MAKING DECISIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 107, 9 May 1927, Page 6

MAKING DECISIONS.

Many an influential or wealthy man who started life iu a humble position and without a penny to bless himself with has revealed, for the benefit of others, the secret of his success, writes John Blunt in the "Dailv Mail."

But, having read a good many of these revelations, I have come to the conclusion that the real secret of success 011 a large scale depends much more on a power to make decisions than ou the carrying out of tho*o maxims about thrift, hard work, and so forth, which we are invariably informed are the basis 011 which fame and fortune are built up.

Far be it from me to deny that thrift and hard work have helped many a man to climb the ladder, but who does not know plenty of hardworking, thrifty people Mho have never found prosperity of any kind, and who obviously never will find it?

No, something more is needed to get to the top, and of all the gifts a man may possess, I doubt whether any is likely to prove of greater ,value to him than the power to make a right decision at the right moment. °

We are always being told to seize onr opportunities, but how many of us even see the opportunities when they occur? We get into a groove, put blinkers on our eyes, and play for safety. That, of course, does not prevent us from expressing astonishment that other people should have gone ahead of us—it is much simpler to blame luck than to blame ourselves—but the truth is that we have missed our chances, and would never have had the courage to take them, anyhow.

Again, there are plenty of people who want to strike out for themselves and woo success, but who cannot make up their minds to any drastic decision. They want to be sure of the" future, whereas, .in the very nature of things, the future is a gamble.

The man who really "arrives" is the man who takes his fate in his hands. Ido not mean that he does not calculate, but I do mean that he knows that all human calculations are provisional and faulty, and that that fact does not frighten him. He has imagination enough to realise that the world is full of opportunities, he has astuteness enough to .see where they arc or how they can be created, and. above all, he knows when to make a decision that may alter the whole course of his life.