"Oh, Helen--why, she"s going to marry and have a nice home of her own."
Any student of Human a.n.a.lysis would have recognized that of this quartet of children not one was being directed into the right vocation. He would have seen that the square-jawed Muscular Jimmie would make a much better lawyer than a minister; that little Johnnie should be a teacher or a lecturer; that fat Georgie was born for business instead of medicine; and that Helen had more ability than any of her brothers.
The Woman Misfit.
- Too many parents have gone on the theory that belonging to the female s.e.x was a sure indication of home-making, mothering, housekeeping abilities.
The commercial world is full of women who have starved, wasted and shriveled their lives away behind counters, desks and typewriters when they were meant for motherhood and wifehood.
The homes of the land are also full of women who, with the brains and effort they have given to scrubbing, washing and cooking, could have become "captains of industry."
The Sealed Parcel.
- If you are a parent don"t allow yourself to set your heart on any particular line of work for your children. Your child is a sealed parcel and only his own tendencies, as they appear during youth, can tell what that parcel really contains.
Allow these traits to unfold naturally, normally and freely. Don"t complicate your own problem by trying to advise him too soon. Don"t praise certain professions. Children are intensely suggestible. The knowledge that father and mother consider a certain profession especially desirable oftentimes influences a child to waste time working toward it when he has no real ability for it. Every hour of youth is precious and this wastage is unspeakably expensive.
On the other hand, do not attempt to prejudice your child against any profession. Don"t let him think, for instance, that you consider overalls a badge of inferiority, or a white collar the mark of superiority. Many a man in blue denim today could buy and sell the collar-and-cuff friends of his earlier years. The size of a man"s laundry bill is no criterion of his income.
Popular Misconceptions.
- Other parents make the equally foolish mistake of showing their dislike of certain professions. Not long ago we heard a father say in the presence of his large family, "I don"t want any of my boys to be lawyers. Lawyers are all liars. Ministers are worse; they"re all a bunch of Sissies. Doctors are all fakes. Actors are all bad eggs; and business is one big game of cheat or be cheated. I"m going to see that every boy I"ve got becomes a farmer."
Misdirected Mothering.
- A very unfortunate case came to our attention several years ago. In Chicago a mother brought her eighteen-year-old son to us for vocational counsel. "I am determined that James shall be a minister," she said. "My whole happiness depends upon it. I have worked, slaved and sacrificed ever since his father died that he might have the education for it. Now I want you to tell James to be a minister."
We refused to take the case, explaining that our a.n.a.lyses didn"t come to order but had to fit the facts as we found them. She still insisted upon the a.n.a.lysis. It revealed the fact that James was deficient mentally, save in one thing. His capacity for observing was lightning-like in its swiftness and microscopic in its completeness. And his capacity for judging remote motives from immediate actions was uncannily accurate.
He was a human ferret, as had been proven many times during his boyhood. At one time the jewelry store in which he worked as a shipping clerk lost a valuable necklace, and after the police of Chicago had failed to find a clew, James" special ability was reported and he was given a week"s vacation to work on the case. He took the last three days for a long-desired trip to Milwaukee. He had landed the thief in the first four. We told the mother that her boy"s ability was about the farthest removed from the ministerial that could well be imagined, but that he would make an excellent detective.
"I shall never permit it!" she cried. "His father was a policeman. I distrust that whole cla.s.s of people! I am taking James to the theological seminary tomorrow"--and away she went with him. Two months later she came to us in great distress. She had received a letter from the Dean saying James had attended but one day"s cla.s.ses. Then he had announced that he was going home. Instead he had cultivated a gang of underworld crooks for the purpose of investigating their methods and had gotten into serious trouble.
Nevers for All.
- Never choose a vocation just because it looks profitable. It won"t bring profits to you long unless you are built for it.
Never choose a vocation just because it looks easy. No work will be easy for you except that which Nature intended for you.
Never choose a vocation just because it permits the wearing of good clothes. You need more than a permit; you need ability.
Never choose a vocation just because the hours are short. You can"t fool employers that way. They also know they are short, and pay you accordingly. The extra play these leisure hours give you will amount to nothing but loss to you ten years hence.
