“I was one of the happiest souls on earth.  The sweeping of that room was my college examination, and never did any youth pass an examination for entrance into Harvard or Yale that gave him more genuine satisfaction.  I have passed several examinations since then, but I have always felt that this was the best one I ever passed.”

If Lincoln, Burritt, Booker T. Washington, and thousands of others, with all their handicaps, could secure needed education for their life work, why should any man remain in an uncongenial calling?  There is danger that we may give our boys and girls too much help; that life be made too easy for them; that their moral backbones may grow flabby by reason of too much support.  Normal young people do not need aid and support.  They need guidance and direction—­and the majority of them, either the sharp spur of necessity or the relentless urge of an ambition which will not be denied.  Almost without exception we have found that the only difference between genius or millionaire and dunce or tramp is a willingness to pay the price.

THE PRICE OF SUCCESS

From an unknown author comes the all-important question to every seeker for success: 

“You want success.  Are you willing to pay the price for it?

“How much discouragement can you stand?

“How much bruising can you take?

“How long can you hang on in the face of obstacles?

“Have you the grit to try to do what others have failed to do?

“Have you the nerve to attempt things that the average man would never dream of tackling?

“Have you the persistence to keep on trying after repeated failures?

“Can you cut out luxuries?  Can you do without things that others consider necessities?

“Can you go up against skepticism, ridicule, friendly advice to quit, without flinching?

“Can you keep your mind steadily on the single object you are pursuing, resisting all temptations to divide your attention?

“Have you the patience to plan all the work you attempt; the energy to wade through masses of detail; the accuracy to overlook no point, however small, in planning or executing?

“Are you strong on the finish as well as quick at the start?

“Success is sold in the open market.  You can buy it—­I can buy it—­any man can buy it who is willing to pay the price for it.”

CHAPTER III

CLASSES OF MISFITS

To the casual observer, humanity seems to be divided into countless different kinds of people.  In fact, it is often said that of all the millions of people on the earth, no two are just alike.  Some writers on vocational guidance, indeed, express discouragement.  They see humanity in such infinite variety that it is impossible ever to classify types.  Therefore, they mourn, the vocational expert cannot judge of aptitudes except by trial in various kinds of work until, finally, real native talents appear in actual accomplishment.  The anthropologist, however, easily divides mankind by means of several broad classifications, A few distinct variations, easily recognizable by the anthropological expert, put every one of the billion and one-half people on the face of the earth in his particular class.