The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-08-14
Dodging Suecess.
~ WILLIAM WRIT MILLS

Most men are buster lodging success than chasing
it They are occupied in avoiding the means of get
ting on Sometimes this is due to sheer laziness,
sometimes to such eager watching for the big
canse that they do not the little steps that lead
upward from nothing to something.
For inyeterate lazness there is no The indo-
lent man doesn't have to dodge success; he never
gets in its way he is always loafng by the roadside,
and success comes down the highway. 1t will never
even run over the lazy man. for he keeps too close
to the shadow of the hedge lest the sun shining down
on the highway should put him to the necessity of
mopping his brow
The man who is always dreaming of making a
strike" who is forever searching for something big,
is far from the route of success as the ndolent
fellow by the wayside. If something big" does come
within his reach he doesn't know how to grasp it, his
power of making efforts has not been trained; his
mind is too dreamy, his muscle too soft.
If he chances to recognize Opportunity, he has
not the power to seize it, and Success goes on its
way hooking him.
The men who have run well in the of life,
who have grasped the great prizes have been trained
men-not men who have been trained, but men who
have acquired training.
They the who have begun with little
things and grown with the doing of then-rnen who
learned to walk before they tried to .
"An infinite capacity for detail" This has been
said truly of nearly all of the great of this
land of phenomenal personal achievements.
This capacity acquired by doing little things.
Thre is lot of wholesome philosophy the Gilbert
ian rhyme of SiE Joseph Porter X. C B., who pol
shed up the handle of the big front door efulee
that now he is the ruler of the Queens navee."
And the lack Of this spirit is responsible for
failures than oyerblamed hard luck" responsible for
more misses in the game than adversely and bad habits
combined.
The little things the trivial things of trade or
business tie steps by which the starter gets into
a winning stride and nothing in the exercise of a
manual trade IN the process of merchandising is
too small to be ignored.
One of the great department store owners in New
York began by doing up bundles in the shipping de-
partment, and he did it so well that now he is
millionaire.
In suburban community now part of the greater
city of New York, nearly generation ago. two men
started in business almost opposite each other on the
main thoroughfare.
One opened dry goods store, the other jewelry
shop.
The dry goods man swept out the store, waited on
customers, kept the books and after closing night
CT early in the morning, delivered goods
He sold spool of thread with as much aacrity
and attention as if he was selling ten yards of silk
The jeweler still sweeps out his store after thirty
years. and still wonders why he does not get the trade
of the community that has grown from 900 TO 10000
Just to illustrate. Twenty years ago new resi-
dent took alarm clock to the jeweler. asking him
to clean and oil it.
The jeweIer was sitting on the counter, his legs
dangling, he looked dsdainfully at the clock, say
ing:
Il wouldn't think of tnkering with a cheap clock
like that. I'll sell you another for a dollar"
But he didn't make the sale, and the resident has
entered his store again Little things like this
have sent all the local trade to the city.
But the dry goods man?
Oh yes, he now owns two department stores, has
a handsome home, several automobiles and
is vigorous successful man at ffty-fve
The jeweler, at the age, is old in appearance
and ill-nourished and lives in two rooms back of his
shop.
He wouldn't bother with such triae as oilng
nickel alarm clock.