Before you decide to tell your boss that you simply must have more time off to spend with the family, you’ll need to consider a few things.

First, most large companies now support balanced life plans – in other words, they recognize the need for their employees to take vacations, take time off to go to the doctor with a sick child, and get home for dinner at a reasonable hour.

But, in some companies, that commitment is lip service only. In other words, what the human resource policies say is one thing. The reality is quite something else.   In smaller companies, all bets are off!

Some companies are so small that they are not subject to government regulations regarding hours but it is important for you to understand that in today’s world, no company in the U.S. can abuse an employee by working them 24 hours a day.

Remember, there are labor laws to protect you.

The first thing you need to do is to understand your rights. If you live in a country other than the U.S., you will have to look at the labor laws there to determine what you can expect when you go to talk to your boss.

Remember, the better prepared you are, the better chance you will have at getting what you need. If your boss does not know the law, you’ll need to be prepared to educate her.

Before you begin to execute your plan to balance your life, you’ll want to think carefully about your job, and your career goals.

You’ll find some thought-provoking considerations below.

Think carefully about each of these things, and add your own considerations to the list, if you have some that are specific to your own job.

If you really want balance and change in your life, you have to plan for it and then carefully execute the plan with dedication and persistence.

Here are some things to consider:

• Are you a member of a union? If so, there are rules regarding your work hours and these must be enforced. You can talk to a union steward to get help with this.

• Do you have a contract that requires you to work certain hours? If you do, you may have to change jobs to get the balance you want in your life.

• If you are in a position that is critical to the company – in other words, no one else can do what you do – then you may out of luck when it comes to getting reduced hours.

• Are you making a ridiculous amount of money in your job? If you are, your hours are probably not negotiable.

The company you work for certainly expects you to earn the money they pay you and the generous compensation is meant to reward you for the hours and stress.

Again, you may have to change jobs and, at the same time, change your salary expectation.

• Does everyone in your company and/or department work crazy hours? There are some jobs – like technical support in a company with critical data stored on servers, or networks – where you will not have the option to negotiate your departure time on certain days.

Perhaps, on other days when things are quiet and slow, you can ask your boss to let you leave early and/or get compensatory time to reward you for the crazy hours you are expected to work during an emergency.

Don’t despair if you are a trauma nurse, or you work in the operating room or in other jobs where you have to work really tough shifts.

Many hospitals, fire departments and other such companies are now using a 4-day on, 3-day off schedule or other schedules that let these critical workers spend more time with their families.

These flexible schedules also allow employees to schedule daytime appointments, and to decompress from the sometimes-stressful experiences and events that occur while they are on the job.

If your employer does not participate in these schedules, perhaps you want to take your skills elsewhere.

Seasonal jobs may give you the opportunity to negotiate hours, as well. Put your nose to the grindstone during Christmas hours in a retail store, or summer hours  in a surf shop, and ask for extra time off to reward your dedication during the off-season.

• Look carefully at your position and determine if you have a ‘job’ or a ‘career’. If you are in it for the long haul and hope to continue the climb to upper management, you can expect to work much longer hours and endure a lot more stress.

Can you take another job in a lower stress environment, perhaps a company that prides itself on being ‘family friendly’ and still get into management?

If you want to stay in the company you are in, and continue to climb, and if your company is not dedicated to a balanced life for their employees, you may find it very difficult, if not impossible, to balance your life.

• If you are in a position to do so, and your company does not recognize the need for and value of a balanced work and family approach, consider going to your human resource department or to your manager and starting a grass roots movement to look at this issue.

Of course, management may immediately think you simply want to do less work than they want you to accomplish. To counter this, you’ll need to arm yourself with information.

There are all kinds of studies on increased productivity, employee retention and performance that support the decision to create a balanced work and family environment.

Companies like DuPont, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, Marriott International, Eddie Bauer Inc. and many others have instituted these programs and your employer may look to these leaders to get some ideas.

There are resources available online for you and for your company. These resources include seminars for company employees, and documents that teach managers and employees how to better manage time and workload so that the employee can accomplish more work, and produce excellent output – all in less time.

