to see your eyebrows1 hold your eyes open this way ten to twenty seconds1 then close them slowly4 ,repeat this several times4 ,sleep will have descended on you before you realize it4 ,or occupy your mind with auto-suggestions like this3 ,i am going to sleep--sound1 heavy1 restful1 peaceful sleep4 ,my eyelids are getting heavy--heavy4 ,i am going to close them and go to sleep4 ,don't try to count imaginary sheep jumping over fence rails4 ,don't count numbers4 ,it is a bad habit4 ,if these suggestions do not help you the first night1 say3 ,all right1 my brain was too active2 to-morrow ,i will let down a bit4 ,next night eat one or two dry crackers2 chew them slowly1 masticate them thoroughly until you can swallow easily4 ,this little food will draw the blood pressure from the brain and help you to go to sleep4 ,drive out business and worry thoughts4 ,think faith and courage thoughts4 #dj4 ,to live down the past and erase the errors1 live the present boldly4 ,do not chastise or condemn yourself for mistakes you have made4 ,you are not alone2 everyone has made missteps--has hurt others or wronged himself4 ,sidenote3 ,making ,mistakes4 ,everyone has had reverses and met trouble and misfortune4 ,it's the plan of things4 ,it is by undergoing trials like these that we gain in experience and wisdom4 ,we are enabled to correct our future acts by utilizing the lessons which our mistakes have taught us4 ,yesterday is dead2 forget it4 ,face about4 ,live to-day2 be busy1 be active1 be intent on doing right and accomplishing things worth while4 ,the world's memory is short4 ,a misdeed1 an error1 a wrongful act on your part may set busy tongues wagging to-day1 and you may suffer from calumny and criticism4 ,of course1 your errors will be magnified and your wrongs enlarged beyond the truth2 that's the penalty you pay for your transgressions4 ,lies are always added to truth in telling of one's misdeeds4 ,be brave4 ,weather the storm2 it will soon blow over4 ,to-morrow the world will forget4 ,you've suffered in your own conscience2 that's all the debt you can pay on the old score4 ,sidenote3 ,worrying ,won't ,help4 ,now1 then1 get busy with the glorious opportunity that today presents4 ,don't make the same mistake again4 ,there are no eyes in the back of your head2 look forward4 ,don't worry by envying the other fellow and comparing his good deeds with your mistakes2 you only see his good4 ,he has had troubles and made mistakes1 too1 but you and the world have forgotten them4 ,if every man's sins were printed on his forehead1 the crowds that pass by would all wear their hats over their eyes4 ,i'm trying to comfort you1 and slap you on the back1 and tell you that you are just human1 and all humans make false steps4 ,the patriarchs in the ,bible made mistakes1 but they got in the fold4 ,history has perpetuated their names4 ,their lives1 on the whole1 were worth while4 ,it's the sum total of acts that count4 #da4 ,sidenote3 ,to-day and ,to-morrow4 ,one man says the present is everything1 that eternity is nothing4 ,the other man says eternity is everything1 that the present is nothing4 ,i believe the real truth is that both are man's chief concern1 and neither view comprehends all truth4 ,in this matter1 the general rule ,i have so often pointed out will harmoniously apply4 ,that rule is3 ,avoid extremes4 ,those who believe that the ,now1 the ,present1 is the all-important thing in man's life have the fashionable or favorite point of view4 ,man has much definite information about the present1 he knows much about life4 ,he is in the midst of life--it pulsates all around him and in him4 ,we know positively that the law of compensation is inexorable in its demand for right and positive in its punishment of wrong4 ,we know that on this earth kindness1 love1 occupation1 help1 truth1 honor and sympathy are investments which bring happiness to-day4 ,you get your pay instantly when you have done a helpful act1 and you get your punishment instantly when you have done a hurtful act4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,hereafter4 ,that there is a future most of us agree1 because good sense and logic point to that sane and reasonable conclusion4 ,so be it4 ,with a belief in the future estate1 it is reasonable to assume that our acts and lives in the present will have influence on our future estate4 ,we know positively of to-day2 we know the happiness we can get from good deeds done to-day4 ,we come to this knowledge by experience4 ,if we will have power in the future to look back on to-day's acts1 well and good if to-day's acts are worth while4 ,the other view1 that ,eternity is everything and the present is nothing1 is the antiquated view1 the narrow view--the1 ,i might say1 illiterate view4 ,that view warps the present life2 it calls for present self-chastisement1 present gloom1 present sorrow and present misery4 ,it takes the tangible definite to-day1 calls it nothing1 and accepts the intangible unknown eternity as everything4 ,sidenote3 ,a ,cheerless ,philosophy4 ,it trades the definite for the indefinite4 ,it calls life a bubble1 a vapor1 a shadow4 ,in fact1 it throws a pall over to-day's sunshine1 and regards our earthly life as a sort of purgatory--a dismal unhappy punishment ante-chamber where man exists and waits1 peeping out of his cell windows for a little imagined view of eternity4 ,he waits and endures the unpleasant interval1 steeled against the definite pleasures of to-day1 his whole outlook colored by a fanatical and intoxicated belief in the expected happiness of the undefined future4 ,he refuses to think of the definite life of to-day that we all know1 and spoils the thought of those who do4 ,he is a blockade to progress1 a disagreeable part of life's picture4 ,he gets no happiness in the to-day which is in his hands2 he loses his opportunity to be of service here1 and lives in the hope of a vague and nebulous future state which has no connection with the realities of every-day life4 ,both theories as ultimate beliefs are wrong1 yet each has some truth in its conclusion4 ,by taking the words ,eternity and ,present and saying that both mean everything1 we avoid extremes and form a truth that is rational1 and harmonious to good reason4 ,the man who says that the present is all1 does so because he is an utilitarian4 ,he reasons from the definite and the seeable1 and refuses to believe in the abstract4 ,anything that is outside the sphere of his vision and action is of little concern to him4 ,the man who says eternity is all1 wastes a golden opportunity and warps himself into a miserable hermit4 ,life is irrevocable4 ,every act in our life is placed1 set1 and fixed4 ,every act goes in the record book of yesterday1 and it cannot be changed4 ,acts that hurt others will rebound and hurt us4 ,deeds that help others will rebound and help us4 ,this much is certain4 ,there is a future1 ,i believe that4 ,there is a ,god1 ,i believe that4 ,just