PROFITING BY FAILURE 867We would not fear or run from trying experiences if we observed,
from the biographies of the men of destiny, that nearly everyone of
them was sorely put through the mill of merciless experience before
he "arrived:' This leads me to wonder if the hand of Fate does not test
our fortitude in various and sundry ways before placing great respon-
sibilities on our shoulders.
It is significant to note that each turning point carried me nearer
and nearer my rainbow's end and brought me some useful knowledge
that would later become a permanent part of my philosophy of life.
Sixth Turning Point
This one is the turning point that probably brought me nearer that
rainbow's end than any of the others had, because it brought me to
where I found it necessary to use all the knowledge I had acquired to
that time, about practically every subject with which I was acquainted,
and it gave me an opportunity for self-expression and development
that rarely comes to a person so early in life.
This turning point came shortly after my dreams of success in
the candy business had been shattered, when I turned my efforts to
teaching advertising and salesmanship as a department of one of the
colleges in the Midwest.
Some wise philosopher has said that we never learn very much
about a given subject until we begin teaching it to others. My first
experience as a teacher proved this to be true. My school prospered
from the very beginning. I had a resident class and also a correspond-
ence school through which I was teaching students in nearly every
English-speaking country. Despite the ravages of war, this school
was growing rapidly and I once again saw the end of the rainbow
within sight.
Then came the second military draft and it practically destroyed
my school, as it caught most of those who were enrolled as students.