How to Succeed in Life
By James Quillian,Economist, Political Analyst, Natural Law

.Years ago, I spent several years teaching high school math and economics. My approach was always the same: take any problem, strip it down to its simplest parts, and find the root cause. Teenagers all face the same basic obstacles, no matter who they are. If they don’t learn to overcome those obstacles, nothing else works. Over time, I boiled it down to three things any human being can do. If a person does these three things, he gives himself the best possible chance of succeeding at whatever path he chooses.

On the first day of class, I handed each student a small card. On it was printed:

Mr. Q’s Motto
Have Dignity
Make Good Trades
Own Your Own Tools

**Have Dignity:**
In life, a person must have a level below which he will not go. That level is different for everyone, but it must be high enough that it can’t be said he will do anything for a buck. Some things must be beneath your dignity. If nothing is beneath you, then nothing is above you either.

**Make Good Trades:**
This isn’t just about buying or selling. It’s about how a person uses his time and energy. Every choice is a trade. A student can smoke weed or drink a beer. The benefit is short‑lived. Another student can skip the lighter pleasures and instead work through math problems or learn the finer points of carpentry. One is immediate gratification. The other is deferred gratification. In the long run, the second student ends up with more satisfaction and more opportunity. Life is nothing but a long series of trades. Make good ones.

**Own Your Own Tools:**
If a young man walks onto a job site with a hammer and a circular saw, he’ll get hired. If he keeps buying tools — compressors, nail guns, levels — he may end up running his own crew. Plenty of builders started with nothing but a hammer. The same is true for the academic route. A student must own his own mind just as surely as a carpenter must own his tools. If you don’t own your tools, someone else owns you.

I don’t know how many of those cards still exist. But years after I retired