[Sidenote: Who Is To Blame for Failure]
One may feel able to "deliver the goods," were he given the chance. He
may know where his best capability is greatly needed and would be highly
appreciated if recognized. Yet the door of opportunity may not open to
his deserving hand, however hard he tries to win his way in. His failure
seems to him altogether unfair, the rankest injustice from Fortune.
If a man knows he is completely fitted to fill a higher position, he
feels considerable self-confidence when he first applies for it. But his
real ability may not be recognized by his chief. The ambitious man may
be denied the coveted chance to take the step upward to the bigger
opportunities for which he rightly believes himself qualified. If his
deserts and his utmost efforts do not win the promotion he desires, he
grows discouraged. He loses the taste of zest for his work. His earlier
optimism oozes away. After awhile his ambition slumps. Then he resigns
himself sullenly to the conviction that he is a failure _but is not to
blame_.
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