Beulah College - Echo Yearbook (Upland, CA)

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A ,-----.,, V , ,. 4 , 1 fef .-of . tumuumx f N 1, Vg I X 1 A X. , , 55 Ellll rmimituat EH U 'i Fixity of Purpose- ANNA Nolan. As a student approaches the end of a course in school work, he begins to realize that this completion is not a final goal ot' intellectual attainment, and that commencement is the right' word. He feels that he is hardly over the threshhold ot' his education and that he has done well if he has reached the place where he is ready to begin to learn, what life has to teach. He has received from his triendsliips i11 school a wealth of inspiration, a constant stimulus to the 'tiormation ot' high ideals. VVill he be able to carry this inspiration and these ideals sa'l'el.y through this world which seeks ease and pleasure? WVill he be able, in this age which craves such lead- ership, to give his 'fellow men the benefit of what he has received in such a way as to make him a leader who can say, Follow mel' It will greatly depend on whether he has a fixed purpose. Bate says, He who wishes to tultill his mission must be a man of one idea, that is, ot' one great mastering purpose, overshadowing all his aims, and guiding and controlling his entire lite. ln a general way everybody has some purpose, an ambition to do something worth while, to render service to his 'fellow men, to leave the world better for his having lived in it. But mere energy is not enoughg it must be concentrated on some steady, unwavering aim. The sun might blaze out upon the earth forever without setting anything on fire, although these same rays 'focused by a burning-glass would melt solid granite, or even change a diamond into vapor, A man may have ability, the rays ot' his faculties taken separately may be all right: but il' he is powerless to collect them, to bring them all to bear upon a single spot, he will not have sutiticicut power to carry himself to success. He may think that ii' he keeps everlastinngly at it he will succeed, but this is not so, working without a plan is as dangerous as going to sea without a compass. A ship which has broken its rudder in mid-ocean may keep everlast- ingly at it, may keep on a full head ot' steam. driving about all the time, but never reach any port except by accident. The ship must be directed to a definite part and must aim steadily 'for that port. through sunshine and storm, through tempest and fog. So a man who would succeed cannot drift about rudderless on the ocean of lite. lflfe must not only steer straight toward his destined port when the ocean is smooth, when the currents and winds serve, but he must keep his course in the very teeth ol' the wind and the tempest, and even when enveloped in the 'I'ogs ot' disappointmut, or mists ot' opposition, or spray ol' temptations with its dazzling colors of ease and pleasure. There is no vacation or occupation which does not present many difficulties, at times almost over- whelming, and the young man who will allow himself to waver every time he comes to a hard place in lite will not succeed. James says, HA double-minded man is unstable in all his waysf' An undecided man, a man who is ever balanc- ing between two opinions, forever debating which ol' two courses he will pursue, is ever at the mercy of the opinions of others. He may see the right but. drift toward the wrong. He cannot bring himself to a focus. Thus he dissipates his Page Twenty

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Upland, California V President of B. C. U.g President of Senior Classy Bryce Historicalg Beulah Purity Band. 'His life was gentle, and the ele- ments so mixed in him that na- ture might stand up and say to all the world, 'this was a man'. Bulawayo, Africa Class Vice-presidentg Philo. Liter- ary Treasurerg Beulah Purity Band. 'If that mine eyes be trueg and true she is, as she hath proved herself? Abilene, Kansas Class Secretary and Treasurerg Beulah Purity Bandg Philo. Liter- ary Society. 'O, true in word and tried in deed. Cleona, Pennsylvania V Editor of Echog President of Philo. Lit.g President of Beulah Purity Bandg Debating Clubg Intercollegi- ate Debater. Happy is the man that findeth wisdom and the man that getteth understanding. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Bryce Historical Treasurerg Debat- ing Clubg Beulah Purity Band. 'He is a very good friend and an honorable gentleman. Vienna, Maryland Bryce Historicalg Beulah Purity Banclg Class Reporter. Her brow is wet with honest sweat, She earns whate'er she can. Page Nineteen

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- -Q is-rmssx N ' Q , .L ,- f T WUWWWMZHT X. .. .. . . , cc treaemetllelll energy, seatters his forces, and executes nothing. He cannot hold to one thing long enough to bring success out ol' it. One vacation or occupation presents its rosy side to him, he feels sure it is the thing he wants to do, and, full of ent.hu- siasm, adopts it as his life work. But in a few days the thorns begin to appear, his enthusiasm evaporates, and he is ready to give up. He thinks he sees another occupation that would be better suited to him: he drops the first and adopts the second. So he vacillates through life, captured by every new occupation which happens to appeal to him and constantly governed by his impressions and his feelings of the moment. Such a. person is never led by principle. One never knows where to find him. He is here today and there tomorrow. He spends his life drifting about, thereby accomplishing nothing for the world nor attain- ing to any personal comfort or contentment. Men of ever-wavering ambitions rarely live in history. It is the man with a single and intense purpose that is recognized by the world, he who never steps outside of his specialty. WVe think of Vilebster spending thirty-six years on his dictionary, of Bancroft working twenty-six years on his t'History ol' the l'nited States, ol' Hume writing thirteen hours a day on his Hlrlistory of ling- land, and ot' Field crossing the ocean fifty times to lay a cable. Such are the men who have written their names prominently in the history of the world. To succeed today a man must concentrate all the faculties of l1is mind upon one unwavering aim and have a tenacity of purpose which means death or victory. A healthy, definite purpose is a remedy for a thousand ills which attend aimless lives. lt saves time, energy, and vital force wasted by a perplexed man. It overcomes the opposition of the wavering person. Such a man, like driftwood, runs against all sorts of snags to which he must yield because he has no momentum to force them out of his way. A man with a fixed purpose has a course and adheres to it, lays his plans and executes them. ttreat men found no royal road to their triumph. Their paths led over the old route, the route strewn with obstacles. Yet they, by having a 'fixed purpose before them, were able to cut their way through difficulties and surmount obstacles as stepping stones on their march to their goal. The Roman 's idea of a true man was, one who held to the course which he set before him and by virtue ol' that idea the Romans conquered the world. lt is related of Alexander the Great that, being asked how it was that he conquered the world, replied, By no Waveringf' Napoleon ts detiniteness of purpose and promptness of action enabled him to astonish the world with his marvelous successes. He did not loiter around balancing the probabilities of failure or success, or dallying with his purpose. There was no turning to the right nor to the left, but one look and purpose- forward, upward, and onward, straight to his goal. ln studying the life work of St. Paul we see a man with an intense purposeg nothing could daunt him. The Roman 'limperor could not muzzle him, the dungeon could not intimidate him, no prison suppress him, no obstacle discourage him. This one thing l do is written all over his work. The one great. secret lay in his ability to concent'ra.t'e his forces upon a single point, and like a great burning-glass upon a single spot, he was able to focus his faculties and thus' burn a hole wherever he went. Lives of such men sl1ow that success follows in the wake of tixity of purpose. Page 7l'll'C'ILfy-0710