what the future is1 and just what ,god is1 ,i do not know in perfect detail4 ,reward for good and punishment for evil is part of ,god's plan1 and ,i am conscious of this truth4 ,i know that justice prevails in this life1 and this life is what ,i am living now4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,good ,that ,lies at ,hand4 ,if ,i live and act to-day in accordance with what ,i sincerely believe is in tune with ,god's purpose1 ,i shall1 in my future estate1 benefit by those acts4 ,if ,i live and act to-day in disregard of all around me1 selfishly catering to my personal desires and believing that eternity is everything and the present nothing1 ,i am neglecting the opportunity to do good now in the hope of a future personal reward1 the very nature of which is unknowable4 ,i shall therefore strive to do1 and to be1 right--to be kind1 helpful1 cheery and smiling now1 for the reward such acts bring now4 ,and ,i shall doubtless have as good a record and passport to the future as the man who suffers now and lives only upon his selfish hope of the future4 ,his is the faith of fear1 mine the faith of reason in the all-wise1 all-powerful1 all-seeing1 all-knowing ,ruler of the universe1 who gave me my life1 my brain1 my reason1 which ,i am trying to use1 as well as my limitations will permit1 in helping myself and helping others to smile1 to be happy1 to be serene1 to be confident1 to be competent1 to be useful4 ,everything lives and dies in accordance with the plan of the ,creator of the ,universe1 and you are an atom and ,i am an atom in that ,universe1 which is governed by a power too big and too great for us to comprehend4 ,verily we presume when we say3 ,we have all the truth2 think as we do or you are lost4 ,the old world has not told its full story4 ,the ,universe of which this world is a part is still a deep1 unfathomable mystery4 ,we shall not know all truth until the great revealing time4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,use of ,to-day4 ,we cannot change the pages of the millions of years gone by4 ,we can do every little to change the pages of the millions of years to come4 ,what little we can do1 we can only do ,,to-,,day4 ,to-day is yours and mine2 let's do the best we can with our possession in act and thought and word4 ,the sun goes down behind the sky-line on the ,west as it has done for millions of years4 ,i lay aside my pen with a bigger view1 a deeper appreciation of the ,creator1 and a profounder faith in ,his wisdom and works than ever4 ,god made4 ,god rules4 ,god plans4 ,and verily1 we are weaklings and foolish who presume by selfish prayer to suggest to ,him what ,he shall do4 ,let us strive to be appreciative of ,him2 let us try to lift ourselves to the sublime plane of realizing that we are part of ,him and ,his plan1 and that failure is impossible to us1 if we keep up and on1 doing good1 speaking softly1 dealing gently1 showing kindness to-day1 and living in accordance with the big1 broad1 generous1 charitable plan instead of in the little1 bigoted1 narrow1 selfish1 conceited idea that we are sole possessors of truth and that the man who differs with us in belief is in error4 ,this chapter is about big things1 and in it is a big moral for all who are big enough to grasp it4 #db4 ,i believe in him because he is so sincere4 ,sidenote3 ,sincerity and ,truth4 ,you've heard that1 haven't you8 ,i never could understand how a sensible person could use such logic4 ,sincerity is no evidence of truth4 ,the ,hindu mother is sincere when she throws her babe to the crocodiles1 but her sincerity is no proof that by this sacrifice she is sure of her salvation4 ,the ,christian ,scientist is sincere in the belief that medicines do not cure diseases4 ,the doctor is equally sincere in his belief that medicines do cure disease4 ,the ,theosophist is sincere1 the ,atheist1 the ,agnostic1 the ,christian1 the ,pagan1 the ,mohammedan1 the ,buddhist1 the ,sunworshipper1 the ,republican1 the ,democrat1 the ,progressive1 the ,prohibitionist1 the ,brewer1 all these are sincere in their beliefs4 ,and as these beliefs are different1 it is common sense to say that no one creed1 sect1 belief1 branch1 dogma or system includes or embodies all truth4 ,sidenote3 ,no ,monopoly on ,truth4 ,it is true that every channel or avenue we meet in life's travel has some truth1 but it is not for you or me to assume that we are the sole possessors of wisdom and the real discoverers of all truth4 ,we must not take the conclusions we arrive at and expect to force the world to accept without protest our rules for conduct1 our methods for living1 our practices for morals1 or our beliefs for their guidance4 ,converts to new doctrines1 new issues1 new cults1 and to the old ones1 too1 are made largely because the ambassadors or proselyters seem so fervid and sincere in expounding what they claim is the definite truth4 ,the believers in a cult or code of ethics are auto-hypnotized2 their visions are narrowed4 ,by focusing their thought on their special belief1 they bring together sophistry1 argument1 example and so-called proof that gives them facility in arguing the case or expounding their doctrine4 ,sidenote3 ,christian ,science4 ,you can make no gain in trying to argue with a ,christian ,scientist4 ,you ask for concrete rules1 definite answers and proofs other than their flat statements1 and you are told you have not the understanding--you do not view the subject from the right plane1 and that the truth cannot be shown you4 ,you are told to have faith and belief1 to eliminate antagonism1 and to study ,science and ,health1 and you will receive the divine spirit and see the light4 ,the ,scientist is sincere2 he shows you ,science and ,health with a lot of testimonials in the back to prove that ,christian ,science cures disease4 ,every patent medicine1 every science1 every system of healing has testimonials by the hundreds4 ,scientists say there is no disease1 no material--that we are only spirit or soul or thought--that we are not matter but mind4 ,health1 they tell us1 is truth and disease is error4 ,they deny disease1 yet ,science and ,health and the midweek experience meetings have testimonials of disease cured by ,christian ,science4 ,there is much truth in ,christian ,science4 ,people are helped by it2 people are sincere in their belief in it1 but that ,christian ,science is all truth1 all-powerful1 all-right1 all-sufficient1 cannot be proven4 ,what about the people who have gone hence before ,christian ,science was ever heard of8 ,the theological religion of to-day differs radically in practice and belief from what it was fifty years ago4 ,if the ,protestant religion be all truth1 what became of our religious ancestors who died before ,martin ,luther found the truth8 ,sidenote3 ,the ,spirit of ,tolerance4 ,i have no quarrel with the ,christian ,scientist1 the ,protestant1 the ,roman ,catholic1 the ,buddhist or the ,mohammedan4 ,i must be