The Lines
Bottom. [9] Sometimes a man comes up against what seems at
the time to be insurmountable limitations. When this happens, it is important
that the man recognize the situation and not try to go beyond what is possible.
By staying within the limits set on his forward movement, he is able to
consolidate his resources, sharpen his skills, and adequately plan his next
move. Then, when the time is ripe, he will be in a position to take whatever
further steps are indicated at that time. Careful planning is necessary for the
accomplishment of great enterprises.
2. [9] When a man prepares for action, there comes a time
when preparation is complete, obstacles are out of the way, and action is most
appropriate. Before that time, he is not really ready. After that time, he has
missed the opportunity. If worrying and fretting cause him to delay when the
time is ripe, the result will be failure.
3. [6] The man who seeks only the pleasures of frivolous
entertainment has no sense of limitations. He is looking for as much of those
things as he can find to fill as many hours in the day as he has. Such a path
is hardly the way to a fulfilling life, and invariably leads to a sense of
emptiness and futility. And just as invariably, he will seek to blame others or
circumstances for his fruitlessness. Only when he comes to realize that the
vacuity of his life is his own doing, that the path he pursues cannot possibly
provide a sense of fulfillment, will he be able to focus himself and his life
upon a more productive path.
4. [6] If a man's life is limited by artificial values that
do not naturally suit him, he will get nowhere because all his energies are
directed at maintaining the form while ignoring the substance. Limitations that
lead to success exist for a purpose: they contribute directly to the
achievement of the man's goals and purposes, and in fact are necessary to
accomplish the goals successfully. Other kinds of limitations that only help
make life more complicated and add nothing of themselves detract from the goal
and siphon off energy needed to achieve it.
5. [9] A man who seeks to establish limitations on others
cannot exempt himself. In fact, he will be much more successful if he presents
himself as a model for limited behavior. "Do as I say, not as I do"
has little influence on others and instead earns their contempt, not their
respect. But if the man adopts the limitations himself and can show how
successfully they work, his words and example will exert tremendous influence.
With such an approach, success will come to all who adopt the limitations.
Top. [6] All normal men aspire to some degree of personal
liberty. For a youth, a reasonable level of liberty is seen as an entitlement
as he approaches adulthood. If limitations are imposed that go too far in
suppressing what is seen as a reasonable degree of personal liberty, the
normal, healthy person will surely rebel. If he who imposes the limitations
thinks that he, as an authority figure, has the right to impose any limitations
he chooses, no matter how severe, then his actions can only lead to disaster,
because they violate human nature and force a reaction in their object. There
is one exception to this rule, however. There are occasions when the strictest
limitations are needed in order to heal the body or the mind. If a person has
lost control over his own behavior, if he is unable to do what he must or
unable to resist what he must not, then it is necessary for him to submit
himself to whatever limitations
are required in order to rescue him from misfortune. These may indeed by
unpleasant and even unbearable; but the difficulties that have engulfed him
demand no less
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