The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-03-13
Wrong to Humble Children
Slurring Good Qualitie s

people were only flatering her when
they told her what wonderful eyes,
and beautiful hair, and lovely COM
plexion she had, and that good looks
, didn't amount to anything, anyway,
that she acquired a deprecating air
that has made her stink through the
world as unobtrusively as possible
instead of queenins 1t, as is q
| beauty's right.
LAS for myself, I have missed a
thousand golden opportunities. just
| through lack of faith in myself, 1t
| has been so bred in my bones that
| | had only the most mediocre ability
that was afraid to undertake
| things that 1 really knew l could
do, afraid to assert myself, afraid
| even to try to climb.
| 1T took years for me to find out
| that we really write our own price
| tags, and that other people take US
a. our own valuation nine times out
| of ten. Perhaps the humble shall be
exalted. and those who take a back
seat be asked to come up and sill
| on the platform in the next world
| but it doesn't happen that way In
! this. There we are sold to the belief
| that every man knows his own
number, and where he belongs, and
we let him stay where he places
himself
1T took me other years to find
out that the secret of success is
| self-confidence. You may not be al
ways able to do everything that
you aspire to do. but you certainly
can do nothing more than you think
you can do To doubt yourself par
alyzes energy and ambition.
Before you can inspire confidence
in other people you must have faith
in yourself, and you can only have
this if you have "a good amount of
elf-esteem, and anybody who robs
you of this has done you deadly
wrong.
Nearly all the men in the whole
history of the world who have ac-
complished great things have been
great cyclists. No meek, meaching
general could lead an army to VIC
tory no mater how brave he was or
how wonderful a tactician.
1T takes a man who believes In
himself implicitly to inspire sub
lime faith in his followers. No dep
recating business man could Dor
row a hundred thousand dollars
from bank. 1t takes man who
thinks he is Napoleon of finance
to hypnotic others into seeing him
as he sees himself. and give him
all the credits he wants.
I'll admit that self-conceit is
the most unattractive quality that
any one can possess. No one is SO
tiresome as the egotist who tells
you what a wonder he is. and boasts
of his own achievements, but, even
so, he is far more apt to arrive than
the modest man who does not blow
his own horn. who does not exploit
L; to1a I,,tfs 1,o
orally in vain, for purblind pub
lie to discover and reward his vir-
tues.
For this reason, and. judging
from my own experience, l think it
it is a mistake for parents to try
to teach their children to think
poorly of themselves and their
abilities. Especially is it crime
to discourage childs ambitions.
and il is double-dyed crime to
make a child feel that its possibili-
ties are limited by it's defects.
THE braggadocio of youth may
sound ridiculous, but who knows
what are the possibilities of any
human being, or what he may
| achieve? The boy who dreams OF
| being President as he walks the
| furrow of corn row, may live some
| day in the White House. but he GER
| tainly won't get out of his corn
row if you convince him that being
a field laborer Is the limit to which
| he can aspire.
ITO tell a homely girl that she is
| hcmely makes her homelier still. To
| be forever reminding a dull boy OF
| his dullness makes him yet more
stupid. The way to help the young
| is not by intensfying their faults
| but by showing them how to mag
nifty their good qualities.