generous and broad enough to admit that others have the right to think and be sincere4 ,all sciences have truth1 but no science1 sect1 cult1 dogma or creed is ,,all truth4 ,sincerity is evidence of honest conviction1 but that your sincerity in your belief must be accepted by me as proof that ,i should believe as you do1 is1 ,i believe1 the place where ,i have the undoubted right to say3 ,i reserve the right to my own conclusions1 and ,i would be unjust to myself if ,i should force myself to accept your viewpoint without fully satisfying myself that you were right4 ,so1 because a person is sincere in a conviction that is contrary to your conscientious belief1 do not be disturbed4 ,there is no need to swerve from your own common sense analysis of the matter1 or be convinced against your better judgment4 ,no one possesses all the truth4 ,it is for you and me to do our plain duty as we see it--to do the best we can each day in act and thought and word4 ,we can pretty much agree on the simple essential truths which are proven4 ,that is--being honest1 truthful1 kind1 lovable1 sympathetic1 cheerful2 doing good1 helping one another1 and doing things worth while4 ,sidenote3 ,unprofitable ,speculation4 ,if we agree on these things1 and do useful work1 and think helpful thoughts1 we are doing our duty4 ,theories1 arguments and studying too deeply on bootless systems1 codes1 beliefs1 cults1 isms and doctrines1 is a waste of time4 ,when we can1 here and now1 derive definite benefits from doing the simple and helpful things1 and acting and thinking the simple1 practical cheer thoughts1 it is neither necessary nor helpful for us to waste time on spiritualism or theoretical beliefs that cannot be proven to our own satisfaction4 ,we are asked to believe these strange1 impractical1 unnatural beliefs because of the sincerity of others4 ,it's better to believe and to credit the things we can ourselves measure1 understand and sincerely adopt4 ,there are hundreds of strange beliefs and spiritual systems1 each claiming to be all-powerful1 all-right4 ,if any one is all truth1 then all the others are all wrong4 ,the bigot who assumes he is the sole possessor of truth--the cult1 sect1 ism1 or science that claims to possess all truth and presumes to lay down the exact rules for the world to obey--should be classed with those misguided religions and institutions of the dark past which burned human beings who dared to doubt their claim to the possession of all truth and knowledge4 ,god never gave his approval to any one man-made religious sect4 ,god is the universal good power4 ,man often tries to dwarf ,god's idea to the narrow dimensions of his own small soul4 #dc4 ,sidenote3 ,whiskey and ,fake ,medicines4 ,whiskey must go4 ,it is written on the pages of the record book of man's progress4 ,likewise must the quack doctor and the fake medicine go4 ,they have had their day4 ,the quack doctor has already breathed his last in many parts of the country4 ,the fake medicine schemes are still with us1 but they are becoming increasingly difficult to put over4 ,that they are doomed to extinction1 there can be no doubt4 ,the side-whiskered advertising doctor who magnifies symptoms and proclaims them to be grave forerunners of awful1 debilitating disease1 is nothing short of a criminal4 ,he is one of the worst of criminals1 because he imposes upon the credulity of the ignorant1 excites their fear by means of sensational scarehead advertising1 and then when he has finally lured them into his spider-web1 fleeces them unmercifully4 ,these charlatans are really more contemptible than any thief1 for the thief does not pretend to be anything else but what he is1 while the quack doctor swindles and exploits you under the guise of being your benefactor4 ,as ,i have repeatedly explained1 illness1 feeling out of sorts1 local pains and sickness1 unless of the contagious or infectious kind1 are largely conditions of the mind4 ,most of the temporary ailments are caused by constipation1 wrong diet or lack of exercise4 ,the doctor gives a laxative1 nature re-asserts herself1 and the patient is cured4 ,chronic ailments require long treatments--making long bills and many visits for the quack doctor4 ,sidenote3 ,your ,family ,physician4 ,your health and happiness are things largely in your own control4 ,however1 when you feel you must have a doctor1 go to your family physician and not to a strange doctor who advertises4 ,his advertisement is merely a spiderweb to catch and hold you while he robs you4 ,it is a hopeful sign of the brighter future toward which man is progressing1 that the respectable papers will not lend their aid to swindling doctors4 ,the best papers will not carry these quack doctor or fake medicine ads4 ,before long the government will pass laws abolishing this baneful1 shameful1 quack advertising4 ,quack doctoring1 gambling1 liquor selling--these are all swindling methods to get money1 and in the getting1 the ghouls and parasites who practise these professions are killing men1 ruining homes1 destroying happiness1 holding back progress4 ,the one object of the quack doctor is to size you up and see what you are good for4 ,good for means how much money can he get from you1 and how long can he keep you as a patient to contribute to his coffers4 ,let every reader of this book enroll as an opponent to quack doctors and quack medicines1 and by word and influence help to hasten the day when such pernicious swindlers and swindling schemes are things of the past4 #dd4 ,no two minds can see the same picture in the same way1 nor can two persons1 armed and equipped with logic1 come to the same definite conclusions on religion4 ,the old ,scripture said3 ,an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth4 ,the new ,scripture teaches us to turn the other cheek and love our enemies4 ,sidenote3 ,religion1 ,old and ,new4 ,two hundred years ago witchcraft was practised and miserable human beings were burned at the stake4 ,thirty years ago the preacher who took exception to the universal belief of a hell of fire and brimstone was thrown out of the church4 ,to-day no preacher believes in such a hell4 ,present day religion is really a ,sunday religion4 ,one and a half hours a week the members of the church join in singing1 ,we shall know each other there4 ,the remainder of the week they make it a point to keep from knowing each other here4 ,sidenote3 ,sectarianism4 ,the ,protestant church divides itself into numerous sects1 each one built on some particular ordinance or practice4 ,each one1 in matters of doctrine1 will swallow a camel but will strain at a gnat4 ,one sect insists that baptism shall be by immersion because the disciples baptized that way4 ,they believe in following custom literally1 yet in the cities they immerse the members in a big tub under the pulpit1 which practice is entirely different from the method employed by ,john the ,baptist4 ,another sect insists upon having