SELF-RELIANCE

IT appears to have been designed by Creative Providence,  that every human being should chiefly depend on the means within himself, for his own subsistence and advancement in the world. Were we to ask a hundred men who from small beginnings have attained a condition of respectability and influence, to what they imputed their success in life, the general answer would be, “It was from being early compelled to think and depend on ourselves.”

The oak that stands alone to contend with the tempest’s blasts only takes deeper root and stands the firmer for ensuing conflicts; while the forest tree, when the woodman’s ax has spoiled its surroundings, sways and bends and trembles and perchance is uprooted. So it is with men. Those who are trained to self-reliance are ready to go out and contend in the sternest conflicts of life; while men who have always leaned for support on those around them, are never prepared to breast the storms of adversity that arise.

Many a young man—and for that matter, many who are older— halts at his outset upon life’s battlefield, and falters and faints for what he conceives to be a necessary capital for a start. A few thousand dollars, or hundreds, or “something handsome” in the way of money in his purse, he fancies to be about the only thing needful to secure his fortune. Many a young man would, doubtless, make a good use of such a capital, and to many it has been the beginning of disaster—the unnerving of self-reliance, the pillow of activity, and the rust of every genial, manly virtue and ambition.

The best capital, in nine cases out of ten, a young man can start in the world with, is robust health, sound morals, a fair intelligence, a will to work his way honestly and bravely, and if it be possible, a trade—whether he follows it for a livelihood or not. He can always fall back upon a trade when other paths are closed. Anyone who will study the lives of memorable men—apart from the titled, or hereditarily great—will find that a large majority of them rose from the ranks, with no capital for a start, save intelligence, energy, industry, and a will to rise and conquer. In the mechanic and artizan pursuits, in commerce, in agriculture, and even in the paths of literature, science and art, many of the greatest names sprung from poverty and obscurity. Dr. Johnson made himself illustrious by his intellect and industry—so did Franklin, and so have multitudes whose memories are renowned.

The greatest heroes of the battle-field—as Napoleon, Hannibal,  Cromwell—some of the greatest statesmen and orators, ancient and modern—as Demosthenes, Chatham, Burke, and our own Webster and Clay—could boast no patrician advantages, no capital in gold, to start with. The grandest fortunes ever accumulated or possessed on earth, were and are, the fruit of endeavor that had no capital to begin with save energy, intellect, and the will. From Croesus down to Astor, the story is the same—not only in the getting of wealth, but also in the acquirement of various eminence—those men have won most, who relied most upon themselves.

The path of success in business is invariably the path of common sense. Notwithstanding all that is said about “lucky hits,” the best kind of success in every man’s life is not that which comes by accident. The only “good time coming” we are justified in hoping for, is that which we are capable of making for ourselves. The fable of the labors of Hercules is indeed the type of all human doing and success. Every youth should be made to feel that if he would get through the world usefully and happily, he must rely mainly upon himself and his own independent energies. Making a small provision for young men is hardly justifiable; and it is of all things the most prejudicial to themselves. They think what they have much larger than it really is; and they make no exertion. The young should never hear any language but this: ‘You have your own way to make, and it depends upon your own exertions whether you starve or not.’

One of the best lessons a father can give his son is this: Work; strengthen your moral and mental faculties, as you would strengthen your muscles by vigorous exercise. Learn to conquer circumstances; you are then independent of fortune. The men of athletic minds, who have left their mark on the years in which they lived, were all trained in a rough school. They did not mount their high position by the help of leverage; they leaped into chasms, grappled with the opposing rocks, avoided avalanches, and, when the goal was reached, felt that but for the toil that had strengthened them as they strove, it could never have been attained. Be your own right hand man. Every man is the architect of his own fortune.

People who have been bolstered up and levered all their lives, are seldom good for anything in a crisis. When misfortune comes, they look around for somebody to cling to, or lean upon. If the prop is not there, down they go. Once down, they are as helpless as capsized turtles, or unhorsed men in armor, and they can not find their feet again without assistance. Such silken fellows no more resemble self made men, who have fought their way to position, making ditheir stepping-stones, and deriving determination from their defeat, than vines resemble oaks, or spluttering rushlights the stars of heaven. Efforts persisted in to achievements train a man to self-reliance; and when he has proven to the world that he can trust himself, the world will trust him. We say, therefore, that it is unwise to deprive young men of the advantages which result from energetic action, by “boosting” them over obstacles which they ought to surmount alone. No one ever swam well who placed his confidence in a cork jacket; and if, when breasting the sea of life, we cannot buoy ourselves up and try to force ourselves ahead by dint of our own energies, we are not salvage; and it is of little consequence whether we “sink or swim, survive or perish.”

It is not good for human nature to have the road of life made too easy. Better to be under the necessity of working hard and faring meanly, than to have everything done ready to our hand, and a pillow of down to repose upon. Indeed, to start in life with comparatively small means seems so necessary as a stimulus to work, that it may almost be set down as one of the essential conditions to success in life. Hence, an eminent judge, when asked what contributed most to success at the bar, replied, “Some succeed by great talent, some by high connections, some by miracle, but the majority by commencing without a shilling.” So it is a common saying that the men who are most successful in business are those who begin the world in their shirt-sleeves; whereas those who begin with fortunes generally lose them. Necessity is always the first stimulus to industry; and those who conduct it with prudence, perseverance, and energy will rarely fail. Viewed in this light, the necessity of labor is not a chastisement, but a blessing—the very root and spring of all that we call progress in individuals and civilization in nations. It may, indeed, be questioned whether a heavier curse could be imposed on man than the complete gratification of all his wishes without effort on his part, leaving nothing for his hopes, desires or struggles. The feeling that life is destitute of any motive or necessity for action, must be of all others the most distressing and the most insupportable to a rational being. The Marquis de Spinola asking Sir Horace Vere what his brother died of, Sir Horace replied, “He died, sir, of having nothing to do.” “Alas!” said Spinola, “that is enough to kill any general of us all.”

The men who stand boldly for the defense of the truth, in the midst of the flood of errors that surround them, are not the gentlemen of lily fingers who have been rocked in the cradle of indulgence and caressed in the lap of luxury; but they are men whom necessity has called from the shade of retirement, to contend under the scorching rays of the sun, with the stern realities of life with all its vicissitudes. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

Don’t rely upon friends. Don’t rely upon the good name of your ancestors. Thousands have spent the prime of life in the vain hope of those whom they called friends; and thousands have starved because they had a rich father. Rely upon the good name which is made by your own exertions, and know that better than the best friend you can have is unquestionable determination, united with decision of character. And remember that without God’s blessing you cannot truly prosper. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and lie will direct thy paths. Nothing would fortify us more against all manner of accidents, than the remembrance of this maxim, that we can never be hurt but by ourselves. If our reason be what it ought, and our actions ac cording to it, we are invulnerable. ‘Heaven helps those who help themselves.’

Depend not on the stores of others. Tax a neighbor’s good offices as seldom as possible. “Do not ride a free horse death” is trite but good advice. Rely upon your own resources as much as possible. Human nature delights in novelties, hence look out that an opportunity for your neighbor to serve you is a novelty.