Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1901-11-27
THE CHRONIC LEANERS.
A Class of People Who Never Mako .
Success.


A large proportion of the failures in
life are to be found in the ranks of the
chronic leaners, says Success.
Everywhere we go we meet earnest,
conscientious workers, who are
amazed that they do not get on faster.
They wax eloquent over their fancied
wrongs, the injustice that confines
them to inferior grades, while persons
with no more education, ability or per-
severance than they possess are ad.
vanced over their heads.
To the casual observer. they seem to
have cause for grievance; but when
we analyze these people we find what
the trouble really is. They are incapa-
BILE Of independent action. They dare
not make the slightest move without
, assistance from some outside source,
the advice or opinion Of some one on
whose judgment they are wont to
! rely. They have no confidence in
themselves-do not trust their own
powers. They have never learned to
stand squarely on their feet. to think
their own thoughts, and make their
own decisions. They have leaned upon
somebody from childhood, oil through
the formative period Of character
buildings, until habit Of leaning Is
! chronic.
Any faculty which Is unused for q
long time loses its power. Il Is o
law Of nature that We must use or
lose. If a man ceases to exercise his
muscles they soon become weak and
fabby. The Same inexorable law gov
erns mans mental powers. So, the
men and women who have never
learned the fundamental lesson of self
reliance, who have never used their
God-given faculties in reasoning with
themselves. making their own deci.
sions, and being their own final court
Of appeal, grow up weaklings, para
sites. God intended them to stand
alone, to draw upon His inexhaustible
power without stint. He meant them
to be oaks, but they have become
vines. Not realizing that all growth
is from within, they have reversed
this fundamental truth, and endeav-
ored to draw their strength from the
outside.
But the price we pay for this shift
ing of responsibility is a very heavy
one-the loss of our kingdom. We
voluntarily abdicate the throne of per-
sonality, resign the priceless privilege
conferred upon every human being in
this civilized land-the right to think,
and speak, and act for himself.
1t Is useless to try to help q person
who leans, who cannot stand alone.
Andrew Carnegie says that, If you
help q young man to climb ladder
who has not sufficient self-reliance to
maintain his position after he has
been boosted, he will fall back the mo-
ment you let so, and he finds he is
alone.
For every self-made man." says
the author Of n recent book, "there
are ten self-ruined men," OF the ten
self-ruined, it is safe to say that five
or more belong to the numerous fami-
ly Of ''leaners." The ranks of medic
Gritty, too, Of the half-successful, are
crowded with people of fine natural
ability. They never got beyond in
ferior positions, simply because they
never acted Independently. They were
afraid to take the initiative in any
thing, to rely upon their own judg-
ment, and they let opportunity after
opportunity pass them by, because
they waited to get advice from some
one as to what course they would bet
ter pursue.
If you would be a man and not
parasite, stand erect, look up, grow
upward. Do not look hesitatingly to
the right or the left for some support,
some prop to lean upon. You have
within you all the elements of man
hood, Of womanhood, of success. Cul-
tivate your strength. Increase your
reasoning power, your will power,
your power Of initiative, by use Do
not, like the senseless lobster remain
high and dry on the sand or among
the rocks, waiting for some one to
carry you to the sea, or for the sea to
come to you, when by your own native
energy you can plunge in and ride the