Anything acquired without effort， and withoutcost is generally unappreciated， often discredited；perhaps this is why we get so little from ourmarvelous opportunity in public schools. The SELFDISCIPLINEone receives from a definite programmeof specialized study makes up to some extent，for the wasted opportunity when knowledge wasavailable without cost. Correspondence schools arehighly organized business institutions. Their tuitionfees are so low that they are forced to insist uponprompt payments. Being asked to pay， whether thestudent makes good grades or poor， has the effect ofcausing one to follow through with the course whenhe would otherwise drop it. The correspondenceschools have not stressed this point sufficiently，for the truth is that their collection departmentsconstitute the very finest sort of training onDECISION， PROMPTNESS， ACTION and THE HABIT OFFINISHING THAT WHICH ONE BEGINS.
I learned this from experience， more than twentyfiveyears ago. I enrolled for a home study course inAdvertising. After completing eight or ten lessons Istopped studying， but the school did not stop sendingme bills. Moreover， it insisted upon payment，whether I kept up my studies or not. I decided thatif I had to pay for the course （which I had legallyobligated myself to do）， I should complete thelessons and get my money’s worth. I felt， at thetime， that the collection system of the school wassomewhat too well organized， but I learned laterin life that it was a valuable part of my training forwhich no charge had been made. Being forced topay， I went ahead and completed the course. Later inlife I discovered that the efficient collection systemof that school had been worth much in the form ofmoney earned， because of the training in advertisingI had so reluctantly taken.
We have in this country what is said to be thegreatest public school system in the world. We haveinvested fabulous sums for fine buildings， we haveprovided convenient transportation for childrenliving in the rural districts， so they may attend thebest schools， but there is one astounding weaknessto this marvelous system—IT IS FREE！ One of thestrange things about human beings is that theyvalue only that which has a price. The free schoolsof America， and the free public libraries， do notimpress people because they are free. This is themajor reason why so many people find it necessaryto acquire additional training after they quit schooland go lo work. It is also one of the major reasonswhy EMPLOYERS GIVE GREATER CONSIDERATIONTO EMPLOYEES WHO TAKE HOME STUDY COURSES.
They have learned， from experience， that any personwho has the ambition to give up a part of his sparetime to studying at home has in him those qualitieswhich make for leadership. This recognition is nota charitable gesture， it is sound business judgmentupon the part of the employers.
There is one weakness in people for which there isno remedy. It is the universal weakness of LACK OFAMBITION！ Persons， especially salaried people， whoschedule their spare time， to provide for home study，seldom remain at the bottom very long. Their actionopens the way for the upward climb， removes manyobstacles from their path， and gains the friendlyinterest of those who have the power to put them inthe way of OPPORTUNITY.
The home study method of training is especiallysuited to the needs of employed people whofind， after leaving school， that they must acquireadditional specialized knowledge， but cannot sparethe time to go back to school.
The changed economic conditions prevailing since the depression have made it necessary forthousands of people to find additional， or newsources of income. For the majority of these， thesolution to their problem may be found only byacquiring specialized knowledge. Many will beforced to change their occupations entirely. When amerchant finds that a certain line of merchandise isnot selling， he usually supplants it with another thatis in demand. The person whose business is that ofmarketing personal services must also be an efficientmerchant. If his services do not bring adequatereturns in one occupation， he must change toanother， where broader opportunities are available.
Stuart Austin Wier prepared himself as a Construction Engineer and followed this line of workuntil the depression limited his market to where itdid not give him the income he required. He tookinventory of himself， decided to change his professionto law， went back to school and took special coursesby which he prepared himself as a corporation lawyer.
Despite the fact the depression had not ended， hecompleted his training， passed the Bar Examination，and quickly built a lucrative law practice， in Dallas，Texas； in fact he is turning away clients.
Just to keep the record straight， and to anticipatethe alibis of those who will say， “I couldn’t go toschool because I have a family to support，” or “I’mtoo old，” I will add the information that Mr. Wierwas past forty， and married when he went back toschool. Moreover， by carefully selecting highlyspecialized courses， in colleges best prepared toteach the subjects chosen， Mr. Wier completed intwo years the work for which the majority of lawstudents require four years. IT PAYS TO KNOW HOWTO PURCHASE KNOWLEDGE！
The person who stops studying merely because hehas finished school is forever hopelessly doomed tomediocrity， no matter what may be his calling. Theway of success is the way of continuous pursuit ofknowledge.