Inner truth: The Secret of Work Success

One of the greatest lessons I have learnt in my life is to pay as much attention to the means of work as to its end. I have been always learning great lessons from that one principle, and it appears to me that all the secret of success is there; to pay as much attention to the means as to the end. Whenever failure comes, if we analyse it critically, in ninety-nine per cent of cases we shall find that it was because we did not pay attention to the means. Proper attention to the finishing, strengthening, of the means is what we need.

With the means all right, the end must come. We forget that it is the cause that produces the effect; the effect cannot come by itself; and unless the causes are exact, proper, and powerful, the effect will not be produced. Once the ideal is chosen and the means determined, we can be sure that the effect will also be there (according to the nature of the cause that is made). If we take care of the cause, the effect will take care of itself. 

The author (1863-1902) was a Hindu monk and chief disciple of the saint Ramakrishna.