Poise: How to Attain It by D. Starke
page 55 of 127 (43%)
page 55 of 127 (43%)
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upon to perform some decisive action.
"One day," says an old writer, "three men, in the course of a climb up a mountain, found themselves confronted by a crevasse that they must cross. "One of these was a timid man, another a boaster, and the third was possest of a reasoned poise. "The boaster made a jump without stopping to think and without taking the trouble to measure the gap. He plunged into it. "The modest man then advanced, looked down into the gulf, then decided to make use of the irregularities in the surface of the chasm to reduce the width of the jump. "He made several attempts to carry this out, but could hardly touch the edge before an instinctive movement of fear forced him back. "He worked so hard and so long at this that he was quite tired out when he at last chose the moment for the decisive attempt. He jumped, indeed, but in such a half-hearted way that he merely touched the opposite face of the crevasse and fell to the bottom of the precipice alongside of the boaster. "The third climber, who possest the advantage of poise, had meanwhile been losing no time. He had mentally gaged the width of the crevasse, had made a number of trial jumps to test his ability to clear it, and when, with a firm resolution to succeed, he reached the edge from which he must leap, his soul, fortified by the knowledge of his powers was |
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