Success
It was of a silvery gray
shade, such as I had never seen before. Upon closer inspection I
found that the reflection was that of the early morning sun and not that of the
moon. It was daylight!
I had been at work all night, but I was so engrossed in my work that the night had passed as though it were but an hour. I worked at my task all that day and all the following night without stopping, except for a small amount of light food. Two nights and one day without sleep, and with but little food, without the slightest evidence of fatigue, would not have been possible had I not kept my body energized with enthusiasm over the work at hand.
Enthusiasm is not merely a figure of speech; it is a vital force that you can harness and use with profit. Without it you would resemble an electric battery without electricity. Enthusiasm is the vital force with which you recharge your body and develop a dynamic personality.
Some people are blessed with natural enthusiasm, while others must acquire it. The procedure through which it may be developed is simple. It begins by the doing of the work or rendering of the service which one likes best. If you should be so situated that you cannot conveniently engage in the work which you like best, for the time being, then you can proceed along another line very effectively by adopting a definite chief aim that contemplates your engaging in that particular work at some future time.
Lack of capital and many other circumstances over which
you have no immediate control may force you to engage in work which you do
not like, but no one can stop you from determining in your own mind what
your definite chief aim in life shall be, nor can anyone stop you from
planning ways and means for translating this aim into reality, nor can
anyone stop you from mixing enthusiasm with your plans.
Happiness, the final object of all human effort, is a state of mind that can be maintained only through the hope of future achievement. Happiness lies always in the future and never in the past. The happy person is the one who dreams of heights of achievement that are yet unattained. The home you intend to own, the money you intend to earn and place in the bank, the trip you intend to take when you can afford it, the' Position in life you intend to fill when you have prepared yourself, and the preparation, itself-these are the things that produce happiness.