schools, the pulpits, the homes--every place where we live or work is
shaking. Life is a constant survival of the fittest.

The same law that shakes the little ones down and the big ones up in
that can is shaking every person to the place he fits in the barrel of
life. It is sending small people down and great people up.

And do you not see that we are very foolish when we want to be lifted
up to some big place, or when we want some big person to be put down to
some little place? We are foolishly trying to overturn the eternal law
of life.

We shake right back to the places our size determines. We must get
ready for places before we can get them and keep them.

The very worst thing that can happen to anybody is to be artificially
boosted up into some place where he rattles.

I hear a good deal about destiny. Some people seem to think destiny is
something like a train and if we do not get to the depot in time our
train of destiny will run off and leave us, and we will have no
destiny. There is destiny--that jar.

If we are small we shall have a small destiny. If we are great we shall
have a great destiny. We cannot dodge our destiny.

Kings and Queens of Destiny

The objects in that jar cannot change their size. But thank God, you
and I are not helpless victims of blind fate. We are not creatures of
chance. We have it in our hands to decide our destiny as we grow or
refuse to grow.

We shake down if we become small; we shake up if we become great. And
when we have reached the place our size determines, we stay there so
long as we stay that size.

If we wish to change our place, we must first change our size. If we
wish to go down, we must grow smaller and we shall shake down. If we
wish to go up, we must grow greater, and we shall shake up.

Each person is doing one of three things consciously or unconsciously.

1. He is holding his place.

2. He is going down.

3. He is going up.

In order to hold his place he must hold his size. He must fill the
place. If he shrinks up he will rattle. Nobody can stay long where he
rattles. Nature abhors a rattler. He shakes down to a smaller place.

In order to stay the same size he must grow enough each day to supply
the loss by evaporation. Evaporation is going steadily on in lives as
well as in liquids. If we are not growing any, we are rattling.

We Compel Promotion

So you young people should keep in mind that you will shake into the
places