I’m as happy a man as any in the world, for the whole world seems to smile upon me!

It is possible that the scrupulously honest man may not grow rich so fast as the unscrupulous and dishonest one; but the success will be of a truer kind, earned without fraud or injustice. And...

To think we are able is almost to be so; to determine upon attainment is frequently attainment itself; earnest resolution has often seemed to have about it almost a savor of omnipotence.

The apprenticeship of difficulty is one which the greatest of men have had to serve.

Hope is the companion of power, and mother of success; for who so hopes strongly has within him the gift of miracles.

Men who are resolved to find a way for themselves will always find opportunities enough; and if they do not find them, they will make them.

Lost wealth may be replaced by industry, lost knowledge by study, lost health by temperance or medicine; but lost time is gone forever

The reason why so little is done, is generally because so little is attempted.

Sow a thought, and you reap an act;Sow an act, and you reap a habit;Sow a habit, and you reap a character;Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.

He who never made a mistake, never made a discovery.

The very greatest things – great thoughts, discoveries, inventions – have usually been nurtured in hardship, often pondered over in sorrow, and at length established with difficulty.

The wise man… if he would live at peace with others, he will bear and forbear.

It is a mistake to suppose that men succeed through success; they much oftener succeed through failures. Precept, study, advice, and example could never have taught them so well as failure has done.

Hope…is the companion of power, and the mother of success; for who so hopes has within him the gift of miracles.

The battle of life is, in most cases, fought uphill; and to win it without a struggle were perhaps to win it without honor. If there were no difficulties there would be no success; if...

Enthusiasm… the sustaining power of all great action.

Whilst writing all this, I have had in my mind a woman, whose strong and serious mind would not have failed to support me in these contentions. I lost her thirty years ago [I was...

Men must necessarily be the active agents of their own well-being and well-doing… they themselves must in the very nature of things be their own best helpers.

We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.

It is energy – the central element of which is will – that produces the miracle that is enthusiasm in all ages. Everywhere it is what is called force of character and the sustaining power...

Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us.

Labor is still, and ever will be, the inevitable price set upon everything which is valuable.

All experiences of life seems to prove that the impediments thrown in the way of the human advancement may for the most part be overcome by steady good conduct, honest zeal, activity, perseverance and above...

The duty of helping one’s self in the highest sense involves the helping of one’s neighbors.

We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.

”Where there is a will there is a way.” is an old true saying. He who resolves upon doing a thing, by that very resolution often scales the barriers to it, and secures its achievement....

Practical wisdom is only to be learned in the school of experience. Precepts and instruction are useful so far as they go, but, without the discipline of real life, they remain of the nature of...

The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine growth in the individual.

The shortest way to do many things is to do only one thing at once.

Hope… is the companion of power, and the mother of success; for who so hopes has within him the gift of miracles.

Where there is a will there is a way’.’ is an old true saying. He who resolves upon doing a thing, by that very resolution often scales the barriers to it, and secures its achievement....

The work of many of the greatest men, inspired by duty, has been done amidst suffering and trial and difficulty. They have struggled against the tide, and reached the shore exhausted.

It will generally be found that men who are constantly lamenting their ill luck are only reaping the consequences of their own neglect, mismanagement, and improvidence, or want of application.

Progress however, of the best kind, is comparatively slow. Great results cannot be achieved at once; and we must be satisfied to advance in life as we walk, step by step.

Life will always be to a large extent what we ourselves make it.

Enthusiasm…the sustaining power of all great action.

An intense anticipation itself transforms possibility into reality; our desires being often but precursors of the things which we are capable of performing.

It is not ease but effort, not facility but difficult, that makes man. There is perhaps no station in life in which difficulties do not have to be encountered and overcome before any decided means...

The experience gathered from books, though often valuable, is but of the nature of learning; whereas, the experience gained from actual life is of the nature of wisdom; and a small store of the latter...

Progress, of the best kind, is comparatively slow. Great results cannot be achieved at once; and we must be satisfied to advance in life as we walk, step by step.

Knowledge conquered by labor becomes a possession – a property entirely our own.

Man cannot aspire if he looked down; if he rise, he must look up.