Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1872-03-08
practical Business"
LECTURE OF II. j. HoLLIsrER, ESQ
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

lege on Friday morning February /, by
II. j. Hollister, Esq, cashier of the
First National Bank. 1t is replete with
good sense, sound advise, and should be
read carefully by all young men;
SYMPATHY WITH YOUNG MEN,
Young gentlemen of the Graad Rap
ids Commercial College, at the request
of your successful and enterprising Prin
cipal Prof Swensberg, and in full ac.
cordance with my own impulses, | pro
pose in the brief time allotted me to
talk with you upon some very pracu al
themes, and possibly ere l close you may
think me doll and prosy, for shall not
repeat the words of Others, or give you
| advice that | have learned out of books,
but shall speak to you from the stand
point of my own experience, limited
though it be. / take it for granted that
you are here for the sole purpose of i'm
provement. You are here for the pur-
pose of so fitting yourselves for the long
busy life that, | trust is before all of you
that you can more easily surmount some
of the numerous obstacles that every
successful business man has to encounter
and / would have you clearly understand
the earlier the better-that it is no
easy task for any one, however gifted,
to become a successful business man.
You have only to look carefully around
you. in almost any of our old communi'
ties, to find many who, if they were to
tell you their life history frankly
would confess that although they started
out with just as bright anticipations as
any of you may have who are before
me to-day, yet that almost all their
plans have been broken, and fondest
hopes blasted. The wrecks lie all around
US, of those who for thousand different
reasons have failed utterly to realize
that which they so eagerly sought.
LACK OF PREPARATION.
Why is this so? you will ask me.
Why cannot all men succeed in a legit-
male business? | shall not undertake to
give you ali the reasons-I could not if
| would-the reasons are almost as nu-
merous as the results and the victims.
The first reason | would give TO yCu here
would be-a lack of due preparation for
the business to be undertaken, whatever
it may be. However humble the voca-
tlon, young gentleman, let it be your
most earnest purpose to fill that vocation
honorablY and perfectly. If under
stand your position here to-day, it is of
those who propose by every true way to
become proficient and thorough in all
that you undertake to do. If any of
you are here for less purpose than this,
you had better spare the expense and
return where you came; and first l
would nave you learn to be accurate.
Do not commence your lives by taxing
things for granted. and because the trial
balance fails the first or second time
give it up and force a balance. As a
prominent lawyer in the city of Chicago
once said to a clerk who had mislaid a
valuable paper and who had become al
most discouraged, having looked long
time 10 vain for it" Find it if it takes
thousand years" So if it does take
you long time to become proficient in
even the simplest things be sure you are
perfect then the next step will be easier.
THOROUGH PREPARATION.
The most unworthy teacher you can
pos ;ibly have, is the one who allows you
to do things by halves, and who should
allow you to go out with full honors
when these honors had not been fully
earned | am glad to know that this
course has never been pursued here, and
allow me to say here that the plan of
preparing young men for business life
as pushed forward by many of our Com
mercial Colleges through the land, has
been most disastrous to the young men
who have been the victims. With an
imperfect knowledge of any and every
kind of pursuit very many have most
signally failed in all that they undertook
TO do.
HAVE METHOD.
Have one thing at time on your
hands-at least until your hands get
large and strong enough and your mind
sufficiently we'll balanced so that you
can carry an extra burden easily. Don't
have too many Miss Nancy ways" or
too many pin cushions or pieces of red
tape around, but after all better these
than a lack of system and method.
LEARN TO BE PROMPT.
What better thing can We say of a
business man in business way-than
that be is prompt man-always at his
] place when the hour comes-no one has
to lose a moment on his account. What
reformation in all departments of life
we're every one prompt. Promptness
should have said might be accounted as
one of the cardinal virtues.
I