Certain Success Part 1

Certain Success.

by Norval A. Hawkins.

_To Begin With--_

[Sidenote: Salesmanship Essential to a.s.sure Success]

There are particular characteristics one can have, and particular things one can do, that will make _failure_ in life _certain_.

Why, then, should not the possession of particular opposite characteristics, and the doing of particular opposite things, result as _certainly_ in _success_, which is the ant.i.thesis of failure?

That is a logical, common-sense question. The purpose of this book and its companion volume, "The Selling Process," is to answer it convincingly for you.

Success _can_ be made certain; not, however, by the mere _possession_ of particular characteristics, nor by just _doing_ particular things.

_Your_ success in life can be _a.s.sured_; but only if you supplement your qualifications and make everything you do most effective _by using continually, whatever your vocation, the art of salesmanship_.

[Sidenote: Why Are Some Men Failures Who Deserve to Succeed?]

Life can hold nothing but _failure_ for the ill-natured, unsociable, disgusting tramp who is known to be ignorant, lazy, shiftless, a spendthrift, a liar, and an all-around crook. Such a worthless man will make a complete failure of life because he is so _dis_-qualified to succeed.

On the other hand certain success ought to be achieved by the good-natured, intelligent, reliable man who continually wins friends; the truthful man who has a fine reputation for thrift, honesty, neatness, and love for his work. He seems entirely worthy of success.

Yet for reasons that baffle himself and his friends it sometimes happens that such a man is unsuccessful.

The defeat in life of one who appears so deserving of victory seems to prove that success cannot be _a.s.sured_ by the development of individual characteristics and by doing specific things. But such a wholly negative conclusion would be wrong. When a worthy man fails, he loses out because he lacks an essential _positive_ factor of certain success--the ability to _sell_ his capabilities. _By mastering the selling process this failure can turn himself into a success_.

[Sidenote: Self-advertised Disqualifications Unrecognized Capabilities]

We are sure of the failure of the man who is utterly disqualified to succeed; not because he _has_ particular faults, but because they _self-advertise and sell the idea_ of his disqualifications for success.

His characteristics and actions make on our minds an impression of his general worthlessness. Defects are apt to attract attention, while perfection often pa.s.ses unnoticed.

Millions of worthy men, otherwise qualified for success, have failed solely because their merits were not appreciated and rewarded as they would have been if recognized. Capabilities, like goods, are _profitless_ until they are _sold_. Therefore the man who deserves to win out in life can make his victory _sure_ only by learning and practicing with skill the certain success methods of the master salesman.

[Sidenote: The Duty to Succeed]

Down through all the ages has come the _duty_ to succeed. It was enjoined in the Parable of the Talents. No one has the right to do less than his best. Then only can he claim full justification for his existence. The Creator accepts no excuses for failure. Every personal quality, and every opportunity to succeed that a man has, must be used, to ent.i.tle him to the rewards of success. He owes not only to himself and to his fellows, but also to G.o.d, the obligation of developing his _utmost capability_. If he does not pay dividends on the divine investment in him, his dereliction is justly punished by failure in life. Sometimes he even forfeits the right to live.

[Sidenote: Success Cannot be Copied]

Many ambitious people, who recognize their duty to succeed but do not know how to go about it, make a common mistake in thinking. They believe the secret of certain success can be learned from _examples_; that success can be _copied_. So men who have succeeded conspicuously are often asked to state and explain their rules, for the benefit of other men who regard them as oracles.

[Sidenote: Other Men's Formulas]

Doubtless you have read much about Marshall Field, J. Pierpont Morgan, Charles M. Schwab, and similar outstanding business men. You have studied their principles of success. You have tried to practice their methods. But somehow the most careful following of their directions has not made you a multi-millionaire, nor can you see riches as a prospect.

Naturally you are both disappointed and puzzled. Perhaps you have tested faithfully for years various formulas of success extracted from the advice of successful men. Yet _you_ have failed, or have achieved only partial and unsatisfying success. You have been unable to solve the problem that you once felt so sure could be worked out by the rules you mastered.

Maybe you have become discouraged and have given up, in disgust, your ambition for achievement. Very likely you have said to yourself, "Success is so much a matter of luck and circ.u.mstances, there's no way to make sure of it. I've done everything that Marshall Field, J.

Pierpont Morgan, and Charles M. Schwab have counseled; but I'm still plugging along on an ordinary salary. Rules for certain success are bunk. Luck has to break right for a man."

[Sidenote: The Element of Luck]

Unquestionably good luck _has_ brought success to some men who would have failed without its aid. It is equally beyond doubt that bad luck has prevented other men from achieving their ambitions. Of course _such_ successes and failures do not fall within any rules. They are altogether exceptional, and neither prove nor disprove general principles.

