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Contents |
LAUGH AND LIVE
CHAPTER VII
HONESTY, THE CHARACTER BUILDER
Just as the straight line is the shortest dis-
tance between two points so is honesty the only
proper attitude of one person toward another.
Without it there is no understanding possible.
It must always remain supreme as a quality with-
out which character becomes a sham, a superficial
thing that has no basis in fact. The ability to
look the other fellow in the eye is as necessary
to character as the foundation is to a house. It
comes out of that "great within" which we are
now exploring. It arises from the courageous
facing of our weaknesses and becomes a part of
the man who knows himself and laughs with life,
at the mere joy of living, doing, accomplishing
. . . winning against all odds.
Honesty accompanies a proper self-esteem and
its cultivation should become a part of our ear-
liest education. It doesn't grow anywhere except [56]
within ourselves and will never be handed to us
on a silver platter. If we fail to find it when
we are young it will have small chance of ob-
taining a grip on us later. It is the one quality
with which to crown our highest attributes. It
is final proof that we are capable of just thought
and square dealing, and is proof positive that we
are part and parcel of the wholesome spirit which
rules the universe. Its possession is greater than
riches for its dividend is happiness and content-
ment and we cannot go wrong if we so live that
we can look any man in the eye and ten him the
truth.
To live in the full sense means to be alert.
Whatever high moral plane we shall achieve must
be held against all temptation. There is no com-
promise. Self-deceit is nothing less than self-
stultification. We only fool ourselves and
soon find ourselves slipping down hill. It will be
hard climbing getting back. And what of the
wear and tear on our ambitions meanwhile!
Honesty does not grow naturally out of a
dull, uninspired life. It goes with the energetic, [57]
the forceful. The dull soul who is content to
plod along year after year in the same rut may
be honest, and this one redeeming feature may
be of such inestimable value to him that it sweet-
ens and softens his entire days. It will bring him
friends . . . true-blue friends, who will excuse
all other shortcomings because of his honesty. It
gives him the unadulterated trust of his employer
and it arouses a certain admiration among his
narrow circle of acquaintances. If this is true
with the dullard, the weakling, then what must
it mean when possessed by the great? We know,
for instance, how the nation instinctively turned
to General Washington when it came to choos-
ing their President after the Revolutionary War.
He may have been gifted, he may have been
one of the world's greatest captains, but the one
quality which endeared him to his countrymen
was a tremendous moral superiority. "He never
told a lie" rang around the world. Summed up,
his virtues amounted to those five words. Some
statesmen may have been more astute but Wash-
ington was honest—"he never told a lie." The [58]
people knew they could trust this man so they
elected him to fill the highest place within their
gift.
Honesty with ourselves is the first thing to
remember. Unless we are, it will be impossible
for us to enter into that spiritual contentment en-
joyed by those who are honest with themselves.
If we are untrue to ourselves how can we be true
to others? The framework of a man's moral
being must be that of honesty. It must become
his very nature and become automatic in its
processes. It belongs to the healthy, those who
keep themselves well through vigorous exercise
and temperate living. It is not a quality set
aside for the lucky few. Every man, woman
and child possesses it in some degree and only its
constant neglect trims it to a minimum. It is one
of those fundamentals of life, one of those pow-
erful and moving forces that rule society. We
are either honest or we are not. We cannot be
nearly honest and get away with it.
When one stops to consider honesty, even for a
moment, its full importance is realized. For ex- [59]
ample, imagine having a dishonest friend. Could
we go to him with the secrets of our heart?
Could we trust him? Would we trust anyone
who might turn traitor? Again: suppose we
were untrue to ourselves, and the fact became
known. Could we blame others if they passed
us up as a companion? Never in a thousand
years. We must sleep in the beds we prepare
for ourselves.
Men have grown accustomed through the years
to certain standards. These are now the moral
laws which control and guide the destinies of
entire races, whole generations. There must have
been a good reason for these laws or they could
never have come into being. Society does not
adopt many unnecessary rules, but among the
vital laws honesty stands out in bold relief. It
has become deeply imbedded in the minds of man-
kind that everyone must be true to himself. It
is taken for granted that those who are not would
naturally be false to everybody.
