Success, to the unillumined, may mean the accumulation of wealth and
the winning of fame. Yet those who give up their lives to the
acquirement of these things are the greatest failures in life. They
gain wealth, it is true, but they find that their money can buy only
those things that bring no satisfaction: that it cannot purchase for
them any of the things which are really worth having. Success of this
hollow kind, can be won, but at too great a price. The greatest
Teacher of all once said: "For what shall it profit man, if he shall
gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" What _does_ it profit
a man if he "gets on" at the cost of happiness, health, joy of living,
domestic life, and the ability to appreciate Nature's beauties and
simple pleasures?

Yet man must be a striver. He must be for ever seeking better things
and to express himself more perfectly. One who drifts through life,
making no effort to rise to better things, is not worthy of the name
of citizen. Man, if he is to be worthy of the name, must be for ever
striving, overcoming, rising. Failure in life is always due to
weakness of character. It is only strong characters who can resist
the buffetings of life and overcome its difficulties. The man who
would make his life worthy of respect and who would rise to high
achievement and service, will be confronted by difficulty at every
turn. This is as it should be, for it weeds out the weaklings and
unworthy aspirants, and awards the spoils to those who exhibit faith,
courage, steadfastness, patience, perseverance, persistence,
cheerfulness, and strength of character, generally. Success,
especially material success, is not, in itself, of much benefit to
the one who wins it. It does not satisfy for long, but it is valuable
in other ways. For instance, success, based on service, is a benefit