Certain Success by Norval A. Hawkins

N >> Norval A. Hawkins >> Certain Success

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Take nothing for granted now. Through your personal, specific
observation either confirm or disprove every item of information that
has come to you from other people previous to meeting this man face to
face. Your informants may or may not have had correct conceptions of his
characteristics. It would be unwise, even unsafe, for you to rely
implicitly on _their_ judgment of him. You need to _be certain you know
him as he really is_; so that you can present your purpose with the
confidence a skilled salesman feels when he is sure he understands the
principal traits of the prospect he is addressing. In reaching this man
you have gained your first chance. You cannot afford to risk losing it
by haste. _Do not advance farther in the selling process until you have
made certain of the ground you are to tread._ It is very bad
salesmanship to begin introducing ideas and feelings to a mind and heart
that are unknown to you except from hearsay.

"But," you say, "I'm not a mind reader. And I can't look into another
man's heart."

True. Yet you should be able to read the _signs_ of his thoughts; which
he manifests in his words, tones, and acts. And you need not see into
_his_ heart to know what it contains; since fundamentally _all_ men are
much alike at heart. Just look clearly into your own heart at its best.
You will find there the basic emotions and feelings that civilized men
have in common everywhere.

[Sidenote: Character Analysis by Types Not Reliable]

Character analysis by "types" is unreliable. I believe as little in
phrenology as in palm-reading. I have directed thousands of men in
business. Personal experience has proved to me that the _permanent_
structure of a particular human body is not an invariably true index to
the characteristics of the inner, or ego man who owns that body.

He has had no control over the color of his hair or eyes. He cannot
reshape the bones of his face, nor alter the bumps on his head. To
believe that such permanent structural details of the "natural" _outer_
man determine or denote the peculiar aptitudes of the _inner_ man is to
credit the exploded doctrine of fore-ordination.

Therefore, when you have gained the chance to present your capabilities
for sale to a chosen prospect with whom you believe you will have the
best opportunities to succeed, and when you are swiftly shaping your
presentation plans to fit his personality, don't size up merely the
factors of his make-up with which he was born. You will be apt to
mistake his true character if you have come to his office with the
delusion that the blonde type of man is fundamentally different _in
nature_ from the brunette type. Get out of your head any misconception
that a man is foredoomed to practically certain failure in a particular
career because he has a big nose, sloping brow, and receding chin; and
that another man with a snub nose, bulging forehead, and protruding jaw
is destined almost surely to succeed if he selects a certain vocation.
No "mind man" with a normal, healthy body is limited in his
possibilities of success by being born with red, or black, or tow hair;
or because the bones of his head happen to be shaped in a particular
way. The ego is the master, not the slave, of the body.

[Sidenote: True Signs of Character]

_The true signs of character are to be read only in the words, tones,
and movements_ of a man--and in his muscle structure _as he has
developed it_ or has left it _undeveloped_. We already have seen in a
previous chapter how a mind center and its co-ordinated set of muscles
develop each other. So the positive characteristics of the inner man are
revealed clearly by the muscle structure built up by his habits of
thinking and feeling and action. On the other hand, his deficiency in
certain mental and emotional development is indicated negatively by his
lack of the muscle structure that naturally would be co-ordinate with
such development.

The relation of muscular development to mental development, as explained
in an earlier chapter, suggests the one _sure_ way to judge a man's
habits of thinking. _Observe discriminatingly his various muscle
structures, and his muscle activities in detail._ The development of
certain sets of _muscles_ proves a co-ordinate development of the _mind
centers_ most directly connected with these muscle structures.
Similarly the _mental action_ of a man is indicated by his _physical
manifestations_ with his muscles in movements.

Hence if you learn to read the _mental significance of particular muscle
structures and of particular muscle actions_, you will be able to size
up both the _habits_ of thought (individual characteristics) of a man,
and what he happens to be thinking _at the time_ you come to present
your services or ideas for sale.

[Sidenote: Recapitulation]

Before going on with our study of the subject of this chapter, let us
summarize the preceding pages to make sure that we know thoroughly the
somewhat difficult but very important ground we have gone over thus far.

