A man may have a reputation as a fighter, a shrewd man, a tricky man, a dishonest man, and so on, but these keep him back in the life struggle, and even if he should succeed, as the wicked are often said to do, his success will be only temporary. It is the lasting reputation for honesty and fair dealing that brings a man up to the standard of success. Be true to your word, stand by your contracts even if you should lose an advantage, for you will regain more than you lose by your reputation. A good reputation in small things means the acquirement of a reputation in large things. You are always gaining. It must be borne in mind constantly, however, that a reputation is easily lost by a false step: “At every word a reputation dies.” Hence, having once gained a reputation for fairness, honesty, and squareness, do not let any small advantage or chance of gain persuade you to throw it away, for a reputation once lost will cost you years of sorrow to regain. When you have lost the good opinion of your fellow man, you may as well withdraw from their society for you will be an object of suspicion ever after. IMPROVE PRESENT OPPORTUNITIES If you knew that by pulling up a rope hanging down a well, you would get a rich prize, a bag of gold, or a box of diamonds, you would keep on pulling. Now, life is nothing but pulling at something at the end of which we hope and expect to find something worth while. What we pull at consists of a long string of opportunities, and if we let go, then we lose. The fact is, we must improve our present opportunities, for they lead to other and better ones. Small opportunities are not to be despised for several of them make one large one which is what you are aiming at. “Little drops of water, little grains of sand, make the mighty ocean and the beauteous land.” Some people want to get rich immediately, and venture into all kinds of speculations to get there. These are not opportunities, they spell ruin in the end. They are the destroyers of opportunities. An opportunity always makes good if you stick to it, but flies away from you if you neglect it. Opportunity says to you: “Oh, well, if you do not care for my company, there are others who do,” and away it goes to the others, and then you have regrets, too late perhaps, some other man has appropriated it. It is a common saying: “Everything comes to him who waits,” but Napoleon said: “Everything comes to him WHO KNOWS HOW to wait.” There is a vast difference. Do you know HOW to wait, friend? If you do then you are ready to grasp opportunity when it comes your way. Christ said: “Seek and ye shall find.” To this may be added the saying of St. Paul the great Apostle who was certainly a wise man: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” Do it now, for time flies. “The Bird of Time has but a little way to fly—and Lo! the Bird is on the Wing.” HOW TO MAKE USE OF VALUABLE SPARE TIME