a communion every ,sunday because the ,bible says1 ,as often as you do this1 etc4 ,to be literal in the matter of communion1 the ,lord's ,supper should be served at night1 as the original was1 and it should be supper and not a few pieces of broken crackers4 ,the sect that insists on following the ,scriptures in the matter of baptism by immersion fails to follow the ,scriptures in the matter of washing the feet or anointing the head4 ,many years ago1 churches considered it a sacrilege to use an organ4 ,to-day they have orchestras and hire operatic singers4 ,so it seems that the church is broadening out4 ,thinking men refuse to believe that religion should any longer be a matter of self-chastisement and worry1 sobs and misery4 ,because so much of this sort of teaching is prevalent1 the church is not making the gains it should4 ,the church is largely supported by nice little women--many of them maiden ladies who have little to do and know little of the great problems of the busy world4 ,sidenote3 ,a ,live ,religion4 ,i am thoroughly convinced that the church must recognize that a great evolution is taking place--that we must be more charitable1 more broad in our views1 less technical in our tenets and more practical in our work4 ,we will have to cut down the fences between the sects and get together in the great field for a common cause1 rather than try to maintain little independent vineyards4 ,religion must teach smiles and joy1 courage and brotherly love1 instead of frowns1 dejection1 fear and worry4 ,it must teach us how to be and how to get good out of our to-day on earth4 ,if we are good and do good here1 we certainly need have no fear for our future prospects4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,universal ,church4 ,day by day we are progressing from narrowness1 bigotry1 selfishness and envy1 to broadness1 reason1 brotherly love and contentment1 and we shall progress from the narrow confines of obstinate orthodoxy or bulldogmatics1 by breaking down sect and cult barriers until we are joined together in a universal church in which all can put their hearts and beliefs--in which all can find full range for their spiritual belief and expression4 ,that big1 broad1 right church will be in harmony with ,god's purpose4 ,the ,creator made all men1 and ,he doesn't confine ,his love or ,his interest to any one little man-made1 narrow sect or creed4 ,god is love4 ,love thy neighbor4 ,help the weak2 cheer the grief stricken4 ,those are the commands and purposes we find everywhere in the ,scriptures4 ,he that believeth in me shall be saved4 ,that's a definite promise1 and it is not qualified by a lot of creed paragraphs and beliefs4 ,that promise doesn't have any buts or ifs4 ,it doesn't say we shall be saved if we be ,methodists or ,catholics1 ,baptists or ,presbyterians4 ,those names are man-made1 and the creeds of those churches are man-made1 too4 ,at the congress of religions in the ,world's ,fair at ,chicago1 over three hundred religions and sects were represented by delegates from all over the world1 and every one of these delegates1 with hearty accord1 sang1 ,praise ,god ,from ,whom ,all ,blessings ,flow and ,rock of ,ages4 ,those hymns were universal2 they fitted all creeds and sects4 ,big men in the church are intensely interested in the get-together universal church1 and each year will mark a definite progress toward amalgamation of sects and divisions4 ,there should be no ,methodist ,church ,north and ,methodist ,church ,south4 ,there should not be churches like the ,congregational and ,presbyterian1 whose creeds are identical1 the difference being only in the officers4 ,the country village of #a1jjj population has five churches2 it should have only one4 ,the country is full of half-starved preachers and weak1 struggling congregations4 ,the get-together movement will help religion1 and it's going to happen surely4 #de4 ,every year the business man goes over his stock1 tools1 fixtures1 and accounts1 and prepares a statement of assets and liabilities so as to get a fairly accurate understanding of his profit and loss4 ,if he didn't take this inventory1 his net worth would be a matter of guess work4 ,this inventory1 which deals with money1 materials1 etc41 and things which are mixed more or less with the human element1 is affected by conditions of trade1 crops1 competition1 supply and demand4 ,the business man takes all these conditions into consideration in preparing for the coming year4 ,he red flags the mistakes and green flags the good plans4 ,sidenote3 ,self ,inventory4 ,listing the ,liabilities4 ,the business man should carry the inventory further4 ,every month or so he should take a careful inventory of himself1 putting down his assets of health1 initiative1 patience1 ability to work1 smiles1 honesty1 sincerity1 and the like4 ,so also he should put down on the debit side in the list of liabilities the pull-backs1 hindrances and other business-killers4 ,these items are untruth1 unfairness1 sharp practice1 grouchiness1 impatience1 worry1 ill-health1 gloom1 meanness1 broken word1 unfilled promises and the like4 ,in making up the inventory1 pay particular attention to your habits3 smoking1 drinking1 over-eating1 useless display1 useless social functions1 and other useless things that pull on your nerves and your pocket book4 ,then check up department ,a1 which is your family4 ,how have you dealt with your family and children8 ,department ,b is friends4 ,how do you stand in your treatment of them8 ,department ,c includes all other persons4 ,did you lie to1 steal from1 cheat or defraud any one8 ,how much cash profit did you make8 ,how much less a man did the act make you8 ,go over your self-respect account4 ,does it show profit or loss8 ,check up your employees' account4 ,what has your stewardship shown8 ,have you drawn the employees closer1 or have you driven them further from you8 ,analyze your spiritual account4 ,is your religious belief a sham or a conviction8 ,do you sing on ,sunday1 ,we shall know each other there1 or do you make it a point to know and love your brother here1 seven days a week8 ,sidenote3 ,balancing the ,statement4 ,be fair in your inventory4 ,write down the facts in the two columns designated good and bad1 then go over the list and put a red danger flag on the bad4 ,keep the list until next inventory and see whether you have made a gain or loss in your net moral standing4 ,don't read this and say1 ,a good idea4 ,do the thing literally4 ,take a clean sheet of paper and write your personal assets and liabilities down in the two columns marked good and bad4 ,if this inventory doesn't help1 then you may call me a false prophet4 ,i know the plan is a good one4 ,i know it will help you4 ,if it helps you1 you will thank me4 ,there can be no harm in trying1 because it's a worth-while thing to test4 ,the business man who never takes inventory is likely to bump some day4 #df4 ,the ego is in us4 ,it is a