1. Identify your biggest barrier to abundant thinking.  Analyze why you have not embraced the concept before. Have years of negative conditioning made it difficult, or did you just not know about it?

2. Decide now that you will start to think abundant thoughts.

3. Count your blessings right now, and start being grateful for all the good things you have in your life.

4. Stop thinking of what you believe you don’t have; you are concentrating on an empty space. Instead, begin to focus on creating the circumstances that will cause abundance to fill your empty spaces. Develop your interests, knowledge, and skills in areas that will help you achieve more.

5. Exchange “could’ve”, “should’ve” and “would’ve” for “I want”.

6. Don’t feel guilty for wanting. It is your personal choice to strive for happiness for yourself and others.

7. You can want, but don’t create specific expectations for yourself.

8. Better still, create zero expectations of what you will receive. Do not automatically assume that you will receive anything. Just know that anything is possible and invite that abundance into your life.

9. Be mentally prepared for the worst-case scenario. Think positively about receiving what you want, but do not fixate on this mindset as real as well as work to keep your expectations open and unlimited. If you meet your goals, it will add to the happiness you already enjoy; if not, it doesn’t matter because you are happy with what you already have.

10. Stop thinking the world owes you a living and that you deserve to receive what you want. Everything you receive in life is a gift. The world doesn’t owe you anything, but its abundance is capable of giving you anything.

11. Stop feeling cheated, like a victim. Take control and take responsibility for your own happiness.

12. Know that your past does not equal your future, and your current unfavorable situation does not have to last if you choose to make it better. You are not your condition.

13. Accept that you will make mistakes. Don’t beat yourself up when you do; regard that mistake as a moment on your learning curve that will help take you to new heights. Learn from it and move on. Don’t dwell. Some of our hardest knocks teach us our most important lessons in life.

14. Think of a physical reminder that will help you keep your thoughts on track. Every time you feel you are drifting back to thoughts of scarcity, perform your little physical action to realign yourself with abundance. You could click your fingers, snap a rubber band on your wrist, or simply join your thumb to your forefinger as people do in meditation.

15. Develop a mantra that you repeat every morning and evening out loud, and in your head whenever you need a boost. You could try: “Abundance is mine right now and always.” Remember that whatever you say, keep it in the present tense. Saying that “Abundance will be mine” causes the brain to keep abundance in the future.

As a starter exercise, think of one situation in your life that you believe should have turned out better because your expectations were so formulated. Try and find a way to see the positives in it, how you may have learned from your “failure” to meet your expectations, and then let go of those expectations. Rephrase your expectations into a request for abundance. This is one piece of deficit thinking that is now abundant thinking.

Whilst the very notion that these laws exist may prove too esoteric for some people, there is a sound basis in science for several of them. For example, the Law of Cause & Effect states that any action produces a result in exact proportion to the action which initiated it. This idea goes back to Biblical times. It says in Galatians: “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Some people think of this in terms of Karma. Others will use the phrase: “Whatever goes around, comes around.” It all amounts to the same thing.

Universal Laws work whether we believe in them or not. Those who do not believe in them choose by default to believe that life is a random series of events that they have little or no control over, and that there is no purpose or underlying reason why things happen as they do.

The Law of Abundance states that the universe is continually and effortlessly producing, creating unlimited resources for us to take advantage of. You only have to look at Nature to know this is true.

Breaking any law is apt to cause problems. That is true of man-made laws and those handed down by the universe. Equally, misinterpreting laws can cause trouble. You may fully believe that there is abundance out there, as evidence by those individuals who appear to “have it all”, but you may be seeking similar abundance in the wrong ways. If your motivation for achieving more is to focus on what you do not have, you are not thinking in tune with the Law of Abundance. Abundant thinking is not about working more hours to accumulate more belongings, or becoming miserly with your money because you want your bank accounts to appear more abundant. These attitudes work in direct opposition to the Law of Abundance. These are reactions based on fear and panic, and Universal Laws always work in peace and balance.

The first step is to take a good honest look at your current and past attitudes, and assess whether your thinking has been based on abundance. If not, then you have to gauge how far away from abundant thinking you are. You should ask certain questions: Do you routinely bother evaluating how your life is faring? If so, do you accomplish what you set out to do? If you have mixed results, do you know what is working and what isn’t? Which areas need to be improved? Where does your attitude need adjusting to create a better life for yourself?

