The Washington herald., 1914-12-29
What Is Your Obstruction? !?
Nv oRIsoN SWEET MARDEN,

Author Of Pushing to the Front" Etc.
tCopyrEht. lsl4)
Many people have a vague feeling that
there Is some intangible. indehnable infiu-
ence, force. or obstruction that bars their
advance. They feel certain pressure
ahead Of them that retards their prog
ress, as when one Is trying to walk rapid
ly through water or deep snow. They
think II they could only get rid Of this
something which holds them back. cut
tho cord that binds them, they could do
great things.
Now, II you will analyZe yourself. you
will find that this invisible retErder Is
inside OF you. Were II to be thought Of
as a cable. It would be found made Of
many strands. some OF them entwined in
your mouth. It may be made Of skipped
problems in school, the lack OF early
training. the disinclinstion to take pains,
the habit of sighting things when you
said, "Oh, that Is good enough"
You never dreamed that these obstruc-
tions would bob up in your mature man.
hood and trip you up.
SeIfishness, bad temper. inability to get
along with people. the tendency to antag-
oniZe them may be a very great strand.
I believe that downright laziness. an in
clination to take things easy, to slide
along the line OF the least resistance, the
desire to get something for nothing. to
take a short cut to success. is one Of the
biggest strands OF this cable and has a
tremendous back pull.
The trouble is, we are always looking
| for some outside help, some one to give
us a pull, a boost. instead Of relying alb
solutely upon ourselves. upon our own in
herent force and energy
No matter what your obstruction is'
find it, get 1t out of the way at any cost
N-a Of Vb1nUa that ERRD4 hack
may be the desire to have a good time.
| You may think that life should be one
great play day; you do not want to buckle
down TO hard work You want dollars,
| but you are afraid of the backaches in
! them You cannot bear restraint. con-
| fnement, regular hours, the sacrifice OF
| your leisure or pleasure. You want lid
| erty, freedom, and work when you feel
! like It. You cannot think Of sacrificing
| comfort. ease. a good time today for
something better tomorrow. Yet regular
work industrious endeavOr. perpetual ef-
| fort planning ways and means to do this
J or that the scheming to accomplish ends
| the perpetual thrift to make every dollar
| count watching OF the markets. studying
! the conditions, and considering the man
] at the other end OF the bargain-all these
| thousand and one things are the alpha
| bet which spells success" These art
/
! kards ships. the struggles. the perpetual en-
! deavor, the constant stretch OF the minC
| TO solve great problems, these are thu
things that strengthen. broaden the life
! Why is Il that you work yourself uT
| into a fine frenzy and determine to do
such great things today. and tomorrow
your resolution has evapOrated? You say
that the thing that seemed so easy anc
| certain yesterday seems so hard anC
- wha
are ninety-nine out OF a hundred tina
the obstruction that keeps you from
carrying out your resolution Is your un
| willingness to buckle down to your tasl
and pay the price in hard work for tn
thing you think you want.
| There is a vast gulf between the meT'
desire for a thing and the resolution &
have it,
Tens OF thousands OF people fai! be
cause they love their ease too much
They are not willing to put themselve
out, TO sacrifice comfort