Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-06-25
RO0sEYELT,S PHILOSOPHY OF
SUCCESS.

Sidney Brooks, well known Ems
lish writer. tells in the current num-
Der of McCIure's WHAT Europe Thinks
Of Roosevelt" There is more of what
Roosevelt and Brooks think of Roose-
welt than there is Of what Europe
thinks of him. Europe, on the whole,
is probably keeping its real thoughts
concealed. Even Mr. Brooks S prob
ably not next to what the genuine
rulers of the nations there think Of
Teddy. 1t would not be polite for
them to express their real thoughts
and then it might not be wise.
However, there is one feature of the
article in question that is of interest.
1t is a letter from Roosevelt in which
he may be said to expound his own
theory of his success. There is cor
siderable good philosophy in Roose-
yelt's views along this line, and there
is something to encourage the man of
average ability to put forth the best
that is in him. Brooks says that Roose-
welt is largely regarded as simply a
man of ordinary powers extraordinar-
lily developed. so far from being a
genius he is a proof of how little gem
ius has to do with an infinite capacity
for taking palms, But here is an ex-
tract from RooseveH's letter that fully
conveys the idea that success ma lily
consists in putting forth ones greatest
energies along well balanced lines:
1t has always seemed to me that in
life there are two ways of achieving
success, or, for the matter of that, Of
achieving what is commonly called
greatness. One is to do that which can
only be done by the man of exceptional
and extraordinary alb ties. OF course,
this means that only this one man can
do it, and it is very rare kind of sue
cess or of greatness. The other is to
do that which many men could do, but
which, as matter of fact, none of
them actually does. This s the ordin-
airy kind of success or kind of great
ness.
Nobody but one of the worlds rare
geniuses could have written the Get
tysburg speecE', or the Second Inaug-
ural, or met as Lincoln met the awful
crises of the Civil War. But most of
US can do the ordinary things, which,
however, most of us do not do My
own successes have come within this
second category. Any fairly hardy and
healthy man can do what | have done
in hunting and ranching if he only
really W she's to, and VIII take the
pains and trouble, and at the same
time use common sense. Any one that
! chose could lead the kind of life | have
led, and any one who las led that life
could if he chose-and by choosing |
mean, of course, choosing to exercise
in advance the requisite industry, judy
mero, and foresight, none of them 10
an extraordinary degree-have raised
my regiment or served in positions
analogous to those in which | have
served in civil life.
And commenting on this Brooks
says:
Mr. Roosevelt, in a word, has done
what so few of us are at pains to do
he has made the most and the best of
himself Hardly anything is more
numiliating for the average man than
to contemplate the many po nts at
VIII CHI he has permitted himself to lose
touch with life, the powers and facul-
ties he has allowed to become afro
phied, the manifold interests and ayo-
catioas he has dabbled in and then
laid aside, theelearning he might so
easily have amassed, the instincts and
aptitudes he has neglected to cult vate.
No doubt Mr.. Roosevelt in the watches
of the night can charge h 'mself, like
the rest of us, witE many such sins of
omission and comission; but to the on
looking eye they seem amazingly few
and trivial.