Once you know these things, the real question is whether you are prepared to do anything about it. This will make the difference between abundant thinking and scarcity thinking.

One thing to be aware of is how you talk to yourself. This can reveal a lot about how healthy your thinking really is. How many times do you use “could have”, “would have”, and “should have”? Although you may think that these are useful correctional phrases that mean you have understood your mistakes, they are nothing to do with abundant thinking. They are dealing with the past, and giving power to the things you feel you failed at. They are self-critical and full of regret. They remind you of the lack in your life; the chances you should have, would have, or could have taken. They are linked to feelings of expectation, and this is the enemy of abundant thinking. All these should be replaced with a simple “I want”. That brings our desire into the present moment, and that is the only way our brains register that an action needs to be performed now.

People who think in these negative ways make themselves victims, and this is self-perpetuating, especially when other people or outside circumstances are blamed for the hurt. Whenever you blame, you remove your responsibility to improve the situation. You are saying that there is nothing to be done to make things better because it is out of your control. You have denied the abundance in your life.

It can be hard to think of any effective ways to relieve stress when you are in the grip of the negative feelings that stress causes. Whether you are depressed, panicky or feeling that you cannot cope, you need a way out and you need it fast.

Stress is a physical reaction to a threatening situation. At the beginning of our history, we needed it to prompt us to flee or fight when we were in physical danger. Now we feel stress in situations where running away or punching somebody are not usually good options. We need other options, or the stress will go on bugging us until it causes real damage.

So below you will find our top 3 ways to relieve stress. But before we begin, let’s just remember that reading them is not enough! You need to actually do them to have any effect on your stress levels. So pick one and start right now!

1. Relax

It may seem impossible to do when you are stressed, but regular use of relaxation techniques is one of the best ways to manage the stress of our modern lives. Take time out at least three times a week to relax with meditation, yoga, a binaural beat soundtrack, guided visualization or a positive form of prayer (not a list of your faults!)

Relaxation techniques like these will make you feel better right away. More importantly, they will also reduce your tendency to react to stress in your life in the future, if practiced regularly. They will also help you to sleep, which is often an issue for people who are suffering from stress and looking for ways to relieve stress.

2. Establish Healthy Habits

If you are in the habit of reaching for cookies, chocolate, beer, cigarettes or even coffee when you are stressed, it’s worth trying to change. Sure, when you are under a lot of pressure it may not be the best time to try to quit those bad habits completely, but do try to reduce your dependence on them instead of increasing it.

All of those substances will make you feel less than your best physically. They are a drain on the body’s resources. However good they may make you feel for a few minutes or seconds, the truth is that they are the last thing you need when you are looking for ways to relieve stress.

Instead, eat a balanced diet, drink water when you are thirsty, and take a warm bath or go for a walk or run instead of reaching for your usual stimulants. Playing with a child or a pet can be a great stress reliever too.

3. Realistic Scheduling

Plan your day, but don’t plan more into your day than a person can realistically do. If you are making to-do lists at work, keep the list short. Keep in mind that most of the things will take at least twice as long as you expect, plus you need breaks.

If you can come out with a well balanced, realistic plan for your day, you have a good chance of doing everything that you planned. This will give you a sense of achievement and will mean that you can relax at the end of the day. In fact, it is one of the best ways to relieve stress.

One of the reasons that we hear a lot more about stress these days is that it is a modern term. The use of the word stress in psychology and biology only dates back to the 1930s. Before that, it was only applied to physics and engineering. So that is why we do not see the word appearing in literature from one hundred years ago or more.

Stress is defined as an inappropriate response in the body to any kind of demand. So technically, stress is not the situation, but our response to it. The situation or demand causing the stress is called the stressor.

The first effects of stress on the body are similar to those felt in times of danger. The heart rate will tend to increase, adrenalin begins to surge through our system and the body prepares for a ‘fight or flight’ response to the danger.

