Your life's work chosen give wing to your imagination. Behold yourself
preeminent in your field of effort. Dream of yourself as the best
civil engineer of your time, or the soundest banker or ablest
merchant. If you are a farmer fancy yourself the master of all the
secrets science is daily discovering in this most engaging of
occupations; picture yourself as the man who has accomplished most in
the realm of agriculture.

Set for yourself the ideal of perfection in your calling--being sure
that it is Nature's calling. Then let your dreams become beliefs; let
your imaginings develop into faith. Complete the process by resolving
to make that belief come true. Then go ahead and _make it come true_.
Keep your resolution bright. Never let it rust. Burnish it with
work--untiring, unhasting, unyielding work.

Work--that is the magic word. In these four letters all possibilities
are wrapped up. "Seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened
unto you." Or let us paraphrase the sacred page and say--Work and you
will win. Work to your ideal. If you never reach it--and who can
achieve perfection?--you surely will approach it.

Do not be impatient of your progress. If, to your own measurement,
you seem to be moving slowly, remember that, to the observation of
your fellow men, you are making substantial and satisfactory advance
and, to the eye of your rivals, you are proceeding with unreasonable
speed.

Don't pay any attention to how _fast_ you are getting on but _go ahead
and get on_. Keep working. And work with all your might. How wise the
Bible is: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might."
And keep on doing it--persist--persist--persist. Again the Bible:
"Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before
kings." Do not fear hard knocks. They are no sign that you will not
finally win the battle. Indeed, ability to endure in silence is one of
the best evidences that you will finally prevail.

Yes, put yourself into your work--and put all of yourself into your
work. Having done that, be content with your effort--do not fret. If
all you do yields the fruit you hope for, do not fret while that fruit
is ripening. On the other hand, if your labor comes to nothing, still
do not fret. A like fate has fallen upon uncounted millions before you
and will come to unnumbered myriads after you. If you have done your
best you have done better than the man who has done more than you but
who has not don