good thing to have1 but egotism needs the soft pedal when we speak or do things4 ,many people are unconscious of their egotism1 yet their conversation carries the suggestion1 ,even ,i1 who am superior to the herd1 would do this or that4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,personal ,pronoun4 ,for instance1 two persons were arguing about the merits of an inexpensive automobile4 ,parenthetically1 ,i may say that one belonged to the ,ford class1 and the other to the can't-afford class4 ,a can't-afford snob came to the rescue of the ,ford champion by saying1 ,that's a good car2 why1 ,i wouldn't mind owning one of them myself1 and he beamed at the party with the consciousness of having settled the matter and removed the stigma from the ,ford car4 ,this egotism often crops out when one shows a group picture in which he appears4 ,he doesn't wait for you to find him2 he pokes his arm over your shoulder and says1 ,that's me4 ,to each of us1 in the very nature of things1 the ,i is the center of our world4 ,we see things always through our ,i's4 ,if we wish to get along without friction1 we must remember that the other fellow has his ,i's also1 and when we try to make him see things through out ,i's1 it makes trouble4 ,sidenote3 ,good ,breeding4 ,the hall mark of education1 refinement and character1 in the broad sense1 is the ability to exclude the personal so far as possible from our conversation4 ,and be big enough to grant to others their undoubted right to see and think from their own standpoint4 ,argument develops egotism more than almost anything else will4 ,how often have you convinced another in an argument8 ,how often have you been convinced in an argument8 ,the world is big2 there are millions of others in it1 and our job is a big one if we 'tend pretty well to our own knittin'4 #dg4 ,four hundred and twenty-six years ago ,christopher ,columbus landed on an island which he thought was ,india4 ,chris was mighty happy as he put his foot on good old ,mother ,earth1 not so much because he had discovered a new way to ,india1 as he thought1 but because his foot touched land4 ,two days before he landed on ,san ,salvador1 his crew pitched into him and threatened to throw him in the sea and turn back with the ship to ,spain4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,last ,step ,counts4 ,if ,chris had shown the white feather1 #adib would not be the date of the first line in the geography1 announcing the ,discovery of ,america4 ,chris had perseverance--the stuff that makes men successful4 ,he started to find ,india by sailing westward4 ,he didn't succeed in his purpose1 but his determination was rewarded just the same1 for he found a new country1 and that was worth while4 ,before he started1 he was promised ten per cent of the revenue from any lands he might discover4 ,just imagine what that would mean to-day4 ,columbus had perseverance and pep1 and his unwavering fidelity to his cause brought him success in his efforts4 ,the world has improved since #adib1 but the percentage of men who would keep everlastingly at it like ,columbus did1 has not increased1 perhaps4 ,columbus sailed with three ships1 the largest sixty-six feet long4 ,he steered in the direction of the setting sun4 ,his crew was #abj men4 ,none of them were enthusiastic at the start2 all of them disgusted1 discouraged and ready to mutiny toward the last4 ,sidenote3 ,keeping ,everlastingly at ,it4 ,but ,christopher kept the ships pointed ,west1 through rain and shine1 through drifting1 breezeless days and through wild stormy nights4 ,he kept on and on and on1 and he brought home the bacon1 which1 being interpreted1 means that success crowned his efforts4 ,perseverance and pep--when all is said and done1 these are the factors without which no great achievement is possible4 ,it was the mileage made on ,october #abth1 #adib1 that counted4 ,it is the last step in a race that counts4 ,it is the last stroke on the nail that counts4 ,the moral is that many a prize has been lost just when it was ready to be plucked4 ,perseverance--patience--pluck--pep--the se are magic words4 ,they are the ,open ,sesame of modern life4 ,they open the door to opportunity1 and will bring you prosperity1 peace and plenty4 #dh4 ,the man who ridicules everything is on the toboggan slide1 and he will end up by becoming an out-and-out grouch4 ,you and ,i know men who never have a pleasant word to say of anyone1 or a serious commendation of anything4 ,sidenote3 ,ridicule and ,humor4 ,ridicule and sarcasm are often coated with would-be humor1 and are sometimes decked out as puns4 ,by and by1 however1 this bias toward ridicule and sarcasm gets to be a habit1 and the coat of humor becomes threadbare4 ,just at this time friends depart1 for the grouch phase of the disease has started4 ,sarcasm and ridicule are powerful weapons when used adroitly and for good purposes4 ,but when sarcasm and ridicule are used constantly as a means to generate fun1 or as vehicles for humor1 then the evil commences4 ,the fun disappears2 the sting remains4 ,people will listen to you for awhile if you good-naturedly ridicule a thing1 but when you are known to have the habit1 that is when friends give you the go-by4 ,sarcasm and ridicule wound deeply2 they are hot pokers jabbed in quivering flesh4 ,sidenote3 ,a ,dangerous ,weapon4 ,don't juggle with ridicule or sarcasm1 for people look beneath the veneer nowadays4 ,they remember and repeat the axiom1 ,there's many a true word spoken in jest4 ,there are so many beautiful things to say1 so many kind expressions to utter1 so many helpful hints to give1 that we should be ashamed to say or do things even jokingly that may hurt another4 ,when you ridicule a thing or a person1 you may ridicule the tender heart of one you should cheer and help4 ,ridicule is the negative approach to a subject anyway2 the only good it can accomplish is by reflex action or rebound force4 ,ridicule is mistakenly conceived1 by many1 as humor4 ,it is used because it can so easily be employed1 in a seemingly clever way1 to create a laugh4 ,humor of the clean sort is a rare gift4 ,humor may easily descend to low comedy through the use of ridicule1 and often the audience does not differentiate between low comedy and rare humor4 ,the masses will laugh when the comedian on the stage hits his friend with a club2 that sort of fun-making satisfies adults who have children's brains1 and people of similar brain-construction will also laugh at jokes which ride on ridicule4 ,but you who read these lines are worthy of better things2 that's why you are reading this book4 ,if1 in my audience1 there are those who have the ridicule habit1 ,i want to arouse you to a better sense of humor than is possible through the employment of ridicule and sarcasm4 ,i don't want you to descend to the level of the grouch4 ,the slide-down is so easy2 the climbing back is so very hard4 ,ridicule and sarcasm are cheap1 slap-stick methods