Self Help

The most embarrassing and, I might without any intention of disrespect say, the most disastrous opposition to my choice of a lifework came from my wife. This, perhaps, will explain why I have made frequent references, in many of the lessons of this course, to the fact that a man's wife may either "make" or "break" him, according to the extent to which she gives or withholds co-operation and encouragement in connection with his chosen work.

THERE is no more dangerous person - dangerous to himself and to others - than the person who passes judgment without pretending to know the facts. My wife's idea was that I should accept a salaried position that would insure a regular monthly income, because I had shown, by the few salaried positions I had held, that I had marketable ability which should command an income of from $6,000.00 to $10,000.00 a year without any very great effort on my part.

In a way I saw my wife's viewpoint and was in sympathy with it, because we had young growing children coming on who needed clothes and education, and a regular salary, even though it were not large, seemed to be a necessity. Despite this logical argument, however, I chose to override my wife's counsel. Came, then, to her rescue, the combined forces of her family and mine, and collectively they charged me, head-on, with what amounted to a command to right-about-face and settle down on a salary basis. Studying other people might be all right for a man who had the time to spend in this "unprofitable" manner, they reasoned, but for a young married man with a growing family this seemed hardly the thing to do.

But I remained adamant!

I had made my choice and I was determined to stand by it. The opposition did not yield to my viewpoint, but gradually, of course, it melted away. Meanwhile, the knowledge that my choice had worked at least a temporary hardship on my family, combined with the thought that my dearest friends and relatives were not in harmony with me, greatly increased my labors. Fortunately, not all of my friends believed my choice unwise!

There were a few friends who not only believed I was following a course that would ultimately bring me out somewhere near the top of the mountain of useful achievement, but, in addition to believing in my plans, they actually went out of their way to encourage me not to be whipped by either adversity or the opposition of relatives.