But do not strive to reach impossible goals. It is wholly in your power to develop yourself， but not necessarily so to make yourself a king. How many Presidents of the United States or Prime Ministers of England are chosen within the working lifetime of a man？ What if a thousand young men resolve to become President or Prime Minister？ While such prizes are within your reach， remember that your will must be tremendous and your qualifications of the highest order， or you cannot hope to secure them. Too many are deluded by ambition beyond their power of attainment， or tortured by aspirations totally disproportionate to their capacity for execution. You may， indeed， confidently hope to become eminent in usefulness and power， but only as you build upon a broad foundation of self-culture； while， as a rule， specialists in ambition as in science are apt to become narrow and one-sided. Darwin was very fond of poetry and music when young， but after devoting his life to science， he was surprised to find Shakespeare tedious. He said that， if he were to live his life again， he would read poetry and hear music every day， so as not to lose the power of appreciating such things.
Man never reaches heights above his habitual thought. It is not enough now and then to mount on wings of ecstasy into the infinite. We must habitually dwell there. The great man is he who abides easily on heights to which others rise occasionally and with difficulty. Don’t let the maxims of a low prudence daily dinned into your ears lower the tone of your high ambition or check your aspirations. Hope lifts us step by step up the mysterious ladder， the top of which no eye hath ever seen. Though we do not find what hope promised， yet we are stronger for the climbing， and we get a broader outlook upon life which repays the effort. Indeed， if we do not follow where hope beckons， we gradually slide down the ladder in despair. Strive ever to be at the top of your condition.