es to "come out all right," as he expresses it. He
therefore neglects to take sufficient precautions; he does not exercise
care as he should; he takes unnecessary and unwise risks. The result is
that oftentimes his optimism turns out to be very poorly justified. When
things do go wrong on account of their carelessness, such people may feel
distressed about it for a time, but they soon recover. They hope for
"better luck next time." They expect, by their ingenuity and
resourcefulness, to more than make up for the troubles which have come as
the result of their carelessness. On the other hand, those who are
naturally careful and dependable do not have much hope of things coming
out right without eternal vigilance and foresight. They are inherently
somewhat apprehensive. They take precautions, are on their guard, and
leave no stone unturned whose turning may insure success.

But there are certain classes of work which require a willingness to take
chances. Such enterprises are speculative. In order to be happy in them,
one must have a certain amount of optimism and hopefulness. He must accept
temporary failure without discouragement. The heart to look on the bright
side of every cloud must be born in one. He must believe always that the
future will bring more desirable results. The careless person delights in
this kind of work. The element of chance in it appeals to his sporting
blood. The danger gives him needed excitement and thrill. The anxious,
apprehensive person has no place in such enterprises. Their uncertainties
are a drain upon his nervous system. He worries. He makes himself ill with
his anxieties and apprehensions. He is unhappy. When disaster does happen,
he takes it seriously, feels discouraged, thinks his efforts have been of
no avail, can see nothing in the future but black ruin, and otherwise
destroys not only his joy in his work, but his efficiency and usefulness
in it.

In actual practice we find both prudent and reckless misfits. Such people
are unhappy, inefficient, and usually unsuccessful. It is strange that men
do not understand, before undertaking a vocation, so elemental and
fundamental a thing as the question of carelessness and carefulness. Yet,
somehow or other, they do not. We find thousands of men worrying, anxious,
distrait, because of the uncertainties of their businesses and the chances
they have to take. We find other thousands of men blundering, careless,
optimistic, always hopeful for b