Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1912-02-13
To Succeed in Life 1t Is Neces-
Sary to "Get Ahead of the
Business"
ONE GOOD CASE IN POINT
Different Positions In Which Two
Men, Starting With Equal Advan-
tages, Find Themselves Now
That They Are at Middle
Age.

Two former schoolmates are con
nected with the management OF big
and opulent bank. One Is director
worth several million dollars, while
the other Is cashier drawing sal
airy of $35 a week. Both had the
same educational opportunities. They
were graduated from high school In
the same year and their parents were
able and willing to give them fair
start in life.
But the boy who later became a
prince of fnanciers greatly disap-
pointed his parents in the selection oil
business Offers of positions all oil
which promised future advancement
were made to him by his fathers
friends. In each instance, however
the salary at the outset would be
small, and 1t was this consideration
that deferred him from accepting any
OF them. He became a book agent
because the possibility Of making big
money appealed to him. and from that
he graduated into the rank of insur-
ance agent. Later he became real
estate salesman, and then he
switched to automobiles.
His ups and downs were many. He
was forced early In life to become
callopsed to the rebuffs of his fellow
men. In slightly modified form his
experiences resembled those of his
prehistoric brother whose battle for
food against the beasts of the forest
and his uncivilized neighbors was
most often a battle for his very life
itself.
Gifted with less self-assurance. his
companion became a clerk in the
bank, where his salary was certain
and where only the faint din of the
battle could be heard His integrity
and application were beyond reproach.
His courtesy and politeness to the
patrons of the bank were incompara-
bic. Today at the age of forty. al
though he is a fine fellow socially. he
is not a big man. He devotes himself
TO the study of detail and never hav-
ing experienced the necessity Of
thinking along original lines. he is
somewhat commonplace and uncon-
structive. Some people would say he
is In a rut.
His friend. on the other hand, could
scarcely apply himself for an hour at
a stretch to the details of any OF his
multifarious enterprises. But in the
same length of time he could con
ceive an original plan that would
have fair financial value The rea-
son rs that the training of the two
men was different The dynamic
forces of the financier were develop
ed. while the static forces of the other
came more into prominence. X is
quite probable thar their present posi-.
tons might have been reversed had
they changed places at the outset.
This is the point. In practically
every walk of life there is a certain
well defined path to success that has
been followed by scores of others.
But there are so many people follow
Ing 1T at present that progress is diff
cult To get ahead of the procession
one must strike out for himself. Had
the cashier displayed something else
besides application and integrity. vir-
tues possessed by practically all Of
his fellow clerks, some particular abii
ity as q financier that would have
brought him to the attention of his
superiors, the chances are he would
today be occupying more important
position