However, in our modern lives, it is not usually possible to respond in these ways. If your boss dumps yet another 100 page report on your desk asking for a summary before lunchtime, you may be tempted to either hit him or run from the office (the two responses that your body is preparing you for) but you probably will not do either one.

The result is that the adrenalin has nothing to do, and instead of being used for its designed purpose it continues to circulate around the body for much longer than it should. That is why stress is called an inappropriate response: we don’t need all of that adrenalin to handle our boss.

As well as obviously stressful situations like that, there are many other stressors in our lives that we don’t even notice. Noise is one example. Conflict is another. These are things that we may be used to or even enjoy, but in primitive terms they were usually associated with danger and so our bodies will be preparing for the classic ‘fight or flight’ action.

The physical result of living like this is that we may have high levels of adrenalin circulating in the body all of the time. This can lead to many of the physical effects of stress, from headaches through chest pains, digestive disorders through serious illnesses.

What is stress on a psychological level? It means that we live most of our lives feeling slightly worried with moments of severe anxiety. It is common to suffer from insomnia, depression, irritability, mood swings, and more.

We may withdraw from friends and family, neglect our responsibilities, procrastinate, and become more dependent on substances like alcohol, cigarettes or drugs (prescribed or recreational). Eating habits are also likely to change: some people eat more, others eat less, but most people will either lose or gain weight when under stress.

Clearly, many of these effects can cause stress in themselves. Withdrawing from friends makes us feel more isolated and depressed. Neglecting our work leads to anxiety about job security. So we can easily find ourselves in a vicious circle. To break out of the circle it is not enough to know what is stress: we also need to know how to deal with it.



Socrates was once asked by a pupil, this question: “What kind of people shall we be when we reach Elysium?”

And the answer was this: “We shall be the same kind of people that we were here.”

If there is a life after this, we are preparing for it now, just as I am today preparing for my life tomorrow.

What kind of a man shall I be tomorrow? Oh, about the same kind of a man that I am now. The kind of a man that I shall be next month depends upon the kind of a man that I have been this month.

If I am miserable today, it is not within the round of probabilities that I shall be supremely happy tomorrow. Heaven is a habit. And if we are going to Heaven we would better be getting used to it.

Life is a preparation for the future; and the best preparation for the future is to live as if there were none.

We are preparing all the time for old age. The two things that make old age beautiful are resignation and a just consideration for the rights of others.

In the play of Ivan the Terrible, the interest centers around one man, the Czar Ivan. If anybody but Richard Mansfield played the part, there would be nothing in it. We simply get a glimpse into the life of a tyrant who has run the full gamut of goosedom, grumpiness, selfishness and grouch. Incidentally this man had the power to put other men to death, and this he does and has done as his whim and temper might dictate. He has been vindictive, cruel, quarrelsome, tyrannical and terrible. Now that he feels the approach of death, he would make his peace with God. But he has delayed that matter too long. He didn’t realize in youth and middle life that he was then preparing for old age.

Man is the result of cause and effect, and the causes are to a degree in our hands. Life is a fluid, and well has it been called the stream of life we are going, flowing somewhere. Strip Ivan of his robes and crown, and he might be an old farmer and live in Ebenezer. Every town and village has its Ivan. To be an Ivan, just turn your temper loose and practice cruelty on any person or thing within your reach, and the result will be a sure preparation for a querulous, quarrelsome, pickety, snipity, fussy and foolish old age, accented with many outbursts of wrath that are terrible in their futility and ineffectiveness.

Babyhood has no monopoly on the tantrum. The characters of King Lear and Ivan the Terrible have much in common. One might almost believe that the writer of Ivan had felt the incompleteness of Lear, and had seen the absurdity of making a melodramatic bid for sympathy in behalf of this old man thrust out by his daughters.

Lear, the troublesome, Lear to whose limber tongue there was constantly leaping words unprintable and names of tar, deserves no soft pity at our hands. All his life he had been training his three daughters for exactly the treatment he was to receive. All his life Lear had been lubricating the chute that was to give him a quick ride out into that black midnight storm.

“Oh, how sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child,” he cries.

There is something quite as bad as a thankless child, and that is a thankless parent an irate, irascible parent who possesses an underground vocabulary and a disposition to use it.

