The Secret Of Wealth
The Secret Of Wealth132 total pages.
Another self-made and successful man was asked to relate his story, and in his genial, drawling way, he said: "Every old veteran like me would be glad to save the young fellows from going through the trials and heartaches of personal experience. We would like to pass along the things that have cost us such a lot to learn. We would like to see a young fellow in whom we are interested begin where we leave off, but somehow a young man doesn't seem to understand that accepting and profiting by what somebody else has found out about business is just the same as accepting and profiting by what somebody else has found out about electricity or engineering." He stopped a moment, then continued, thoughtfully: "A youth believes it when he is told that the world is round--he does not try to prove it for himself--but he smiles in doubt when a man who has been through the battle of life tells him that nothing gives so much actual pleasure as well as profit as saving and investing a part of his earnings. "Say, you, young fellow, standing there listening to my talk, why would you rather take it for granted that I am wrong than that I am right?" The young man thus addressed flushed in confusion at being singled out of the group of listeners, and replied, hesitatingly: "I wouldn't rather. It isn't a case of rather at all. But, you see, my circumstances are different. I have to do the best I can according to the conditions I must meet. What was easy for you may be impossible for me-- so, you see, in that case the best advice in the world would not be much help. I agree with you that saving money is a thing that I certainly ought to do, and I intend to save just as soon as I can draw a larger salary, but I can't save out of what I am getting now. I must keep my wife and child in the right kind of way, and I tell you it costs." The older man, the man who had succeeded, laughed softly, and his keen grey eyes twinkled.
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