Business is king. We often say that cotton is king, or corn is king, but
with greater propriety we may say that the king is that great machine
which is kept in motion by the Law of Supply and Demand: the destinies
of all mankind are ruled by it.
"Were the question asked," says Stearns, "what is at this moment the
strongest power in operation for controlling, regulating, and inciting
the actions of men, what has most at its disposal the condition and
destinies of the world, we must answer at once, it is business, in its
various ranks and departments; of which commerce, foreign and domestic,
is the most appropriate representation. In all prosperous and advancing
communities,--advancing in arts, knowledge, literature, and social
refinement,--business is king. Other influences in society may be
equally indispensable, and some may think far more dignified, but
_Business is King_. The statesman and the scholar, the nobleman and the
prince, equally with the manufacturer, the mechanic, and the laborer,
pursue their several objects only by leave granted and means furnished
by this potentate."
Oil is better than sand for keeping this vast machinery in good running
condition. Do not shovel grit or gravel stones upon the bearings. A tiny
copper shaving in a wheel box, or a scratch on a journal, may set a
railway train on fire. The running of the business world is damaged by
whatever creates friction.
Anxiety mars one's work. Nobody can do his best when, fevered by worry.
One may rush, and always be in great haste, and may talk about being
busy, fuming and sweating as if he were doing ten men's duties; and yet
some quiet person alongside, who is moving leisurely and without anxious
haste, is probably accomplishing twice as much, and doing it better.
Fluster unfits one for good work.
Have you not sometimes seen a business manager whose stiffness would
serve as "a good example to a poker?" He acts toward his employees as
the father of Frederick the Great did toward his subjects, caning them
on the streets, and shouting, "I wish to be loved and not feared."
"Growl, Spitfire and Brothers," says Talmage, "wonder why they fail,
while Messrs. Merriman and Warmheart succeed."
There is no investment a business man can make that will pay him a
greater per cent, than patience and amiability. Good humor will sell the
most goods.
John Wanamaker's clerks have been heard to say: "We can work better for
a week after a pleasant 'Good morning' from Mr. Wanamaker."
This kindly disposition and cheerful manner, and a desire to create a
pleasant feeling and diffuse good cheer among those who work for him,
have had a great deal to do with the great merchant's remarkable
success. On the other hand, a man who easily finds fault, and is never
generous-spirited, who never commends the work of subordinates when he
can do so justly, who is unwilling to brighten their hours, fails to
secure the best of service. "Why not try love's way?" It will pay
better, and be better.
A habit of cheerfulness, enabling one to transmute apparent misfortunes
into real blessings, is a fortune to a young man or young woman just
crossing the threshold of active life. There is nothing but ill fortune
in a habit of grumbling, which "requires no talent, no self-denial, no
brains, no character." Grumbling only makes an employee more
uncomfortable, and may cause his dismissal. No one would or should wish
to make him do grudgingly what so many others would be glad to do in a
cheerful spirit.
If you dislike your position, complain to no one, least of all to your
employer. Fill the place as it was never filled before. Crowd it to
overflowing. Make yourself more competent for it. Show that you are
abundantly worthy of better things. Express yourself in this manner as
freely as you please, for it is the only way that will count.
No one ever found the world quite as he would like it. You will be sure
to have burdens laid upon you that belong to other people, unless you
are a shirk yourself; but don't grumble. If the work needs doing and you
can do it, never mind about the other one who ought to have done it and
didn't; do it yourself. Those workers who fill up the gaps, and smooth
away the rough spots, and finish up the jobs that others leave
undone,--they are the true peacemakers, and worth a regiment of
grumblers.
"Oh, what a sunny, winsome face she has!" said a Christian Endeavorer,
in reporting of a clerk whom he saw in a Bay City store. "The customers
flocked about her like bees about a honey-bush in full bloom."