Odds and Ends

In these days, much of the profit of a business—sometimes the whole of its success—depends on the use of the odds and ends. The odds and ends are various small things. They are the leftover when the main thing is produced, and yet they have a real value of their own. All kinds of big businesses have their odds and ends. In a big meat factory, for example, there are countless odds and ends—bones and hair, to name only a few. The bones are made into glue; the hair is made into ropes. If these odds and ends were to be looked down upon, it would mean a big difference in the amount of the profit for the factory.

We students have our own odds and ends. Take time for instance. Every one of us has the same amount of it. Our success or failure depends on the use of our time. But we use the time more or less in the same way. We have our regular day's work: certain periods of classes, or several hours for review. And that ends a day. But what about its odds and ends—the odd moments? Many giants in science or art have made huge successes for themselves in the world mainly because they have made best use of their odd moments. Take Thomas A. Edison for example. While he was earning his living by tapping out messages, he did not allow his odd moments to slip by. He thought, he planned, and he tried between messages. And he succeeded in working out a lot of things entirely new to the world. By fully using his odd moments, he provided valuable wealth for the modern world.

Think of the odd quarter of an hour in the morning before breakfast, the odd half an hour after dinner, and the odd moments in the washroom or between classes. Remember the chances to read or think that come now and again during the day. Make full use of them, and you may find, as many big businesses have found, that the real profit is in using the odds and ends.