Never choose a vocation just because it is popular or sounds interesting.
"I am going to be a private secretary," said a young woman near us at the theater recently.
"What will you have to do?" asked her friend.
"Oh, I don"t know," the girl answered, "but it sounds so fascinating, don"t you think?"
Never turn your back on a profession just because it is old-fashioned, middle cla.s.s or ordinary. If you have talents fitting you for such vocations you are lucky, for these are the ones for which there is the greatest demand. Demand is a big help. If you can add a new touch to such a one you are made.
Why She Taught German.
- Never choose a vocation just because your friends are in it, nor refuse another just because your worst enemy is in it.
Two friends come to mind in this connection. One is a splendid woman we knew at college. She became a German teacher and up to the outbreak of the War had an instructorship in a western state university. The elimination of German lost her the position.
"Why did you ever choose German, anyhow, Ruth?" we asked her. "Your abilities lie in such a different direction."
"Because my favorite teacher in high school taught German," she replied.
Enemies and Engineering.
- An opposite case is that of a friend of ours who has worked in an uncongenial profession for thirty years. "You were meant for engineering, Tom," we told him. "With all the leanings you had in that direction, how did it happen you didn"t follow it?"
"Because the man who cheated my father out of all he had was an engineer!" he said.
Never choose a new vocation just because you are restless. You will be more so if you get into the wrong one.
The "Society" Delusion.
- Never choose a vocation just because it promises social standing. The entree it gives will fail you unless you make good. And social standing isn"t worth much anyhow. When you are in the work for which you were born you won"t worry about social standing. It will come to you then whether you want it or not. And when it does you will care very little about it.
The Entering Wedge.
- Never take a certain job for life just because people are dependent upon you. Save enough to live one month without a job, preparing yourself meanwhile for an entering wedge into a vocation you do like. Then take a smaller-paying place if necessary to get started. If you really like the work you will do it so well you will promote yourself. You owe it to those who are dependent upon you to do this.
Jack of All Trades.
- Never do anything just to show you can. Don"t let your versatility tempt you into following a number of lines of work for the purpose of demonstrating your ability. Versatility can be the greatest handicap of all; it tempts you to neglect intensive study, to flit, to become a "jack of all trades and master of none."
Only Three Kinds of Work.
- There are but three general cla.s.ses of work. They are: WORK WITH PEOPLE; WORK WITH THINGS; WORK WITH IDEAS.
Each individual is fitted by nature to do one of these better than the others and there will be one cla.s.s for which he has the least ability. In the other one of the three he might make a mediocre success. Every individual should find a vocation furnishing that one of these three kinds of work for which he has the greatest ability. Then he should go into the particular branch of that vocation which is best adapted to his personality, training, education, environment and experience.
Part One.
VOCATIONS FOR ALIMENTIVES.
- As stated in Chapter I, Alimentives are born for business. They can sell almost anything in the line of food, clothing, or shelter because they are so interested in them themselves they can make them interesting to others. They like money for the comforts which money alone can bring and business furnishes a wider field for money-making than any other. So the Alimentive likes the commercial world for itself and for what it brings him.
Sells Things to People.
- The Alimentive can deal with both people and things, but it should be in the capacity of selling the things to the people.
Chances for Money-Making.
- The Alimentives have the greatest opportunities today for making fortunes and many of the multi-millionaires of America are combinations of this type with the Cerebral. This is due to the fact that the world must be fed, clothed and sheltered and the Alimentive, more than any other type, excels in the marketing, manufacturing and merchandizing of these things.
A Good Overseer.
- The Alimentive makes an excellent overseer also. He is so genial, likable and yet so bent on saving himself work that he can get more work out of others than can any other type.
So he succeeds as a foreman, supervisor, boss, superintendent, manager and sales department head.
Capitalizes His "Comfort" Instincts.
- The Alimentive loves comforts. He feels he must have them. Because any man"s success will be found to lie in the direction which most nearly satisfies his basic instincts, the Alimentive succeeds by making "the good things of life" look so interesting to others they are willing to buy them from him at the best prices.
The Alimentively Inclined.
- Every man who is largely Alimentive in type can sell commodities or oversee the work of others. Every woman who is largely Alimentive can also sell the same commodities, oversee the work of others in her department and become a good cook.
