The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-07-20
THE SECRET OF SUCCESS.

| The Three Things Necessary - d" Make
| Ready. Take Aim. Fire"
''Make ready; take aim; fire. This
| order when given to an army means
| business. It is put here for business pur-
| poses; for it may convey to any thought
full young man the very secret of sue
cess in life. Let it mean, first, honest
preparation for life. Make ready"
by thorough preparation for your life
| work. Don't be a .'Jack of all trades
and master of none;" be a master of
| one. Then, take aim" An aimless
| life is pre-doomed to failure. You
| must make up your mind definitely to
| do something or be something if You
would accomplish anything in the
| world
The lamented Prof. Olney, of Ann
| Arbor, used to tell the story of a China
man who stood by the way-side hack
ing away at a log. He never struck
| twice in the same spot. A traveller
| came along, and seeing the uncertain
hacking said: ''Well, John, and what
are you maxine ''Oh, don't know
said John, maybe God, maybe-may-
| be bedsteadr' Just so aimlessly is life
often lived that men scarcely know
the real object of their toll. Many
there are so lacking in definite object
of purpose that their lives prove little
more than even uncertain hacking
away. Many life goes to waste and
ruin simply because. like an abandoned
and drifting vessel, no guiding pur-
pose directs its course.
And while you are taking aim make
sure to aim high. 1t is an old saying
that if you aim at the barn door you
viii never hit the weathercock on the
steeple. It simply means that you
must aim high if You would hit high.
1t is true for all real success in life. In
any department of life we rarely get
more than we expect to get. accord
ing to your faith be it unto YOU" in
wolves a principle valid everywhere.
Expectation is the first step in achieve
ment. Confidence is great element of
success, even in game of ball. 1t is
unlikely that we will either hit or
catch ball we are actually ex-
pecting to miss. Someone said
that Columbus had practically
found America before he left
Spain, and so far from being surprised
when he saw the western continent he
would have been surprised if he had
not seen it. "A man succeeds according
as he expects to succeed, and if he says
he shall fail. he will fail. Predicting
ultimate failure he simply fulfills his
own prophecy. Not expecting success
one is self-defeated before he begins;
be it for fighting a battle, running
race, playing game, inventing ma
chine, solving problem, mastering
science, indeed anything, and leave out
the expectancy of faith and the man is
d sure candidate for defeat. On the
other hand, nothing can stop the pro-
gress of one who has faith.
A few years ago young man in my
own home city had kindled in his heart
burning desire for an education. He
had faith to believe that he could OBJ
tain it in spite of tremendous difficult
ties in the way. With less than hum
dred dollars in his pocket, and no GER
tainty as to where another dollar was
to come from, ne started for distant
graduated, with some of the highest
honors of his class. The reason was,
he believed he could succeed, and he
did. How much better than to hang
around town." forever afraid to aspirel
Cnbelief invites failure in any depart
ment of life, while the opposite fact is
that expectant aim is largely the meas
are of attainment.
But let us know that even a high,
definite aim and purpose in life viii
not insure success. Impractical dream
ers might claim to possess Shem. But
the necessity is implied that the high
ideal be pursued with untiring energy.
Fire. Actual execution is necessary.
Carry out your purposes with amending
persistence. A good beginning plus
good continuance makes good ending.
Good luck" saws Emerson, SIS only
another name for tenacity Of pur-
pose" "a purpose overfxed, and
then victory or death" is the
motto of one of our most successful
business men of to-day. Another,
millionaire merchant of New York,
puts the highest quality for success
under the name OF "stick-to-it-iveness-"
by diligence and patience the mouse
ate in two the cable; and little strokes
fell great oaks" as Poor Richard says
in his almanac. Yes. TO fire, and
keep on firing, is the way TO victory.
Get high. definite aim and purpose in
life and then stick to it. 1t is will
force; fixedness of purpose. persiste rcy,
that ena bles man TO do or be what
ever he sets his mind on doing or being.
Rev. Gerard B. F. RaIlock, in Young