"Be fit for more than the thing you are now doing. Let everyone know you have a reserve in yourself....If you are not too large for the place you occupy, you are too small for it."
20th President, 1881- from Elements of Success, Address before the students of the Spenceria Business College, Washington, D.C., June 29, 1869."...I have consented to address you this evening.. because among these boys are the great men of the future,- the heroes of the next generation, the philosophers, the statesmen, the philanthropists, the great reformers and moulders of the next age...to a young man, who has in himself the magnificent possibilities of life, it is not fitting the he should be permanently commanded: he should be a commander. You must not continue to be the employed: you must be an employer...
In order to have any success in life, or any worthy success, you must resolve to carry into your work a fullness of knowledge,-not merely a sufficiency, but more than a sufficiency. In this respect, follow the rule of the machinists. If they want a machine to do the work of six horses, the give it nine-horse power.
To carry on the business of life, you must have surplus power.
Be fit for more than the thing you are now doing. Let everyone know that you have a a reserve in yourself,-that you have more power than you are now using. If you are not too large for the place you occupy, you are too small for it..."
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