[Sidenote:  Ideas All Men Respond to]

The setting of consciousness may be entirely different upon the present appearance of the particular idea from what it was on the occasion when this same idea last appeared.  Yesterday there may have been present no conflicting tendencies, and this particular idea may therefore have been allowed free and joyous expression.  Today other thoughts may be in the ascendency so that we look upon the idea of yesterday with a feeling of revulsion.

The thought that aroused new energy in you yesterday may then sicken you at your task today.  The thought that stirs the soul of a vigorous man may shock the sensibilities of a delicate woman.

[Sidenote:  How to Exalt the Personality]

Yet there are some ideas to which all men in varying degrees seem alike to respond.  How often in battle have the failing spirits of an army been revived by the appearance of the leader shouting his battle-cry and waving his shining sword!  How often have men been roused to heights of heroic achievement by the strains of martial music!  How often have troops spent with exhaustion responded to the call of such simple phrases as “The Flag,” “Our Country,” “Liberty,” or such songs as “The Marseillaise,” “God Save the King,” “Dixie”!  These phrases are but the signs of ideas, yet the sounding of these phrases has summoned these ideas into consciousness, and the summoning of these ideas into consciousness has placed undreamed-of and immeasurable foot-pounds of energy on the hair-trigger of action.

[Sidenote:  "Good Starters” and “Strong Finishers"]

And so it is with you.  Down deep in the inmost chambers of your soul are untouched stores of energy that properly applied will exalt your personality and illumine your career.

But to find and claim these hidden riches you must persevere.  You must endure.

In a Marathon race it is endurance that wins.  The graceful sprinter who is off with a leap at the bark of the pistol soon falls by the wayside.

Life is a Marathon in which persistence triumphs.

There are many “good starters,” but few “strong finishers.”  That is why the failures so outnumber the successes.

[Sidenote:  Steps in Self-Development]

The man who travels fastest does more than he is told to do.  To merely comply with a fixed routine is to fall short of one’s duty.  The progressive man adds to the work of today his preparation for the work of tomorrow.  He delights in attempting more and more difficult tasks, because in every task he sets himself he sees a step forward in the development of his own abilities.  He loves his work more than he loves his pay, and he delves deeper than the exigencies of the moment require, because he craves the power to do more.

Most men start with enthusiasm.  No hours are too long, no task too difficult.  But soon they tire.  And lacking will-power to persist, they succumb to the lure of distracting interests.  They become disheartened and indifferent.  And so they fail.