The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-03-24
DON'T LET AMBITION SAG
BY DIR. oRIsON SWEET MARDEN

-hoSl pcOplc SccIi " t''N@N
bition is something that Is born In
one; that it cannot be acquired, and
| that ii is not susceptible OF cultiVa-
| ton. For these reasons, instead OF
receiving the most careful cultivation
and encouragement it is usually very
much neglected.
AS n mater of fact. ambition is the
lamp which is to guide US in making
our way in the world 1t corresponds
| to the candle which the miner keeps
in his cap to light his way and to
keep himself from getting in his own
| shadow Our ambition is the guide
which directs us to our goal.
/ One of the easiest things In the
world is to let our ambition wane, to
drift. to drop our standards. The mo-
\ ment we cease to brace ourselves up
! to watch ourselves, we begin to de-
| terioratc, just as child does when
| its mother ceases to pay strict at
tention TO it, let's il have its own way.
Our tendency at every stage OF exist
ence is TO go along the line of least
resistance, to take the easiest way.
adults are simply grown up chill
dren. There is schoolmaster in each
one of us and the moment the school,
| master gets slack we begin to de-
teriorate. If we are not continually
| on the alert our ambition begins to
sag. and before we realize ii We are
| in a rut.
II you are getting a fair salary in
a mediocre position there is great
danger of hypnotizing yourself into
! the belieA that there is no need to
| exert yourself very much TO get up
| higher. There is danger of limit
! ing your ambition that you will be
I half content to remain a perpetual
clerk when you have the ability to do
much better.
! This satisfaction with the lesser
when the greater is possible often
comes from your relatives or friends
! telling you that you are doing WELL
| and that you had better let we'll
! enough alone. These advisers say:
/ Don't take chances with certainty.
: IL is true you are not getting very
] big salary. but il is n sure thing, and
J If you give il up with the hope of
. something better you may do worse
Very few of us realize how depend
ent our growth is on some Specfs |
stimulus. Every act must have a mo-
tive. We do nothing outside of our
automatic habitual acts without mo-
! tive. Perhaps the strongest life motive
of the average man is that which
comes from his desire to get on in
! the world.
/ We do our most effective work in
our struggle to get What We are after
to arrive at the goal of our ambition
/ We make our greatest effort. our most
strenuous endeavOr. while We are
! climbing, not after have arrived
at our goal. This is one reason why
! rich mems sons rarely achieve amy
great personal success. They lack the
! climbing motive. that tremendous
urge. the proddinG of ambition which
! drives us on TO achieve what We de-
/ sire. Ambition is the leader in all
great achievement. IL is the fOrerun-
! ncr which goes ahead and clears n
way for the other faculties. 1t is
the prod which urges men out of their
/ lethargy. overcomes their inertia. 1t
/ is what keeps us TO our task, but
/ for il we would quit work and lie
down. But for ambition we should be
a sorry lot
Unless you are inspired by a great
( purpose. = resolute determination to
make your life count. you will not
make much of an impression upon the
world about you. The difference in
! the quantity and quality of success is
| largely one of ambition and deter
mination. If you lack these you must
cultivate them vigorously, persistent
/ ly. or you will be a nobody. l have
/ never known any one TO amount to
much who did not have an ambition
! to make a place for himself in the
world. and who did not keep his pur-
pose alive by the constant struggle to
/ reach his goal. The moment ambition
! says. we lose the force that propels
us. And once our propelling power is
| gone we drift with the tide of cir
| cumStanCes.
Young men and young women who
started out with sharp. clean-cut am
/ bitiOn, bright prospects, alert minds.
with ability to do something in the
| world, gradually drop into mediocrity,
! and are content to do next to nothing
in the world They let themselves
/ drift, and they arrive nowhere
| If you haven't definite ambition you
are not heading for any goal. and il
you haven't definite goal you are
I hound TO drift