Omaha daily bee., 1916-01-25
You Get
WhGt You
Wont IT,
by BBATRICE FAIRFAX.

You get what you want" says one
of the ssnest, strongest men l know
You do get what you wsnt'-lt you
want It enough
The very first step toward getting
what you want in the world is believing
that you can get it. sneering idly or
bitterly, "oh. yes. that's all very well
to say, but some people are born lucky
or rich, or good-looklng, or clever, and
others start with big handicaps." is ex-
sctiy the sort OF thing that Ia going to
prove a handicap and prevent you from
getting what you want in the world
You have to believe in your own ability
and In the fairness of life. And you have
TO he willing to work-to work single
heartedly, and even desperately, to reach
your goal.
fhe one great reason why so few OF
us do get what we want in the world is
because we are not quite sure what It
is; or, being sure, we have not quito
the backbone to plug away in order TO
get It; or, being willing to work. we still
are weak enough to permit ourselves to
be torn from our labors and tempted
into ali SOftS OF relaAatlon,
1t Is so easy 70 be "sidetracked" It is
so easy to be tempted into taking some
Little relaxation or pleasure and persuad-
ing ourselves that as a result of II you
will work all the better. There are plenty
OF old maxims that seemingly justify
such a course-"All work and no play
makes Jack a dull boy" for instance.
That is quite true, TO be sure. but too
much play leavened with only little
work makes Jack a failure Is equally
true
Tho people who succeed are the people
who are fairly single-minded. who have
an honest purpose in life and who pro-
pose to accomplish it. and, what Is more.
accomplish it legitimstely and through
their own earnest, untiring effort
= You cannot become a power in the
legal profession II you give one-ouarter
of your time to studying the law. one
quarter to going about socially in order
70 rest from your labors one-duarter to
planning what you are going to do when
you get around to it. and the rest OF
your time to swinging along before idle
winds that blow YOU where they list.
If YOU are going to be a power in the
legal world, you have TO study and work
and strive constantly for growth in
knowledge and power. You have to make
everything else subservient to your desire
to be a great lawyer. You have to make
even your relaxations healthy outdoor
ones that shall renew your growth In
stead OF stunning IT, Il
You have to really want TO be q great
lawyer. and not to desire to be a popu-
lar society man who is also prominent
in the legal profession. In any walk OF
life, in any Profession. In any position
where you are placed. success or failure
lies, largely in which you work to &C
ouiFe
know a stenographer who has literary
ability. From to each day she works
very hard for the so week salary her
position. as secretary brings. She needs
that salary and she works hard to get IL
On Sundays and holidays and during
the evenings she talks great deal about
the short stories she means to write. But
she does not write them. Instead she lets
kind friends take her to dances and off
on on motor trips. II need the relaxa-
ton" says she. II have to have a little
enjoyment in order 70 go on with my
work, II / were only more fortunately
placed I am sure I should make a sue
cess as a writer t.
Making a success a. a writer or as
anything else depends not at all on how
you are placed. and entirely on what you
choose to do. The Joy of working IL Just
as restful as the Joy Of playtng-particu-
larry when II Is working at something
other than your regular daily task.
Relaxation lies not necessarily in rest
ing, but more often In merely doing
something different.
And II the girl who thinks she wants
to be a writer really did want it-want Il
more than TO have a good time-she prob
ably would be writer But she isn't
quite capable OF single-hearted purpose
or Of a firm determination.
She excuses her desire for a little dis
sipation and enjoyment in terms OF
needing the change and rest" per
fectly good excuse, and one she and her
friends accept. And since what she
really wants is a good time. that is what
she gets.
People are too easily sorry for them
selves Too easily do they excuse their
own weaknesses and feel very syEnpa-
thetic for themselves because life Is not
made smooth and easy for them. They
forget that most of the people who have
accomplished big things in the world
have done them when working in the
face Of tremendous difficulty.
II 10 opposition which increases the
-strong mans determination 10 succeed.
He finds the very fight worth making.
But the weakling excuses himself for
failure because success would have meant
a fight.
The most desperate ill-heaIth was not
an insurmountable barrier to Robert
Louis Stevenson; blindness did not
hamper Milton. To none OF the big souls
in the world is any physical handicap a
barrier TO success.
Any human being who wants anything
firmly and surely and strongly enough
will get it-beoause they will go after Il
and fight for IT, You get what you
want" but only IL you want II with
force and determination that will make
you sacrifice pleasure and all the lesser
inclinations for your own great purpose.
f-------