Ten years after Al Smith set out on his programme of politicalself-education， he was the greatest living authority on thegovernment of New York State. He was elected Governor of NewYork for four terms-a record never attained by any other man. In1928， he was the Democratic candidate for President. Six greatuniversities—including Columbia and Harvard—conferred honorarydegrees upon this man who had never gone beyond grade school.
Al Smith himself told me that none of these things would everhave come to pass if he hadn’t worked hard sixteen hours a day toturn his minus into a plus.
Nietzsche’s formula for the superior man was “not only to bearup under necessity but to love it”.
The more I have studied the careers of men of achievementthe more deeply I have been convinced that a surprisingly largenumber of them succeeded because they started out with handicapsthat spurred them on to great endeavour and great rewards. AsWilliam James said： “Our infirmities help us unexpectedly.”
Yes， it is highly probable that Milton wrote better poetrybecause he was blind and that Beethoven composed better musicbecause he was deaf.
Helen Keller’s brilliant career was inspired and made possiblebecause of her blindness and deafness.
If Tchaikovsky had not been frustrated—and driven almostto suicide by his tragic marriage—if his own life had not beenpathetic， he probably would never have been able to compose hisimmortal “Symphonic Pathetique”.
If Dostoevsky and Tolstoy had not led tortured lives， they wouldprobably never have been able to write their immortal novels.
“If I had not been so great an invalid，” wrote the man whochanged the scientific concept of life on earth— “if I had not beenso great an invalid， I should not have done so much work as Ihave accomplished.” That was Charles Darwin’s confession thathis infirmities had helped him unexpectedly.
The same day that Darwin was born in England another babywas born in a log cabin in the forests of Kentucky. He， too， was helped by his infirmities. His name was Lincoln—AbrahamLincoln. If he had been reared in an aristocratic family and hadhad a law degree from Harvard and a happy married life， hewould probably never have found in the depths of his heart thehaunting words that he immortalised at Gettysburg， nor thesacred poem that he spoke at his second inauguration—the mostbeautiful and noble phrases ever uttered by a ruler of men： “Withmalice toward none； with charity for all...”
Harry Emerson Fosdick says in his book， The Power to Seeit Through； “There is a Scandinavian saying which some of usmight well take as a rallying cry for our lives： ‘the north windmade the Vikings.’ Wherever did we get the idea that secure andpleasant living， the absence of difficulty， and the comfort of ease，ever of themselves made people either good or happy？ Upon thecontrary， people who pity themselves go on pitying themselveseven when they are laid softly on a cushion， but always in historycharacter and happiness have come to people in all sorts ofcircumstances， good， bad， and indifferent， when they shoulderedtheir personal responsibility. So， repeatedly the north wind hasmade the Vikings.”
Suppose we are so discouraged that we feel there is no hope ofour ever being able to turn our lemons into lemonade-then hereare two reasons why we ought to try， anyway—two reasons whywe have everything to gain and nothing to lose.
Reason one： We may succeed.
Reason two： Even if we don’t succeed， the mere attempt toturn our minus into a plus will cause us to look forward insteadof backward； it will replace negative thoughts with positivethoughts； it will release creative energy and spur us to get so busythat we won’t have either the time or the inclination to mournover what is past and for ever gone.
Once when Ole Bull， the world-famous violinist， was givinga concert in Paris， the A string on his violin suddenly snapped.
But Ole Bull simply finished the melody on three strings. “Thatis life，” says Harry Emerson Fosdick， “to have your A string snapand finish on three strings.”
That is not only life. It is more than life. It is life triumphant！
If I had the power to do so， I would have these words of WilliamBolitho carved in eternal bronze and hung in every schoolhouse inthe land：
The most important thing in life is not to capitalize on yourgains. Any fool can do that. The really important thing is to profitfrom your losses. That requires intelligence； and it makes thedifference between a man of sense and a fool.
So， to cultivate a mental attitude that will bring us peace andhappiness， let’s do something about Rule 6：
When fate hands us a lemon， let’s try to make a lemonade.
