There are, however, certain qualities which all young business men might and should possess, no matter what their occupations. The most important of these are self-control, self-confidence, courtesy, a mind eager to know7aria understand, and a resolute but well disciplined Nar.---ri:om om. present point of view these qualities are important because of the part they plaY in the building of a strong person ality.
8. Resolute will is usually thought of as a single quality of our mind. In fact, the older psychologists divided the mind into three parts, the functions of which were knowing, feeling and will ing. This is now recognized as being a crude and in adequate classification. A human beina cannot be split up into parts. A man is a single entity. His willing is a result of his desiring, and desire is usually born of knowledge. So when a man wills, his whole being is in action. Hence to cultivate the will means to cultivate the whole man. There must be no pre tense that this is an easy or a simple task.
If a man is born with a small and retreating chin, he will probably be told before he is twenty years old that nature has given him a weak will. And then, so strong is the influence of what the psychologists call suggestion, he will accept his weak will as a desper ate fact. Yet a weak-willed, vacillating man, if be is handled right and is wise enough to handle himself right, can become a strong, forceful, dominating char acter before he is forty.
But is not this paradoxical? Must not a man have determination, power of decision and resolution in order to cultivate himself ? And are not these the very traits which the man of weak will lacks? Undoubtedly there is here an apparent paradox, but it is no more perplexing than the paradox which confronts a physician treating a case of chronic dyspepsia. The weakness of the stomach cannot be cured unless the whole system is toned up by digested food. But, alas! the stomach cannot digest food. It would seem, therefore, that dyspepsia, once exist ing, should be eternal. Yet we know that dyspeptics, despite their gloom and hopelessness, often do get well. So let the man of weak- will take courage. His weakness is not incurable.
Read the following from the German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche: Yes, a thing invulnerable, imperishable is within me; a thing that blasteth rocks; it is called my will.
Let the young man know that this ."invulnefable thing" is within him, that he commands it, and that knowing and feeling are part of it. Then let him convince himself that his character, his personality need a stronger will. Let him picture to himself the joy he will find in possessing that stronger will and the advantages it will bring to him in business and in all of life. Then he will find himself resolutely deterniined to do the things that make for strength, and to shun the things that make for wealmess. And his character and his personality will strengthen. He need not worry about his chin. In time there will be subtle changes in his expression and in every act, which will mark- him clearly as a. man of resolute purpose.
A man of will does not do the things he wants to do if Ile knows he ought not to do them, and he does promptly things he dislikes to do if he Imows he ought to do them. He is not controlled by impulse or the desires of tbe senses, but by intelligence and desire pulling together.
9. Self-cantrol.—Arnold Bennett in his interesting book called "The Human Machine" suggests that a man should get into the habit of thinking of himself as a machine. Man is certainly the most complicated machine on the earth. If you get pleasure out of your ability to control the movements of an auto mobile or of a motor boat or of a horse, how much more joy should you get out of your power to direct the movements of that most complicated machine of all—yourself.
If a man will spend an hour or two every day grooming and training his horse or in cleaning and tuning up his automobile, how can lie excuse him self for neglecting himself? A man is exclusive owner of that machine—self. In the eyes of others he and the machine, self, seem one and the same thing. Yet they are not the same thing. You, John Smith, are not identical with your power to remember, to feel, to think, to live, to breathe. You are in com mand of a machine which enables you to do all those and numerous other things.