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Your Human Potential Is Incredibly
Greater ThanYou HaveRealized
D
on' t sell yourself short! The possibilities that lie
ahead for you are transcendently greater than
you have ever come to know!
When I was an adolescent of sixteen , as
r
have said and written many times, AMBITlON was a roused
in me. It was on my first summer vaca tionjob away from
home. I had never thought very seriously before of
making something of myself in the world.
l had devoted my time, as most boys do, to " having
fun." 1 had played baseball, footba ll , and spun tops. At
age twelve 1 became interested in wrestling. Those were
the days when wrestling was wrestling- not a deceptive
comedy show like professional wrestling later became.
Those were the days when Frank Gotch was world
champion- a
real
champion- the days of"Farmer
Burns," Zsbysco. and other superstrong men. The older
brother of a neighbor boy I p layed with had set up a real
wrestling mat , and we boys were learning a
U
about half
nelsons, arm locks, and toeholds.
Then at sixteen l hada summer vacation job in
another town . My employer complimented me on my
work, and this caused meto try hard. He began telling
me
1
had abilities to make a real success ofmy life- 1
could really accomplish big things, if l applied myself.
Ambition is the DESIRE to accomplish, PLUS the wi ll to
apply oneself energetically with determination. I didn't
then know
what
J
would do- in what field I would
become such a success-but l began to believe in myself,
and began to apply myself
to
studies at the public library,
entirely aside from the high school studies.
At age eighteen I put myself through a course of self–
analysis, by means of a book
l
found in the public
library.
Choosing a Vocation.
lt
helped me avoid " fitting
the square peg in the round hole." lt set forth the
requirements for success in the professions, businesses,
occupations. This self-survey. coupled with a survey of
occupations, led me into the advertising profession.
l applied myselfvigorously. As
l
grew into the
twenties ,
T
became quite successful. With an office in
The
PLAIN TRUTH
January
1979
Chicago's Loop from age 23 to 30. I was finally earning
an income which , on today's dollar value. would amount
to $150,000 per year.
Then, at age 34, I was challenged most seriously. and
was led into an intensive, almos! night-and-day. in-depth
study ofevolution and the Bible. My marriage depended
upon it, and 1 did not believe in divorce.
This in-depth research OPENED MY EYES toan entirely
NEW HORIZON!
Up until then 1 had been imbued 1) with
self
confidence, and 2) with an horizon limited to mental or
physical secular fields.
In other words, I interpreted "human potential" in
terms of the physical and the material, as
J
suppose most
everybody does today.
Commonly, people will think of human potential as
the possibility of making such a success in life as a
Thomas A. Edison, an Einstein. a Paderewski , an Arthur
Rubinstein- or, historically. a Napoleon, oran A lexander
the Great.
But now a WHOLE NEW HORIZON loomed
transcendently before my mind's eye- something
immeasurably greater and more wonderful than any
physical, material, or mechanical accomplishment.
And now, too, an entirely NEW kind of CONFIDENCE
began to grip me. l began to exchange SELF-confidence
for the confidence that is FAITH in the living Jesus Christ.
Self-confidence began to disappear. FAITH. which is
R.ELIANCE on God, began to grow.
Anda potentiality that is possible for humans now
loomed up stupendously grea ter than anything 1 had
conceived of before.
1 had begun to see, in the Bible. something
TREMENDOUS that seems hidden from human eyes in this
world. 1 began to realize that the gospel message which
Goo sent by Jesus Christ involves a vast comprehension
ofGod's great PURPOSE! I began to discover the missing
dimension in knowledge- knowledge undiscovered by
science, untaught in higher
(Continued on page 45)