How they succeeded - 1901 Author:Orison Swett Marden Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: YOUNG AMERICAN GEESE " If a man is not bound down, he is sure to J succeed. He may be bound down by environ- ' ment, or by doting parental petting. In Paris, ... more »they fatten geese to create a diseased condition of the liver. A man stands with a box of very finely prepared and very rich food beside a revolving stand, and, as it revolves, one goose after another passes before him. Taking the first goose by the neck, he clamps down its throat a large lump of the food, whether the goose will or no, until its crop is well stuffed out, and then he proceeds with the rest in the same very mechanical manner. Now, I think, if those geese had to work hard for their own food, they would digest it better, and be far healthier geese. How many young American " geese are stuffed in about the same manner at college and at home, by their rich and fond parents!" UNHELPFUL READING " Did everything you ever studied help you to attain success ? " " On the contrary, I did not begin real study until I was over sixteen. Until that time, my principal study was—reading novels." Helaughed heartily at my evident astonishment. " They did not help me in the least, for they did not give me an insight into real life. It is only those things that give one a grasp of practical affairs that are helpful. To read novels continuously is like reading fairy stories or " Arabian Nights " tales. It is a butterfly existence, so long as it lasts; but, some day, one is called to stern reality, unprepared. " INVENTIONS IN AMERICA " You have had experience in life in Europe and in America. Do you think the chances for success are the same in Europe as in America ? " " It is harder to attain success in Europe. There is hardly the same appreciation of progress there is here. Appreciation is an element of success....« less