If I were a boy again, I would practice perseverance¹ more often, and never give up a thing because it was or inconvenient². If we want light, we must conquer darkness. Perseverance can sometimes equal genius in its results. “There are only two creatures,” says a proverb, “who can surmount³ the pyramids—the eagle and the snail⁴.”

If I were a boy again, I would school myself into a habit of attention; I would let nothing come between me and the subject in hand. I would remember that a good skater never tries to skate in two directions at once.

The habit of attention becomes part of our life, if we begin early enough. I often hear grown up people say “ I could not fix my attention on the sermon or book, although I wished to do so” , and the reason is, the habit was not formed in youth.

If I were to live my life over again, I would pay more attention to the cultivation⁵ of the memory. I would strengthen that faculty⁶ by every possible means, and on every possible occasion. It takes a little hard work at first to remember things accurately⁷; but memory soon helps itself, and gives very little trouble. It only needs early cultivation to become a power.

假如我又回到了童年，我做事要更有毅力，决不因为事情艰难或者麻烦而撒手不干，我们要光明，就得征服黑暗。

毅力在效果上有时能同天才相比。俗话说：“能登上金字塔的生物，只有两种——鹰和蜗牛。”

假如我又回到了童年，我就要养成专心致志的习惯；有事在手，就决不让任何东西让我分心。我要牢记：优秀的滑冰手从不试图同时滑向两个不同的方向。

如果及早养成这种专心致志的习惯，它将成为我们生命的一部分。我常听成年人说：“虽然我希望能集中注意听牧师讲道或读书，但往往做不到。”而原因就是年轻时没有养成这种习惯。

假如我现在能重新开始我的生命，我就要更注意记忆力的培养。我要采取一切可能的办法，并且在一切可能的场合，增强记忆力。要正确无误地记住一些东西，在开始阶段的确要作出一番小小的努力；但要不了多久，记忆力本身就会起作用，使记忆成为轻而易举的事，只需及早培养，记忆自会成为一种才能。