Ruth was a failure as a tailor. Hawthorne was a failure as a Custom
House clerk when he wrote the "Scarlet Letter." Theodore Roosevelt was a
failure as a cowboy in North Dakota and gave up his frontiering because
of it.

These men were failures because they tried to do things for which they
were not intended. But each at last found his work, and when he did, it
was so easy for him it made him famous.

Play, Not Work, Brings Fame

Fame comes only to the man, or woman, who loves his work so well that
it is not work but play. It comes only to him who does something with
marvellous efficiency. Work alone can not produce that kind of
efficiency.

Outdistancing Competition

Fame comes from doing one thing so much better than your competitors
that your results stand out above and beyond the results of all others.
Any man who will do efficiently any one of the many things the world is
crying for can place his own price upon his work and get it. He can get
it because the world gladly pays for what it really wants, and because
the efficient man has almost no competition.

Efficiency Comes from Enjoyment

But here's the rub. You will never do anything with that brilliant
efficiency save what you LIKE TO DO. Efficiency does not come from duty,
or necessity, or goading, or lashing, or anything under heaven save
ENJOYMENT OF THE THING ITSELF.

Nothing less will ever release those hidden powers, those miraculous
forces which, for the lack of a better name, we call "genius."

Knowing What are _Not_ Your Vocations

Elimination of what are distinctly NOT your vocations will help you
toward finding those that ARE. To that end here are some tests which
will clear up many things for you. They will help you to know especially
whether or not the vocations you have been contemplating are fitted to
you.

How to Test Yourself

Whenever you are considering your fitness for any vocation, ask
yourself these questions:

_Self-Question 1--Am I considering this vocation chiefly because I would
enjoy the things it would bring--such as salary, fame, social
position or change of scene?_

If, in your heart, your answer is "Yes," this is not a vocation for
you.

The Movie Hopeful

The above test can best be illustrated by the story of a young woman
who wanted to be told that she had ability to act. "I am determined to
go into the movies," she told us. "Do you think I would be a success?"

"When you picture your