The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1908-04-11
THE SHADOW OF FAILURE.

The terror of failure and the fear
of coming to want keep multitudes of
people from obtaining the very things
they desire, by sapping tn eir vitality,
by yincapacitating them through worry
and anxiety, for the effective, creative
work necessary to give them success.
Wherever we go, this fear-ghost,
this TERROR -specter stands between
men and their goal no person is in
position to do good work while haunt
ed by it. There is no great courage
where there is no confidence or assur-
ance, and half the battle is in the con-
viction that we can do what we un-
dertake.
The mind always full of doubts,
fears, forbodings, is not in condition
to do effective creative work, but is
perpetually handicapped by this un-
fortunate attitude.
Nothing will so completely paralyze
the creative power Of the mind and
body as dark, gloomy, discouraged
mental attitude. No great creative
work can be done by man who Is
not an optimist.
The human mind cannot accomplish
great work unless the banner of hope
goes in advance. A man will follow
this banner when money, friends,
reputation, everything else has gone.
Some men are pitched to a minor
key. They probably do not realize
it +; but there isa downward tendency
in thought and conversatio. n Every
thing is down-business poor, pros
poets dark. They are always seeing
snags ahead. They see tendencies in
American life which are sure to un-
dermine Our democracy and end in
revolution. Nothing is as it used to
be when they wereyoung. They can
not get any more decent help. Every
thing is in a deplorable condition.
1t is most unfortunate thing to
get into such a mental habit.
l know some of these people.
Their letters are always pessimistic.
They go through life like tornado
cloud, carrying blackness and threat
ening disaster wherever they go.
Everything depends upon the way
we look at things. Near these Gala
nifty howlers we find people living
practically under the same conditions,
who see beauty and increasing good
ness, and an upward trend in civiliza-
ton everywhere.
What an Untold blessing to form
early in life the optimistic habit OF
seeing the best instead of the worst.
Think how much more those. get out
of life who are always courageous,
hopeful, always grateful for every
good thing that comes to them, and
who have great faith in the goodness
of human nature and in the honesty
of most people
One of the hardest, and yet one of
the most useful lessons we can ever
learu is to smile and wait after we
1T is finely trained mind that can
struggle with energy and cheerfulness
toward the goal which he cannot see.
But he is not great philosopher who
has not learned the secret of smiling
and waiting.
A great many people can smile at
difficulties who can not wait, who lack
patience; but the man who can both
smile and wait, if he has that tenacity
of purpose which never turns back,
will surely win.
The fact is, large things can only
be done by optimists. Little success
es are left to pessimistic people who
cannot set their teeth, clench their
fists, and smile at hardships or misfor-
tune and patiently wait. Smile and
wait-there are whole volumes in this
sentence. 1t is so much easier for
most people to work than to wait.