The false note in Lear lies in giving to him a daughter like Cordelia. Tolstoy and Mansfield ring true, and Ivan the Terrible is what he is without apology, excuse or explanation. Take it or leave it if you do not like plays of this kind, go to see Vaudeville.

Mansfield’s Ivan is terrible. The Czar is not old in years not over seventy but you can see that Death is sniffing close upon his track. Ivan has lost the power of repose. He cannot listen, weigh and decide he has no thought or consideration for any man or thing this is his habit of life. His bony hands are never still the fingers open and shut, and pick at things eternally. He fumbles the cross on his breast, adjusts his jewels, scratches his cosmos, plays the devil’s tattoo, gets up nervously and looks behind the throne, holds his breath to listen. When people address him, he damns them savagely if they kneel, and if they stand upright he accuses them of lack of respect. He asks that he be relieved from the cares of state, and then trembles for fear his people will take him at his word. When asked to remain ruler of Russia he proceeds to curse his councilors and accuses them of loading him with burdens that they themselves would not endeavor to bear.

He is a victim of amor senilis, and right here if Mansfield took one step more his realism would be appalling, but he stops in time and suggests what he dares not express. This tottering, doddering, slobbering, sniffling old man is in love he is about to wed a young, beautiful girl. He selects jewels for her he makes remarks about what would become her beauty, jeers and laughs in cracked falsetto. In the animality of youth there is something pleasing it is natural but the vices of an old man, when they have become only mental, are most revolting.

The people about Ivan are in mortal terror of him, for he is still the absolute monarch he has the power to promote or disgrace, to take their lives or let them go free. They laugh when he laughs, cry when he does, and watch his fleeting moods with thumping hearts.

He is intensely religious and affects the robe and cowl of a priest. Around his neck hangs the crucifix. His fear is that he will die with no opportunity of confession and absolution. He prays to High Heaven every moment, kisses the cross, and his toothless old mouth interjects prayers to God and curses on man in the same breath.

If any one is talking to him he looks the other way, slips down until his shoulders occupy the throne, scratches his leg, and keeps up a running comment of insult “Aye,” “Oh,” “Of course,” “Certainly,” “Ugh,” “Listen to him now!” There is a comedy side to all this which relieves the tragedy and keeps the play from becoming disgusting.

Glimpses of Ivan’s past are given in his jerky confessions he is the most miserable and unhappy of men, and you behold that he is reaping as he has sown.

All his life he has been preparing for this. Each day has been a preparation for the next. Ivan dies in a fit of wrath, hurling curses on his family and court dies in a fit of wrath into which he has been purposely taunted by a man who knows that the outburst is certain to kill the weakened monarch.

Where does Ivan the Terrible go when Death closes his eyes?

I know not. But this I believe: No confessional can absolve him no priest benefit him no God forgive him. He has damned himself, and he began the work in youth. He was getting ready all his life for this old age, and this old age was getting ready for the fifth act.

The playwright does not say so, Mansfield does not say so, but this is the lesson: Hate is a poison wrath is a toxin sensuality leads to death clutching selfishness is a lighting of the fires of hell. It is all a preparation cause and effect.

If you are ever absolved, you must absolve yourself, for no one else can. And the sooner you begin, the better.

We often hear of the beauties of old age, but the only old age that is beautiful is the one the man has long been preparing for by living a beautiful life. Every one of us are right now preparing for old age.

There may be a substitute somewhere in the world for Good Nature, but I do not know where it can be found.

The secret of salvation is this: Keep Sweet.

1.   Identify the real cause of stress.

2.   Events causing stress should be noted down and analyze it once a month.   Reflect ~ revise ~ release!

3.   Your reactions to each stressful events should be recollected and compared with one another.

4.   Should not give immediate response to stressful event,  always take little time to think.

5.   If any tension comes ask your inner man(Mind) for a solution,he is more intelligent than you.

6.   Past is the past so, always concentrate on future events and gather courage and willpower as you move ahead.

7.   Have no worries or bother about any loss you experience,but find out the reason for it and try to solve it.

8.   Face all situations with confidence.

9,   Keep faith in God ~ a Higher Force ~ the Universe and offer your gratitude for your blessings!

