You are reading a page from Life Insurance as a Life Work, by Hugh Hart
(1926)
Part of the American Term Life Insurance History Project
Term Life Insurance
CHAPTER II
THE MAN WHO HAS NOT FOUND
HIMSELF
A man can't be hid. He may be a peddler in the
mountains, but the world will find him out to make
him a king of finance. He may be carrying cabbages
from Long Island when the world will demand that
he shall run the railways of a continent. He may be
a groceryman on the canal when the country shall
come to him and put him in his career of usefulness so
that there comes a time finally when all the green
barrels of petroleum in the land suggest but two
names and one great company.—Sermon, "He Cannot
be Hid," DR. JOHN PASTON.
Recently I received a letter from a man-
of my acquaintance which contained this
statement: "I have a good mind, am a
hard worker, am very conscientious and
have no bad habits, and yet I do not make
any progress in life. I do not seem to have
found myself.)' I knew him well enough to
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THE MAN WHO HAS NOT FOUND HIMSELF
appreciate that what he said was true.
When he started out, there seemed to be
every probability that he would make a very
substantial success in life, but he had not
found the type of work for which he was
best adapted and so the work in which he
was engaged failed to draw out the best that
was in him.
There is a wide difference between the
man who is a failure because he has not in
his make-up the stuff out of which success
is attained, and the man of parts who misses
his destiny for the reason that he has not
found himself; that is, the man who has not
found the type of work for which by nature
and talents he is fitted. Not every success-
ful man would have succeeded if he had
chosen another vocation. Only occasionally
a versatile genius like Roosevelt appears
upon the stage, able to succeed, as Roosevelt
did, in ten distinct lines of endeavor. It is
pathetic, however, to see a man of splendid
endowments battling against the .discour-
agement which almost certainly comes when
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LIFE INSURANCE AS A LIFE WORK
he is out of adjustment with the work he
is attempting to do. He sees other men, not
so capable as he, forging a greater distance
ahead and, he wonders why. They have
found themselves—he has not. They have,
so to speak, tuned in their talents with the
work they are doing and harmony and con-
tentment follow. Their work calls forth
the best that is in them. He, on the con-
trary, is buffeted about by the ever-present
realization that he is not doing his full
man's job. And yet something constantly
tells him that he can surprise both himself
and those about him with his accomplish-
ments if only he can find the right type of
work.
You can think that you have found your-
self when you have not, and you can believe
that you have not found yourself when you
have. It is every man's duty to accomplish
the greatest amount of usefulness with his
life that his ability will permit. It is well,
therefore, to try to analyze symptoms that
are present when you have not found your-
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THE MAN WHO HAS NOT FOUND HIMSELF
self and those that are present when you
have found yourself.
1. Indications that a man has not found
himself:
(a) He does not like his work even
though he has given it a fair
trial.
(b) He has not made progress com-
parable with other men who are
engaged in the same work and
who have similar ability.
(c) Another type of work, vaguely de-
fined or definitely apparent, con-
stantly recurs as a pleasurable
anticipation, arousing interest
and even enthusiasm.
(d) The consciousness that financial
returns are inadequate to meet
the growing demands of himself
and his family.
(e) Apathy toward him on the part of
those for whom or with whom he
works.
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LIFE INSURANCE AS A LIFE WORK
(f) The persistent feeling that there is
no future for him in his present
"work.
(g) Lack of pride in his tasks.
(h) A constant sense of discourage-
ment with the subconscious feel-
ing that the same effort in some
other and more congenial work
would result in more abundant
accomplishment.
(i) The belief that he has become some-
thing of an automaton and has
become buried in a rut.
(j) The conviction that his life,
through its present medium, is
not contributing as much as it
should, or could, to the common
good.
2. Indications that a man has found him-
self:
^ (a) Love of his work to the point of
enthusiasm and enjoyment in the
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THE MAN WHO HAS NOT FOUND HIMSELF
solving of all problems that arise
in it.
(b) The knowledge that he is progress-
ing normally if not rapidly.
(c) Every other type of work, when
brought into comparison in his
mind with that which he is doing,
seems less attractive and stimu-
lates him to congratulate himself
that he is in his present work
rather than in another. He has
the feeling that he would not will-
ingly make a change to any other
job.
(d) The consciousness that he is being
rewarded financially in a satis-
factory manner.
(e) Realization that his superiors and
associates believe he is making
good to a degree that causes them
to be proud of him and his work.
