the same old lines and follow the
same policy because that policy years before things made them
successful.

Many manufacturers continue to advertise in publications which have
long since lost their advertising value. These manufacturers have the
habit, and on account of precedent they are afraid to break away. They
do not recognize that since they started there are dozens of newer,
brighter and better publications than the ones they are using.

Columbus, Marconi, Edison, Stevenson, Newton, Fulton, and hundreds of
other originators would never have succeeded if they had followed
precedent. They required strong courage to break away from accepted
methods. Each of these men was told in so many words that the thing
never had been done, and consequently could not be done.

Business men who throw aside precedent are more apt to succeed, for by
throwing aside precedent they show they have originality instead of the
ability to copy.

Financing

A financier and a general are much the same thing. The financier makes
the dollars do the work at the best place, and the general does the
same thing with his soldiers. The financier with plenty of money in the
bank and the general with plenty of soldiers at his command are alike.
They give the order and the thing is done, for they have the material
to do the thing with. The difference between the good financier and the
bad financier is like the difference between the good general and the
bad one, the difference being that the good one makes a little go a
long way, and gets the best results from the little under his command.

The cause of many failures is due to bad financing instead of bad
business. The trouble is few business men know exactly "where they are
at."

A detailed statement should be kept of all obligations. The business
man should get along as far as possible without giving notes, and when
he does give notes he should see to it that the notes are taken up when
due.

The business man who overstocks shows he is a bad financier. The man
who buys too much on possibilities makes a mistake.

As you go along this year you should make statistics of the receipts
and expenses by the day, week, month and year. With these figures you
can make up a budget of your receipts and expenses for the coming year
with reasonable correctness.

Keep your resources well in hand. Buy often rather than buy in large
quantities.

If you are owing money to the bank, have your pla