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20 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



DSCBMBEB 10, 1908. 



focused in one direction, concentrated' 

 until it crystallizes into success. 



So it is with ideas. First, you see or 

 liear; then you think; then you remem- 

 ber; then you imagine. If you drop 

 either of the four after you have seen or 

 lieard, you will never have an idea. Ideas 

 are crystallized thoughts, and you will 

 not have ideas unless you see or hear. 

 Lots of people see things, but do not 

 really see. 



To get ideas we must first cultivate 

 our power of observation. For instance: 

 1 want to get a new wagon. I do not 

 know what I want, but I do know I want 

 something smart and different from any- 

 thing about town. 



I start the observation car agoing, and 

 I'very fine wagon that goes by me, I no- 

 tice. I see wagons everywhere, partly 

 unconsciously. Then I start the ' ' think- 

 I'ry" agoing, and I think about what 

 1 have seen. I remember through think- 

 ing about them. Then, after thinking 

 and remembering what I have seen, I 

 start the imagination factory agoing. 

 Yes, I will get all kinds of crazy wag- 

 ons in my head, but gradually I will 

 have to sift them out, one by one, and 

 finally settle on one shape or style, but 

 the idea is not yet clear. Now I have 

 to work harder; I have to get a little 

 "salt." I drop a little on the tail of 

 that last thought or idea, and it becomes 

 a little clearer. 



Now I throw out a few more fan- 

 tastic ideas, and in a few more days I 

 have to add a little more salt, and gradu- 

 ally I come to something entirely differ- 

 ent, and yet practical. You can get 

 this result on any subject if you sim- 

 ply hang on to it, and keep adding 

 "salt." 



Atmosphere for Ideas. 



Now, to create ideas in any specific 

 line, it is necessary to surround yourself 

 with the proper environment — the right 

 sort of atmosphere. 



You will not get sporting ideas in a 

 church; neither will you get moral or 

 religious ideas in a saloon. 



If your hobby is baseball, and you 

 are a very enthusiastic score card man, 

 you Mill not see anything else in the 

 newspaper, or on the street, but score 

 cards. 



If automobiles are in your mind, you 

 will see every new automobile on the 

 road, know all about transmission and 

 gear, and the resiliency of the tires. 



So I am trying to show you how 

 very necessary it is to have the proper 

 environs and atmosphere about you to 

 make a success in any given line. 



You cam draw from it continually; you 

 have something before you to see, to 

 think about, to remember, to exercise 

 your imagination upon when you rest at 

 night. 



Ah! gentlemen, this is, I think, the 

 great secret of idpas: Your outer of- 

 fice, the eyes, and receptive brain are 

 busy all day seeing things and taking 

 them in, storing them up until you rest. 

 Then your inside office, the subjective 

 brain, takes it up, and works it out, 

 molds your thought, your imagination, 

 your enthusiasm into the crystallized 

 product — ideas. 



Right here is another important fac- 

 tor I almost forgot to mention — enthusi- 

 asm. It is nigh impossible to take the 

 initiative, to originate anything, to get 

 an idea, without enthusiasm. You must 

 believe in yourself, in your goods, and 

 in the appreciation of the general public. 



I do not care who you are; you are 

 bound to get credit for any really good 

 work or thought you create. 



' The Surprise Box. 



Right here I want to tell you about 

 my surprise box. [It recently was illus- 

 trated in the Review. — Ed.] The idea 

 was the result of observing and taking 

 up a remark. 



A gentleman, a good spender, came 

 into my store. Nothing was too good for 

 him; in fact, he was always looking for 

 something better. One evening, after 

 buying a corsage bunch of violets and 

 orchids worth $20, while I was arranging 

 it in what I thought a very good-look- 

 ing violet box, he leaned over the coun- 

 ter and said: "Why don't s'ome of the 

 florists get up something new in the 

 way of a fine box, that would present the 

 flowers to the best advantage as soon 

 as it was opened!" 



My ears caught it; I thought about 

 it; I don't believe I would have seen 

 a five- dollar note on the floor of the 

 car that night; I saw nothing but boxes, 

 boxes, all kinds of boxes. 



It took fully a year, thinking, remem- 

 bering, imagining, to produce the prac- 

 tical box. While I was experimenting 

 with it, the box maker first of all said 

 that I was crazy: "Another one of 

 those fan-dangled ideas of yours." But 

 I said,- "Never mind; you make it this 

 way." "But it will never work," he 

 replied. "Make it," I said; "I will 

 pay for it." 



I had confidence in my goods, in myself, 

 in the man who wanted something to pre- 

 sent the flowers to their best advan- 

 tage. 



I first used paper. It would not work, 

 as the dampness of the flowers made 

 it soft and limber. Then I used regular 

 doilies, and they were too stiff; so I 

 bought lace and had them made our 

 own style, and it worked perfectly. I 

 sent the first ones to a few prominent 

 people, and they have been friends and 

 customers ever since. I had confidence 

 in the public; I was enthusiastic about 

 it, and told them so, and they became 

 enthusiastic, too, and bought them. 



Speaking of BoxesT 



Speaking of boxes, I have just brought 

 a few with me to demonstrate the evo- 



Arrangements of Gxos and Ferns Sell Well at Christmas. 



