We bought a victrola. When the child heard themusic for the first time， he went into ecstasies， andpromptly appropriated the machine. He soon showeda preference for certain records， among them， “It’s aLong Way to Tipperary.” On one occasion， he playedthat piece over and over， for almost two hours，standing in front of the victrola， with his teethclamped on the edge of the case. The significance ofthis self-formed habit of his did not become clear tous until years afterward， for we had never heard ofthe principle of “bone conduction” of sound at thattime.
Shortly after he appropriated the victrola， Idiscovered that he could hear me quite clearly whenI spoke with my lips touching his mastoid bone， or atthe base of the brain. These discoveries placed in mypossession the necessary media by which I began totranslate into reality my Burning Desire to help myson develop hearing and speech. By that time he wasmaking stabs at speaking certain words. The outlookwas far from encouraging， but DESIRE BACKED BYFAITH knows no such word as impossible.
Having determined that he could hear the sound ofmy voice plainly， I began， immediately， to transferto his mind the desire to hear and speak. I soondiscovered that the child enjoyed bedtime stories， soI went to work， creating stories designed to developin him self-reliance， imagination， and a keen desireto hear and to be normal.
There was one story in particular， which I emphasized by giving it some new and dramaticcoloring each time it was told. It was designed toplant in his mind the thought that his affliction wasnot a liability， but an asset of great value. Despite thefact that all the philosophy I had examined clearlyindicated that EVERY ADVERSITY BRINGS WITH ITTHE SEED OF AN EQUIVALENT ADVANTAGE， I mustconfess that I had not the slightest idea how thisaffliction could ever become an asset. However， Icontinued my practice of wrapping that philosophyin bedtime stories， hoping the time would comewhen he would find some plan by which hishandicap could be made to serve some useful purpose.
Reason told me plainly， that there was no adequatecompensation for the lack of ears and natural hearingequipment. DESIRE backed by FAITH， pushed reasonaside， and inspired me to carry on.
As I analyze the experience in retrospect， I cansee now， that my son’s faith in me had much to dowith the astounding results. He did not questionanything I told him. I sold him the idea that he hada distinct advantage over his older brother， and thatthis advantage would reflect itself in many ways.
For example， the teachers in school would observethat he had no ears， and， because of this， they wouldshow him special attention and treat him withextraordinary kindness. They always did. His mothersaw to that， by visiting the teachers and arrangingwith them to give the child the extra attentionnecessary. I sold him the idea， too， that when hebecame old enough to sell newspapers， （his olderbrother had already become a newspaper merchant），he would have a big advantage over his brother， forthe reason that people would pay him extra moneyfor his wares， because they could see that he was abright， industrious boy， despite the fact he had noears.
We could notice that， gradually， the child’s hearingwas improving. Moreover， he had not the slightesttendency to be self-conscious， because of hisaffliction. When he was about seven， he showed thefirst evidence that our method of servicing his mindwas bearing fruit. For several months he begged forthe privilege of selling newspapers， but his motherwould not give her consent. She was afraid that hisdeafness made it unsafe for him to go on the streetalone.
Finally， he took matters in his own hands. Oneafternoon， when he was left at home with the servants，he climbed through the kitchen window， shinnied tothe ground， and set out on his own. He borrowed sixcents in capital from the neighborhood shoemaker，invested it in papers， sold out， reinvested， and keptrepeating until late in the evening. After balancinghis accounts， and paying back the six cents he hadborrowed from his banker， he had a net profit offorty-two cents. When we got home that night， wefound him in bed asleep， with the money tightlyclenched in his hand.
His mother opened his hand， removed the coins，and cried. Of all things！ Crying over her son’s firstvictory seemed so inappropriate. My reaction wasthe reverse. I laughed heartily， for I knew that myendeavor to plant in the child’s mind an attitude offaith in himself had been successful.
His mother saw， in his first business venture，a little deaf boy who had gone out in the streetsand risked his life to earn money. I saw a brave，ambitious， self-reliant little business man whosestock in himself had been increased a hundredpercent， because he had gone into business on hisown initiative， and had won. The transaction pleasedme， because I knew that he had given evidence ofa trait of resourcefulness that would go with himall through life. Later events proved this to be true.
When his older brother wanted something， he wouldlie down on the floor， kick his feet in the air， cry forit—and get it. When the “little deaf boy” wantedsomething， he would plan a way to earn the money，then buy it for himself. He still follows that plan！
Truly， my own son has taught me that handicapscan be converted into stepping stones on which onemay climb toward some worthy goal， unless they areaccepted as obstacles， and used as alibis.
The little deaf boy went through the grades， highschool， and college without being able to hear histeachers， excepting when they shouted loudly， atclose range. He did not go to a school for the deaf.