How did he develop his four square philosophy?
How does any body.
Kinda by accident.
Until the day you become ‘aware’ of stuff.
I think his day was when he remembered what his father had said.
You see, he went on to university and studied engineering and it looks like he was getting under way in that field by starting out as a brick layer.
He quickly realized this was not the way to go.
Then he remembered what his father had always told him,
“Son, find a vocation that pays all year.”
Back in the late 1800’s quite a few ‘jobs’ were predicated on working with the weather and so ended up being seasonal in nature.
He surveyed the proverbial business landscape and saw a need for a better way to feed livestock.
One of the commodities used at the time was straight corn.
It is ok as a fodder but can go bad and carry mold which in turn gives the animals using it the colic or heaves. Horses are affected harder than cows or cattle but it was a big problem back then as corn was a major food source for most farmers.
Mr. Danforth started Purina at the age of 24 with a couple of partners and a solution to that specific problem.
Blended feed.
He discovered a blended feed could be produced utilizing different grains and combinations to produce a quality feed for livestock.
Here we go!
As a business man he started to develop his style, his beliefs, his contacts and his awareness started to sharpen and focus.
Over the course of the next twenty three years Mr Danforth would have quite the life, traveling the world, meeting people, putting his philosophy to work and to the test…
in the same way he tested himself.
At 47 years old, yea, same age as me when I started writing.
Mr Danforth was to old for the Army Expedition Force being sent over to France in World War 1, but, his leadership ability, contacts and daring aptitude was just the ticket to become the General YMCA Secretary for the 3rd Infantry Division.
Historyhappenshere.org states,
“He was responsible for establishing YMCA canteens, providing entertainment, organizing athletic events, conducting religious services, and keeping up the morale of over 27,000 troops.
Working under dangerous and strenuous conditions.”
In his book, ‘I Dare You’ on pages 124 and 125 a comrade in arms from France,
a Major J.W. Wooldridge writes,
“Those of us in the old Third Division will bear testimony that Mr. Danforth was always in the thick of things.
Shot and shell and mud were no terrors for him.
He dared and shared and made every day an adventure.”
The overriding principle in the book is this, you need to ‘dare and share’, those gifts and abilities we posses need to be shared in order for us to truly grow, some where it says, “it is better to give than to receive.”
In his four square plan of life Mr. Danforth spells out how he lived his plan to his great experience and saw it work in others as well.
We need to learn how and Mr. Danforth has given us a definite way.
We need to stop searching and start doing,
“I Dare You!”
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