The Romance of Achievement
By Orison Swett Marden
THERE is nothing else so fascinating in American history as the romance of achievement under difficulties — the story of how men and women who have brought great things to pass got their start, and of their obscure beginnings and triumphant ends, their struggles, their long waitings amid want and woe, the obstacles overcome, the final victories; the stories of men and women who have seized common situations and made them great, or of those of average ability who have succeeded by dint of indomitable will and inflexible purpose. What grander sight is there than that of a stalwart man made irresistible by the things which have tried to down him,— a man who stands without wavering or trembling, with head erect and heart undaunted, ready to face any difficulties, defying any cruelties of fate, laughing at obstacles because he has developed in his fight with them the superb strength of manhood and vigor of character which make him master? No fate or destiny can stop such a man,— a man who is dominated by a mighty purpose. Thousands of young men of this stalwart type every year burst the bonds which are holding down the weakling, the vacillator, and the apologist. That which dominates the life, which is ever uppermost in the mind, generally comes somewhere near realization; but there is a great difference between a lukewarm desire and a red-hot purpose. It takes steam to drive the piston in the engine; warm water will never turn the wheels. The longings that fail of realization are usually just below the boiling-point.— Orison Swett Marden, in Success.