The Washington herald., 1916-11-13
Obstacles on the Success Road.
ny oRIsoN SWEET MAIDEN,

Remedy your DEFICIENCIES" says Bulwer, "and
your merits will take care of themselves"
But for the DEFICIENCIES which he did not rem
edy, Aaron Burr, instead Of being of the most
wretched failures in American history, would
have been one of fts most brilliant successes.
Well born, rich unusually gifted by nature with
all that makes success easy, this man of brilliant
parts and brilliant opportunities died despised and
destitute, wretched invalid pauper dependent on
the charity of farmer woman friend
There thousands of men who are working
as clerks, or in very ordinary salaried positions,
who might have been employers or propretors
themselves but for some unfortunate character
weakness, some little deficiency in their natures,
or some Notwithstanding which might have
been remedied by little discipline and self
study in youth.
Byron could write poetry easily, for it was
merely indulging his natural propensity; but to
curb his temper, soothe his discomfort and con-
troll his animal appetites was very different
thing. At all events, it seemed so great to him
that he never seriously attempted self-conquest
The result was blighted, unhappy life and an
early DEATH
Alexander won the day at Issus, the Granicus,
and Arbela, and founded one of the most colossal
and enduring of the empires of the world, before
he was 50 years old; yet. hopelessly subdued by
his own baser instincts, the glorious young Greek
died as fool dieth, drunken and debauched at
Babylon.
Writing to a lady about some companions,
Burns said, Madam, they would not thank me
for my company if did not drink with them,
must give them slice Of my constitution"
Because he did not have the strength of will to
say "No" to drinking companions, or to tempta-
ton that lay in his glass, Burns also ruined his
career, and went to an early grave.
Thousands of brilliant men have been ruined
in the past, and thousands are being ruined every
day because Of the DEFICIENCIES they do not remedy
Everywhere we see men and women hobblng
painfully along the road toward their goal,
handicapped by their weaknesses, chained by their
vices defects like the balled and chained pris
oners who work on the highways.
Here is struggling storekeeper who is honest,
conscientious, hard worker, ambitious. AS
youth he acquired careless slipshod habit OF
doing things and the result is he will always be
seriously handicapped by his limitations He is
constantly defeating his efforts to build up large
business, for carelessness, slipshod, solvenly
methods and organization cannot live together.
Here is man with great inventive ability. He
things which would be a precious boon
to the world, but he cannot quite take the needed
step, cannot concentrate his mind sufficiently long
to make the necessary connection because his
mind has never been trained to focus itself with
power, with continuity and force; so his ability
goes for naught, and he dies poor obscure man.
Here is another, who seems to have all
the qualifications for marked career except that
he lacks business sense. He seems to have every
thing else in abundance, but this one thing is
steadily lacking in his makeup. This defect might
have been supplied in his youth, but because
his parents and teachers neglected to strength
his weak point he is destined to be classed with
the failures, the nobodies.
Often very small thing stands between man
and success. One weak link in character chain
will, perhaps, wreck a life; deficient faculty,
which might easily have been strengthened in the
child, often ruins the or his whole career
career.