Herbert Bayard Swope: I Cannot Give You The Secret For Success

Herbert Bayard Swope’s statement that “I cannot give you the secret for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is—try to please everyone,” provides a great insight into the nature of the limitations of man but also can be interpreted in various inaccurate ways. Swope, through identifying a surefire way to fail, advocates limiting one’s exploits to a manageable amount in order to actually succeed in them. On the other hand, the idea expressed in this quote is often used as a justification for selfishness and as evidence of the failures of altruism. The easiest way to fail is not trying to please everyone, but is rather splitting one’s time and effort so widely that none of one’s projects can be completed properly. The idea that trying to please all will result in failure is not some
disadvantage of altruism but is rather a commentary on the fact that people must focus on relatively few topics in order to succeed in them.
The focus of this insight is less on the action trying to please everyone and more focused on pursuing as many affairs as possible at once.
Splitting one’s time, effort, and labor among too many projects at once can cause one to fail at all of them because the projects all require a certain amount of effort which cannot be applied to any of the projects. One should instead attempt a specific few projects within or just outside one’s present skillset in order to solidify and expand one’s talents and skills. The idea that helping all people is impossible can influence many to twist the idea into some sort of detriment of altruism and therefore as a justification for selfish principles. The quote, rather than being a rationale for selfishness and libertarian philosophies, encourages moderation in an individual’s exploits and should impart one with the knowledge that cooperation, rather than individualism, is the only way for people to be successful at overwhelming tasks. Although it is tempting to try to be ambitious in one’s pursuits and have varied interests, a focus on a select few brings the only positive outcome of being able to learn and implement them
successfully.
Swope’s quote on failure in trying to do too many projects provides a great insight into the limitations of an individual person. It implies that one should focus on a few key topics and projects rather than trying to master everything in existence. The quote itself is not a criticism of altruism and helping others as it is regularly interpreted. Instead of as a justification for selfish views, the idea should actually form part of a vindication of cooperation and altruism on the grounds that it shows the only way overwhelming tasks can be completed is by splitting them into many manageable parts that many people can complete.