The reason for this lies in the fact that society
will not proceed with any course of action with- [60]
out being able to trust its members. The general
in charge of an army would have a hard time of it
if he were unable to place faith in the subordinate
to whom he gave instructions that might lead to
a crisis in the battle. Society would dash itself
upon the rocks were it not conscious that certain
people are courageously honest, and in these it
finds its leaders.
To rise in life means that our fellow man be-
lieves in us and wishes us to do so. Without
his co-operation it would be futile to arouse our
own ambitions. We could not hope to win a vic-
tory all alone and against the great majority who
believe in certain standards and conditions. We
might fool ourselves into thinking that because of
some stroke of fortune we had established an
immunity for ourselves. But some day our con-
sciences would tell us how feebly we had suc-
ceeded.
There is only one method, only one way . . .
rise through honesty and an optimistic belief in
self. And let us not plume ourselves because
of our virtue. Personal honesty is our due to [61]
ourselves and our fellow man.
One of the distinctive elements in the honest
man's make-up is that of laughter. The ones
who live up to their ideals, do not feel that life
is such a dark place. after all. It may mean hard
work, little play and often delayed rewards but
the fact that there is a world, and that it is filled
with other honest souls is reward enough to give
us courage to laugh as we go along. We can
always afford to laugh—when we're honest.
The man who is innately honest has no reason
to fear the snares of fortune. He knows that
he can win the trust of men; he knows that he
already has it. He has no dread of looking into
the other fellow's eye. He knows where he stands
in life. He has won that which he has through
struggle, and he does not intend to lose it. He
does not intend to fail. He cannot fail—he can-
not lose. No matter how things might go at
this moment or that the next will find him on
the rising tide of new opportunities—new
chances. His reputation travels before him like
the advance agent. His coming is heralded and [62]
he is welcomed into any community.
It isn't as though there were only a few honest
men. This welcome, this "glad hand," is always
extended by society to the honest man as a token
of approval. The world's work is a tremendous
matter. There is always room for another worker
to handle some part of it. And only the true, the
sincere, are capable of doing this in the proper
way. The leaders of society in the broader sense
are those who win the faith of the average man.
We look up to Lincoln because we know that he
was the one man in a million to accomplish the
greatest task ever set before a human being. We
realize that he was honest—honest in the huge
sense so necessary to the accomplishment of big
ideals. And we know that in order to win some
part of that great trust we must obey the stand-
ards of honesty and decency that lie below the
surface and only need to be called to life and
action in order to be used.
And laughter will arouse that sense as quickly
as anything else. The man who is capable of
laughing heartily is not apt to be the one who [63]
carries some conscience-stricken thought around
with him. It is the easiest thing in the world to
detect an untrue laugh. The real laugh springs
out of the depths of being and comes with a
ringing sense of security and faith in one's self.
It goes with the workman in the early morning
when he swings along the road to the factory.
It accompanies the soldier into battle. It arouses
the clerk from lethargy. It brightens the sick
room. It raises us all to unexplored heights, and
as evidence of our state of mind it can only mean
one thing—honesty and sincerity. No character
can exist without this outward exhibition of an
inward honesty. The mere cultivation of laugh-
ter would eventually lead to honesty. The fact
that you are laughing, enjoying life, awakens you
to a spirit of security and a feeling of the joy of
living. Gloomy men are the ones whose tend-
ency is toward crime and trouble. Laughing
men are the ones who stir the world with new
desires and make life worth living. Therefore we
say—laugh and live!
