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Sometimes pictures are worth far more than a thousand words. This one might be worth 100,000 words. There are so many lessons and points jam packed here. Contemplate it.

If you follow the road to success, you see there are many pitfalls along the way. You need to keep your eyes open. Many people rush over the threshold of Opportunity but fall into the dark holes of Illiteracy or Conceit. Hotel Know It All has many rooms. So does the Mutual Admiration Society, from which the balloon Hot Air floats. And the Always Right Club has plenty of members. Vices lead immediately to the river of Failure; the same is true for The Faker. Bad Habits lead quickly to Oblivion – as does a Bad Reputation. Jealousy and the desire to Do It Tomorrow are portrayed as spiders with webs that trap many. Weak morals appear to be an elevator to the top of the mountain but actually send you down a chute right back to the beginning. Have a look at this view of “The Road to Success.” Over one hundred years after it first appeared, it is still fresh.

Questions, answered

The short version.

What is the Road to Success illustration?
It is a century-old picture mapping the pitfalls between the threshold of Opportunity and the mountain top, and over one hundred years after it first appeared it is still fresh. The image packs in enough lessons to be worth far more than a thousand words.
What pitfalls does the Road to Success warn about?
Travelers rush over the threshold of Opportunity and fall into the dark holes of Illiteracy or Conceit, check into the Hotel Know It All, join the Mutual Admiration Society or the Always Right Club, and get trapped in the spider webs of Jealousy and Do It Tomorrow. Vices and The Faker lead straight to the river of Failure, while Bad Habits and a Bad Reputation lead to Oblivion.
Why do weak morals send you back to the start on the Road to Success?
Because they only look like a shortcut. In the illustration, weak morals appear to be an elevator to the top of the mountain but send you down a chute right back to the beginning.