Cheerful pay the price

George Chingarande | Monday May 19, 2014 14:09

One day in 1923 some of the most powerful people in the world were gathered in an office discussing business. Among them, the most prominent six were the President of the largest steel company; President of the largest gas company; President of the New York Stock Exchange; The greatest wheat speculator; President of the Bank of International Settlement and The Great Bear of Wall Street. What are their names and what became of them? In 1923, who was the PGA champion and what became of him?

 

The answers:

1. The president of the largest steel company, Charles Schwab, died a pauper and totally penniless.

2. The president of the largest gas company, Edward Hopson, went insane.

3. The president of the NYSE, Richard Whitney, was convicted of a crime, sent to prison and only released from prison to die at home.

4. The greatest wheat speculator, Arthur Cooger, died abroad, penniless.

5. The president of the Bank of International Settlement, shot himself.

6. The Great Bear of Wall Street, Cosabee Livermore, also committed suicide.

However, that same year in 1923, the PGA Champion and the winner of the most important golf tournament, the US Open, was Gene Sarazen. He was healthy and played golf until he was 92, died in 1999 at the age of 95 and… he was financially secure at the time of his death.

What is the purpose behind this small quiz? Is it to vex you? No. From this small quiz there is a lot that can be learned. First, life has seasons and the one most adaptable to these seasons will have staying power and outlast most challenges.

In 1923 the American economy was doing well. It was a season of plenty and the six people mentioned above were riding the crest of the wave of success. Less than 10 years later, the Great Depression was playing havoc with their ambitions and fortunes. All of them perished depressed and wretched in the Great Depression.

The Great Depression was a testing time. The economic difficulties brought with them a myriad of social maladies. Each one of us, as we journey through life, will have some testing moments. Everyone who desires to be something will face challenges. During these testing times the one who outlives the storm is not the one who has more; but the one who is more. The resources that give us victory over adverse circumstances are not external but deep within us. It is good to have more material resources especially money because it answers most problems. However, it is far better to be more and better still to have both material resources and the resources of the soul, mind and spirit.

A closer look at the six people that perished during the Great Depression reveals that they were all considered very successful. However, it is because success to them was defined narrowly by just taking into consideration their net worth in terms of material and financial resources. When hard times came, their lives crumbled like a deck of cards. They did not have what it takes to win against the odds. Do you have it and what is it?

In the changing fortunes of life, the real possession is what you are on the inside. No one can take that away from you. Robbers can snatch your money and goods away; but they cannot take away your skills. You can even lose your job and your title; but it is only you who is able to cede away your sense of self esteem.

No one and no circumstance can make you a worse or better person. Ultimately you are the captain of your soul. While the golfer was constantly working on bettering his skills, and becoming a better person the rich men were obsessed with getting more.

Golf builds character. It gives you immediate feedback with every stroke that you make; and good golfers use this feedback to adjust, adapt and play the next shot even better. Most importantly in golf every day is a new day, and every game a new game; the past has no space in the future.

These are lessons that we all ought to transfer from the golf field into our personal lives. Nothing captures the essence of what we wish to communicate better than the words of Joseph French Johnson who wrote, “I often wonder what it is that brings one man success in life, and what it is that brings mediocrity or failure to his brother. The difference can’t be in mental capacity; there is not the difference in our mentalities indicated by the difference in performance. In short, I have reached the conclusion that some men succeed because they cheerfully pay the price of success, and others, though they may claim ambition and a desire to succeed, are unwilling to pay that price.

 

And the price is...

To use all your courage to force yourself to concentrate on the problem in hand, to think of it deeply and constantly, to study it from all angles, and to plan.

To have a high and sustained determination to put over what you plan to accomplish, not if circumstances be favourable to its accomplishment, but in spite of all adverse circumstances which may arise and nothing worthwhile has ever been accomplished without some obstacles having been overcome.

To refuse to believe that there are any circumstances sufficiently strong to defeat you in the accomplishment of your purpose.

Hard? I should say so. That’s why so many men never attempt to acquire success, answer the siren call of the rut and remain on the beaten paths that are for beaten men. Nothing worthwhile has ever been achieved without constant endeavour, some pain and constant application of the lash of ambition. That’s the price of success as I see it.

And I believe every man should ask himself: Am I willing to endure the pain of this struggle for the comforts and the rewards and the glory that go with achievement? Or shall I accept the uneasy and inadequate contentment that comes with mediocrity? Am I willing to pay the Price of Success?”  Even heaven has a price. Cheerfully pay it.