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Many Young Executives Owe Their Success to Their Habit of Making the Most of Each Moment and Starting Each Day With Their Desks Cleared of Yesterday's Business ciple of the deadline to my daily work in order to avoid this pitfall. I have made it a practice, through the years, never to leave my desk in the evening until all of the day's work is finished. If there is an unpleasant letter to write, I complete it before I go home. If there is a difficult de- cision to be made, I make up my mind and take care of the details before I leave my office in the evening. In this way I avoid wasting precious minutes each morning. With my desk clear I can start the duties of the new day on time—and that is the secret of my outstanding achievements." Things are accomplished by those who set goals, who place a time limit upon themselves. Someone has truly said that the person who would accomplish much must do it on, time, and "to the man who does everything in its proper time, one day is worth three." Accomplishment depends upon know- ing exactly when each bit of work must be completed. Achievement de- F. LEWIS pends upon observ- ing certain definite deadlines. But there is an- other more vital ap- plication of this prin- DEADLINES and Dead Lines! ciple. As Christian young men and young women we By CLARENCE E. STENBERG must know the dead line between right and wrong. When HEN asked the secret of his out- be made up. At a specified deadline the we yield to the temptation to do wrong, standing achievements a success- presses had to start. Without a strict ob- it is usually because we have not settled W ful businessman replied: servance of each deadline it would have in our own minds exactly where wrong "I owe my success to the lesson of the been impossible to print the paper on begins. It has been truly said, "That deadline that I learned during the years I time. which we would not do, we must not even spent reporting for a daily newspaper. At "When I went into business for myself think of doing." a certain minute every day I had to I noticed that some of my associates left Let us consider what such a dead line have my column completed and submitted the difficult or the unpleasant jobs to be would have meant to Mother Eve away to the editor. At an exact time the editor's done the next day. These tasks took an back in the Garden of Eden. If she had work had to be finished and his copy all hour or two the following morning, or determined not even to go near the for- given to the linotype operators. There else they accumulated and kept these men bidden tree, she would never have been was an exact time limit when all the always behind time. led into conversation with the serpent, the type had to be set and all the pages had to "And so I resolved to apply the prin- —Please turn to page 20 VOL. 96, NO. 22 JUNE 1, 1948 T WAS a dark night and the hour was that tall measured by a twelve-inch ruler, it took either of his brothers he too was I late when the train pulled into New which is the foot standard by which at home, having failed also—and failed York's old Pennsylvania Station. The everyone's height must be measured." miserably. neighborhood was not brilliantly lighted, No, it is not our business to measure So the king sent Humility out, telling and all cabs seemed to have vanished by ourselves. God gives us the standard meas- him that it was all utter foolishness for the time the last passengers reached the ure, and all we need to do is our level him to go into a strange and hostile land, street. So a number who had been left best to reach it. He will decide how we but that the agreement stood, and if he stranded started to walk to the nearest stand—the measure of our humility and did not return within a year he would ap- subway. Those with light baggage to carry our greatness. point a successor from among his three soon outdistanced a clean-cut colored brothers. The year passed. Great Might suc- man who was struggling with a heavy suit- HE story still is told of how in the ceeded to the throne. Two years passed, case. Suddenly he heard hurried footsteps long, long ago there lived in a far T and trading ships were beginning to make behind him; then another hand seized the country a king, ruler over all' the then- their way between the two countries. The handle he held, and materially helped to known world. Now, this king had four lift the burden. The astonished colored old king inquired about his missing son, sons. The eldest was called Great Might, but no one had heard of him. Four—six— man turned to look into the smiling face for he was in charge of the army and of Theodore Roosevelt, then Assistant ten years! He decided to visit the new navy; the second was Great Wealth, for country and search for the youth who had Secretary of the Navy. This is said to be he was in charge of the treasury; the disappeared so completely. the first meeting of a future President third, Great Knowledge, for he was in He found a great celebration in prog- of the world's greatest democracy and charge of the schools of his father's realm; ress, and was told that it was to honor a Booker T. Washington, then a struggling and the youngest, since there was nothing new judge,.a very extraordinary person teacher in Alabama's Tuskegee Institute left for him to be in charge of, was called who had found high favor with rulers and but later known as the foremost Negro Humility. people. He had come to them about ten educator of his day. One day there came to the king news of years before—a stranger and unknown— When taken to task for thus "lowering" a new land far to the eastward, in which to learn from the great scholars of the his dignity, Roosevelt responded, "Stuff lived a rich and powerful people. So he court. Now, as a renowned teacher, the and nonsense," with characteristic vigor, called his sons into his presence and told wisdom bf his sayings was being repeated and pointed out that all down through them that the time had come for him to everywhere among the people. the centuries of history, dignity and hu- appoint one of them as his successor. But "And what is the name of this person?" mility have walked hand in hand. Lastly before he made his choice he wished to inquired the visitor. "We call him Great he quoted Ruskin to the effect that "con- discover which one was most capable of Courage," was the answer, "but the name ceit may puff a man up, but never prop ruling the world. "I am told," he said, he uses and prefers is Humility." him up." "that to the eastward there has been dis- Do you wish to be great, friend o' mine? • • 4. covered a new, a great, and a rich land. Then begin by being little. Remember He who conquers it shall be my heir and UMILITY," said a sage of long ago, the two great virtues of John the Baptist sit on my throne. Each of you will take H "is that strange thing that the mo- —humility and courage. When asked his turn, beginning with Great Might ment you think you have it, you have lost whether he was the Christ he modestly re- because he is eldest. If he fails, Great it." So beware! plied that he was "the voice of one cry- And if you should be tempted to mess= Wealth shall try next. If he fails, then ing in the wilderness." That was humil- ure your own humility with the thought Great Knowledge shall have his turn; and ity. And when the Pharisees and Roman if, when he has tried, the land is still un- of deciding whether or not you have a soldiers came to him for baptism because conquered, then Humility shall try. So sufficient supply of this heavenly grace, it was the popular thing to do, he spoke remember the Pharisee "who stood and he sent his sons away. with candor and stern rebuke: "Bring prayed with himself," and thereby proved Great Might gathered a mighty army forth therefore fruits meet for repent- his lack. and navy, for he was sure .that his father ance." That was courage. A • small boy came running to his had set him an easy task. In a year he And remember Jesus of Nazareth, who mother, and shouted, "Mother! Mother! would be home victorious. But three years "took upon Him the form of a servant," I'm nine feet high!" passed, and then one single ship sailed and "humbled Himself, and became obe- "Nonsense," was her retort. into the harbor. It was the general of con- dient unto death." Keep ever in mind that "No, really, quest returning. He had failed, and his Mother. I measured my- the higher your structure of life is to be, self and I am!" father was bitterly disappointed. the deeper must be its foundation, and "How did you measure yourself?" she Great Wealth then took ships and his never forget that modest humility is inquired.

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