The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-08-08
DOROTHY DIX TALKS
BIZ DOROTHY DIX
worlds Highest Paid woman Writer, =
BE Honest with YOURSELF.

There is an old saw, to the effect
that there are two people to whom we
should never lie, and these are our
lawyer and our doctor.
There is a third party to whom II
is even more important that we should
always speak the truth, and that IS
ourselves. Yet there is no other incl
vidual on earth 10 whom We are so
little candid and honest.
Most of US spend the time from the
cradle to the grave in deceiving our
selves. in camouflaging our motives
and intentions so that we will not be
able to detect them with our own eyes,
and in pretending. as children do in
play, that we are some Noble Hero. or
Prosecuted Martyr until we come to
believe at last in our own make be-
lieve.
We are like the traditional conf
dence man who was such an artist In
his calling, and so persuasive and con-
vtncing that he sold himself gold
| brick.
1t is only the most heroic of us who
have the courage to sit down in cold
blood and tell ourselves the truth
about ourselves. and to strip the frillS
and furbelows from our daily life.
and look upon the mean and sordid
| thing that we have made of it,
Yet we might save ourselves, we
might save our money, our ambitions.
our love. our happiness il only we
would be honest and candid with our
| selves, IL only we would give up the
asinine folly of deliberately trying to
| cheat ourselves.
Look at the way we lie to ourselves
about our own abilities. Think of the
hundreds of men and women you have
known who have deceived themselves
into believing that a poor, feeble little
flicker of talent was great flashing
arc light Of genius! What pathetic
host of them each one Of us can re-
call!
A girl with a sweet little canary
bird voice who impoverished her fam
lily. and wasted her youth. taking les
sons from extortionate teachers. while
she Rugged to her breast the sweet lie
| that she would be grand opera
singer. and refused TO recognize the
limitations OF her own voice as she
would that Of another.
A man with some idea OF form and
color. but with no power or origin
atty. no inspiration. who dabbled away
from youth to age with paints. gulling
himself with the belief that he was
a second Whistler. yet never achieving
anything but the veriest potooilers.
Men and women toiling, agonizing,
starving, shabby. harassed by debt and
bill collectors. refusing to accept the
verdict of the editors, and the mana
gers who send back their books and
poems and plays to them. dipping
themselves with the belief that they
will yet write an immortal thing, and
bolstering up their false faith in their
abilities by lying to themselves about
magazine editors and theatrical pro-
ducers being in a league against new
talent
One could weep tears of blood over
these pitiful self-impositors who might
be happy and prosperous, and do use
full work IL only they would take an
honest measure Of their own abilities
and be good choir singers. or sign
painters, or stenographers, or mer-
| chants
We also make barrier of lies that
bars US from success. Nearly every
failure, within the range of our abili-
ties, is the result of laziness and in-
competency.