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I. Modesty and Effrontery Contrasted
II. Physical Exercises to Acquire Poise
III. Four Series of Physical Exercises
IV. Practical Exercises for Obtaining Poise
V. The Supreme Achievement

PART I

POISE: ITS NEED, ITS ENEMIES, ITS EFFECT

CHAPTER I

THE NEED OF POISE IN LIFE

Lack of poise has always been an obstacle to those who are imbued with
the desire to succeed.

In every age the awkwardness born of timidity has served to keep back
those who suffered from it, but this defect has never been so great a
drawback as in the life of to-day.

The celebrated phrase of the ancient Roman writer who said, "Fortune
smiles on the brave," could very well serve as our motto nowadays, with
this slight alteration: "Fortune smiles on those who are possest of
poise."

At this point let us attempt an exact definition of poise.

It is a quality which enables us to judge of our own value, and which,
in revealing to us the knowledge of the things of which we are really
capable, gives us at the same time the desire to accomplish them.

It is not a quality wholly simple. On the contrary, it is a composite of
many others all of which take part in the molding of that totality which
bears the name of poise.

It may be well to pass in review the principal qualities of which it is
composed, that one may characterize as follows:

Will.

Reason.

Knowledge of one's own value.

Correctness of judgment.

Sincerity toward oneself.

The power of resisting the appeals of self-love.

Contempt of adverse criticism.

Pride that is free from vanity.

A definite and clearly conceived ambition.

Will, as is well known, is the pivot of all our resolutions, whether the
question for the moment be how to form them or how to keep them when
formed.

A man without will-power is a straw, blown about by every wind and
carried, whether he will or no, into situations in which he has no valid
reason for finding himself.

Without the will-power which enables us to take a firm hold of ourselves
and to get a grip upon our impressions, they will remain vague and
nebulous without presenting to us characters of sufficient definiteness
to enable us to direct them readily into the proper channels.

It is will-power which gives us the force to maintain a resolution which
will lead us to the hoped-for goal of success.

It is will-power also which enables us to correct the faults which stand
in the way of the acq