Seize Your Opportunity
奥里森·马登 / Orison Marden
“When I was a boy，” said General Grant， “my mother one morning found herself without butter for breakfast， and sent me to borrow some from a neighbor. Going into the house without knocking， I overheard a letter read from the son of a neighbor， who was then at West Point， stating that he had failed in examination and was coming home. I got the butter， took it home， and， without waiting for breakfast ran to the office of the congressman for our district. ‘Mr. Hammer，’I said， ‘will you appoint me to West Point？’‘No， your neighbor’s son is there， and has three years to serve.’‘But suppose he should fail， will you send me？’ Mr. Hammer laughed. ‘If he don’t go through， no use for you to try， Ugly.’‘Promise me you will give me the chance， Mr. Hammer， anyhow.’Mr. Hammer promised. The next day the defeated lad came home， and the congressman， laughing at my sharpness， gave me the appointment. Now，” said Grant， “it was my mother’s being without butter that made me general and president.” But he was mistaken. It was his own shrewdness to see the chance， and the promptness to seize it， that urged him upward.
“There is nobody.” says a Roman Cardinal， “whom Fortune does not visit once in his 1ife； but when she finds he is not ready to receive her， she goes in at the door， and out through the window.” Opportunity is coy. The careless， the slow， the unobservant， the lazy fail to see it， or clutch at it when it has gone. The sharp fellows detect it instantly， and catch it when on the wing.
The youth who starts out in life determined to make the most of his eyes and let nothing escape him which he can possibly use for his own advancement， who keeps his ears open for every sound that can help him on his way， who keeps his hands open that he may clutch every opportunity， who is ever on the alert for everything which can help him to get on in the world， who seizes every experience in life and grinds it up into paint for his great life’s picture， who keeps his heart open that he may catch every noble impulse and everything which may inspire him， will be sure to live a successful life； there are no ifs or ands about it. If he has his health， nothing can keep him from success.
Many of us who think we are poor are rich in opportunities if we could only see them， in possibilities all about us， in faculties worth more than diamond bracelets， in power to do good.
In our large eastern cities it has been found that at least ninety-four out of every hundred found their first fortune at home， or near at hand， and in meeting common everyday wants. It is a sorry day for a young man who cannot see any opportunities where he is， but thinks he can do better somewhere else. Several Brazilian shepherds organized a party to go to California to dig gold， and took along a handful of clear pebbles to play checkers with on the voyage. They discovered after arriving at Sacramento， after they had thrown most of the pebbles away， that they were all diamonds. They returned to Brazil only to find that the mines had been taken up by others and sold to the government...