The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1909-02-18

ruly ambitious is, to say the least, bad D
y handicap Ell; for without ambition h
o push forward such person must r
Don start going tack wards-there is b
10 such thing as standing still.
Were the writer called upon to pick
he one most likely to succeed-the one
Who possessed talent but no ambition,
,r the ore who possessed no talent to
speak of but who was ambitious and
lad faith in himself, would pick the
after, for tits said, :Where there's a ,,
will there's way" William Jennings. .
Bryan, the q eat commOner was. with
out doubt, a natural born ola'or, but
who will say his name would have been
known the world over today had he not
cultivated his natural gift? Lord
Byron was without question natural
born poet, but do you suppose his anne
would now be written among the i'm
mortals had he not Teen progressive?
Not at all. 1t is said that at the age
of fifteen Lord Byron had read snd
largely digested some fiftee n hundred
volumes. He became the ma ster of
many languages. lie enriched his
mind. lie recognized that knowledge
was power, and he cultivated and de-
velOped his natural gifts and there
lies the secret of his lasting fame.
Dan Patch, Nj nnesota's king of pa
GERS, the pride of thousands each year
at the fair grounds was, without ques-
ton, a n atural-born PAGER, but we ven
ture to say that had his owners rested
contented with his "natural-bornness"
and dispensed with scientific trainers,
other horses, not so well blessed i'll their
'sborning," as the old lady said, would
have made Dan Patch go way back
and lie down. Aud so We might 60 on
with illustrations without ind to show
how unwise, how dangerous it is to
neglect natural gifts. They are but
foundations upon which to build.
No man can safely say that he has
done his be st unless he admits that he
has given up the chase and is content
to step side. Ii he is ready to retire
and enjoy the fruits of his past energies,
If he has competence and needs NJ
more to insure his future weil-being
aud care for himself and dependt hts
, then and then only may he give up the
battle. And if he does, then, being on
the retired list, lie must give way fol
, those who are ambitious to rise to still
, greater height.
+ And now let me tell you what seems
; to the writer one of the drugs that fa'
caused so many ia lures and mistakes
o 1t is the fact of the worlds accepting
!, as facts many things that are nothing
+ but falsehoods. and the one who frs
; gave utterance to statements concern
+ ing mans inability to overcome unfa
= yorable "natural-bornness was an in
"a sincere an who was trying to sa
O something smart
h Tie old statement and belief tina
10 the world was fiat was handel dow
,e for generations and everybody believe
10 it. There are races today which boz
IT. down to and worship wooden gods an
ze teach their children it is true and rigf
10 for them to so worship, and these Chi
re dren believe it and hand it down
ic. their children. So it is with false ide;
re and mistakes in every line of though
Sc which retard the current of progre
ge until the GisceInment AMI courage
10 truth point the way to better things.
ne know of no saying that reeds smas
in ing more than "Pcets, orators, etc, a
ire born, not made" 1t is hoary with a
nd and shiny with falsehOOd. 1t is dam
all ing the progress of thousands of m
cir and women who, If they could but
ize the truth, which is that poets, orato
the musicians, lawyers, mechanics, farm'
lie etc.. ETC., are not only born but ma
act And once let man realize this truth
,ne can, if he will, break the chains of ,
in desirable environment, clear assume
to the letters that bind him in narr
on. channels and make of himself pOy
rail- for good both to himself and to Otht
Blessed with reason, the greatest
ion of God to man, backed up by real def
vay to do and to be; reinforced by the CO
une age which makes man dare to try
une with the energy to pat all these to
of test of application and perseveral
ma then and then only is man the archil
not of his own future; the actual bujlde