ay, in substance, one of three things about
his case:

"He is a square peg in a round hole;" by which we usually mean he is a
right man in the wrong place.

Or, "He is capable of filling a better position;" a more polite way of
saying that a man has outgrown his present job but has not developed
ability to get a bigger one.

Oftenest, probably, we declare, "He isn't appreciated."

Very rarely is a worthy man's failure in life ascribed to the commonest
cause--_his personal inefficiency in selling_ to the world comprehension
of his especial qualifications for success.

[Sidenote: What Failures Realize]

If a man is a square peg in a round hole, he should realize that his
particular qualities must be fitted into the right field for them before
he can succeed. A natural "organizer" cannot achieve his ambitions if he
works alone at a routine task.

No sensible man would aspire to fill a better position than he holds,
unless he had developed a capacity beyond the limitations of his present
work. The shipping clerk who craves the higher salary of a correspondent
knows he cannot hope for the desired promotion if he has not learned to
write good business letters.

However deserving of advancement a man may be, he realizes he has but a
slim chance to succeed if his worth is unrecognized. So he wants
appreciation from his chief. He knows that unless his worth is perceived
and truly valued, some one else, who may be less qualified, is apt to be
selected for the "Manager's" job he desires. Such "injustices" have
poisoned countless disappointed hopes with bitterest resentment.

The deserving man who fails because he is a misfit in his particular
position, the worthy man who is limited to a small career because the
work he does lacks scope for the use of all his ability; the third good
man who has been kept down for the reason that his chief is blind to his
qualifications for promotion--all three of these failures understand
pretty clearly the reasons for their non-success.

[Sidenote: When Lack of Salesmanship Causes Failure]

It is very different in the case of the capable man who fails because he
has been _inefficient in selling true impressions_ of his qualifications
for success. A private secretary, for illustration, might be thoroughly
competent for managerial duties; but by his self-effacement in his
present job he might make the false impression that he was wanting in
executive capacity. He would be given a chance