Personal efficiency demands that a man be himself and not seek to be like somebody else.
4. Temperament.—Artists are popularly supposed to have a monopoly of temperament ; on that account people excuse them for any kind of eccentricity of dress or behavior. As a matter of fact, however, all of us have our peculiarities of temperament, and these must be taken into account when we are planning our careers or the day's program.
By "temperament" I mean our natural disposition, that something within us which determines how we will feel and act at various times and under various circumstances. Some men seem to have been born with a sunny and cheerful disposition, others with a sour and gloomy one. Some are emotional and sen sitive, while others are stoical and thick-skinned. Some are naturally systematic, logical and orderly, while others seem incapable of appreciating the im portance of order and system, and yet often accom plish great results.
Men differ quite as much as dogs. No dog fancier would think of training a water spaniel to do the work of a pointer or a coach dog. Temperament or disposition seems to be fundamental and unchange able. A man who wishes to make himself 100 per cent efficient must certainly take it into account.
A man of the highly mental and nervous tempera ment should manifestly not enter upon a career in which physical endurance or muscular power is es sential to efficiency. A man who dislikes intellectual effort, but loves physical activity, should choose a, calling in which muscular dexterity and power are a real asset. The man who instinctively dreads loneli ness or monotony, but who will work with tremen dous energy if he has companions and variety, should choose a business which will give him plenty of hu man contact. The man more given to meditation and philosophy than to action should not assume business responsibilities. He may be a fairly good routine worker in business, like Nathaniel Hawthorne, the great American novelist, or like Charles Lamb, one of England's choicest essayists, but he will not be really a business man.
If a man studies himself he will kmow his own tem perament and be in a -position to choose that career for which he is personally best fitted and to fit himself for it by the right kind of training. What his train
ing ought to be depends entirely upon the peculiarities of his temperament. A standard training suitable for all is impossible. There can be no such thing as a school of efficiency. Each man must be his own schoolmaster.
5. The efficient mind.—It must be evident that a man cannot do all that has been prescribed in the foregoing sections unless be has trained his mind to be an obedient servant. The whole aim of education on the intellectual side should be to develop the power of clear and honest thinking. A man whose mind de livers to him judgments perverted by passion or prej udice has an inefficient mind. His first duty is one of mental discipline. 'He must correct his mental bias and make his mind look straight into the heart of things.
It is exceedingly difficult to convince a man that his mental processes are not entirely normal. I have often tried to do it—sometimes with college pro fessors—and have invariably failed. And, of course, it is almost paradoxical to expect the man to dis cover the fact himself. That is one of the reasons why it is so important that a country's educational system be of the right kind, and that our public school teachers seek to develop their pupils' judgment and reasoning power as well as to store their memories with information about matters geographical and his torical.
To be on the safe side a man seeking to increase his efficiency should assume that his mind needs all the training that he can possibly give it. Perhaps be cannot go to a school or to a university, but that is not necessary. Scientific books are numerous and cheap. Let him take up some science and thoroly master it. Let him think as he reads, and so disci pline his mind in the pursuit of truth. No man is too old to take up a new science with interest, and no man's mind is so fine and efficient that further study and discipline will not improve it. The man who lets his mind lie fallow for long intervals will often fall below par in efficiency.