The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1875-02-11
WHOLE NO. 1446.

for example finds that there is any one
oneration for which he has q special
liking, and can accomplish it just little
better than anything else, that is the
thing for him to stick to. He should
make up his mind to cling to 1t through
thick and thin, to try and improve GER
tain parts until uniform pertectlon Is
attained. 1t does not take the world
yerv long to discover who is the best
man for this or that purpose; and when
it finds out that man, who has made
speciality of one operation ands.unques-
tionably does it better than anybody else,
the world must avail itself of his labor
and, in so doing, must pay him his own
terms
We do not mean to argue that man
should be like horse, capable OF enter
tanning but one idea at a time, for that
would be to advocate narrowmlndedness;
but we do mean to say that no man
should be without one essential and pre-
vailing object in the prosecution OF
which he is determined to excel, and 1t
does not make any difference what that
is, whether cleaning gutter or saving
lives. We should liken this uppermost
purpose in a mans brain to an elaborate
treatise on one subject alone in library
of general encyclopedias. The last lndl-
cate the expansion and grasp OF ones
views on all things, the first their concen-
tration on life work. The simlle is all
the more apt, for after all, when we
come to examine everything we know
outside our one calling, we find we are
only in possession of more or less copl-
Gus index. And we are led to the GER
tain conclusion that the very best we
can ever hope to do in the attainment OF
knowledge is to learn where this TACT or
that theory is to be found most readily
when we wish to inform ourselves as to
its signifcation. The wider mans edu-
cation the bigger his index; and perhaps
we may safely say that one of the car
dinal differences between the educated
and uneducated is that the former are
capable of instantly selecting the proper
means of refreshing their memory, while
the latter might spend days in search OF
the same.
Suppose, for example, that the reader
has carefully studied the Scientific Ansert-
can.over dozen or more volumes. Now
if question occur, the answer to which
he has seen in any volume, doubtless he
will be able to turn to the proper page,
or to its vicinity, and so easily obtain the
desired information. But on the other
hand. if an individual who had never
read the volumes, although knowing, OF
course, the general nature of their con-
tents;. should undertake to find some
special information, he would have to
pore over the long indices of every vol
ume, and search the pages, wasting per
haps valuable time In this case the
knowledge acquired has direct pecu-
MARY value, for "time is money y'-and
this apart from its intrinsic benefit to its
possessor.
All this adds weight to our first advice,
namely, have speciality, and push it. Be
sure that you are right before you select
it. We do not believe that any man can
rise to eminence in a calling which he
dislikes, and herein lie the oft-repeated
mistakes of parents in forcing children
into trades and professions against the
latter's inclinations. A boy who has
feeling for art. who spends every moment
with paint and brush, will chafe nnder
coarse mechanical labor; while another
whose delight is in his tool chest viii re-
bel against the slavery of books and
brain work Both, when they become
their own masters, will eventually
abandon their distasteful tasks; and it is
only a question of their continuity of
purpose whether they become rolling
stones" drifting from one business into
another all their days, or workers, firm
and steadfast because buoyed up by
constant sense of enjoyment of their
chosen labors.
Intermittent toll is wasted effort; so
also are attempts to manage two or three
different pursuits at once. There must
be- one definite aim; and toward this
every thought mCst-be concentrated, for
nothing is more certain ths9-5 >rea e.
wealth, and happiness are the rewards of
only those who
"still advancing still pursuing,