robert johnson, jr.

have you succeeded as yet on the way to success

or has your life been one of despair?

have you taken life in its daily process,

or chosen your path with a care?

a defeat so long as it is not on the roll of the grim reaper is not a defeat but a victory. you cannot win without experience, and defeat is only a blazer to the goal of success.

you can afford to take the harsh treatment from the hands of the world, because it means that later on in life you will be able to undergo the same without flinching.

set your mark and keep your eye on it. when every chance seems gone and all the world fighting, you look towards your goal—stop and think—do not rush off into the old road of “i give up.” life is worth more to you than a complete failure—you can succeed half way and be a howling success. keep your eye on your mark.

failures are recorded from the mere fact that a man quits at the first mile in the race of life. from the time you start in until the end has arrived, form a determination to succeed in some way or another. 229 make it a persistent effort even though failures pile high on your list.

you cannot gain the determination in a day nor a year. every day of your life beats the time as a pendulum of a clock, and every day you must try to get that determination. in the end even though you haven’t shone as a brilliant star, you have formed an idea of what it means to be determined.

a man who has not suffered defeat is the man who will utterly fail when defeat does come. experience is teacher of belief, and in the defeats you receive you learn to love the battle of life. the realization comes that life is a little of your own making and not at all a matter of course.

work is an excellent developer of the mind. it winds you in and out through the different roads of humanity and you come to a point of seeing the realness of life. the unreal is left standing as a skeleton, weak and frail. from your position in which you are toiling for an education you cannot fail to choose the reality. it has a determination and all views are in accordance with yours—a persistent effort to succeed.

shurtleff college, alton, ill.