Self-made Man’s life holds one main certainty—his direction. Subjects change often, particular interests and activities may appear random and are, only to the extent that they do not detract from his direction. That direction is his continued happiness and the furtherance of his life, physically and mentally. In essence, Self-made Man is after a ceaseless flow of new data to integrate. Learning to him is a warm, stimulating pleasure, because hechooses the subjects, and sees an immediate boost in the enjoyment of his pursuits as a result. That is what he lives for, not just the pridefully-earned byproducts of productivity, such as money and luxuries. He doesn’t consider his education complete after four years; it’s a lifelong commitment.
As an honest man, he looks openly, using his strengths to bolster his weaknesses. He rebuilds them, tearing down to the appropriate levels to ensure firm foundations, purifying his life by advancing his competence to live it. In facing and solving new problems, it is he that is built, day by day, step by step. Every day he becomes the master of a new skill, or master of one facet of a greater skill. He branches off at random to complete ideas and answer questions that form during other studies, all which serve one central purpose. He often forms a private library to minethe best minds. Our confidence exudes from knowing what we know, as we are able to walk our chains and revalidate any part of them, and often do. We maintain a willingness for reintegration long after our concepts are accepted as fixed and eternal, always interested to discover how new elements fit in. We stay open to new directions in the midst of valuable evidence and take the time to restructure if necessary. The purpose of an efficient flow of life never being far from our own specialties, we stay on the cutting edge. Why do we do all this? To see clearer. To live better. To save time—time to be spent on the unlimited discovery of our own joys.
Ultimately, Self-made Man’s inner world revolves around just a handful of sacred subjects; his alone and his primary energy—his very life-force—goes to satisfy these endeavors. Limited to a lifetime, Self-made Man identifies all the key possibilities of life he wishes to experience, and then seeks to discover the means by which he can most effectively achieve and enjoy each one. His career, sports interests, hobbies, romantic involvement and parenting all require different traits and skills, and he makes a habit of accumulating and improving them. As his own view of himself is paramount, he looks deeply into the character of heroes, and works to acquire the attributes he wishes to represent. He is aware of the moral worth of his every action, so his esteem affords him to be fully conscious of his true ability in every context in which he lives. It is then easy to see where he is for any goal at any time, where he wants to be, and to move forward in their order of importance to him.
Training becomes as vital a part of his life as production. He knows that consonant with the flow of life, his abilities are in constant flux, and to stay sharp he must practice his skills. At times, he must accept back-pedaling in areas that need to wait while others take priority. The pleasure of a context that has advanced beyond the others need not be spoiled by one that languishes behind. He can grow by leaps and bounds in his work, be quietly tortured by a lack of intimacy and friends, yet still preserve the feeling that life is worth living. Joy from one activity cannot stretch to cover another; such radiance can only be reflective. But as his hierarchy is in place to control all of his actions, all values will be addressed at the right time. To stay up, he rewards himself regularly for practicing so sound a pattern of moral action. Scaled to particular actions, the reward may be just a candy bar, but one cannot wait until the final triumph to enjoy the elation of any consciously wholesome pursuit.
He may see inefficiencies in other areas of human life, but he cannot do everything. With respect for his time, he stays focused on his own interests, yet monitors advancements in the other fields that affect him to stay on the cutting edge there, too.