10.  Always hope for the best.

11.  Always keep a positive approach.

12.  Before doing any thing plan a solution to face a negative situation.

13.  One should not live only for money ~ it can destroy a person over time.

14.  Help the poor people with a random act of kindness that makes a difference in their day or life.

15.  Visit the sick people and give them moral support.

16.  Whenever you are tensed take a deep breath and relax.

17.  If you are tensed countdown from 100 to 1.

18. If any stress comes look at the beautiful picture kept on the wall.

19. Keep some flowers in the room and make a point to look at them and enjoy their beauty.

20. Practice breathing exercises regularly.

21.  Keep little time for yoga and meditation.

22.  Aromatherapy is good to relax the mind.

23. If you are tensed make a surprise call to your old friend.

24. When you are tensed think about others who suffer from more serious problems.

25. Keep close contact with your family and share the problems with them.

26. Go for pleasure trips with the family members.

27.  Avoid sedentary life,always mingle with others.

28.  Always approach others with a smile.

29.  Laughing and sharing jokes with others will make you relaxed.

30.  When you are tensed visit your close friend or relative.

31.  If any stressful event comes discuss it with your intimate friend.

32. Spend little time with your kids and join their plays.

33. If you get time go for a healthy discussion on any interesting topic.

34.  Always approach the people in a polite manner.

35. Maximum attempt should be made to reduce enemies.

36. Keep a regular routine for your activities.

37. Never postpone any work.

38. Sound sleep is very essential to relax your mind and body.

39. Always prefer room with fresh air.

40. Getup early in the morning.

41. After waking have a nice bath with your favorite shampoo.

42. Use some perfumes and room freshners you like.

43. Have a relaxing body massage.

44. Personal hygiene should be maintained.

45. Your health problems should be discussed with the doctor and follow his instructions.

46.  Make a habit of cleaning the home and surroundings.

47. Keep sexual relations with only one partner.

48. Morning and evening walk is  good to relax.

49. Afternoon sleep is good but should not be a deep sleep with snoring.

50. Listen good music and go for a movie with your intimate friend.

51. Reading interesting books can reduce tension.

52. Gardening is a useful method to relax.

53. Spend little time with pet animals.

54. Engage in some games.

55. Keep some time to engage in your hobbies.

56. When you get time write some literal things like articles,poems and stories.

57. Keep a regular timing for food.

58. Take plenty of fruits and vegetables.

59. Prepare your favorite meal and have it with your family.

60. Having food from restaurants may give you a good mood.

61. Excess of drinking and smoking should be avoided.

But Knowledge must go with Sympathy, else the emotions will become maudlin and pity may be wasted on a poodle instead of a child; on a field-mouse instead of a human soul. Knowledge in use is wisdom, and wisdom implies a sense of values you know a big thing from a little one, a valuable fact from a trivial one. Tragedy and comedy are simply questions of value: a little misfit in life makes us laugh, a great one is tragedy and cause for expression of grief.

Poise is the strength of body and strength of mind to control your Sympathy and your Knowledge. Unless you control your emotions they run over and you stand in the mire. Sympathy must not run riot, or it is valueless and tokens weakness instead of strength. In every hospital for nervous disorders are to be found many instances of this loss of control. The individual has Sympathy but not Poise, and therefore his life is worthless to himself and to the world.

He symbols inefficiency and not helpfulness. Poise reveals itself more in voice than it does in words; more in thought than in action; more in atmosphere than in conscious life. It is a spiritual quality, and is felt more than it is seen. It is not a matter of bodily size, nor of bodily attitude, nor attire, nor of personal comeliness: it is a state of inward being, and of knowing your cause is just. And so you see it is a great and profound subject after all, great in its ramifications, limitless in extent, implying the entire science of right living. I once met a man who was deformed in body and little more than a dwarf, but who had such Spiritual Gravity such Poise that to enter a room where he was, was to feel his presence and acknowledge his superiority. To allow Sympathy to waste itself on unworthy objects is to deplete one’s life forces. To conserve is the part of wisdom, and reserve is a necessary element in all good literature, as well as in everything else.

