n a single one
will be lost sight of. It is no special art, and it reflects but little
credit upon any man simply to fill a position. That is expected of him;
he is engaged to do that, and it is only a fair return for a certain
payment made. The art lies in doing more than was bargained for; in
proving greater than was expected; in making more of a position than
has ever been made before. A quick conception is needed here, the
ability to view a broad horizon; for it is the liberal-minded man, not
the man of narrow limitations, who makes the success of to-day. A young
man showing such qualities to an employer does not remain in one
position long.

* * * * *

Two traps in which young men in business often fall are a disregard for
small things, and an absolute fear of making mistakes. One of the
surest keys to success lies in thoroughness. No matter how great may be
the enterprise undertaken a regard for the small things is necessary.
Just as the little courtesies of every-day life make life the worth
living, so the little details form the bone and sinew of a great
success. A thing half or three-quarters done is worse than not done at
all. Let a man be careful of the small things in business, and he can
generally be relied upon for the greater ones. The man who can overcome
small worries is greater than the man who can override great obstacles.
When a young man becomes so ambitious for large success that he
overlooks the small things, he is pretty apt to encounter failure.
There is nothing in business so infinitesimal that we can afford to do
it in a slipshod fashion. It is no art to answer twenty letters in a
morning when they are, in reality, only half answered. When we commend
brevity in business letters, we do not mean brusqueness. Nothing stamps
the character of a house so clearly as the letters it sends out.

The fear of making mistakes keeps many a young man down. Of course,
errors in business are costly, and it is better not to make them. But,
at the same time, I would not give a snap of the fingers for a young
man who has never made mistakes. But there are mistakes and mistakes;
some easy to be excused; others not to be overlooked in the case of any
employee. A mistake of judgment is possible with us all; the best of us
are not above a wrong decision. And a young man who holds back for fear
of making mistakes loses the first point of success.

A young man in business nowadays, wi