of youth which actuated his earlier activities he would be prepared
against incapacity. Our fate hangs on how we conduct ourselves in youth.
The world has great need of the sober, thoughtful men _above the fifty
line_. By right of experience and knowledge they should become our
leaders in the shaping of our policies. It is all a matter of how a man
comes through, mentally, physically and spiritually. Age should not
count against him.

The first thought is to keep healthy. In fact, we cannot harp on this
too much. The second requirement is confidence in ourselves, without
which our career is short lived.

Already we perceive that one must keep track of his _inner self_. This
breeds confidence. The very fact that one stops to probe into that
hidden land of thought shows that he is keeping tab on himself with a
sharp eye. That's the stuff! _We mustn't fool ourselves._ The majority
of failures come as a result of not being able to trust one's self. The
moment we doubt, or acknowledge that we cannot conquer a weakness, then
we begin to go down hill. It is a subtle process. We hardly realize it
at the time but as the days go by, the years roll on, the final day of
reckoning draws near and relentlessly we are swept along as driftwood
toward the lonely beaches of obscurity. And all because _we lacked
self-confidence_! We did not realize it until it was too late. We were
too busy with self-indulgence to struggle for success.

Most of our troubles in later life started with _failure to take hold of
ourselves_ when we were young. It may be that we put off making our
choice of something to do. If we had been companionable to ourselves we
might have thought out the proper course while taking long walks in
pursuit of physical development. That would have been a _fine_ time in