CHAPTER VIII
CLEANLINESS OF BODY AND MIND
If we interview many of life's failures we will
find that the overwhelming majority went down
because of their neglect to get out of an environ-
ment that was not stimulating and because their
ambitions had grown rusty and inefficient to cope
with depressing circumstances. The prisons and
other institutions are filled with people who did
not make any attempt to get away from the vi-
cious surroundings in which they lived. They
were like tadpoles that had never grown to frogs
. . . they just kept swimming around in their
muddy puddles and, not having grown legs with
which they could leap out onto the banks and
away to other climes, they continued to swim in
monotonous circles until they died. In other
words, the failure is a man who dwells in muddy
atmosphere all his days, who is content to remain
a tadpole and who never attempts to take advan- [65]
tage of any opportunity. He becomes unclean,
so to speak. And that is what we mean by this
chapter heading "Cleanliness of Body and
Mind." It was not intended to point out the
proper way to keep our faces and hands clean,
or as a sermon, but rather to show ourselves that
the clean body begets the clean mind, the two
together constituting compelling tendencies
toward the clean spirit. A move in the direction
of these takes us out of the rut of life.
No matter what cause we dig up with which
to explain our success in life we cannot neglect
this most important one—the careful selection
of our acquaintances. And this doesn't mean
that one must be a snob. Far from it. It only
means that the successful man, the man who
wishes to rise in life, should not spend his days
in the company of illiterate companions who do
not possess ambition of heart or the will to do
the work of the world. It means that life is too
short to hang around the loafing places with the
driftwood of humanity listening to their stories
of failure and drinking in with liquor some of [66]
their bitterness against those who have toiled and
won the fruits of their toil. It means that we
will not go out of our way to seek the friend-
ship of men and women who are simply endeav-
oring to gain happiness in life without paying
for it. It means that we will do all in our power
to win friends who aspire nobly and by so doing
inspire those with whom they come in contact.
Such men are naturally clean of mind and body.
We must remember always to live in a world
of clear thought that will stimulate our ambitions.
Dwelling in the dark corners of life and traveling
with the debris of humanity will not arouse us
to action and give us that swinging vigor of heart
and mind so necessary to the accomplishment of
great things. While we will ever lend the help-
ing hand to those who need it we will naturally
associate with those who have vim and courage.
We will not be dragged down by our associates.
Until we meet the right kind we will hold aloof,
and we will not be morose and gloomy because
it happens that at this moment our acquaintance-
ship does not include these successes. When we [67]
have succeeded in doing something big they will
come to us and if we think big things we are
likely to do them. It is all a matter of the will
to do.
"Nothing succeeds like success," said some
very wise man and if there ever was a phrase
that rang with truth this does. It means that
the thought of success, the courage that comes
with success, leads to more and more success. It
means that the thinker of these thoughts is liv-
ing in a clean, wholesome atmosphere along with
those who are determined and in earnest. It
means that they have caught the fervor of true
life . . . a healthy, contagious fervor which per-
meates the blood swiftly once it gets a hold, and
like electricity it vivifies and stirs the spirit with
renewed energy day after day, year after year.
Once it wins us it will stick with us. The success
of those about us will shake our lethargic limbs
and stimulate us to a desire to do as they do.
We will be in a world of clean thought and action
and our lives will mirror their lives, our thoughts
will be filled with wholesome things and with [68]
good health. We will win in spite of all ob-
stacles.
Cleanliness is the morale of the body and the
mind. The man who is careful of his linen and
who does not neglect his morning plunge is not
apt to be gloomy and morose. We notice him
in the car or on the street in the morning. He
comes striding along, fresh and full of the zest
of living. His mind is clear and unclouded.
His eyes are full of that vigorous light of con-
scientious desire to win and do so honestly. He
has none of the hypocritical elements in his na-
ture strong enough to rule him. There may be
and probably are many weaknesses in his charac-
ter. His very strength consists in his ability to
crush them and make them his slaves.
The man who has taken his morning plunge
and dressed himself agreeable to comfort and
grace, has his battles of the day won in advance.
He knows the value of keeping himself in trim.
He does it for the sake of his own feelings. Our
approval of his appearance goes without saying.
If a man thinks well of himself in matters of ap- [69]
pearance his general deportment is likely to coin-
cide. Such men never overdo. They are at ease
with themselves and thus impart ease to others
who come in contact with them. They have, in
other words, a distinction of their own and their
distinction is their power. They know that the
highest moral law of nature is that of cleanliness,
that filthiness should not be allowed to dominate
any man's ethics or physical condition. They
rule such things out of their lives.
