The Secret of Success

...begin to eat until he has finished; he goes first to the fresh pan of water. In short, he is "king of the cage." Now, then, when a trainer original: "tamer" goes into a den with a big cat that has decided to act unpredictable original: "taken a notion to act ‘funny’", his attitude is almost exactly what the "king beast" mentioned above would show toward a subject rash and ill-advised enough to challenge his kingship.

You will notice in the above quotation that the writer states clearly that it is not always the baboon with the fiercest tusks that is the master, nor does the "king lion" necessarily assert his dominion by winning a physical fight—it is something far more subtle than the physical. It is the manifestation of some soul quality of the animal. And so it is with men: it is not always the biggest and strongest physically who rule. The ruler becomes so by reason of the mysterious soul quality which we call Spiritedness, and which men often call "nerve," or "mettle," or "grit" original: "sand". When two individuals come into contact with each other, there is a mental struggle—there may not be even a word uttered—and yet soul grapples with soul as the two pairs of eyes gaze into each other, and a subtle something in each engages and grapples with a subtle something in the other. It may be all over in a moment, but the conflict is settled for the time, and each of the mental combatants knows that he is victor or defeated, as the case may be. There may be no feeling of hostility original: "antagonism" between the parties engaging, but nevertheless, there seems to be an inward recognition on both sides that one of them always leads. And this leadership does not depend upon physical strength, intellectual attainment, or culture in the ordinary sense, but upon the manifestation and recognition of that subtle quality that we have called Spirit.

People unconsciously assert their recognition of quality in themselves and others by their use of the term. We often hear of people "lacking spirit," being "spiritless," and of others having had "their spirit broken," etc. The term is used in the sense of "mettle." A "mettled" horse or man is "high-spirited," according to the dictionaries; and the same authorities define "mettlesome" as "full of spirit," so you see the term is used as we have employed it—but the explanation of the source of the "spiritedness" is not given. Breeders of thoroughbred racing horses will tell you that a horse having "spirit" will run a more determined original: "gamer" race and will often outdistance and outlast original: "out-wind" a horse having higher physical characteristics but less "spirit" or "class." Horsemen insist that the possession of "spirit" in a horse is recognized by the other horses, who are affected original: "effected" by it and become discouraged and allow themselves to be beaten, although often they may be better racing machines, physically. This spirit is a fundamental vital strength possessed by all living things in degrees—and it may be developed and strengthened in oneself. In our next lesson, we shall describe original: "recite" a few instances of its manifestation among men.