Page 63 - LiveOnProjectlori with front cover

The Live-On Project

If I had my own life to lead over I presume I would still be a writer but I
am sure I would give my first attention to learning how to do things
directly with my hands. Nothing gives quite the satisfaction that doing
things brings.
Above all avoid taking the advice of men who have no brains and do not
know what they are talking about. Most small businessmen say simply —
‘Look at me.’ They fancy that if they have accumulated a little money
and have got a position in a small circle they are competent to give
advice to anyone.
Next to occupation is the building up of good taste. That is difficult,
slow work. Few achieve it. It means all the difference in the world in
the end.
I am constantly amazed at how little painters know about painting,
writers about writing, merchants about business, manufacturers about
manufacturing. Most men just drift.
There is a kind of shrewdness many men have that enables them to get
money. It is the shrewdness of the fox after the chicken. A low order
of mentality often goes with it.
Above all I would like you to see many kinds of men at first hand. That
would help you more than anything. Just how it is to be accomplished I
do not know. Perhaps a way may be found. Anyway, I’ll see you this
summer. We begin to pack for the country this week.
With love,
Dad.
-Author Sherwood Anderson, 1926, Letter to his 17 year old son
Flavorwire.com (January 15, 2013) Adorable Letters from Authors to
their Children [Blog Post]. Retrieved from
http://flavorwire.com/363537/adorable-letters-from-famous-authors-to-
their-children

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