to produce fun4 ,they leave a sting many times when you are not aware of it4 ,sidenote3 ,when ,you ,can ,go the ,limit4 ,when fighting whiskey1 sin1 corruption or organized evil1 then use burning ridicule and caustic sarcasm to sizzle and destroy the things that need to be destroyed4 ,next time you find yourself using ridicule or sarcasm to provoke mirth1 remember you are toying with a habit-forming practice that is likely to get the best of you unless you stop and stop now4 #di4 ,sidenote3 ,your ,wife and ,partner4 ,a wife is either a partner or an employee4 ,if a partner1 she has a right to the fifty-fifty split on profits2 if an employee1 she is entitled to her wages4 ,a thrifty husband is commendable1 but a show-me-what-you-did-with-that-money husband should be punished by being sentenced to attend pink teas1 afternoon receptions1 and to match samples at the dry goods store4 ,married folks must be on a partnership basis1 or there's sand in the gear box4 ,give the wife the check-book2 let her pay the bills4 ,play fair with her2 show her what your income is2 give her all you can afford and what economic and wise administration warrants4 ,she'll cut the cloth to fit the garment4 ,when the husband questions every turn1 every move1 and doles out every cent1 the wife feels like a prisoner or a slave4 ,wives will do good team work when they are broken to double harness with their husbands4 ,women are generally raised without being required to economize4 ,they have probably been petted and humored1 and are used to preening and smoothing their plumage and looking pretty4 ,sidenote3 ,fine ,feathers4 ,it's the female instinct in the human4 ,in the animal world1 the male has the plumage and does the strutting and fascinating2 but in the human animal1 the female is the bird with the bright plumage4 ,you can't expect her to know much about the economic side of the home the moment you slip the ring on her finger4 ,but she'll shop better than her husband if he takes an interest in her shopping and encourages her in the economical administration of the household budget4 ,she wants a word of appreciation once in a while4 ,she chills under the surveillance and parsimony of an eagle-eyed1 meddlesome husband4 ,she's a sweet bird1 and sweet birds and hawks don't nest well together4 ,where the hawk and the dove are in the same cage1 the feathers will fly4 ,as ,i came through the park this morning1 ,i saw a pair of robins who had the right idea4 ,they shared home responsibilities and did fine team work4 ,i think they were mighty happy1 too2 daddy red breast looked mighty proud as he hustled worms for the family breakfast4 ,mama ,robin looked down with loving eyes at her hubby1 and the little baby robins sang a chorus of joy at the very privilege of living in such a home4 ,worry will fly out of the window the moment the husband and wife lay their cards on the table and play the open hand4 ,the moment one or the other keeps a few cards up their sleeve1 then worry and trouble come back4 ,the moral of this is1 husbands and wives3 live together1 get together1 stay together1 play together1 save together1 grow together1 share together4 ,travel the same road2 don't take different paths4 #ej4 ,to-night ,i am in the ,ozarks1 and old ,mother ,earth is passing through the belt of meteoric dust--that great mysterious sea in the universe through which we pass every year about the middle of ,november4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,stars4 ,i look out into the night and marvel at the countless stars in the infinite black void1 and wonder how closely those stars may be connected with humanity4 ,that they are connected1 ,i have no doubt1 for truly1 the sun1 the moon1 the stars1 and endless space as well1 are parts1 are things1 like me1 that cometh from and runneth by one grand power of which ,i am in truth a part1 an atom though ,i be4 ,how many stars are there8 ,well1 let's get ready to appreciate number4 ,i can see about #c1jjj2 with opera glasses ,i could see #cj1jjj4 ,franklin ,adams some years ago photographed the whole canopy with #bjf exposures4 ,he counted the stars by mathematical plans1 and published his finding that there were #a1fjj1jjj1jjj stars4 ,that number is just about the number of humans on this earth4 ,so1 then1 there is one star for each of us4 ,sidenote3 ,finite and ,infinite4 ,each of those stars1 practically speaking1 is larger than the earth4 ,it is thought that many of them may have human beings who think and reason like we do4 ,multiply the #a1fjj1jjj1jjj population on this earth by any portion of the #a1fjj1jjj1jjj stars that may have thinking creatures on them2 multiply that total by the millions of years and millions of generations that have passed out of existence4 ,think of these numbers and limitless boundaries1 and then tell me1 if you can1 that one little man on one little star we call ,earth has a strangle-hold on truth1 and that his viewpoint1 his ism1 his little dogma1 his narrow creed1 is all-sufficient1 all-right1 all-inclusive4 ,verily1 little protoplasm1 you have another guess4 ,we can1 by experience and tests1 prove two and two make four4 ,we can by practice and experience prove that love1 kindness1 help1 gentleness1 sympathy1 cheer and courage bring happiness4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,sense of ,proportion4 ,these are tangible things that fall within the province of human experience4 ,but when one wee ,willie with sober face tells you and me and others that he has the truth about the definite1 full workings of ,god's plans and purposes1 ,i think of the greatness of #a1fjj1jjj1jjj stars1 each with #a1fjj1jjj1jjj humans1 and of the unnumbered generations gone by1 and say that verily1 we must live ,,to-,,day and do the best we can to-day in act and thought and word4 ,yesterday is dead2 to-morrow is unknown4 ,where we have been1 where we will be1 we know not4 ,where we are to-day1 we know1 and only ,god in ,his omniscience knows the final answer as to our future estate4 ,he will take us and hold us and place us in ,his keeping and according to ,his purpose1 even though we do not or cannot follow or believe any one of the little man-formed creeds1 isms or cults as the measure and rule for our beliefs4 ,those stars testify to the certainty of ,god1 and ,i believe in ,him4 #ea4 ,sidenote3 ,success and ,envy4 ,when a man by his brains1 or by a fortunate combination of circumstances1 rises to a position of prominence1 he becomes a target for the envious and a pattern for the imitator4 ,emulation and envy are ever alert in trying to steal the fruits of the leader or the doer of things4 ,the man who makes a name gets both reward and punishment4 ,the reward is his satisfaction in being a producer1 a help to the world1 and the glory that comes from widespread recognition and publicity of his accomplishment4 ,the punishment is the slurs1 the enmity1 the envy and the detraction1 to say nothing