Taming Tribulation Podcast

By George Matthew Adams (1913)

Learn to Be Alone. To be Healthily Alone is to be Morally afire. In such Solitude are the Ideas of Centuries hatched. Big minds Think, Decide, Stand — Conquer, while Alone. They self-examine and self-construct.

Learn to Think Alone.

Lincoln was Alone with his pine knots and borrowed books; Hugo was Alone with his mean garrett and pen; Cromwell was Alone at St. Ives behind his plow handle. Wherever great problems or vital decisions have had to be met, men have calmly withdrawn that they might the better weigh everything — Alone.

Learn to Decide Alone.

Emerson says — “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.” Can a man trust himself away from himself? Is not the vital test and final greatness of a man all focused on his ability to stand absolutely Alone in emergencies? Props irritate and unnerve. So do irresponsive natures. The Crowd eats away at independence. Real Worth tops like a mountain cap. Nobody can mistake it. Like the mountain itself it stands Alone. No one will ever do for you what you are able to do for yourself — Alone.

Learn to Stand Alone.

If you have personal problems to solve — get Alone. If you are dissatisfied with what you are — get Alone. You will look strangely true to yourself when examined Alone. Nothing stimulates like getting Alone — so long as you get Alone to improve yourself.

Learn to Conquer Alone.

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By George Matthew Adams (1913)

Note the man taking care as to his Clothes! He shall shake hands heartily with Success and Success shall take him into Partnership. Clothes may not make the man but a man easily makes his Clothes help make him. They will help you to — Reveal yourself through your Clothes.

First, Clothes give a feeling of Self-respect. Then it is, however, that the sensible man forgets them. But if he doesn’t, then they help to unmake him. Clothes-worship discolors Character and takes from it its luster. For Clothes, after all, are mostly for the Mind. Else we could still dress in skins. Clothes are very accurate indicators to the real Character of a man. Reveal yourself through your Clothes.

You can do so if you let your Clothes be the means and by no means the end. Clothes and mere Style are of two different Tribes. Neatness and Common Sense in Clothes count most. Shakespeare’s advice — “As much as thy purse will allow, neat but not gaudy” is difficult to improve upon. Reveal yourself through your Clothes.

On the other hand, careful Selection in Clothes, so as to mirror your individuality and personality, becomes one of the most forceful means in your power for your growth. Clothes give prestige. They furnish an “entre.” The mental effect of the careful, well-dressed man or woman at once is to stimulate, invite and knit with satisfaction. The great point, however, is to so dress that people become at once interested in YOU and not your Clothes. Reveal yourself through your Clothes.

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By George Matthew Adams (1913)

It takes Courage to start a thing. It takes Courage to stick to a thing. But it takes greater Courage to Let Go of a thing that you are convinced is a Failure, after you have worked and sacrificed and sweat blood to make it Win. But —

Have Courage to Let Go.

The basis of Self-Reliance is Self-Belief. If you consider yourself bigger than your Job — if you fed that you are holding down a $2,500.00 Job with $10,000.00 abilities — Let Go of the $2,500.00 Job and immediately proceed to the $10,000.00 Job.

Have Courage to Let Go.

The principle is the same in Friendship. Nothing stimulates, inspires and leads a man on to Performance like a Real Friend. But if that Friend lacks the desires that accompany Real Friendship and you are keen enough to discern it — even in Friendship —

Have Courage to Let Go.

Have Courage to Let Go of the little Worries, the little Annoyances — the Trifles, that almost hourly race up to you and plead you to take them in. Think not lightly of these because they are small. It takes a Strong man to kick them out of the way, to pass over them — to abandon them.

Have Courage to Let Go. The Active Mind draws to itself, like a Magnet, Ideas, Theories and Problems. Some are Useful, some are Useless. When they come to you, Sift them, Weigh them, Analyze them — take them all apart. Know them for what they are. Then hold to the Useful and drop the Useless.

Have Courage to Let Go.

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George Matthew Adams (1913)

To listen is to Learn. Doers of large affairs take very little time to talk — but they are always good Listeners. Anyone may secure a liberal education if he will but take the time to Listen. But it is imperative that you — Absorb what you Learn.