You chose a certain man as your prospective employer because you believe
that if you succeed in associating yourself with him you will have the
best opportunities to achieve your ambition. You are now standing in his
presence. You need to size up his true character quickly in order that
you may be sure of presenting your capabilities in the particular way
that is likely to be most effective with him. You wish to impress this
one man with right ideas of your qualities and their value. You want him
to perceive that he lacks and requires just such services as you purpose
to offer for sale. You realize it is unsafe for you to jump at
conclusions about his characteristics. You pause briefly to size him up
before presenting your proposition, rather than to proceed blindly in
ignorance of his habits of thought, and with no clue to what he happens
to be thinking at the time you call. You must know all it is possible to
find out on the spot regarding him.

[Sidenote: What Has He Done with His Birthright?]

You cannot be certain of his characteristics if you judge him solely by
what Nature forced on him. But you can be absolutely sure if you size
him up by observing _what he has done with his birthright_, and if you
are then able to _interpret_ correctly what you _perceive_. Your
prospect has had nothing to do with the shape and size of his head. His
fair or dark complexion is inherited. He is utterly unable to control
the color of his hair or eyes. His _muscle structure_, however, is a
_development_ that he has accomplished himself. If he has a firm jaw,
the jaw _muscles_, not the jaw _bone_, signify the characteristics of a
firm mentality. _Judge the physical man he has made by his habits of
living under the government of his mind._ Disregard such physical
details of his appearance as he cannot help. The _made_ man is the true
image of the ego. It is this _ego_ of your prospective employer you need
to know, for your chance to succeed in your purpose with him depends on
the _inner_ man you must convince and persuade. Therefore restrict your
size-up to the discriminative observation of the _muscle signs of his
mind habits and mind actions_.

[Sidenote: Recall Burbank Method]

Recall now, or re-read the second chapter of this book. There you
studied the principles of restrictive-discriminative growth--the Burbank
method of developing selected qualities of manhood. That chapter related
to your cultivation of particular characteristics within _yourself_. The
same principles will guide you with equal certainty in acquiring
knowledge of _other men_.

Every _mental_ characteristic of your prospect about which you need to
know has _physical indications that can be perceived, and translated
into certain knowledge of details of his character_. You have studied
the co-relation of _your_ mind and body in mutual development. You may
be sure that similar processes of development have produced like effects
in the case of the man you have come to see. You know exactly how to
grow particular qualities within yourself, by using your muscles to
develop corresponding mind centers and vice versa. You can read another
man's mind by observing _his_ muscle structure and muscle action, and by
then interpreting the mental significance of what you perceive.

[Sidenote: Men are Alike At Heart, But Differ in Mind]

To repeat and emphasize again what already has been said about knowing
the _heart_ of another man--you need but look into your own breast to
find there the finest basic characteristics of the human heart in
general. As Kipling wrote, "The Colonel's lady and Judy O'Grady are
sisters under their skins." All men are fundamentally alike at the
bottoms of their hearts, however much they may differ in the individual
traits they have grafted upon their common root of human nature.

So when you are sizing up your prospect, you should comprehend that _the
most effective way to get to his heart is through such an appeal as
would reach the heart of every man_. Know your own heart surely, then,
in order to be certain of knowing his. All human hearts respond
similarly to manifestations of courage, nobility, love, faith, honor,
and the like. We laugh and cry at the same humor and pathos. Our
_feelings_ are closely akin. We differ from one another only in our
_minds_. Our individual, acquired habits of thought affect but the
_degrees_ of our several heart responses to the gamut of fundamental
emotional appeals.

[Sidenote: Exhaustive Prolonged Analysis Unnecessary]

Knowledge of another man, then, involves first, comprehension that he is
_like_ every other man in his _emotions_, and _unlike_ all other men in
the way he _thinks_. To a trained observer his habits of thought are
clearly indicated by his muscle structure and muscle action. Exhaustive
prolonged analysis is unnecessary. You can learn to read quickly the
mental significance of the comparatively small number of details of
muscle structure and action that constitute a fairly complete index to
his character. Then you will be able to judge with certainty practically
all the traits of which you need to be sure in order to make the most
effective presentation of your services for sale to this particular
man.

