The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-06-06
d. Marden'. Upnt Talks.
~ o91soM SWEET MARDWS.
NOW THEY'RE CALLING
IT LUCK"
Il didn't begin with askingS,
] took the job and I stuck.

0lon't De6fn WIN a9king1,
took the job and stuck,
And took tho chance they wouldn't,
And now they're calling It Tuck"
was reminded of this doggerel the
other day when . young man in whom
am interested was telling me some of his
experiences when he first started in to
work.
This young man. who has risen rapidly
from an ONCE boy to the possession Of q
nne businsss of his own. is q tireless
worker and owes his success entirely to
his own efforts. But during his climb as
an employe. AZ he told me in the course
Of our conversation. he was constantly
laughed at by his comrades for working
20 much harder than he needed to. for
doing more than was expected Of him.
When he stayed after hours to clean
up and get things ready for the morning,
they would tell him that he was a fool
for his pains; that his employer would
probably never know ne was working
overtime. and that even II he did learn of
It he wouldn't appreciate 1t. Now. those
former fellow employees are saying that
his rise is due to luck; that his employ
ers favored him and were pretudiced
against them!
1t Ia a singular fact that those who do
not get on in the world always have a
great deal to say about other peoples
luck. They excuse their own lack Of
success on the ground that those who
succeeded have always been boosted"
or favored" by employers. or they had
a pull" or some one or something outside
of themselves gave them a lift"
There ID no surer road to failure than
the road which is paved with such ex-
cuses as these.
The good skipper knows that it is not
the gale. but the set of the sail that de-
cides his course and progress. He knows
that he can sail on against the stiffest
breeze II he sets his sail right He knows
that he can make the very wind. which
appears to be the greatest enemy Of his
progress, his servant. and force his yes
sci to go where he wants 1t to go. 1t is
Just a question Of manipulating the sails.
The man who is made of winning stuff
forces the very obstacle which over
whelm the weak to serve him. He
knows how to overcome. to turn them
to his own account. He uses obstacles
and difficulties as the athlete uses the
implements in the gymnasium, merely to
build up strength, to develop that elias
ticity Of muscle that will make him a
winner in the coming contest
Don't lose time making unworthy ex-
cuses. complaining that luck Is against
you. Get to work like a man and make
luck your servant
You who are complaining OF your lot
and thinking you are un3ustly treated
might as well understand that there is
somebody right at the door waiting for
your job; somebody who would think
himself very fortunate to get 1t. and who
would bring to 1t that energy. enthusiasm
and will power which would turn what
you call defeat into victory.
No one is getting the most out of his
position who is dissatisfied with 1t. and
who thinks he Is not being treated fairly.
Promotion doesn't come in this way.
People are promoted who do their work
willingly. joyously. who fling themselves
into 1t with delight, with enthusiasm. 1t
is the employee who fills his place SO full
that 1t over1ows into the one above him
that is usually promoted
It Is true there are occasional excep-
lions to this rule. There are a few here
and there who are promoted through
favoritism: but they are not to be en-
WED, for they are rarely equal to the
job into which they have been hoisted.
Instead Of mastering II, the job masters
them. The man who honestly wins pro-
motion is the man who brings something
worth while to his task. That is the
sort of man who would succeed II he was
put on a desert island alone. He has his
boost" right inside Of him.