(f) Confidence in his ability to do well
what he is now attempting and
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LIFE INSURANCE AS A LIFE WORK
certainty that his future will be
as big as he cares to make it.
(g) Intense pride in his work—both in
the work itself and in the supe-
rior manner in which he is able
to do it.
(h) A buoyant optimism even in the
face of the setbacks incident to
his business—a resilience of fav-
orable mental attitude which will
not be submerged by discourage-
ment.
(i) Satisfaction of his creative instinct
and belief that he is injecting a
touch of individuality and origi-
nality into the solution of his
problems that raises them out of
the humdrum and the routine,
and adds zest and interest to his
every task.
(3) Evidence that he is constructively
serving others through his daily
efforts to the full measure of his
powers.
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THE MAN WHO HAS NOT FOUND HIMSELF
In the light of this self-analysis we are
constrained to heed the Scriptural admoni-
tion "Let him that thinketh he standeth
take heed lest he fall.'' There are instances
which may be observed on every hand of
men who have found themselves and then
lost themselves again. No man may be con-
sidered as an unqualified success until he
has been dead at least ten years and poster-
ity has had an opportunity to pass judg-
ment on his career. There is in New York
a spacious and palatial mansion which has
been provided by a philanthropist as the
abiding place for old men who were once
wealthy and successful but who eventually
failed in life. It is the home of those who
found themselves and then lost themselves
again.
But it must not be implied that a man who
has found himself and lost himself cannot
again find himself. The important thing is
that he should find himself before it is too
late. Let us, therefore, consider some of
the obstacles which may prevent a man from
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LIFE INSURANCE AS A LIFE WORK
finding himself, for by isolating the obsta-
cles it is possible to determine with reason-
able accuracy whether he has the strength
and courage to surmount them.
Obstacles that must be overcome by the
man who seeks to find himself:
(a) Lack of confidence in himself.
(b) Lack of capital.
(c) Fear of ridicule.
(d) Apparent absence of a proper op-
portunity.
(e) Lack of special training.
(f) A restricted field.
^ These are the principal difficulties to be
overcome. When it is considered that the
wide chasm between a failing life on the
one hand and the possibility of a successful
life on the other hand is made up largely of
these six factors, it would seem that the
problem of finding oneself is not so com-
plicated a process after all. And yet how
can a man restore confidence in himself?
How can a man without capital obtain it1?
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THE MAN WHO HAS NOT FOUND HIMSELF
How can a man who is easily wounded by
the shafts of public opinion dispel his fear
of ridicule ? How can a man groping fran-
tically for some vehicle that shall bear him
away to fame and fortune lay his hands
upon it? How can an untrained mind ex-
pect to cope with problems which necessi-
tate training, or acquire the training which
requires both time and expense ? How can
the restrictions imposed by competitive con-
ditions be expanded so as to open up a niche
for a discouraged man?
Let us assume that you are the man who
has not found himself, or who, having found
himself, is lost again. These are the baf-
fling questions with which you are troubled.
To you I suggest a consideration of what
the vocation of life insurance offers in help-
ing you to find yourself.
(a) What does the vocation of life insur-
ance offer you as an antitoxin for your lack
of self-confidence? Nothing, unless you
first do your part to master this weakness.
Lack of confidence is an unhealthy mental
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LIFE INSURANCE AS A LIFE WORK
attitude toward yourself and your problems,
due to a pessimistic habit of thought.
Every problem that presents itself to a
man carries with it two chances; i. e., a
chance of failing to solve the problem and,
second, a chance of succeeding in solving it.
If you focus your mind on the chance of
succeeding in solving the problem to the ex-
clusion of thought on the chance of failing
at it, you get in the habit of thinking suc-
cess thoughts; if your mind is focused on
the possibility of failure, you get in the
habit of thinking failure thoughts. Success
thoughts breed confidence in yourself and
consequently give you power. Failure
thoughts destroy your self-confidence and
consequently weaken your capacity to do.
The first step, therefore, toward obtaining
confidence is to reorganize your mental
equipment along optimistic, rather than
pessimistic lines. The second step is to
make an appraisal of your qualities, fa-
vorable and unfavorable.
Take a piece of paper and draw a line
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THE MAN WHO HAS NOT FOUND HIMSELF
down the center. On one side, list all your
favorable qualities and on the other side,
all your unfavorable qualities. When you
have done this, go to some sincere friend
who knows you intimately, and, without
having first shown him the list you have
made, ask him to prepare a similar list of
your good and bad qualities. Then com-
pare the two lists with him, and after dis-
cussing them, arrive at a common list which
you both agree is an accurate appraisal.
