Here the explanation is really a very simple one. There
is, in fact, only one way to amass a huge fortune in
business or railway management. One must begin at the
bottom. One must mount the ladder from the lowest rung.
But this lowest rung is everything. Any man who can stand
upon it with his foot well poised, his head erect, his
arms braced and his eye directed upward, will inevitably
mount to the top.
But after all--I say this as a kind of afterthought in
conclusion--why bother with success at all? I have observed
that the successful people get very little real enjoyment
out of life. In fact the contrary is true. If I had to
choose--with an eye to having a really pleasant life
--between success and ruin, I should prefer ruin every
time. I have several friends who are completely ruined
--some two or three times--in a large way of course; and
I find that if I want to get a really good dinner, where
the champagne is just as it ought to be, and where
hospitality is unhindered by mean thoughts of expense,
I can get it best at the house of a ruined man.
XVII. In Dry Toronto
A LOCAL STUDY OF A UNIVERSAL TOPIC
Note.--Our readers--our numerous readers--who live in
Equatorial Africa, may read this under the title "In Dry
Timbucto"; those who live in Central America will kindly
call it "In Dry Tehauntepec.
Pages:
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196