To make your way in life - Sylvain Roudès

Christian Godefroy was often in auctions, in flea markets or in antique shops.

One day, looking as usual at old books, a title catches his eye:

So he bought this book, very old, beautifully bound and very expensive because, according to the seller, "extremely rare", telling himself that it was probably going to be overtaken by the years and fashions.
Surprise!

What was true yesterday is still true today, and its author could have written this book yesterday.
Judge for yourself:

• Self-confidence
• Fortune doesn't come to you, you have to go to it.
• How to be well armed.
• Self-confidence.
• Do not be inferior to others.
• The way to be superior .
• To overcome shyness.
• How do you gain confidence.
• Learn to speak.
• Method of obtaining the ease of speech necessary for the superior man.
• Calm
• Anger is a sign of weakness.
• Concentration of energy.
• Don't be downcast or angry.
• The fight against adversity.
• To give an impression of strength.
• Impassivity, its value.
• The benefits of solitude and silence.
• Willingness
• The will, marvelous power.
• The successful man.
• The real will.
• How do you get willpower?
• psychological methods.
• The man master of fate.
• The choice of a profession
• The vocation.
• The way to perceive it and to obey it.
• The study of difficulties.
• There are no small things.
• Despise chance and luck.
• Be bold.
• The 2 boldnesses: the useful and the dangerous.
• Know how to seize the opportunity.
• Perseverance in effort
• Only do one thing at a time.
• Time is money, save this precious capital.
• Our own inspiration is worth more than the advice of others.
• Effective action.
• Take short steps.
• Discernment of characters
• The 5 face shapes.
• The lines, their meaning.
• Temperaments.
• Words and attitude.
• First impression value.
• The handling of man.
• The way to conquer it.
• How to repel an opponent's attack.
• Secondary qualities
• Politeness and affability.
• Be fair and good.
• The conversation.
• How one has tact and wit.
• The art of listening well.
• Keep all your promises.
• Be exact, never wait.
• Physical qualities
• The ambitious man must possess good health.
• The influence of thoughts.
• A friendly face.
• Eye education.
• Study of gesture.
• The outside, the clothes.
• To make a good impression.
• Silky welcoming.
• The cordiality of the greeting and the handshake.
• Secrets of an American Book.

89 pages, .pdf format

PS So that you can get a better idea, I put you an excerpt from the book:

Fortune doesn't come to you, you have to go to it

If the number of wealthy people is relatively small, it is because many of those who could acquire wealth neglect to use the superior means which they unconsciously possess and leave their qualities unproductive.

The book I beg them to read will initiate them into their true value.

Apart from rare exceptions, which must be considered social miracles, fortune does not come to you, you have to go to it.

It is, allow me the comparison, a fast game which hears you and sees you coming from afar, which gets lost in the thickets, which slides along the paths, which passes close to you to disappear immediately and which does not surrender. only after a furious hunt and a considerable expenditure of cunning, patience and perseverance.

The first hunter to come cannot therefore overcome Fortune.

In order to go into the field, it is necessary to be well armed; well dressed, so that the storm has no hold on you; you need a solid hock that no climbing tires, an even temper that no disappointment damages.

You have to know how to keep watch, see well, quickly and accurately, all conditions and qualities that are easy to possess if you put in the good will.

In the following lines, I will try, dear reader, to indicate to you what it is necessary to do to be well armed, - morally understood, - to force the beast and bring it back, triumphant and joyful, to your home.

If you believe in my words, in my ideas, which are not mine exclusively, but which are the echo, the summary of words and ideas gathered from all the masters and in countless works, you will be the happy hunter of which I speak above, you will be the rich man that you dreamed of being, and as you are generous and of lofty heart, you will be able, as you wish, to sow around you joy and happiness. You will have passed through life doing good.

Trust yourself

Self-confidence is the first quality to acquire. Believing in your star, looking to the future with serenity, because the future owes you all the satisfactions that life has in store for its chosen ones, is an essential condition for success.

If you compare and judge yourself inferior to others, you are lost, you will be influenced by people who will have an interest in using you, you will obey them, you will be a passive instrument in their hands and you will vegetate in menial jobs.

On the contrary, say to yourself every day, at all hours, mentally insisting on your affirmations:
I am a man, that is to say a thinking being, capable of considering and studying all problems. I discern right from wrong, right from wrong; I understand beauty, my intelligence is as broad, as lucid, as that of the men around me; my reason is as good as theirs.
I have sufficient initiative and insight to carry out my affairs; therefore I need no master, and I can fight advantageously against those who would like to subordinate my efforts and use them to their advantage.

Repeat this to yourself often, never tire of repeating it, convince yourself of your worth.

Shyness keeps you from succeeding, overcome it

The most serious obstacle to self-confidence is shyness.

It is a moral infirmity that must be cured at all costs, when one has the misfortune to be afflicted by it. It paralyzes the best movements, stifles interesting initiatives in the bud, breaks the wing of the most beautiful impulses.