You should then give thought to methods of
eliminating as many unfavorable qualities
as possible, of strengthening your favorable
qualities, and adding others. This process
will doubtless demonstrate to you that you
have more good qualities than bad. In-
stead of being discouraged over your un-
favorable qualities, resolve to utilize your
favorable qualities to the fullest extent.
You will, no doubt, discover that you are a
far better man than you thought you were,
and thus the smouldering embers of con-
fidence in yourself will begin to flame up.
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LIFE INSURANCE AS A LIFE WORK
Having thus reorganized your mental at-
titude, the vocation of life underwriting
may begin to help you with your problem.
/ When you start out to sell insurance, you
can feel relatively sure that the results of
your work will be of benefit to your clients.
After you acquire experience, you may be
able to make suggestions to your clients
which, from your limited knowledge, you
could not offer at the outset of your career.
However, after you have gained an ele-
mentary knowledge of what life insurance is
and does, and know the principal policy
forms issued by your company, you may
feel entirely confident that in selling these
policies you are doing valuable work. If
you keep this thought uppermost in your
mind, you can't fail to acquire a feeling of
self-confidence.
(b) Such a small amount of capital is re-
quired to enter the vocation of life under-
writing that this question does not present
a serious problem. If it were your inten-
tion to become a merchant or to start a bank
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THE MAN WHO HAS NOT FOUND HIMSELF
or to become a lawyer or a doctor, a sub-
stantial amount of capital would be re-
quired. If, however, you have enough capi-
tal to finance your living expenses for a
period of from three to six months, lack of
capital need not keep you out of the business
of life underwriting. Even if you cannot
do that, you should talk this question over
frankly with a general agent or manager of
some good life insurance company. He
may be able to suggest a constructive solu-
tion. There is probably no other business
offering such favorable financial opportun-
ity with so negligible a capital requirement
as life insurance selling.
(c) Fear of ridicule in taking up the
work of life insurance selling to-day is un-
founded. There may be people who know
little about life underwriting who will ridi-
cule your plan, just as there were people
who laughed at Columbus because of his
monstrous maritime dream, and people who
carped at Robert Fulton when his wheezing
boat began its journey under the propul-
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LIFE INSURANCE AS A LIFE WORK
sion of steam. But at the present time the
most enthusiastic endorsers of life insur-
ance are the outstanding business men of
the country and the accomplishments, of
those who have entered the field of life in-
surance selling have rendered their critics
ridiculous, i
(d) The opportunity to enter upon the
career of life insurance selling is not diffi-
cult to find. If you are in earnest you can
select some company which you wish to rep-
resent. If you then apply in person or by
letter to their home office, or nearest agency,
you will find the door open to you and a wel-
come extended.
(e) The special training necessary for
success in a major occupation is perhaps
more easily obtained in the life insurance
field than in any other. In almost any com-
pany with which you obtain a contract, you
will receive individual tutoring through the
agency that you enter, or you will be given
an opportunity to join a training class with
other new men, or the company will provide
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THE MAN WHO HAS NOT FOUND HIMSELF
a correspondence course. You may also ob-
tain instruction in one of the university
insurance courses or may procure a corre'-
spondence course from one of the insurance
service bureaus. The requirement of time
does not exceed a few weeks at the most
and the expense is nominal.
It is not to be understood from these
statements that life insurance is a shallow
subject and easy to learn. On the con-
trary, after you have been in the business
for many years, you will still discover daily
new facts about life insurance. But the
training that will start you on your way to
earning money is shorter by years than that
required for the practise of law or medi-
cine, or for many other vocations.
(f) When the fact is considered that
every man in good health, who has sufficient
money to maintain his premiums, is a po-
tential client for the life insurance sales-
man, it is readily seen that this vocation is
by no means restricted. Moreover, when we
realize that the man who already has in-
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LIFE INSURANCE AS A LIFE WORK
surance is by far a better prospect for in-
surance than the man who has none, we also
realize the significance of the fact that there
were 83,974,542 policies in force at the close
of 1923 on the lives of the American people.
The life insurance vocation is not a pana-
cea for failure. It will not meet the needs
of every discouraged man. Nevertheless, it
has proved to be the medium through which
many a worth-while man has made life's
most wonderful discovery, the discovery
wherein he has found himself.
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