of the downright lies which are told about him4 ,when a man writes a great book1 builds a great machine1 discovers a great truth or invents a useful article1 he becomes a target for the envious many4 ,if he does a mediocre thing1 he is unnoticed2 if his work is a masterpiece1 jealousy wags its tongue and untruth uses its sting4 ,wagner was jeered4 ,whistler was called a mere charlatan4 ,langley was pronounced crazy4 ,fulton and ,stephenson were pitied4 ,columbus faced mutiny on his ship on the very eve of his discovery of land4 ,millet starved in his attic4 ,time has passed1 and the backbiters are all in unmarked graves4 ,the world1 until the end of time1 will enjoy ,wagner's music4 ,whistler and ,millet's paintings attract artists from all over the world1 and inventors reverence the names of ,fulton and ,stephenson4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,price of ,greatness4 ,the leader is assailed because he has done a thing worth while2 the slanderers are trying to equal his feat1 but their imitations serve to prove his greatness4 ,because jealous ones cannot equal the leader1 they seek to belittle him4 ,but the truly worth-while man wins his laurels and he remains a leader4 ,he has made his genius count1 and has given the creature of his brain and imagination to the world4 ,above the clamor and noise1 above the din of the rocks thrown at him1 his masterpiece and his fame endure4 ,and compensation1 the salve to the sore1 makes the great man deaf to the noise and immune to the attacks of the knockers4 ,in his own heart he knows he has done a thing worth while2 his own conscience is clear1 and he cares not for the estimate of the world4 ,his own character is his chief concern1 and he is content in the knowledge that time will bring its reward4 ,if you have high ideals in business1 if you achieve success on a big scale1 mark well1 you will be a subject of attacks1 of lies1 of malice1 of envy1 of disreputable competition4 ,there is no way out of it4 ,sidenote3 ,compensation4 ,but you will be repaid4 ,the lover of fair play1 the grateful1 true1 honest1 worth-while people will flock to your standard2 the riff-raff will skulk behind bushes and throw rocks and mud1 but their acts will prove to the great mass of the people that your purposes1 practices and policies are right4 ,therefore1 courage is to be your chief asset2 patience1 pride1 perseverance1 your lieutenants4 ,be not weary1 grow not discouraged when your progress is hampered by obstacles4 ,every truly great man of the past has had his backbiters and detractors4 #eb4 ,there are three periods in our lives3 the youthful1 or prospective period1 the adult1 or introspective period1 and the old age1 or retrospective period4 ,sidenote3 ,growing ,old4 ,too many there are who look forward to old age with fear or dread4 ,but old age has its joys and pleasures as well as middle age and youth1 and these pleasures are the keener if the first and second periods of life were lived sanely1 worthily and properly4 ,numerous are the great men of the past who have extolled the old-age period of human life with its wisdom and wealth of worldly experience4 ,if the middle period is spent in getting dollars only1 then old age will be days of empty nothingness4 ,youth is the planning time--the time for ideals and ambitions2 middle age the building time1 and old age the dividend time4 ,with many1 old age is spent in reading the book of the past--with sadness as the reader recognizes that the ideals1 plans and hopes were shattered4 ,as age turns the page in the book of the past1 he reads one hope after another vanished in smoke4 ,anticipation is seldom realized1 and this is as it should be1 for in time1 men will learn to live each day for each day's good and each day's happiness4 ,let us perform our duty to-day2 let us lay away a kindly act1 a smile1 a word of cheer in the bank of good deeds4 ,each of us has a share in this world's work4 ,it matters little whether our actual share is what we had guessed or wished it to be4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,value of ,ideals4 ,vicissitudes will cross our path here and there2 so-called misfortune or bad luck will strike us when least expected4 ,the failure of our dreams should not grieve us4 ,we cannot reach up and grasp the stars1 but like the pilot at the wheel at sea1 we can steer by those stars that help us on our way4 ,our ideal may not be realized1 but the journey to it may still be a pleasant one4 ,our ideals1 plans and hopes had a real purpose1 a real service2 they gave us courage and made us work1 and thus they were well worth while4 ,we must not1 in the old age period1 condemn ourselves because our plans failed or our castles were shattered4 ,there is no hard luck except incurable disease or death4 ,it is not for us to mourn the past or weep for the flowers that are gone4 ,in our active days1 we should realize that we are putting memories away in our brains that will come back to us in old age4 ,only that which we put in our brains can we take out4 ,so then1 ,mr4 ,avarice1 ,i warn you3 ,if gold is your ,god1 it's cold comfort you will get in your sunset days4 ,build up loving ties1 appreciation and the worth-while riches of good deeds1 and in your evening of life1 you will be welcome wherever you go4 ,sidenote3 ,put ,not ,your ,faith in ,gold4 ,if your life was sold for gold1 your evening of life will be short and miserable2 legatees will grudge you your every breath2 they will endure you simply because they are checking off the days from ,time's calendar until the day of your passing1 and the dollars you sold your soul and heart and life for1 will be lavishly spent by cold-blooded heirs who cared nothing for you4 ,leave a legacy of love1 example and character1 and if1 with these1 there are a few dollars1 they simply prove your frugality1 economy and independence4 ,a few dollars left to heirs will help4 ,many dollars will hurt4 ,dollars in old age will give you pleasure by helping in tight corners4 ,they will enable you to help your loved ones over the bumps in the road4 ,use the dollars to help those you love to help themselves1 and your old age will be a busy1 happy one1 and you won't be in the way4 ,to prepare for that happy period of your life1 the foundation must be built in the active to-day period4 ,carry smiles into your old age2 they will keep the heart young1 the digestion good1 and life will be worth while4 #ec4 ,i have traveled horseback over the great arid plains of the ,west1 and have read the story of the ages gone before4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,remote ,past4 ,in ,arizona and ,new ,mexico there are ancient ruins of forts and cities built by people we know not of4 ,chalcedony ,park with its petrified forest of mammoth trees silently testifies to a period when vegetation was rampant on what is now a desert4 ,in ,wyoming there is coal enough to furnish fuel for the ,united ,states for several centuries4 ,coal is carbon made from decayed trees and vegetation1 which became covered with earth and rock1 and was subjected to tremendous pressure throughout the thousands of years required to effect the transformation4 ,oceans and floods gradually covered millions of acres of trees and plants with ooze and soil and sand4 ,ages turned some of these deposits to stone4 ,there in bleak ,wyoming is testimony and evidence of changes that time only can bring about4 ,a thousand years is as a day and a day is as a thousand years4 ,thus wrote the scribe of old4 ,so1 then1 we must consider this estimate of time in reading the first chapter of ,genesis which describes the order of the world's creation4 ,first took place the dividing of light from darkness1 thus bringing about the rotation of day and night4 ,then1 the separating of land and water2 then1 the birth of vegetation on the land1 the creation of fish and reptiles in the sea1 the fowls of the air1 the beasts of the field1 and finally1 the higher animal1 man4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,measure of ,time4 ,the pages of the earth's surface carry in their stratification indelible records harmonizing with this scriptural account of the evolution of the earth from its chaotic misty past to its concrete definite present4 ,yes1 this earth of ours is old1 so old that mere man cannot contemplate or accurately estimate its wondrous age4 ,the fossils of the mammoth reptiles and beasts which lived before the appearance of man on this planet are numerous in the fascinating ,west ,i know so well4 ,in those arid desert hills are bones of the ancient rhinoceros--parent of our horse--and there are shells1 and fossils of fish1 and bones of animals imbedded in the strata of rock4 ,man reads these pages and he is lost in bewilderment1 impoverished in thought1 dumb for words1 paralyzed by his inability to co-ordinate this evidence with any measure of time that will fall within the range of human comprehension4 ,sidenote3 ,age of the ,earth4 ,historians say the world was #d1jjd years old before the ,christian era1 and #aiah years have passed since then1 making the age to date #e1ibb years4 ,it is not surprising that through the dark ages1 dates and facts were lost4 ,we have not a complete history in written language1 but we have some very definite history in the rocks and hills and lands and seas4 ,the world certainly is more than #e1ibb years old4 ,read the record of time so plainly visible at ,niagara ,falls4 ,niagara ,falls eats away about two feet of rock in a century2 the gorge is a good many miles long4 ,at the present rate of erosion1 it takes #b1fdj years to eat away a mile4 ,multiply that by the distance between the falls and ,lake ,ontario and you have an idea of how many years ,niagara ,falls has been at work4 ,before ,niagara ,falls was in existence1 the country round about was under the sea2 before that1 under glaciers2 before that1 in the tropics1 and ,i don't know how many times it has swung on its pendulum between ,frigid1 ,temperate and ,torrid ,zones4 ,we are certain to become lost in a labyrinth of mystery when we take these known facts concerning the earth's age1 and try to specify any particular number of millions of years as the old world's age4 #ed4 ,and now my pleasant occupation of writing this book draws to an end4 ,i sincerely hope you have received some definite suggestions that will be helpful to you4 ,to get you to think--that has been my aim4 ,to get you to analyze yourself--to take stock of yourself--to know yourself--that has been the task ,i set before me4 ,sidenote3 ,how to ,think4 ,think vital thoughts of courage1 faith and hope4 ,then will your days pass joyfully1 and your path be one of peace1 happiness and contentment4 ,if you fill your mind with gloom and sorrow thoughts1 your surroundings will reflect your mental attitude and will accentuate your misery and dejection4 ,do not give way to this weak1 gloomy1 pernicious thinking4 ,you can be strong1 you will be strong if you learn to control your thought habits4 ,can you face disagreeable facts without wavering8 ,can you meet adversity with courage in your heart and a smile on your lips8 ,you can1 if you have read this book carefully1 calmly1 thoughtfully1 and put into practice the rules ,i have laid down4 ,do not think that you can go through life without your share of pain1 disillusion and disappointment4 ,it can't be done4 ,no man has ever done it4 ,clouds will come1 but they can be dispelled4 ,obstacles will arise1 but they can be surmounted4 ,troubles will visit you1 but meet them boldly and courageously and do not show the white feather4 ,to the thinking man or woman1 life is a great arena wherein good and bad1 joy and sorrow1 faith and disillusion1 happiness and unhappiness1 success and failure are inextricably intermingled4 ,the joy and happiness1 accept gratefully2 the sorrow and disillusion1 bear with fortitude4 ,and remember1 although it is not possible to enjoy an absolute and continued state of happiness1 it always lies within your power to have serenity1 poise1 peace and contentment4 ,when you are in the dumps--when that feeling of the hopelessness and un-worth-whileness of life comes over you1 then1 more than ever1 think4 ,do not give way to fear and despondency4 ,think cheerful thoughts2 think of the good things that life has given you1 not the least of them being life itself4 ,think of the ringing words that ,milton put into the mouth of ,lucifer1 the fallen angel1 in ,paradise ,lost3 ,the mind is its own place1 and in itself ,can make a heaven of hell1 a hell of heaven4 ,sidenote3 ,life's ,ever-,newness4 ,to the person who thinks1 life is ever-new1 ever-interesting4 ,if you have lost your grip on reality--if you have dwelt too long in the shadowland of doubt1 fear and despondency--the thing to do is to correct your thinking4 ,let your mind soar in contemplation of the beautiful things of nature4 ,steel yourself against petty pull-backs and recognize them for what they really are--trifling annoyances that serve no purpose except to distract you from the pursuit of the great and glorious goal that lies ahead4 ,only to the thinking man is it given to see life and see it whole4 ,he only has the true sense of proportion4 ,he keeps his eye on the main objective1 secure in the realization that he is master of himself and captain of his own soul4 ,he is self-sufficient1 for he knows that no matter what befalls1 he carries happiness and contentment within himself wherever he goes4 ,the practice of thinking is a tower of strength4 ,if you are a thinker1 life's little troubles serve but to reinforce your spirit of resistance and make you stronger4 ,so then1 let this be my last word to you--think6--for it is by thinking that man has risen to his present high estate in the world4 ,it is by thinking that the future joy and happiness and peace of the world must be increased4