Laugh and Live | Page 8

to be prepared. We must have a strong heart that we may bear
defeat nobly from this is not to be our last kick--our last breath--not by
a jugful!
We are going to start all over again after our setback and we are not
going to wait any longer than it takes to bury the dead. This will be
done decently and in good order--our training will admit of no
indecorum. If the smash was a bad one we will assume the liability,

nevertheless, and get back on the job. We are out to win and eventually
we will win.
And that is what we mean by taking profit from experience. _The
powers that break down are also the powers that build up._ The
electrician who handles the motor could just as well end his own
existence by that mysterious current as he could make use of it for the
good of humanity. He spends years of conscientious study and masters
the knowledge of it so that its uses are as simple as his A B C's. There
is no doubt in the world but that he had to learn by experience. He had
to go into the shop and climb up from the bottom. There was no other
way by which he could come to know how to turn a deadly force into a
well-trained necessity.
Yet the average man goes into life with as little knowledge of its forces
as the baby who puts its foot upon the third rail. That fact keeps the
thoughtless man down until experience comes to the rescue. When it
does come, _if he has the sand, the common sense, the will to do_,
there is naught to hold him away from his goal.
CHAPTER V
ENERGY, SUCCESS AND LAUGHTER
There are many essentials to success, but there is one that is of such
importance that without it all the others become as naught. The man
who wins success is invariably impelled to do the great work allotted
him by something within that tells him he can. He may not know
exactly what it is, but he knows he possesses it and is able to act on
that faith, accomplishing things which seem utterly impossible to other
people. This inner determination, once firmly implanted in one's nature,
cannot be destroyed or conquered. And this element is
_energy_--energy of mind, which rules the body. But where does this
come from? How do the great minds generate this glorious means of
self-propulsion? The answer is that in a healthy body it is inherent from
birth, and proper care of the body therefore accentuates within their
minds the will to do.

If the preceding chapters have been carefully read we may readily
believe that the successful youth must start with a wholesome,
generous viewpoint, a good constitution, and a clean mind. We have
had an inkling by this time of what one must do to achieve success in a
world where competition is keen. We are beginning to realize that these
matters are of vital importance and that we are face to face with a
problem.
Energy is the natural outpouring of a healthy body. It must be directed,
it must be controlled, the same as any other living force. Not only is it a
positive necessity to the winner, but it must grow and become a natural
quality. It does not stand after years of abuse. It does not spring up in
the night after a long season of neglect and ill-health. All of us possess
it in varying ways. That fact ought to convince us that we can get hold
of ourselves and build up that which nature has given us, rather than
allow it to die away. We all have a certain amount of energy ... _why
shouldn't we all be successes_? We might to a certain extent, but that
doesn't mean that we shall all get rich in the money sense of the world.
When we say: "Why shouldn't we all be successes?" we do not mean
that everybody in the world must be greedy for money, nor for power
and position. It does not mean that we should be selfish and eager to
take everything away from the other fellow. On the contrary, it means
that, with energy, we shall be successful according to our brain
tendency.
Going back to our second chapter we find the phrase "taking stock" of
ourselves. Done rightly that alone will inspire success. Now if we are a
little farther along on the way towards sane living and the ability to
laugh and we know that after this struggle is over the battle is won we
must use the powers that self-analysis gives us--to fight. The mere
recognition of them is power and we must not let them