BOOKS. Books: The pillars of progress and the inspiration of mankind. How mighty is thy power and how wondrous thy influence! That which immortalizes man on earth and inspires him like a benediction from on high. In books we are permitted to associate with the genius of every age. In them we have the experience, the inspiration, the thoughts and deeds of all the "countless dead." It's no wonder that Henry Clay's mother saved pennies from her washing to buy her boy books. It's no wonder that Abraham Lincoln made such an effort to secure books. It's no wonder that every successful man in every walk of life is surrounded by the best books, and is buying scores of new ones every year. The people who have not been awakened to the great value of books are the ones who say they have more books now than they have time to read. Refusing to buy new books until the old ones have been read is like refusing to associate with new friends until everything, good and bad, has been learned about the old friends. It's coming in touch with great men, getting a little experience here and an idea there, that sharpens the intellect and makes the man. It's coming in touch with new friends and new ideas in books that opens the eyes and inspires the soul. A book isn't something a man reads to pass away the time. It's an assimilation of other men's success. It's the association of the reader with the greatest of the world's great. Through books he is taken out of a poor environment and ascends to the highest plane known to man. He is inspired by the words of the author, with the experience of men who, like himself, hungered for something worth while; and the inspiration which he gets from that half hour's reading brings about the discovery of himself-and a new genius is born. ONLY HALF-DOING THINGS. ONLY half-doing things is the ruination of multitudes. The world is crowded with people who don't do all they can. Half-hearted success is whole-hearted failure. Half-hearted work gives us half-hearted men who can neither live half a life nor make half a success, nor develop into half a man. The man who puts only half his energy into his work finds that it is the other half that counts. The one who knows only half the things about his business finds that all the profits are in the other half. The one who only half tries, no matter what he is doing, finds, when it is too late, that everything worth while is in the other half. The man who only half tries will accomplish something but not enough. The business man who only half tries gets some business because some business comes to him. He may eke out an existence, he may even make expenses and pay his debts, but if he is going to make anything out of himself or out of his business he must bring the other A half into play. Those half-hearted men always blame their business if they don't succeed. man is only half trying when he isn't attempting the things that "can't be done,” and a man isn't half trying who hesitates because he doesn't like the nature of his work. There's only one way for such a man: "Do the thing that ought to be done whether you like to do it or not." Make yourself like it. That is the schooling and the discipline upon which men grow. Make yourself like it until you have mastered it, and then you will like it naturally. The great bulk of the failures are failures because people don't do all they can. They move along the line of least resistance and do that which is easy, and if they meet an obstacle they try to work around it, and failure is the inevitable result. "The person who is content to do less than his thorough best is neither shrewd nor good. To do things by halves or thirds, to put only a part of one's self into a given task, whether the tool is a pen or a pick, is to add to the general bulk of unrighteousness." Are you one of the persons who is not doing all he can? Examine yourself. Is your health good? If not, the chances are that you |