This idea of starting at the bottom and workingone’s way up may appear to be sound， but the majorobjection to it is this-too many of those who beginat the bottom never manage to lift their heads highenough to be seen by OPPORTUNITY， so they remainat the bottom. It should be remembered， also， thatthe outlook from the bottom is not so very bright orencouraging. It has a tendency to kill off ambition.
We call it “getting into a rut，” which means thatwe accept our fate because we form the HABIT ofdaily routine， a habit that finally becomes so strongwe cease to try to throw it off. And that is anotherreason why it pays to start one or two steps abovethe bottom. By so doing one forms the HABIT oflooking around， of observing how others get ahead，of seeing OPPORTUNITY， and of embracing itwithout hesitation.
Dan Halpin is a splendid example of what I mean.
During his college days， he was manager of thefamous 1930 National Championship Notre Damefootball team， when it was under the direction of thelate Knute Rockne.
Perhaps he was inspired by the great footballcoach to aim high， and NOT MISTAKE TEMPORARYDEFEAT FOR FAILURE， just as Andrew Carnegie， thegreat industrial leader， inspired his young businesslieutenants to set high goals for themselves. At anyrate， young Halpin finished college at a mightyunfavorable time， when the depression had madejobs scarce， so， after a fling at investment bankingand motion pictures， he took the first opening witha potential future he could find—selling electricalhearing aids on a commission basis. ANYONECOULD START IN THAT SORT OF JOB， AND HALPIN
KNEW IT， but it was enough to open the door ofopportunity to him.
For almost two years， he continued in a job notto his liking， and he would never have risen abovethat job if he had not done something about hisdissatisfaction. He aimed， first， at the job of AssistantSales Manager of his company， and got the job. Thatone step upward placed him high enough above thecrowd to enable him to see still greater opportunity，also， it placed him where OPPORTUNITY COULD SEEHIM.
He made such a fine record selling hearing aids，that A. M. Andrews， Chairman of the Board of theDictograph Products Company， a business competitorof the company for which Halpin worked， wantedto know something about that man Dan Halpin whowas taking big sales away from the long establishedDictograph Company. He sent for Halpin. Whenthe interview was over， Halpin was the new SalesManager， in charge of the Acousticon Division.
Then， to test young Halpin’s metal， Mr. Andrewswent away to Florida for three months， leaving himto sink or swim in his new job. He did not sink！
Knute Rockne’s spirit of “All the world loves awinner， and has no time for a loser inspired himto put so much into his job that he was recentlyelected Vice-President of the company， and GeneralManager of the Acousticon and Silent RadioDivision， a job which most men would be proud toearn through ten years of loyal effort. Halpin turnedthe trick in little more than six months.
It is difficult to say whether Mr. Andrews or Mr. Halpin is more deserving of eulogy， for the reasonthat both showed evidence of having an abundanceof that very rare quality known as IMAGINATION.
Mr. Andrews deserves credit for seeing， in youngHalpin， a “go-getter” of the highest order. Halpindeserves credit for REFUSING TO COMPROMISEWITH LIFE BY ACCEPTING AND KEEPING A JOB HE DID NOT WANT， and that is one of the majorpoints I am trying to emphasize through this entirephilosophy—that we rise to high positions or remainat the bottom BECAUSE OF CONDITIONS WE CANCONTROL IF WE DESIRE TO CONTROL THEM.
I am also trying to emphasize another point，namely， that both success and failure are largely theresults of HABIT！ I have not the slightest doubt thatDan Halpin’s close association with the greatestfootball coach America ever knew， planted in hismind the same brand of DESIRE to excel which madethe Notre Dame football team world famous. Truly，there is something to the idea that hero-worship ishelpful， provided one worships a WINNER. Halpintells me that Rockne was one of the world’s greatestleaders of men in all history.