[Sidenote: Value of Size-up]

The value of such a dependable size-up can scarcely be over-estimated.
It is not easy to gain the _initial_ chance to present your capabilities
to the one man with whom you have chosen to be associated. But it would
be tremendously harder to win a _second_ opportunity to sell your
services after _failing_ the first time. By sizing him up aright while
you are presenting your qualifications for his consideration, you will
be able to _avoid making unfavorable impressions_. You can also adapt
your salesmanship to _creating the best possible impression_ of your
capabilities and their fitness to his *especial needs*.

[Sidenote: The Gruff Reception]

Sometimes a man seeking to gain the big chance that he believes would
open the door to success fails to secure his opportunity because he is
disconcerted by a gruff reception that he misconstrues as personal to
him. He wrongly interprets _natural_ self-defense as a sign of habitual
crabbedness.

A big man often thinks he is "hunted" by people who want to make him the
prey of their own purposes. The employer you have chosen as the means of
reaching the goal of your ambition may feel suspicious of your object in
approaching him. He is likely to assume an attitude of extreme reserve,
or even of icy indifference. Possibly his manner will be curt and sharp.
Size up such a reception as just his way of protecting himself against
impositions. His treatment of you is merely a superficial manifestation
of the instinct for self-preservation. It indicates nothing more than
that he is wary of any one who calls on him with an unknown purpose.

His object in being cold or brusque is to get rid of people who might
annoy him or waste his time. He would not assume his repelling pose if
he knew _you_ had come with a purpose of _true service_, after full
preparation of yourself and your selling plans to interest him. Though
he does not realize it yet, you will neither pester him nor fritter away
his precious minutes.

[Sidenote: Melting Ice And Smoothing Roughness]

Therefore if your size-up convinces you that the cold, brusque manner
is only _assumed_, you need not deal with it as if it were
_characteristic_. It indicates no more than the habit of wariness. You
should proceed confidently with your selling process, undeterred by the
bearing of your prospect. Do not attempt to mollify his assumed
harshness. It will take but a few moments for you to _sell him the idea
that you have brought him something he really needs_. When he first
glimpses your service purpose, his icy pose will begin to melt and his
rough tones will be smoothed.

A great public-utility corporation with thousands of branch offices
throughout the United States had as its purchasing agent for many years
an old gorgon. He was "a holy terror" to new salesmen, but became a
staunch customer when once his confidence was deservedly gained. And
every employee in the office of this tartar loved him for his true
kindness of heart.

[Sidenote: Don't Flinch Or Retreat]

You may have occasion to call on such an eccentric big man. If you are
rebuffed fiercely, don't let it "get your goat." He can have no possible
reason for disliking you personally, especially before he comprehends
your purpose in coming to him. So disregard his ferocious pose. Though
he may treat you as an unwelcome intruder, proceed calmly to the
statement of your business. You know that your intention to render him a
true service justifies you in taking his time. Therefore his assumed
fierce manner should be powerless to disconcert you.

_Do not retreat_ from a chosen prospective employer; _do not even
flinch_ from him, however ill-tempered and repellant he may appear. You
cannot possibly lose so much by standing your ground as you would
forfeit by running away from this chance to demonstrate your
salesmanship. Countless thousands of men have failed because at the
first sign of antagonism they surrendered even more than they might have
lost if they had been utterly beaten after the hardest kind of a fight
for victory. _They gave up without a struggle, not only all their
chances for success, but their self-respect as well._

Suppose the man you have selected as your future employer does snap at
you viciously when you call on him; his ferocity signifies no more than
that you must approach and handle him carefully. Your prospecting and
your size-up should have convinced you that he is not in fact the crab
he tries to appear. Real, thorough cranks are so rare they can be
considered as non-existent. It is safe to conclude that any man who acts
as if he were sore all the way through all the time is just _acting_.
Ignore the irrascibility of the "Everett Trues" you meet. _Superficial_,
_assumed_ indications will not help you to comprehend the _inner_ man
you want to influence. _Restrict your size-up to the signs of that inner
man._ While the old gorgon you face is brow-beating you, he may be
planning in the back of his head an act of gentle kindness to some one.
If he is _habitually_ kind, there will be physical indications of that
characteristic; in his _tones_ and _acts_ if not in his _words_. Look
for these signs beneath his harsh manner, which is merely a disguise he
has put on. "Everett True" behaves like a domineering tyrant, but he
really is characterized by an acute sensitiveness to what is right and
just.

