There are two kinds of men in the world: those who
sail and those who drift; those who choose the ports
to which they will go and skillfully and boldly shape their
course across the seas, with the wind or against it, and those
who let winds and tides carry them where they will. The 5
men who sail, in due time arrive; those who drift, often
cover greater distances but they never make port.
The men who sail know where they want to go and
what they want to do; they do not wait on luck or fortune
or favorable currents; they depend on themselves and 10
expect no help from circumstances. Success of the real
kind is always in the man who wins it, not in conditions.
No man becomes great by accident; great things are never
done by chance; a man gets what he pays for it, in character,
in work, and in energy. A boy would better put 15
luck out of his mind if he means to accomplish anything.
There are few really fine things which he cannot get if he
is willing to pay the price.
Keep ahead of your work, and your work will push your
fortunes for you. Our employers do not decide whether we 20
shall stay where we are or go on and up; we decide that
matter ourselves. We can drift along, doing our work
fairly well; or we can set our faces to the front and do our
work so well that we cannot be kept back. In this way we
make or mar our own fortunes. Success or failure is not 25
chosen for us; we choose for ourselves.