The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1909-02-18
Talent VS.. Progress
iveness.


....,.........
Paper Read Before the Chautauqud Circle. :
Like Shake speare's Ghost, the cry of :
some folks that 'orators, poets, must
clans, etc., ae born, not made" will
not down. 1t hobs up in all corners of
the la I'd. And right here tie writer
would make ;riepds with those who
make this claim. Of course orators
aud musicians snfpcets are born-so
are farmers and mechanics and preach
ers Altho 1 trust am too much of
gentleman to dispute la ly's word.
yet, sometimes doubt Topsy when she
insists that she "jes Crowd" How
ever, this subject is too grave for jest
ing. Too many successes have been
blurred by adhering to the belief that
man must lest content to remain for
ever as nature made him. We do not
believe this.
IT'S said that ''man is the architect of
his own future and can make of him.
self what he will, which, in sense. is
true; but this quotation should not be
taken literally, as there al many things
that must he taken into consideration
if one would be successful in any line
of endeavor. Whether or not poets,
musicians, orators, etc., are born, not
made, is question on which many Of
my hearers may differ, but there can
be no question as to the part natural
born talent has played in the lives of
many of our most successful men.
Talent has and always will play an
, all-important part in the building of a
, successful career, and he or she whom
, nature has blessed with "natural-born"
talent will, as rule, be found in the
) very frint walks of life. And now just
t a word or two in passing, relative to
: these talented persons of whom we
s speak. There are many things that
i one cannot help but admire about per-
Q sons gifted with "natural-boIn' talent
f Nature has given graces in abundance
/. to such people, a I'd there is a natural
: charm about them which no lover OF
G nature can fail to recognize and be at
t, tracted by. One good thing about
Is those Of this class who are truly grea
Vt is their progressiveness. They art
e alive to the fact that "the world d.
10 move" and they move right along will
n it. They realize, too, that no one is 81
d. great but that he or she may becom
= greater. Gifted with the ability to d.
~ something worth while they strike on
10 for themselves ana do it; they lealiz
OF that knowledge is power and they gras
in every opportunity to add to their stor
ny of knowledge, both general and specifi
ly They make it their business to acquir
Id all the knowledge they can becaus
} they know tina. the broader their rang
of of knowledge the better they can al
an pc Il to, and put themselves in tuI
he with, the vastly varied degrees of il
be telligence and tyres of human natu
in with which they come in contact; al
ne. they also recognize the value OF
al specific knowledge pertaining to the
Mt. particular business, for they reali
or thu their business is science and t
ian practice of it aSprofession. But viii
they r. alize all this and perhaps a
hat accordingly, there is, however. o
up thing that few persons not directly
ow terested in the subject ever stop
son think about, namely, the dangers CT
han fronting persons gifted with "natur
ust born" talent.
len, The incentive for work, Applicant
ter. and perseverance Is largely take u av
ter. from the person who has q fortt
,on- thrust upon him, whether that fortr
fine consists of money or natural gifts
IRIS qualities. In fact he or she whom
ling ture has blessed with talent who is