General U. S. Grant was not a brilliant man. He was a failure in Business. But he set out to become Useful. He was gifted with wonderful determination and doggedness. He had Character. And to-day, high above the waters of the Hudson, alongside the beautiful Riverside Drive in New York, stands Grant’s Tomb — mute testimony to the life and work of Grant, as Soldier and President. So wonderful a Listener was he that while President he became known as “The Silent President.” Absorb what you Learn.

To Listen well is a great accomplishment. No one shows his ignorance quicker than the man who persists in talking without saying anything. If you have something to say — say it. If you have nothing to say — Listen. Absorb what you Learn. Select the people to whom you listen. Listen with respect and an open Mind. Give new Ideas, new Theories and new Programs a hospitable reception. Listen well. To you remains the right to reject what you do not want. But always be big enough to Listen. Then — Absorb what you Learn.

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By George Matthew Adams (1913)

Bosses are all right — if they are the right Bosses. All through Nature and Human life runs the power of the Boss. Everything would go to smash with a bang if there were no Bosses. That’s why it is a satisfying thing to know that —

You can Select your own Boss.

There are Bosses and Bosses. Some people let a little six-inch roll of Tobacco Boss them; some are led around by a harmless looking glass of Liquid Stimulant; some are ruled by a bunch of fool, imaginary Worries; some are commanded by an army of Nerves; some allow an unregulated Stomach to Boss; some call in Clothes and Style and request them to Dictate. Many of these are all right — but none should ever be made Boss.

You can Select your own Boss.

One of the saddest sights in the world is a wrongly Bossed man or woman. There, germinate all the miseries of the Human. There, Failure drives its stakes. Let’s think of OUR Bosses for a minute. Who is your Boss? What Bosses Boss you? Here’s something refreshing —

You can Select your own Boss.

This is the way. Put your WILL in complete control. Make it Boss. The human Will is the greatest and grandest Boss in all the world of Bosses. Nerves! a word with you. YOU are not my Boss. Habit! step out in front. YOU are not my Boss. Appetite! just a moment. YOU are not my Boss. Will! let’s shake hands. I Select YOU as my Boss. And from this day on there is to be Order, Growth — Power in this house of mine.

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By George Matthew Adams (1913)

Dampers are Checks. They are also Savers. Attached to a heating apparatus, they Check the draughts and Save the fuel. Human beings have Dampers. Thought itself is a Damper — also Judgment, Conscience, Expediency — and many others. No one, however, can ever know your own Dampers so well as you Yourself.

But — Know WHEN to use your Dampers. Dampers are very Essential. An open Damper on a Furnace might so heat things as to cause an Explosion or a Fire. On the other hand it might be so turned off as to put out the Furnace, entirely. So, exactly, is it true in regard to the Dampers that go to regulate and make up your modes of Action — and your Character.

Know WHEN to use your Dampers. Study your Draughts. A few of them are Enthusiasm, Energy, Will, Learning — Money. There is a Damper for every Draught. If used intelligently increased results are secured. If Enthusiasm sweeps you out of the Practical — turn on the Reason Damper. If you go into things with nothing but a Will to go through — turn on the Thought Damper. Don’t Learn so much from Books that you know nothing about Life and People. Remember that you HAVE Dampers.

But — Know WHEN to use your Dampers. And be sure that you use them YOURSELF. Don’t let anybody else turn any Dampers on your Enthusiasm, your Ideas, your Plans, your Work. Run your own Dampers. Study them with great care. It’s knowing exactly WHEN and HOW to use them that makes the difference between Success and Failure for you.

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By George Matthew Adams (1913)

Vision is Act-seeing. Great Vision means that you see things DONE by way of your Imagination, even before they are attempted. Vision differs from Imagination. It starts from Imagination. Imagination takes the Pictures but Vision turns them over to the Architects who Build things from them. Men with Vision are Dominant.

Look Out.

Muster your Ideas. For Ideas germinate Vision. They give it Flesh and Blood, Feed its Fire Box, Control its Nerves — Pump its Heart. Ideas make Vision a living thing.

Look Out.

Despise Vision and you become a Hireling — dependent and owned. Court Vision and you become a Master — a Weilder of Power unlimited. Vision is Optimism with two healthy Eyes.

