The Book of Life

ARTICLES OF WISDOM To prepare these selections, Dewitt read more than forty magazines every day, some bought and others in libraries. This exhausting work even drew mockery; many people dismissively called him a “scissors-and-paste editor.” But he ignored the criticism and kept going. Dewitt Wallace’s biographer summed up the secret of his success in these words: “What made him supernormal was his intense, sustained curiosity, plus an unequalled capacity for work.” One of his friends also said of him: “He listens far more than he talks.” This story shows that the world is full of opportunities and possibilities—so many that the list never ends. Whenever one possibility is blocked, a person must immediately look for another. If he does, he will find that even where circumstances seem to guarantee failure, a new and greater possibility is waiting—one that can once again lead him to success. THE MIRACLE OF SERVICE I n Reader’s Digest (June 1989), a striking report was published. It was written by an Indian journalist, Mr. Ashok Mahadevan, who traveled from India to Karachi. After closely studying the situation, he compiled a detailed report that appeared in that issue of the magazine.