A vast magnetic force comes out of those
friends of ours who are doing things and making
the world sit up and take notice. The mere fact
that we live near to them, know them and asso-
ciate with them is proof-positive that we, too,
shall go through life with clean minds and bodies.
They would not tolerate us if we were to slip
into shoddy ways. Nothing is revealed quicker
to our intimates than the losing of ambition . . .
the slipping into careless habits. We cannot con-
ceal it from them. We fool only those who brush
by. The loss of this self-respect has a terrible
effect upon the system and every tendency [70]
toward success is thereby stunted and weakened.
We have fallen into unclean ways! It will not
be long before we sink to the bottom or else
remain among the vast crowd who have neither
the courage to fall nor the courage to rise.
Nothing produces failure quicker than filthi-
ness of mind and body. Those who are success-
ful keep away from the very thought of such a
condition. They live as much as possible in the
open. They take morning and evening exercises.
They read good books, attend good plays and
are continually in touch with the finer develop-
ments of thought and art in the world. Their
faces are open and full of sunlight. They are
determined that life will not beat them in a game
that only requires sureness of aim and the ability
to take advantage of the thousand and one oppor-
tunities that surround them on every side.
Cleanliness stands paramount in its importance
to success. Perhaps no other one thing has so
vital a hold upon the individual who succeeds.
The general of an army first looks to the morale
of his troops. He knows that with clean minds [71]
and bodies his soldiers are capable of doing big
things. The battleship, that efficient and highly-
developed instrument of war, is so immaculate
that one could eat his meals on its very decks.
Its officers are wholesome, athletic fellows; its
crew consists of hardy men who live sanely and
vigorously and who have plenty to occupy their
minds. And if cleanliness is fundamental in
their case why not in our own?
When we come to analyze ourselves we find
that we are like a great institution of some kind.
Here is the brain, the heart, the lungs, the stom-
ach, the nerves and the muscles. Each depart-
ment acts separately and yet is connected abso-
lutely with all the others. The entire system is
under one supreme department . . . the mind.
Now if this ruling department is kept clean and
full of kindly, beautiful thoughts does it not
seem natural that the rest will follow its lead
being so completely in its power? We realize this
and the mere realization is something done
towards the accomplishment of an ideal life in a [72]
world of cleanliness and beauty.
System is one of the finest tools in existence
with which to build one's life into something
worth while. The body must be run on a system
as well as the mind. The stomach must not be
overloaded with unnecessary food. The lungs
must not be filled with impure air. The nerves
must not be worn threadbare in riotous and ri-
diculous living. The muscles must be kept in
trim with consistent exercise of the proper sort.
We must recognize the wants, the needs of the
physical system and see that they are supplied.
Roosevelt, perhaps more than any other living
man today, has given vitality to the supreme
necessity of cleanliness of mind and body. He
has, by reason of his great prominence, been able
to emphasize these two vital essentials. He called
a spade a spade and his message went far. From
those who knew the value of his words came
nods of approval—others took heed. From boy-
hood he has systematized his life, taking the exer-
cise needed, filling his mind with the learning of
the world, winning when others would have [73]
failed, profiting by experience allotted to him
through fate's kindly offices and association with
the healthy, true men. What has been the result?
He has risen to the very pinnacle of human en-
deavor . . . no honors await him. He has lived
consistently and cleanly and he can look any
man in the eye and say honestly: "I have lived
as I have believed."
It is not necessary to become President in order
to live sanely, to gain from circumstances the
fruits that are ours for the asking and which have
fallen into Roosevelt's hands with such profu-
sion. We cannot all become Presidents but we
can all emulate a shining example of mental and
bodily morale.
Just as we plunge into the cold water in the
early morning so should we regularly during the
day plunge into the society of those whose splen-
did enthusiasm is helping to make the world a
better place to live in. They are the kind who
go into the struggle with heads high and with
clean hearts. Their eyes see beyond the daily toil
of life. They are in touch with the big things and [74]
it is up to us to keep step with them. They want
us and they will give us the "glad hand." All
they want to know is whether our courage is
equal to our ambitions and whether our ,house
of life is kept in good order. And so we journey
along together in all good nature, not forgetting
to laugh as we live.
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