"I'd like to tell you about the strangest secret in the world. Not long ago Albert Sweitzer the great doctor and Nobel prizewinner was being interviewed in London, and a reporter asked him: "Doctor, what's wrong with men today?" The great doctor was silent a moment, and then he said: "Men simply don't think?" And it's about this that I want to talk with you. We live today in a golden age. This is an era that man has looked forward, dreamed of and worked toward for thousands of years. But since it's here, we pretty well take it for granted. We in America are particularly fortunate to live in the richest land that ever existed on the face of the earth, a land of abundant opportunity for everyone. But, do you know what happens?
"Let's take 100 men who start even at the age of 25. Do you have any idea what will happen to those men by the time they are 65? These 100 men who all start even at the age of 25 believe they're going to be successful. If you asked any one of these men if he wanted to be a success, he'd tell you that he did, and you'd notice that he was eager toward life; that there was a certain sparkle to his eye, an erectness to his carriage, and life seemed a pretty interesting adventure to him. But by the time they're 65, one will be rich. Four will be financially independent, five will still be working, fifty-four will be broke.
"Now, think a moment. Out of the 100, only five make the grade. Why do so many fail? What has happened to the sparkle that was there when they were 25? What's become of the dreams, the hopes, the plans? And why is there such a large disparity between what these men intended to do, and what they actually accomplished? When we say about 5% achieve success, we have to define success. And here's the definition. Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal. If a man is working toward a pre-determined goal, and knows where he's going, that man is a success. If he's not doing that, he's a failure. Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal."