Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-08-07
WHAT is SUGGEST
WRONG Standard Raised ny stori
of Great Rvss~c~. Mo-

Wronx Standard Raised by Storie.
of Great Business Men.
What a noisy gospel is that OF "suc-
cess and how many self satisfied
evangelists are enlisted in It's service,
Pulpits, books, pamphlets and period
fcsle overflow with its catchwortls. its
apnorisms, Its modern instances. In
shops ana offices, inspired by the prop
uganda or this glittering lore, the
young men are brooding. Bank clerks
join the American institute. diligently
read the Bulletin and procure instruc-
ton from the correspondence school I'm
quest or this elusive, precious, capri
clous thing-success. The literary
hack ransacks the careers of conspicu
/ Gus personages for the secret md
method of success. He finds the excep-
uonai and striking incident, extracts
IL from the commonplace by which IL
10 surrounded and sets it In n dramatic
relief. The successful man Is a player
strutting upon a stage. He moves to
triumphant climax. At given con-
1urcture he will exhibit a supernatural
power OF decision, of preternatural
Judgment. of clairvoyant vision, of IL
tanic industry, and thenceforth his nj.
innate triumph becomes inevitable.
In other words. the successful man
MS he Is portrayed In current literature
IS an optical illusion, chimera of the
literary faddist. But all Of us, unless
we are poor trash indeed, have mo-
ments OF unusual power, acuteness and
diligence. This is the common lot. Yet
only few of us that share the com.
mon lot are destined TO accumulate
great wealth or achieve conspicuous
stations. The number of such stations
and the chances for such accumula.
tons never did correspond, and never
VIII, TO the number of energetic, am.
bilious and capable men who are hope
rul OF achieving them. This unpalata.
bic truth the literature of success alb.
hors.
The normal service of an able and
Faithful man has no place in the litera.
ture or success. Why? Because such
a service has nothing picturesque about
it-tt Is too common; Is wanting In the
melodramatic pitch. Besides, IL Is so
common, In fact, that we may identify
ii with countless individuals whose
achievements. measured by these lime
light standards, are OF no account
whatsoever. The successful man has
never made mistake, never taken n
drink, never missed cue, never told a
lie, is never weary, plans and plots in.
cessantly, and probably never sleeps al
all! And above all things he always
reaches the top and invariably pos
sesses heavy bank account. The
greater this bank account the more
wonderful the business and profession
al power of this astonishing individual
seems to be. He Is always more faith
ful, more vigilant. more Industrious
more efficient. than other men. But
this confuses the issue and ,ieba SOS
the standard of success. Browning
said that the emphasis OF success
should be laid upon endeavor.
Tie man who Is true to himself.
fasthful to the trust repesed in him.
employing his resources to the fullest,
allowing for human endurance as well
as weakness, is n successful man. His
material reward may be modest but
he Is doing a part OF the Indispensable
work OF the world. doing Ii steadily and
well. Is not this also success and sue
cess of n high order? To the literary
perverts who write pithy and snappy
articles on how success is achieved In
this dull world such a man is n mere
cumberer OF the ground. Because
some one stands higher, this man is |
held TO be outclassed aud outquallfed. |
He is simply not in the race.-Amcr.
lean Banker.