Page:Quinby and Son (1925).pdf/107

 So Bert went back to the store through the persistent rain, and Sam counted out the collars and wisely aided him in selecting his ties. Then the clerk took the book and held it in loving, caressing hands.

"Do you think success thoughts?" he asked.

Bert had never yet found any momentous occasion demanding the chartering of the channels of his mind. The question, popped at him suddenly and unexpectedly, left his memory groping for something it could not quite grasp.

"Was . . . wasn't there a chapter. . . ." he began.

"Sure; the fifth chapter. You remember 'Think defeat and you're licked. Think success and you're over the line with the ball.' It's true. Every time a man walks in here I say to myself, 'I'm going to sell you something more than just what you came in for.' I make myself believe it. When I start to make that sale I'm full of confidence. The customer hesitates. He's undecided. All the confidence is on my side, and I make the sale. What did it? A success thought."

Bert's imagination applied the idea another way. "If I go out for the nine next spring and believe I'll make. . . ."

"Absolutely!" Sam said. "Believe in yourself and you force the other fellow to believe in you."

Mr. Quinby came in, announced that the rain was about over, and went to the rear to dispose