Some years later, a lame, weak little boy named
George Jowett decided that determination was more
constructive than sympathy. He was right. Instead of
feeling sorry for himseH and wanting others to feel sorry
for his lameness and weakness, he charged and re-charged
his mind and body with determination. What happened?
No miracle. Just the natural Law of Cause and Effect.
It always works. In ten years, George Jowett became the
world's strongest man.
Then there was poor, blind, deaf, mute Helen
Keller. Did she want sympathy? No. She was determined
to surmount her handicaps and to devote her life to helping
others (who were not nearly so handicaped!). She became
one of the most inspiring women of all time. And it is
important to note that Helen Keller did not eliminate her
physical handicaps-that was impossible. What Helen Keller
did was to use determination to surmount her handicaps
and achieve greatness while she was handicapped!
Modem medicine can eliminate most physical
handicaps. Even then, determination is a great factor.
Often the first attempt at a cure does not work. So people
become sympathy-seekers instead of cure-seekers. As Edi-
son did with his experiments, you have to have the deter-
mination to persist, sometimes through many failures, until
finally a solution is found. One of the best therapies is to
keep busy seeking a cure!
There are, of course, some physical handicaps
like Helen Keller's blindness, deafness and muteness
which cannot be completely cured. Then you, like Helen
Keller, must not seek sympathy, but use determination, to