t
quite reliable. To attain success he has, in other words, tried to "cut
across lots." And rainbow-chasing is really a very commendable business
in comparison to a young man's search for the "royal road to success."
No success worth attaining is easy; the greater the obstacles to
overcome, the surer is the success when attained. "Royal roads" are
poor highways to travel in any pursuit, and especially in a business
calling.

It is strange how reluctant young men are to accept, as the most vital
truth in life, that the most absolute honesty is the only kind of
honesty that succeeds in business. It isn't a question of religion or
religious beliefs. Honesty does not depend upon any religious creed or
dogma that was ever conceived. It is a question of a young man's own
conscience. He knows what is right and what is wrong. And yet, simple
as the matter is, it is astonishing how difficult it is of
understanding. An honest course in business seems too slow to the
average young man. "I can't afford to plod along. I must strike and
strike quickly," is the sentiment. Ah, yes, my friend, but not
dishonestly. No young man can afford even to think of dishonesty.
Success on honorable lines may sometimes seem slower in coming, but
when it does come it outrivals in permanency all the so-called
successes gained by other methods. To look at the methods of others is
always a mistake. The successes of to-day are not given to the
imitator, but to the originator. It makes no difference how other men
may succeed--their success is theirs and not yours. You cannot partake
of it. Every man is a law unto himself. The most absolute integrity is
the one and the only sure foundation of success. Such a success is
lasting. Other kinds of success may seem so, but it is all in the
seeming, and not in the reality. Let a young man swerve from the path
of honesty, and it will surprise him how quickly every avenue of
permanent success is closed against him. It is the young man of
unquestioned integrity who is selected for the important position. No
business man ever places his affairs in the hands of a young man whom
he feels he cannot unhesitatingly trust. And to be trusted means to be
honest. Honesty, and that alone, commands confidence. An honest life,
well directed, is the only life for a young man to lead. It is the one
life that is compatible with the largest and surest business success.

* * * * *

And so it is easy