SELF-CONTROLand fair with me. To be a loyal citizen of my country. To speak
of it with praise, and act always as a worthy custodian of its
good name. To be a person whose name carries weight wherever
it goes.
To base my expectations of reward on a solid foundation
of service rendered. To be willing to pay the price of success
in honest effort. To look upon my work as an opportunity to
be seized with joy and made the most of, and not as a painful
drudgery to be reluctantly endured.
To remember that success lies within myself-in my own
brain. To expect difficulties and to force my way through them.
To avoid procrastination in all its forms, and never, under
any circumstances, put off until tomorrow any duty that should
be performed today.
Finally, to take a good grip on the joys of life, so I may
be courteous to others, faithful to friends, true to God-a
fragrance in the path I tread.533The energy that most people dissipate through lack of Self-Control
would, if organized and used constructively, bring all the necessities
and all the luxuries desired.
The time that many people devote to "gossiping" about others
would, if controlled and directed constructively, be sufficient to attain
the object of their Definite Chief Aim (if they had such an aim).
All successful people grade high on Self-Control. All "failures"
grade low, generally zero, on this important law of human conduct.
Study those around you and observe, with profit, that all the
successfUl ones exercise Self-Control, while the "failures" permit their
thoughts, words, and deeds to run wild!
One very common and very destructive form of lack of Self-
Control is the habit of talking too much. People of wisdom, who
know what they want and are determined to achieve it, guard their