Supposin' fish don't bite at first,
What are you goin' to do?
Throw down your pole, chuck out your bait,
An' say your fishin's through?
You bet you ain't; you're goin' to fish,
An' fish, an' fish, an' wait
Until you've ketched a basketful
Or used up all your bait.
Suppose success don't come at first,
What are you goin' to do?
Throw up the sponge and kick yourself?
An' growl, an' fret, an' stew?
You bet you ain't; you're goin' to fish,
An' bait, an' bait agin,
Until success will bite your hook,
For grit is sure to win.
Patient effort and hard work each day, properly directed, will surely
bring success.
Failure comes to those who grow weary in the struggle, and to those who
overwork themselves and overtax their abilities.
Such persons hope that by large sacrifices of sleep and happiness, and
by extra application and hard work, they will build for themselves
fortune, that they may be happy at some future time. They make a great
mistake in this respect.
Divide your energies so that each individual day is successful, no
matter how much the success may be.
It is the men who are doing little things today who will be picked out
to do great things tomorrow.
And while you are making a little success each day, be sure that your
heart sings while your hands work.
Men who can do things are discovered. They need not push themselves to
the front. Good men are scarce, and the great successful business men
of today are the ones who know how to do the work that they are hiring
employes to do. Talent in this direction will surely attract the
attention of your superiors.
Learn to master the details of your business yourself. Use
conscientious effort and painstaking effort. Make a round-up each night
of what you have done during the day. See wherein you have been in
error and wherein you could have improved the day's work and you will
be better fitted for tomorrow's duties. After closing your day's
business, devote a part of the evening to your family and friends, and
a part of it to some good book.
It is not the clock that strikes the loudest that keeps the best time.
The expensive chronometer works steadily along doing its work well and
faithfully. It does not attract as much attention as the gilt clock
with its sweet chimes, but men who know things are aware that the
chronometer has the more real merit. Have the chronometer for your
ideal and not the fancy clock, for true merit will certainly receive
due reward.
We should all have some ideal which we hope to attain tomorrow, but let
us remember that the way to reach the ideal tomorrow is to make today
successful.
Patience is a virtue few of us are possessed of, but the story of every
successful business has written on every page of its history patience
and perseverance.
Do not get discouraged if your rate of progress each day is not as much
as you hoped for, but, so long as you are going forward and are
patient, you may be sure that you are gaining.