[Sidenote: Judge By Unconscious Appearance And Actions]

When sizing up a man, depend principally upon details of his
_appearance_ and _actions_. Translate whatever you see or hear into
definite discriminative judgments regarding him. His muscle structure
and movements indicate certain traits. Of course you should also observe
and size up the significance of the words and tones he uses. But a man
employs his speech with the conscious intention of making impressions.
Therefore it is not safe to rely on a size-up based on what he says.
Your prospect may be using his words and tones to hide, rather than to
reveal, his inner self.

However, if you know how to separate and classify _details of muscle
structure and action_, you can depend safely on specific conclusions
based on these indications. The muscle structure of a man is the result
of his habits of living, or of his predominant characteristics. He
builds it up unconsciously and is unable to disguise it. It can be
interpreted as certain proof that he has particular traits. Most of his
movements, too, are made without his realizing exactly what they denote
of his character and present thoughts. He just "acts natural." Therefore
if you read indications of the inner man by analytically observing his
_physique_ and _actions_, you will gain reliable information about him.
He will not know that he is revealing his traits and what he is
thinking.

[Sidenote: Your Opinions About People]

From your earliest childhood to this moment you have been forming
first-hand opinions of other people by observing and interpreting their
words, tones, and movements. Sizing up men is not a new process to you.
But in order to be a certainly successful salesman of yourself you
should _observe more intelligently and discriminatively_ hereafter.
Instead of making up your mind about people without knowing just how or
why you arrive at your judgments, classify your intuitions
scientifically. Know the reasons for your opinions. You can be sure
about the conclusions you reach as a result of your _specific, exact
observation of details_. The study and analysis of words, tones, and
acts, coupled with a little painstaking practice, will make you an
expert judge of other men.

[Sidenote: Study Character Unobserved]

Do not seem to make an effort to observe the person you are sizing up,
for that would impress him disagreeably. Without indicating that you are
watching him, mentally note and interpret his muscle structure, his
manner of speaking, his gestures, the rate of his physical activity, the
way his actions respond to his ideas, the type and tensity of his
movements. _Each item you analyze and translate should indicate to you
clearly some fact about the inner man._

Of course you will not be able to read your prospect thoroughly in the
first few moments after you meet him. It is possible to make only a
partial size-up then. No one would reveal _all_ his characteristics in
such a brief time. _But each indication you perceive and interpret
correctly will aid you to attribute to him certain other, related
traits._ For instance, if the actions of a man indicate the
characteristic of evasion, you may judge safely that he lacks courage,
the highest sense of honor, some of the elements of perfect squareness
and trustworthiness. If he has a habit of under-estimating or
"knocking," and manifests this characteristic in something he says or
does, you may feel certain he is not an idealist. He is likely to be
pretty "practical" in his views, and cannot be won by appeals to rosy
visions.

[Sidenote: Elements of Character are Consistent]

Analysis of a man's true character usually shows that its elements are
thoroughly consistent. A human being is not a bundle of contradictions,
but an aggregation of likenesses. Every man differs from every _other_
man; yet, generally speaking, one element of his character is not apt to
differ radically from another detail of _himself_. There are exceptions,
but in most cases the seeming contradictions in an individual are only
apparent opposites. Supposed inconsistencies cause surprise because the
true fundamental traits of the person observed are not discerned. The
_outer_ man often seems to contradict himself. But nearly always the
_inner_ man is consistent in his various characteristics. This is the
reason why your size-up should be _restricted to discriminative
observation of indications of the ego_.

[Sidenote: Application of Theory]

Perhaps you have been thinking, "The _theory_ seems to be all right, but
exactly how is it _applied?_" So we shall turn our attention next to
specific details of sizing up the characteristics of the inner man. We
shall see just how his thoughts and feelings may be discerned at a
particular time.

