How They Succeeded

THE GREAT INTEREST manifested in the life-stories of successful men

and women, which have been published from time to time in the magazine

S, has actuated their production in book form. Many of these sketches

have been revised and rewritten, and new ones have been added. They all

contain the elements that make men and women successful; and they are

intended to show that character, energy, and an indomitable ambition will

succeed in the world, and that in this land, where all men are born equal and

have an equal chance in life, there is no reason for despair. I believe that the

ideal book for youth should deal with concrete examples; for that which is

taken from real life is far more effective than that which is culled from fancy.

Character-building, its uplifting, energizing force, has been made the basic

principle of this work.

To all who have aided me I express a grateful acknowledgment; and to

none more than to those whose life-stories are here related as a lesson to

young people. Among those who have given me special assistance in

securing those life-stories are, Mr. Harry Steele Morrison, Mr. J. Herbert

Welch, Mr. Charles H. Garrett, Mr. Henry Irving Dodge, and Mr. Jesse W.

Weik. I am confident that the remarkable exhibit of successful careers made

in this book—careers based on sound business principles and honesty—will

meet with appreciation on the part of the reading public.