Self Help

A man who had no legs once met a man who was blind. To prove conclusively that the lame man was a man of vision he proposed to the blind man that they form an alliance that would be of great benefit to both.

"You let me climb upon your back," said he to the blind man, "then I will use your legs and you may use my eyes. Between the two of us we will get along more rapidly."

Out of allied effort comes greater power. This is a point that is worthy of much repetition, because it forms one of the most important parts of the foundation of this Reading Course.

The great fortunes of the world have been accumulated through the use of this principle of allied effort. That which one man can accomplish single handed, during an entire life-time, is but meagre at best, no matter how well organized that man may be, but that which one man may accomplish through the principle of alliance with other men is practically without limitation.

That master mind to which Carnegie referred during MY interview with him was made up of more than a score of minds. In that group were men of practically every temperament and inclination.

Each man was there to play a certain part and he did nothing else. There was perfect understanding and teamwork between these men. It was Carnegie's business to keep harmony among them. And he did it wonderfully well.

If you are familiar with the game of football you know, of course, that the winning team is the one that best coordinates the efforts of its players. Team-work is the thing that wins. It is the same in the great game of life.

In your struggle for success you should keep constantly in mind the necessity of knowing what it is that you want-of knowing precisely what is your definite purpose - and the value of the principle of organized effort in the attainment of that which constitutes your definite purpose. In a vague sort of way nearly everyone has a definite purpose - namely, the desire for money!

 But this is not a definite purpose within the meaning of the term as it is used in this lesson. Before your purpose could be considered definite, even though that purpose were the accumulation of money, you would have to reach a decision as to the precise method through which you intend to accumulate that money.