Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-18
A THEORY OF I'LL LUCK
MAN GOVERNED UNCoNSCIoUsLY
By HIS BAD HABITS. :.

There Is much written and told about
the indefinable something which seems to
accompany what We all term success In life.
but few agree upon a definition of this
well-put phrase" said a capitalist, In dis.
GUESSING this Interesting question In the cafe
OF an uptown hotel with other men, some or
whom had made successes and some had.
not. but 1 have theory to advance.
based upon study of the subject for many
years. both ACCIDENTALLY and practically.
"A great many writer's and others lay
much stress upon the stick to-it-never-
say-die' theory. proceeding upon the hy-
pothesis that concentrated effort overcomes
all obstacles etc. seemingly forgetful that
man, can stick too long to the bench.
too long TO the last. and too long to tho
same desk. and that rotation or effort
Outlines more largely contributes TO ads
vanceNent and elevation than pegging
away at the same old shoe MY own the
DRY is little out of the ordinary. and 1t 10
this:
Life. after all. very closely approac hes
mere mental condition In the individual.
and that we are more solely and abso-
lutely the result and the output of our
own habits than the average thinking man
i thtaSi and way beyond what the mn-
play the game of life according TO these
habits. which are but mere acts following
the individuals mental condition. or more
opcahitfe. our actions following our
thoughts. Thus poor poker player re-
mains poor poker player right along from
start to finish, and he can play thousands
OF hands without seemingly to learn =
self Is concerned. A poor household pro-
vlder, poor fnancier a poor manager,
an Indifferent billiardist a losing horse
player an aggravatingly bad whist play
er. poor executive in an official position.
an Indifferent clerk ETC. ad lipitum yery
very seldom shake off whatever mental op-
erations OF known unknown habits.
very often the last which produces these
contrary results to what Is called success
ON the other hand, and IL one will take
the little trouble necessary to analyze and
prove In instances of his own acquain-
lance, or better, In his own Individual case
success seems to come to the slrccessfuI.
as some people unknowingly state the
truth. from force of habit This fs-of
course. mere phrase. but it hits tie situ-
alton to a dot. The men who through
bad habits of reasoning or through poor
training or instruction in the matter in
wnich they are seeking to attain success,
VIII always fall behind the men whose
habits Of reasoning. training or instruc.
ton have been favorable
Let us continue In the field of specula-
ton for illustration as 1t is more Interest,"
Ing than that of business. In the first in
stance. that of the unsuccessful man, 1t
Will be found that he has established a
habit of always selling the market short
when he should have bought 1t long or Of
buying IL long when he should have sold it
short He is always on horse which
finishes third when he plays 1t to win. or
which wins when he plays it for third.
He always holds a hand lower than his
opponents In whist or poker. while in bust
ness he Is the man who is always getting
stuck on sales of goods. or In real estate
who prematurely sells his property. lust
before the boom strikes his neighborhood,
or In finance who buys bonds at high
figure only to have them depreciate when
In his possession. ..
Nearly all of this" continued the capi-
talist. lis largely matter Of habit and
l proved IT in my caseS when / once awak-
ened to the truth of what 1 am telling
you. though the realization was not a,
sudden one: II took me several years to
get onto myself and to analyze the sit
uation as applied to me. man in this
case has got to reverse himself absolutely
as to thought and action, or to be plain,
he must establish an entirely new set of
habits. If he Is too tenacious, he must re-
lax. If he is too loose in his methods he
must tighten them up. If he is too pug
nacious- and combative he must become
more receptive. If he is too timid, he
must become bolder If he Is too close and
penurious. he must become more liberal
while IL he Is wasteful and profifgate he
must cultivate the habit of stinginess and
SO on. as thinking men can appreciate
1T Is simply wonderful what a man can
do by reversing himself In the doing of un-
profitable acts. and a man is neyer~too old
to begin the turning of bad luck into sue
cess thereby"