.jpg)
How does a man begin the
building of a house? He first secures a plan of the proposed edifice, and then
proceeds to build according to the plan, scrupulously following it in every
detail, beginning with the foundation.
Should he neglect the beginning - the
beginning on a mathematical plan - his labour would be wasted, and his building,
should it reach completion without tumbling to pieces, would be insecure and
worthless. The same law holds good in any important work; the right beginning
and first essential is a definite mental plan on which to build.
Nature will have no
slipshod work, no slovenliness and she annihilates confusion, or rather,
confusion is in itself annihilated. Order, definiteness, purpose, eternally
prevail, and he who in his operations ignores these mathematical elements at
once deprives himself of substantiality, completeness, happiness and success.
It is wise to know what
comes first, and what to do first. To begin anything in the middle or at the
end is to make a muddle of it. The athlete who began by breaking the tape would
not receive the prize. He must begin by facing the starter and toeing the mark,
and even then a good start is important if he is to win. The pupil does not
begin with algebra and literature, but with counting and ABC.
So in life – the
businessmen who begin at the bottom achieve the more enduring success; and the
religious men who reach the highest heights of spiritual knowledge and wisdom
are they who have stooped to serve a patient apprenticeship to the humbler
tasks, and have not scorned the common experiences of humanity, or overlooked
the lessons to be learned from them.
The first things in a sound
life - and therefore, in a truly happy and successful life - are right
principles. Without right principles to begin with, there will be wrong
practices to follow with, and a bungled and wretched life to end with. All the
infinite variety of calculations which tabulate the commerce and science of the
world, come out of the ten figures; all the hundreds of thousands of books
which constitute the literature of the world, and perpetuate its thought and
genius, are built up from the twenty-six letters. The greatest astronomer
cannot ignore the ten simple figures. The profoundest man of genius cannot
dispense with the twenty-six simple characters. The fundamentals in all things
are few and simple: yet without them there is no knowledge and no achievement.
The fundamentals - the basic principles - in life, or true living, are also few
and simple, and to learn them thoroughly, and study how to apply them to all
the details of life, is to avoid confusion, and to secure a substantial
foundation for the orderly building up of an invincible character and a
permanent success; and to succeed in comprehending those principles in their
innumerable ramifications in the labyrinth of conduct, is to become a Master of
Life.
The first principles in
life are principles of conduct. To name them is easy. As mere words they are on
all men’s lips, but as fixed sources of action, admitting of no compromise, few
have learned them. In this short talk I will deal with five only of these
principles.
These five are among the simplest of the root principles of life,
but they are those that come nearest to the everyday life, for they touch the
artisan the businessman, the householder, the citizen at every point. Not one
of them can be dispensed with but at severe cost, and he who perfects himself
in their application will rise superior to many of the troubles and failures of
life, and will come into these springs and currents of thought which flow
harmoniously towards the regions of enduring success.
The first of these
principles is -
DUTY -
A much-hackneyed
word, I know, but it contains a rare jewel for him who will seek it by
assiduous application. The principle of duty means strict adherence to one’s
own business, and just as strict non-interference in the business of others.
The man who is continually instructing others, gratis, how to manage their
affairs, is the one who most mismanages his own. Duty also means undivided attention
to the matter in hand, intelligent concentration of the mind on the work to be
done; it includes all that is meant by thoroughness, exactness, and efficiency.
The details of duties differ with individuals, and each man should know his own
duty better then he knows his neighbour’s, and better than his neighbour knows
his; but although the working details differ, the principle is always the same.
Who has mastered the demands of duty?
HONESTY
is the next
principle. It means not cheating or overcharging another. It involves the
absence of all trickery, lying, and deception by word, look, or gesture. It
includes sincerity, the saying what you mean, and the meaning what you say. It
scorns cringing policy and shining compliment. It builds up good reputations,
and good reputations build up good businesses, and bright joy accompanies
well-earned success. Who has scaled the heights of Honesty?
ECONOMY
IS the third
principle. The conservation of one’s financial resources is merely the
vestibule leading towards the more spacious chambers of true economy. It means,
as well, the husbanding of one’s physical vitality and mental resources. It
demands the conservation of energy by the avoidance of enervating
self-indulgences and sensual habits. It holds for its follower strength,
endurance, vigilance, and capacity to achieve. It bestows great power on him
who learns it well. Who has realized the supreme strength of Economy?
GENEROUSITY
follows economy.
It is not opposed to it. Only the man of economy can afford to be generous. The
spendthrift, whether in money, vitality, or mental energy, wasted so much on
his own miserable pleasures as to have none left to bestow upon others. The
giving of money is the smallest part of liberality. There is a giving of
thoughts, and deeds, and sympathy, the bestowing of goodwill, the being
generous towards calumniators and opponents. It is a principle that begets a
noble, far-reaching influence. It brings loving friends and staunch comrades,
and is the foe of loneliness and despair. Who has measured the breadth of
Liberality?
SELF–CONTROL
is the last of
these five principles, yet the most important. Its neglect is the cause of vast
misery, innumerable failures, and tens of thousands of financial, physical, and
mental wrecks. Show me the businessman who loses his temper with a customer
over some trivial matter, and I will show you a man who, by that condition of
mind, is doomed to failure. If all men practised even the initial stages of
self-control, anger, with its consuming and destroying fire, would be unknown.
The lessons of patience, purity, gentleness, kindness, and steadfastness, which
are contained in the principle of self-control, are slowly learned by men, yet
until they are truly learned a man’s character and success are uncertain and
insecure. Where is the man who has perfected himself in Self-Control? Where he
may be, he is a master indeed.
The five principles are
five practices, five avenues to achievement, and five source of knowledge. It
is an old saying and a good rule that “Practice makes perfect,” and he who
would make his own the wisdom which is inherent in those principles, must not
merely have them on his lips, they must be established in his heart. To know
them and receive what they alone can bring, he must do them,
and give them out in his actions