Eliminating the factor of luck, good or bad, the success of any normal, deserving man _can_ be made certain _to the extent of his individual capacity_. Some men have different or bigger capacities than others; hence not all successes will be of the same kind, or alike in extent.

But any normal, deserving man can a.s.sure himself as great a success as he is fitted to achieve. It is necessary, however, that he do more than _develop his utmost capability_. He must learn to employ skillful salesmanship, in order to _market_ his "goods of sale," or personal qualifications, _most profitably_.

[Sidenote: Sales Skill Necessary]

Each of us has to make _his own pattern_ of success. "The individual should develop his individuality," instead of attempting to imitate anybody else. It is even more necessary for him to _use_ most effectively all the natural powers he builds up.

A man can a.s.sure his success only if he learns how to utilize his personal qualifications _so as to create and control his opportunities_ to succeed. He should be able to _bring himself to good luck_, and not expect anybody or any event to bring good luck to him.

One cannot make the most effective use of his capabilities, he cannot create and control his chances to succeed, until he develops skill in salesmanship, which is necessary to market his qualifications profitably. He must practice "selling himself" until the habit of using sales skill in everything he does and says becomes second nature to him.

Sales skill is the _dynamic_ factor of success. It transforms potential powers into actual accomplishments. It enables the qualified man to turn his individual capabilities to best account.

[Sidenote: Opportunity A Constant Companion]

Sometimes a man says, as an excuse for his failure, "I never had a chance." The truth is that Opportunity is a constant companion to every man. Each of us has _within himself_ limitless wealth. All normal people are rich in ability. It is possible for anyone to become more prosperous. _He need only turn his possibilities into realities._ When a man capable of acc.u.mulating riches continues poor, he is like the shipwrecked discoverer of a bonanza gold mine on an uncharted island. He cannot exchange his potential wealth for the things he desires; because he is unable to market his raw gold.

Similarly you who have not yet succeeded are _potentially_ rich. If you possess the generally recognized fundamentals of success; such as characteristic honesty, intelligence, energy, etc., you are not handicapped for want of a market. Even though you now may seem to lack some of the essential qualifications, you are capable of succeeding.

Every necessary characteristic of the successful man is _latent_ in your nature and can be brought out by development. You have not yet done your utmost with the best that is in you.

[Sidenote: Your Market Not Lacking]

First you should resolve to make yourself completely _worthy_ to succeed. Meanwhile you should be learning how to sell your "goods." On every hand there are markets in which qualities like yours are being sold successfully by other men. Undoubtedly there will be a purchaser for the best that is in you when you bring it out; provided you present your "goods of sale" in the most skillful way. All about you are highly prosperous people with no more innate merits than you have. Certainly the market for your particular abilities is within reach. Golden opportunities of which you have not taken the fullest advantage surround you and touch your daily activities. If you have not grasped your chance, it was because you did not _know how_ to reach out with all your capabilities. In other words, possessing the fundamental qualifications for success, you have stood in the midst of the world's need for such capabilities as yours, _but you have not gone through the selling process_.

You have failed thus far to achieve your ambition, simply because _you have been an unsuccessful salesman of yourself_ to the world.

Perhaps you never have thought of yourself as a salesman. You may not have realized the importance _to you_ of knowing and practicing the principles of skillful selling. Only one per cent of the people in the United States _call_ themselves salesmen or saleswomen. Yet in order to succeed, each of us must sell his or her particular qualifications. Your knowledge and use of the selling process are essential to a.s.sure your success in life.

[Sidenote: Master Salesmen Made, Not Born]

The best commercial executives agree that the most effective selling representative of a house is not the "natural born" salesman, but the salesman who is _made_ highly efficient by training. So every big, successful business conducts a course in salesmanship. Thorough tests have proved that particular principles and methods of selling are sure to produce the highest average of orders. Therefore these principles and methods are followed as _standard practice_ in the sales department.

That is, in order to _a.s.sure_ the success of an individual salesman, he is required and aided to develop particular qualifications and to do certain things that master executives have learned will get the orders and hold the trade of buyers. The qualified professional salesman is drilled thoroughly in tested principles and methods of selling. He is trained to use this standard sales knowledge skillfully. As a result he works in the field with complete confidence.

Why should he doubt that he will succeed? He knows his own limitations and capabilities; knows the true worth of his line; knows there is a market in his territory; knows how to sell in the ways that have been proved most effective; and knows that practice of right salesmanship will make him skillful in getting and holding business. Verily such "knowledge is power."