Frederick Douglass' Principles of Success

Since this month is Black History Month I thought I’d highlight a little about Frederick Douglass. First, his principles of success:

I.  The Proper Use of Power Is To Promote the Common Good.

II.  Give Up Something You Want In Order To Help Someone Else.

III.  Overcome Doubt and Fear.

IV.  Understand Why and How To Control the Human Ego.

V.  Do What Is Right and Proper Even If No One Is Looking.

VI.  Use Knowledge and Understanding Wisely.

VII.  Overcome Indecisiveness.

VIII.  Make Gratitude a Part of Every Thought And Action.

IX.  Practice the Skill of Listening Carefully Before Making Judgments.

X.  Remain True To Your Word.

XI.  Hold a Vision For the Desired Future.

XII.  Recognize That Your Success Is As Much a Motivation To Others As To You.

Those are good principles to live by. Most of them, I dare say, sound like conservative principles. Well, he was a conservative republican. As he put it:

I am a Republican, a black, dyed in the wool Republican, and I never intend to belong to any other party than the party of freedom and progress.

Here are some more quotes from him:

No man can be truly free whose liberty is dependent upon the thought, feeling and action of others, and who has himself no means in his own hands for guarding, protecting, defending and maintaining that liberty.

We may explain success mainly by one word and that word is WORK! WORK!! WORK!!! WORK!!!!

The man who will get up will be helped up; and the man who will not get up will be allowed to stay down.

Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.

The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose.

The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous.

You don’t hear this from blacks on the Left.