We assumed previously that you have called upon the man to whom you want
to sell your services. You believe the way to your success lies through
association with him. _Your faculties of observation should be trained
to size up at a glance whatever traits are suggested by his bearing,
his clothes, his manner, his actions, his surroundings_. Whether he is
standing or sitting, it is possible for you to perceive and interpret
his pose and poise. You can learn much from his walk if he steps forward
to greet you. His handshake may tell volumes about his true character.
The different ways that men clasp palms are especially significant of
their individual traits. You should have a scientific knowledge of
handshakes.

[Sidenote: Traits Suggested By Nods]

Should your prospect merely nod on your entrance, note discriminatively
the movement he makes. There are many kinds of nods. The quick, sharp
tipping of the head indicates unhesitating, clean-cut decisions. Such
judgments on the spur of the moment are not always right, but they are
apt to be pretty conclusive. Irregular, jerky nods are signs of
irritability, of rash or very impulsive decisions, and often of
unreasoning prejudice. The nod made directly forward signifies
frankness, dignity, and straight thinking. The tilting of the head a
little to one side suggests a habit of indirectness and a tendency to
"stall."

[Sidenote: Learn to Analyze Smiles]

How much of a man's character is illumined by his smile! Ability to
analyze smiles _correctly_ will enable you to size up the dissembled
traits of character behind the _false_ smile. Such analytical ability
will also show you how to turn to your best advantage the smile of
_true_ friendliness.

It is possible to judge from the physical aspect, from the facial
expressions, from the movements, and from the voice of a man whether he
is nervous or phlegmatic, active or passive, healthy or lacking in vigor
and strength. A skillful size-up will determine that he is either
eccentric or well balanced mentally, that he is thrifty or extravagant,
that he is disposed to take comprehensive views or is inclined to give
undue attention to trifles and details. He will indicate to a keen
observer real intellect or mere intelligence. His emotions also may be
read. He reveals himself as generous or selfish; as an optimist or as a
skeptic. He shows that he is responsive to heart appeals or is hard
hearted, moral or immoral, artistic or lacking in appreciation of art,
cultured or boorish.

[Sidenote: Discriminative Restrictive Process]

To know the significance of your prospect's different _words, tones, and
movements--the only means he has for the expression of his ideas and
feelings_, just apply to _his_ case whatever you have learned in
studying _yourself_. Adapt your previous discriminative knowledge to the
prospect you are sizing up. Restrict your conclusions about him to the
significance of details you observe in his appearance, actions, and
speech.

After considerable practice in sizing up you will become familiar with
the indications of many different traits. _But in most cases it will be
sufficient if you can observe swiftly and interpret in a flash only a
few of the commonest character signs_. We will touch briefly upon some
of these.

[Sidenote: Facial Muscles]

Tense jaw muscles, whether large or small, denote the characteristic of
persistence. But loose, flabby cheek muscles do not necessarily prove
the habit of over-eating, or of sensuality. They may mean that the man
who has them does not habitually allow his feelings to show in his face.
When the muscles of facial expression are flabby they prove only that
they are slightly used. Therefore when you encounter a man with loose
cheeks read his characteristics from other muscle-structure signs, and
from his actions. Do not misjudge the heavy face as a sign of grossness.

[Sidenote: Courage And Bluff]

If a man holds his head up easily, and moves it in this upright position
without stiffness or effort, you may be sure his back neck and shoulder
muscles are strongly developed. Such strong development suggests that he
is courageous, for these muscles are directly co-ordinated with the mind
center of bravery. Therefore the head and shoulders easily held back and
up; not a high chest, signify courage. The bulging chest often indicates
no more than pouter-pigeon bluff temporarily put on.

[Sidenote: Indications Of Intellect And Power]

A man's high chest, however, is a sign that his predominant
characteristics are intellectual; because his chest has been developed
by the student's habit of upper-lung breathing. The nerves running from
the upper part of the lungs are directly connected with the brain
centers of _intellect_. On the contrary the nerves that lead from the
lower portions of the lungs center first in the plexus through which are
manifested the _vital emotions_ and the emotions of _sex_. Hence the man
who breathes deeply by habit indicates a great deal of vitality and has
marked "he-man" traits. He is not of the intellectual type so markedly
as he is a man of _power_. The man who breathes only from the upper part
of his lungs is not a man of power, but may have a fine intellect.

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