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“OH, don't talk to me about how to succeed! I've read success advice and
books and articles. They're all--------- "
"No good? " "Good? They're too good! Why, when I've read just what to do to succeed, I go down to the office ready to tell the president to get out, so that I may show the world what real success is." "Those books inspire me! They wind me up like an alarm clock all set for success. They make me dream Rocke-Morgan-Van-der-Gould dreams—and then each Friday, I wake up at the pay window for my five little five spots! " "But," I interrupted, "you know that dreaming of success is not enough. Men succeed bcause they do something—do it in a big way." "Oh, I've read that 'do something' advice," he replied a little irritably, "but— let me tell you—there's something left out! And, I don't believe that very successful men know just how they succeed."
"They're geniuses, and geniuses can do things without knowing how they do them." "For instance, I can't play the piano, but my ten year old sister is a musical genius. She can play any tune she hears. She can play anything I whistle! But she don't know HOW she does it, and she can't tell me how she does it! " "I am certain that these very successful men are success geniuses, and so, isn't it true that they can succeed without knowing just how they do it? " What George said made me think: "there's something left out . . . sister is a musical genius . . . she can play anything I whistle—but she don't know how she does it, and she can't tell me how she does it." Gazing into my grate fire, I forgot that George was there. My thoughts ran on. I remembered several people I had known— each an especially gifted genius, who was able to do some one thing astoundingly well without knowing how he did it.
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