Things to Avoid.
- The Alimentive should avoid vocations dealing exclusively with ideas. Books are almost the only things an Alimentive can not sell successfully. This is due to the fact that he is not as interested in ideas as in things, and the things he is interested in--food and comforts--are the farthest removed from books.
Partners to Select.
- When he goes into partnership the Alimentive should endeavor to do so with a practical Muscular, a clever Thoracic or another Alimentive.
Partners and Employees to Avoid.
- He should avoid as partners the pure Cerebrals and the pure Osseous. The former are too high brow and visionary for him, and the Osseous are too critical of his easy ways.
Bosses to Avoid.
- The Alimentive, when looking for employment, should try to avoid the boss who is a pure Cerebral or a pure Osseous. The Cerebral may be a good planner but his plans and those of the Alimentives will not work well together. The Cerebral can not see the Alimentive"s point of view clearly enough to forgive him for his too primitive methods. The pure Osseous boss soon becomes disgusted because the Alimentive is so lacking in system. He usually comes out all right in the end, but the orderly Osseous is too exasperated by what he considers the Alimentive"s slackness, to wait for the end.
Localities to Avoid.
- The Alimentive should avoid all frontiers. He can not work well without conveniences, and since these are few and far between in unsettled regions it is much more difficult for him to be a success there.
Vocations for Pure Alimentives.
- Cooking, catering, nursing, merchandizing of all food and drink stuffs, the conducting of cafes, restaurants, hotels, cafeterias, rest rooms and all places maintained for the ease, comfort and feeding of mankind, are the general vocations for pure or extreme Alimentives.
Vocations for Alimentive-Thoracics.
- The merchandizing of the artistic, novel and esthetic in food, clothing and shelter; conducting of tea rooms, confectionery stores, smart specialty and clothing shops. Salesmanship of restricted residence districts, fancy cars, etc.
Vocations for Alimentive-Musculars.
- The merchandizing of more practical commodities such as potatoes, meat, middle cla.s.s homes, durable clothing. Alimentive-Muscular women make excellent dressmakers.
Vocations for the Alimentive-Osseous.
- Merchandizing of farms, ranches, timber, lumber, hardware. Bond salesmanship.
Vocations for Alimentive-Cerebrals.
- Merchandizing, manufacturing and marketing of food, clothing and shelter commodities on a large scale in world markets. This type combination exists in most of the world"s millionaires.
Part Two.
VOCATIONS FOR THORACICS.
- The Thoracic type works best with people. Every person in whom this type predominates will make his greatest success only in vocations bringing him into contact with people.
The Born Entertainer.
- As we have pointed out, the Thoracic is a born entertainer. His greatest abilities lie in the direction of the stage and all forms of its activities.
Capitalizes His Approbative Instincts.
- The Thoracic loves the approval and applause of others. He is clever, dazzling, often scintillating, brilliant and magnetic. All these enable him to win fame behind the foot-lights, upon the screen and in many lines of theatrical work. His gregarious instincts also enable him to make a success of work with others.
Chances for Money-Making.
- His chances for making a great deal of money are excellent. A thousand dollars a week is not an unusual salary for an entertainer and the thousand-dollar-a-night singer is no longer a rarity. These always belong to the Thoracic type, for reasons stated in Chapter II.
Chances for Money-Spending.
- But when the stage gives him a large income it also furnishes the companions and temptations for spending money freely. Even the Thoracic of fame seldom has much money. Also his own irresponsibility makes it difficult for him to save.
Work to Avoid.
- The Thoracic should avoid every line of work which has to be done the same way day in and day out. He must avoid routine in every form. Monotonous work is not for him.
Things to Avoid.
- Things the Thoracic must avoid are the mechanical--for these demand to be used in the same way always. The Thoracic does not like to do anything over and over.
Should Not Work Alone.
- The Thoracic should never work alone. He should not go into any vocation where he is separated from his fellows. The loneliness and drabness of working away from people are fatal to his best effort.
Business Partners to Select.
- The Thoracic should select Muscular business partners because of their practicalizing influence. Second choice for him is an Alimentive partner and third is a Thoracic like himself.