The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1915-04-21
The Great Secret of
Achievement
BY oRIsON SWEET MARDEN.

tCopyright, Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate.l
A cobbler, when asked how long it
takes to become a good shoemaker, an
swered. six years-and then you
must travel That cobbler had The ar
fist soul. told friend the story, and
he asked another cobbler the same
question: How long does it take to
become a good shoemaker" "All your
life, sir" That was still better-he
was a Michel Angelo of shoes!
Persistency is characteristic of all
men who have accomplished anything
great They may lack i'll some other
particular, have many weaknesses or
eccentricities, but the quality of per-
sistence is never absent from sue
cessful man. No matter what oppo-
sition he meets or what discourage
ments overtake him, he is always per-
sistent Drudgery cannot disgust him,
obstacles cannot discourage him. labor
cannot weary him. He will persist, no
matter what comes or what goes; it is
part of his nature. He could almost
as easily stop breathing.
Money, position, infiuence-these are
no match for energy and perseverance.
With what delight we read Haw-
thorne's Scarlet Letter." probably the
most powerful romance that ever
came from an American pen. It seems
impossible that such beauty of diction,
such facility of expression and deli
cacy of touch could be elaborated by
any amount of drudgery. But the
notebooks o this shyest and most
bashful of mortals reveal the secret
of his genins. Drudgery, drudgery,
forts. Nothing was too trivial for rec
ord in his notes. Everything he saw
or heard or touched 'or felt was i'm
prisoned in his notebook and COM
PEELED to pay tribute to his fiction.
Thousands of men have been fail
ures in life because they did not go
quite far enough. They did not quite
learn a trade to the point of efficiency;
in other words, they stopped just this
side of success.
The patent office in Washington is
full of contrivances which are almost
successes; if the inventors had had the
persistence to hold on little longer,
they might have achieved the longed-
for success and died rich instead of
poor.
A poor boy started out, determined
to visit every Office and place of bust
ness until he found a situation, no
matter how long it might take. After
persisting in this for time which
would have utterly discouraged most
boys, he called at an office. where he
was told they never took boys who
had had no experience, and was asked
who sent him there.
The old gentleman was so pleased
at the boys pluck when he told him
that he was calling at every Office and
should continue to do so until he found
situation. that he told him to go
home and write him a letter in his
best hand, and he would see what he
could do for him. Many boy has lost
situation by bad handwriting, bad
spelling, or an unbusinesslike letter.
But this boys letter was neat, concise
and intelligent, and he got the situa-
ton. He proved valuable and has been
with the firm ever since
Keep at it. whatever your work may
be, with logged determination. Set
your teeth and say, 81 will" Let your
motto be, "Tenacity OF purpose!"
When you hear it, it should act on you
as the bugle call does on a war horse.
Failure is the final test of persist
ence and Of an iron will; 1t either
brushes a life or solidifies 1t.
II you have not this persistence by
nature, you must cultivate 1t. With it
you can succeed. you can make diff
culties bend, you can make opposition
give way, doubt and hesitancy yield
to confidence and assurance. Without
1t the more shining qualities of nature
will not insure your success. and will
very likely bring nothing but failure.