The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-12-03
Ask Not Advice
Ella Wheeler Wilcox to
Mnrnsn Who Would Succeed.

Every man sees men above him and De-
low him.
There seems to be no Lowest and no
highest rung in the ladder Of success.
The errand boy regards the oompozitor
as a capitalist, and the compositor thinks
ne would be happy 10 attain the proof
reader position in life.
Yet the managing editor Of our largest
dailies is q poor man in the eyes of the
railroad magnate, who in turn is nobody
in the opinion Of somebody with more
millions and ancestors.
All men and women who have achieved
accustomed to being askec by beginners
in the same field for advice and coun-
sci now TO succeed.
Very often the people so questioned
feel themselves 70 be failures in hfe' but
the wisest counsel may as well proceed
from the mouth OF the vanquished IS
from that Of the victor.
Il is the man who has stumbled that
knows the pitfalL
Il is easier to tell how you have failed
than how you have succeeded; and II Is
easier to tell people what not to do than
what 10 do.
When the matter Of good advice" is
sif1ed we find only few old familiar
grains Of wheat left-and they are The
time-worn maxdms We learned in our
copybooks as children at school.
We are given 10 sneering at platitudes
in this age, and we sometimes forget
that principles are plautudes.
We despise the commonplace, yet the
han
We come down TO facts.
Il is easy 70 imagine the expression Of
disgust upon the eountenance of an end
of-the century youth who should be told
that honesty is the best policy by the
millionaire whom he asked for advice IN
beginning a business career.
Who has not listened to a lovely strain
Of music. practised over and over, until
it lost all melody and significance to the
ear. and became only a monotony Of
sound?
Yet the melody was still there. It IS so
with old precepts Their truth is indie
structible. though we have heard them 80
often they become trite and stupid to our
minds.
1t would he wei for the scores Of young
women setting forth today upon artistic
careers to remember this fact. They are
eager for counsel; they want to lie told
the shortcut 10 success; they prate about
influence and think "a friend az court
the first step toward the place they crave
in the Temple Of Art; but they do not
ike to be told patience industry. a high
sense Of honor, spirit Of independence
and absolute veracity, are all desirable
qualities for a woman who expects 70
make a name in the world, to cultivate.
/ Nevertheless. at the risk Of being thought
stupid. and commonplace, and prosy, by
/ these ambitious young aspirants for rec
ignition in the Court Of Fame. there are
a few old platitudes am going TO resur-
rect for their consideration.
In the first place. do not ask advice,
Look about you, and observe people
whom you admire and wish TO emulate,
and those whom you do not admire, and
whose example you would avoid.
Look within your heart, and listen 70
the voice of your conscience, which is
your best self You have heard this sen
/ tence a thousand times, I dare say, yet
( you have seen the sun mount in the
/ heavens many thousand times, and you
/ do not despise light. or know how TO live
without it.
| Do not imagine you can build a worthy
/ future without respecting the voice Of
/ your conscience, trite though its prompt
/ ings be.
/ Do not think because some woman has
/ attained success which seems enviable TO
1 you tEat everything she does must be the
right thing for you to do.
/ Il black l5fEee makes YOU III DO not
force yourself to drink it because the
! successful woman does!
/ You nave heard II said that nothing
/ succeeds like success" But in order 10
/ carry out the truth Of that saying Do not
+ cultivate untruthfulness in your state
/ ments about your own prosperity and
! success.
/ Boastfulness is not classed as lying.
/ perhaps. in your lexicon, but I have OBJ
/ served that the dividing line between the
I two voices is liable to become i0d!stinct.
Do not imagine because you can paint,
write. sing or create music that the ma
te.ial world owes you a living. unless
I you earn it honestly: or that by your
own stock in the beau-isu ! the useful
should pay you dividends and consider il
I favor.
OF al things avoid giving the impress
( sion that because you are q woman and
- .~,is+ w, ras,. -bz+ m business uA-h-
-. -. 5000 . W., -r5a-s s5o,,-,7
I .,--.7.~.-t--, - ..,,. =, -. 5,,.f-szs
"or-d'
II you D'.F0" money oor1" i -iAe
'sl'1--'' s''e >''l noe ana pay