CHANCE OF SUCCESS IS WAITING FOR ALL

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 173, 23 July 1931, Page 5

CHANCE OF SUCCESS IS WAITING FOR ALL

OPTIMISTIC ADDRESS BY MR CALDER MACKAY.

“The idea is that in this city of ours every man has the opportunity tc make more of himself. This he can do in his own environment, with his own skill, with his own energy and with his own friends.” With these words Mr W. Calder Mackay opened an address on “ Acres of Diamonds ” at last evening’s meeting of the Christchurch Advertising Club. Mr J. J. Staples presided over a large attendance, which in eluded a number of women.

“The opportunity to succeed, to render great service, if you want to, is here in Christchurch now within the reach of everyone.” said Mr Mackay. “We have within our reach ‘Acres of Diamonds’—opportunities presenting themselves on all sides There never was a better place to start than the city of Christchurch to-day and never could a poor man without capital have such an opportunity to succeed honestly. Facing Present Conditions.

‘'Some gloomy people spreading fear and whispering gossip, refuse to admit that, profits are being made by anyone,” went on Mr Mackay. “The standard statistic service of the Department of Commerce of America, whose field men and statisticians have carefully checked all information available, have brought out a list of fifty-two companies, all well known, whose stock is regularly listed on the exchange, whose earnings through 1920 have been above the average. These fifty-two companies represent thirty-six different industries, so that they are an excellent crosssection of the nation’s business There are. of course, hundreds of smaller concerns that can tell the same story and this should give us courage. “There is no similar statistical organisation in Britain, but there are hundreds of business men in Britain who have taken off their coats and are making a profit to-dav. We find one concern making substantial increases bv going into new products, new packages and making a closer studv of the consumer’s buying habits. We find that by research and investigation of new uses for their product, another company’s sales were increased bv 10 per cent. I like the members of the company who reoort that thev have made a success this vear by ‘keeping their eyes on that light-house through the fog.’ Thev are doing a real iob, a iob which makes it onfce mote evident that there is business here for the company that goes after it.” Men Who Gave In. There were at the moment .thousands of business men who had given up trying. They were saying, “ What’s the use?” There were possible customers on all sides of them, but they had made several failures and lost their nerve They were sitting down and listening to their arteries hardening. No self-help. No advertising. No sales campaign. No action. They had given up trying. Never before had there been as many helps to an ambitious man as there were to-day What with free schools and free libraries, almost all the knowledge in the world might be had by anyone. When a man lacked knowledge, friends and money, the fault, surely, was inside him. Every time he met a worth-while stranger he had a chance to make a friend. Every time he had a job he had the chance to do it better. The fact was that an oppor tunity was not a gift—it was a chance to do something for somebody. An opportunity was nothing without action; that was why an active, ambitious, keen man had hundreds of opportunities, while the drifter had none. One man would find opportunities in a rag-yard, while the other would find nothing in the Bank of England. There was no lack of opportunities, but there was always a lack of men who dared to make use of them. Early Years Wasted. “ Many a man wastes the first ten years of his working life because he thinks only of what he is going to get, and what he is going to do with it,” declared Mr Mackay. “He sets out to get money from some employer. Listen to the conversation of many a young man, and you will find that his slogan is, “ I want.” This is all very natural, of course, but to get things you must have money, to get money you must be valuable, and being valuable means being very useful to other people. You may say to me again, ‘ You cannot start without capital.' Remember, if you know what people need, you have got more knowledge of a fortune than any amount of capital can give you.

“ A good laugh beats medicine or electricity, and when a man has a hard job he needs two things: (1) Information as to what to do; (2) enough cheerfulness and optimism, so that he can carry the job through. Pessimists see the troubles, but they do not see the advantages. Few of them, in fact, realise how many advantages they have. Practical Suggestions.

“ I submit the following practical suggestions,” concluded Mr Mackay. “You may take one suggestion a month and make the suggestion a test of your will power. (1) Read the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, or any other autobiography you wish, but choose one. (2) Once a day mention something you have extracted from the autobiography to someone you know. (3) Study the lives of the most successful men of your own personal acquaintance and make notes of your observations (4) Introduce something new into your job. If your imagination or initiative fails you, take a flower every day to the shop or bench or office, or wherever you work. (5) Choose some different person you know, daily, and tell them verbally something you appreciate they have done, or write them a note of appreciation of something they have done (6) Set yourself something to do every day for thirty days, such as reading ten pages of a book, or taking certain exercises (7) Plan twelve objectives, one for each month of next year.

“ I have now pointed out to you that there are opportunities on every side, that we can all do better jobs than we are doing. Opportunities are the diamonds, but an opportunity turned into action is a diamond polished. Action is the grindstone that polishes the thought, and, as one great writer has said 4 Action is the only prayer that is ever answered.' Do something—and be successful.”

The speaker was accorded a hearty vote of thanks.