Look Out.

Vision comes to, and may be gained by, the humblest. It carries neither a Patent nor a Copyright. It’s a “tramp” element in the sense of freedom. But it must be sought, found — and then fed and clothed. Vision comes to no one unhunted.

Look Out.

Your Vision is Big or Little as you will it. The greater you aspire the greater will grow your Vision. The farther you See — the more you will Do. Vision is applicable to the everyday. It puts strength back of effort. It brings Permanence to your acts.

Look Out.

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By George Matthew Adams (1913)

This world needs Leaders more than it needs any other breed of men. Every line of activity calls for Leaders — every Home, every Business, every Town — every Nation. As long as there are people there will be plenty to Follow. The demand is for those who can Lead.

Be a Leader.

The greatest asset in Leadership is Courage. Cowards never Lead. Leadership requires great Patience. No one will follow an Irritable or Impatient Leader. Leadership requires Tact, Fairness and Confidence. One man can’t Lead another who distrusts his Leadership. Many other things are important — but these things are Imperative.

Be a Leader.

A Leader must inspire and wake up the sleeping POWERS in his followers. He must be able to draw out, into action, the very highest qualities of people. To be able to do this he must himself have a dean consistent Record. A man can’t command without Authority — a man can’t stir other people without first having stirred himself and become his own Master.

Be a Leader.

It is just as important to be a Leader in your own Home or Town as to be a Leader in your Country. It isn’t the special station in which a man Leads that makes his work most important but it’s HOW he Leads. This thing is true — that if you Lead well in the little affairs of life you can’t keep from becoming a Leader in the big affairs.

Be a Leader.

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By George Matthew Adams (1913)

For general Run-down-ed-ness try the Tonic — “Up.”

The “Up” Tonic has actually saved this big world from going off to a Hospital. Millions daily rise to sing its marvelous praises. Get Up. That is the first step. Stand Up.

The more you test your own Strength, the more you will pat yourself on the back for having such Strength.

Get Up — and stay Up. Cheer Up. The Best is always yet to come. Cheer Up. All you have to do is to go after the Best. And then, Cheer is so Magnetic. No matter where you work or where you go — you draw People and Fortune your way. Suppose the Cow did lack over the pail of Milk. There’s more Cow and there’s more Milk. Cheer Up!

Smile Up. Smiles don’t count when they hit the ground. Smile Up. When you face a day that seems knotted with kinks, Smile Up. There will be very few Kinks left. At every time and in every place — Smile Up. Make no exception. Smile Up.

Climb Up. Be satisfied with nothing. Climb Up. Gather up carefully and patiently the threads of Toil and Experience that make up your completed day and use them as a Rope with which to pull yourself higher. Climb Up.

Lift Up. If everybody were always Up and never Down, there would be no reason for this little Talk. Somebody is always Down and somebody is always Up. You who are Up help the one who is Down. Lift Up. Then YOU will be HIGHER Up.

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By George Matthew Adams (1913)

Appreciation is the Salt that savors the work and life of the World. Without Appreciation for what we do and without Appreciation for what is done for us, the merest task would become a burden and the Sunshine would go down out of the Hearts of People.

Express your Appreciation.

Appreciation is often withheld for fear of an advantage being taken of it. Nothing could be more foolish. Such a man takes advantage of himself. Appreciation acts like oil on the dry, worn parts of a machine. It starts off everybody and everything with Smiles. Continued Appreciation keeps things running smoothly. Also it saves wear.

Express your Appreciation.

People waste away, render but half service, and finally drop back in the race amply through a lack of Appreciation. Appreciation is not only one of the most powerful Tonics on earth — it’s an actual necessary Food. And without it no one partakes of a Balanced Diet.

Express your Appreciation.

If you are an Employer and one of your Helpers does good work, tell him so. And if you are a Helper and your Employer encourages you on, tell him so in thanks and increased service. Appreciation stirs and stimulates. It goes to a man’s soul as an electric current to the sensitive nerve centers.

Express your Appreciation.

Appreciate the chance to Live. Appreciate your Health, your Home, your Father and Mother, your Friends, your Opportunity. Some of these you may not have. But Appreciate what you do have — and greater gifts will hourly be added.

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