a
mysterious and indefinable talent to succeed? Well, it seems to me
that such men always display certain characteristics. And the chief of
these characteristics is the continual, insatiable _wish_ to succeed.
They are preoccupied with the idea of succeeding. We others are not so
preoccupied. We dream of success at intervals, but we have not the
passion for success. We don't lie awake at nights pondering upon it.

The second characteristic of these men springs naturally from the
first. They are always on the look-out. This does not mean that they
are industrious. I stated in a previous article my belief that as a
rule successful men are not particularly industrious. A man on a raft
with his shirt for a signal cannot be termed industrious, but he will
keep his eyes open for a sail on the horizon. If he simply lies down
and goes to sleep he may miss the chance of his life, in a very
special sense. The man with the talent to succeed is the man on the
raft who never goes to sleep. His indefatigable orb sweeps the main
from sunset to sunset. Having sighted a sail, he gets up on his hind
legs and waves that shirt in so determined a manner that the ship is
bound to see him and take him off. Occasionally he plunges into the
sea, risking sharks and other perils. If he doesn't "get there," we
hear nothing of him. If he does, some person will ultimately multiply
by ten the number of sharks that he braved: that person is called a
biographer.

Let me drop the metaphor. Another characteristic of these men is that
they seem to have the exact contrary of what is known as common sense.
They will become enamoured of some enterprise which infallibly
impresses the average common-sense person as a mad and hopeless
enterprise. The average common-sense person will demolish the hopes of
that enterprise by incontrovertible argument. He will point out that
it is foolish on the face of it, that it has never been attempted
before, and that it responds to no need of humanity. He will say to
himself: "This fellow with his precious enterprise has a twist in his
brain. He can't reply to my arguments, and yet he obstinately persists
in going on." And the man destined to success does go on. Perhaps the
enterprise fails; it often fails; and then the average common-sense
person expends much breath in "I told you so's." But the man continues
to be on the look-out. His thirst is unassuaged; his taste for
enterprises foredoomed to failure is incurable. And