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localId
18573336
label
Letter of Advice on Joining the Military
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document
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1
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id
18573336
sourceUrl
contentType
document
title
Letter of Advice on Joining the Military
citationUrl
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Edward A. Bacon Papers
Chronological Files
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18573336
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day
16
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1918-08-16
month
8
year
1918
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nara-archive
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1
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fea2b34ec7a86f74
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WAR DEPARTMENT,
OFFICE OF THE JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL,
WASHINGTON.
August 16, 1918.
Mr. Edward A. Bacon,
Paris Island, South Carolina.
My dear Mr. Bacon:
Thank you very much for your kind cordial letter of the 11th.
I am very happy to know that you are in line to achieve your pur-
poses. I have great hopes of you and know that you will succeed
in what you now undertake.
Let me give you this advice: Do everything thoroughly; do
the little things well; always do the work that lies nearest to
you; never delay or put anything off; and remember it is only by
doing the little things well and thoroughly that you qualify your-
self to succeed in the larger undertakings of life. This you
realize must be true because thoroughness consists not in knowing
something about a few things, but in knowing everything as accurate-
ly as possible. Remember that no one has ever failed who has not
first admitted it to himself; that there is a plus and a minus
entity in all of us, and that whichever is favored by the flesh in-
evitably becomes dominant in the mind. It is endurance that courts,
the determination to do everything you undertake, to a finish.
And never forget that all energy spent up to the point of completion
is wasted, unless you achieve your purpose. The reason why most
people fail in life is that they tire long before the real test comes.
They surrender to imaginary fears, and capitulate at the first shock
of contact. It is the man with the driving power, the man with the
tenacious grip that wine the prizes of life. You must, therefore,
learn to keep on after you are tired - therein, and therein only
lies success, contentment and peace.
Again assuring you of my interest and hopes, I am
Very cordially yours