Fundamentals of Prosperity | Page 9

our property is safe only as the other fellow's property is safe,
just as our daughter is safe only as the other fellow's daughter is safe,
so it also is true that in order to develop the human soul in other men,
we have to give those men something.
My little girl has a black cat; about once in four months this cat has
kittens. Opposite our place is a man who has an Airedale dog. When
that dog comes across the street and that cat has no kittens, the cat
immediately "beats it" as fast as she can, with the dog after her. But
when that dog comes across the street and that cat has the responsibility
of some kittens, she immediately turns on the dog and the dog "beats it"
with the cat after him. It is the same dog, the same cat, and the same
backyard; but in one instance the cat has no responsibilities and in the
other case she has. Responsibilities develop faith, vision, courage,
initiative, and other things that make the world go round.
Just as our property is safe, only as the other fellow's property is safe;
just as our daughter is safe, only as the other fellow's daughter is safe;
so is it also true that, in order to develop the human soul in other men,
we have to give those men something. We must give them a chance.
We must give them opportunity. We must give them a boost. All of us
are simply storage batteries. We get out of life what we put into life.
We care for others, not in accordance with what they do for us, but
rather in accordance with what we have done for them.
I am quite often asked about investments. Well, there are times, about
once in three or four years--during panics, when every one is scared to
death--that I invest in stocks. There are other times when I advise the
purchase of bonds. The fact is, however, that I have not made my
money investing either in stocks or bonds. What money I have made
has come from investing in boys and girls, young men and young
women.
There is a common belief current to-day that only people with

experience are worth while. But I say: Quit looking for the experienced
salesmen and trying to make a man out of him; get a man, and then
make a salesman of him. I have a young man in my business who was
delivering trunks for an express company twelve years ago. To-day he
is my sales manager and has built our gross from $100,000 to
$1,000,000. One of my best experts, a man who is sought for by the
leading Chambers of Commerce all over the land, was a carpenter on
my garage nine years ago. Another one of my experts, a man the
demand for whose services I cannot supply, never acquired recognition
until he was over forty-five years of age. I found him keeping hens at
Wellesley Farms! A young lady in my office to whom I pay $200 a
week and who is worth, to me, $1,000 a week, I picked up at $4 a week
twelve years ago.
Such cases exist everywhere. You men yourselves know them. You
look over your own organizations. Who are the men who are really
doing things? Are they the men you acquired ready-made from other
concerns? No! They are the men that have been taken up and developed.
These are the men that have made money for you and have created the
business enterprise of which you are the head. Yet when we have
reached a point of prestige, and have a big business, we are tempted to
say: "I haven't time to develop any more people, I have got to get them
already made." This is a big mistake.
* * * * *
I beg my readers--those who have them--to get your foremen together.
Say to the partners or the officials of your concern: "Haven't we given
too much thought to developing the structure? Aren't we piling too
many stories one upon another with too little thought to the
foundation?" Then go out and look over your plant and select a few
people in each department to whom you will give a real opportunity.
Start in to develop them and thereby strengthen the foundation of the
business and the prosperity of the nation.

VIII

WHAT TRULY COUNTS
The greatest resources in the world to-day are human resources, not
resources of iron, copper and lumber. The great need of the hour is to
strengthen this human foundation and you business men are the one
group that can do it.
When it comes to the sale of goods, the same principle applies. Eighty
per cent.