Every historical fact confirms the creativeness of man and glorifies his efforts to improve himself, often against pathetic odds. Both in the Old and New Testaments are many references to the joys of work. Socrates said, "He is idle who might be better employed." Lowell said, "No man is born into the world whose work is not born with him." And by way of bringing these and countless supporting sayings up to date, Dale Carnegie said, "If you don't find happiness in your work, you may never find it anywhere."

It is only through being your best self that you can live up to your potentialities. When every morning you can face the day filled with expectation instead of resignation, you are well on the way to performing at your best. The added factor is that what is best for you is best for the others around you. The successful man is not he who gets ahead by climbing over others, but he who gets ahead by producing the values that are of service to others.

I'm not going to go religious on you. All I'm going to say is that God is the source of power, and you need all the power you can get. It would be presumptuous of me, a layman, to tell you how to reach this source of power when the house of your own faith is just around the corner. Visit it. And read some of the inspiring books on the power of faith.

If you don't know where to start, I would suggest any of the works of Dr. Norman Vincent Peale to put you on the right track. In revealing the power of God, Dr. Peale also reveals the power God gave man to work and achieve for His greater glory. That power is yours for the asking, anywhere, any time, any place. No long distance toll charges and never a busy signal when you call on God.

My layman's sermon ends with this quote from a Detroit industrialist: "Time is my biggest problem. What with planning committees, sales meetings, directors' conferences, and advertising campaigns - not to mention what I go through in figuring out corporation taxes and the annual budget - I have to make every minute pay.

So you wonder where I find the time for my work with the Business Men's Christian League on Wednesday night, and my work as deacon and usher of my church on Sunday? That's where I get the strength to make the rest of my work pay. Believe me, your work for God not only pays, but it puts the pay in the work you do professionally."

What Is This Thing - The Best That's In You?

In answer to the question above, I hope you never find out. When you have made a habit of success, the best that is in you will be still in the process of development when you make at some venerable age that final try.

For the man who knows his own abilities and uses them, there is no ceiling. He is not content with the average performance of others. For him "above average performance" is not the course, nor even the start of it.

Success is his goal, and each success achieved leads on to greater ones. And thus in making a habit of success, he will find that success has made a habit of him. That's all.

In establishing this habit, may you find it incurable.