one's
forces, _the command of one's self_ and the ability to make others
recognize that we are on the map because we belong there. And one of the
quickest ways to accomplish this is to have a smile tucked away for
instant use. Again, this does not mean that we are to carry round a
ready-to-wear grin which we wear only as we are ushered into the
presence of another. _A real smile, or a hearty laugh, is not to be
counterfeited._ We easily know the genuine from the spurious. A real
laugh springs naturally out of a pure, unadulterated confidence and a
good physical condition. What triumphs, what splendid battles, have been
won through the ability to laugh at the right moment.

Whenever we find that we are losing our ability to smile let's have no
false notions. We are neglecting our physical well being. Let us then
and there drop the sombre thoughts and get out into the open air. Run
down the street and if possible out into the country. If we see a tree
and have the inclination to climb it--well, then, climb it. If we are
sensitive about what our neighbors might say--too bad! But we can romp
with easy grace. If we but knew how gladly our neighbors would emulate
our gymnastics if they knew the value of them the laugh would be on us
for dreading their opinion. One thing we do know--_they will envy us our
good health and spirits_.

CHAPTER IV

PROFITING BY EXPERIENCE

_Experience comes by contact._ There is no way we can have experiences
without passing directly through them. If we are up and doing they come
thick and fast into our lives, some of them weighted down by the
peculiar twists and turns of circumstances, others simple, easily
understood, and still others complicated to the point of not being
understood at all.

People are divided into two classes--_those who profit by experience and
those who do not_. The unfortunate part of it all is that the latter
class is by far the larger of the two.

The man of vigorous purpose, fine constitution, and the full knowledge
of self, sees through an experience as clearly as through a window. The
glass may be foggy, but he knows what lies beyond. Self-reliant and
strong he seeks knowledge through experience, while the weak man, the
unhealthy-minded, the inefficient, stands aside and gives him the right
of way. In later years, however, they bitterly complain that they were
not given the same chance to succeed.

The man of experience having long since passed through t