Poise being the control of our Sympathy and Knowledge, it implies a possession of these attributes, for without having Sympathy and Knowledge you have nothing to control but your physical body. To practice Poise as a mere gymnastic exercise, or study in etiquette, is to be self-conscious, stiff, preposterous and ridiculous. Those who cut such fantastic tricks before high heaven as make angels weep, are men void of Sympathy and Knowledge trying to cultivate Poise. Their science is a mere matter of what to do with arms and legs. Poise is a question of spirit controlling flesh, heart controlling attitude.

Get Knowledge by coming close to Nature. That man is the greatest who best serves his kind. Sympathy and Knowledge are for use you acquire that you may give out; you accumulate that you may bestow. And as God has given unto you the sublime blessings of Sympathy and Knowledge, there will come to you the wish to reveal your gratitude by giving them out again; for the wise man is aware that we retain spiritual qualities only as we give them away. Let your light shine. To him that hath shall be given. The exercise of wisdom brings wisdom; and at the last the infinitesimal quantity of man’s knowledge, compared with the Infinite, and the smallness of man’s Sympathy when compared with the source from which ours is absorbed, will evolve an abnegation and a humility that will lend a perfect Poise. The Gentleman is a man with perfect Sympathy, Knowledge, and Poise.

But find this Man, and get his confidence, and his weary eyes will look into yours and the cry of his heart shall echo in your ears. “O, for some one to help me bear this burden!”

Then he will tell you of his endless search for Ability, and of his continual disappointments and thwartings in trying to get some one to help himself by helping him.

Ability is the one crying need of the hour. The banks are bulging with money, and everywhere are men looking for work. The harvest is ripe. But the Ability to captain the unemployed and utilize the capital, is lacking sadly lacking. Your man of Ability has a place already. Yes, Ability is a rare article.

But there is something that is much scarcer, something finer far, something rarer than this quality of Ability.

It is the ability to recognize Ability.

The sternest comment that ever can be made against employers as a class, lies in the fact that men of Ability usually succeed in showing their worth in spite of their employer, and not with his assistance and encouragement.

If you know the lives of men of Ability, you know that they discovered their power, almost without exception, thru chance or accident. Had the accident not occurred that made the opportunity, the man would have remained unknown and practically lost to the world. The experience of Tom Potter, telegraph operator at an obscure little way station, is truth painted large. That fearful night, when most of the wires were down and a passenger train went through the bridge, gave Tom Potter the opportunity of discovering himself. He took charge of the dead, cared for the wounded, settled fifty claims drawing drafts on the company burned the last vestige of the wreck, sunk the waste iron in the river and repaired the bridge before the arrival of the Superintendent on the spot.

“Who gave you the authority to do all this?” demanded the Superintendent.

“Nobody,” replied Tom, “I assumed the authority.”

The next month Tom Potter’s salary was enhanced, and in three years he was making ten times this, simply because he could get other men to do things.

Why wait for an accident to discover Tom Potter? Let us set traps for Tom Potter, and lie in wait for him. Perhaps Tom Potter is just around the corner, across the street, in the next room, or at our elbow. Myriads of embryonic Tom Potters await discovery and development if we but look for them.

I know a man who roamed the woods and fields for thirty years and never found an Indian arrow. One day he began to think “arrow,” and stepping out of his doorway he picked one up. Since then he has collected a bushel of them.

Suppose we cease wailing about incompetence, sleepy indifference and slipshod “help” that watches the clock. These things exist let us dispose of the subject by admitting it, and then emphasize the fact that freckled farmer boys come out of the West and East and often go to the front and do things in a masterly way. There is one name that stands out in history like a beacon light after all these twenty-five hundred years have passed, just because the man had the sublime genius of discovering Ability. That man is Pericles. Pericles made Athens.

And today the very dust of the streets of Athens is being sifted and searched for relics and remnants of the things made by people who were captained by men of Ability who were discovered by Pericles.

There is very little competition in this line of discovering Ability. We sit down and wail because Ability does not come our way. Let us think “Ability,” and possibly we can jostle Pericles there on his pedestal, where he has stood for over a score of centuries the man with a supreme genius for recognizing Ability.