get down to "stock taking" before it is too late.

The practical man, after all, is only _one who takes advantage of
opportunities_. He could double and triple his power if he only realized
how superficial the average setback really is. The young man has just as
much chance of being considered practical as the so-called older one,
always provided that he has a store of experiences to profit by. The
first _big experience_ of life usually makes or breaks us. For this
experience we need to be prepared. We must have a _strong heart_ that we
may bear defeat nobly from this is not to be our last kick--our last
breath--_not by a jugful_!

We are going to start all over again after our setback and we are not
going to wait any longer than it takes to bury the dead. This will be
done decently and in good order--our training will admit of no
indecorum. If the smash was a bad one we will assume the liability,
nevertheless, and get back on the job. We are out to win and
_eventually we will win_.

And that is what we mean by taking profit from experience. _The powers
that break down are also the powers that build up._ The electrician who
handles the motor could just as well end his own existence by that
mysterious current as he could make use of it for the good of humanity.
He spends years of conscientious study and masters the knowledge of it
so that its uses are as simple as his A B C's. There is no doubt in the
world but that he had to learn by experience. He had to go into the shop
and _climb up from the bottom_. There was no other way by which he could
come to know how to turn a deadly force into a well-trained necessity.

Yet the average man goes into life with as little knowledge of its