“If a man has failed, you will find he has dreamed instead of working. There is no way to success in our art, but to take off your coat, grind paint, and work like a digger on the railroad, all day and every day.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Power (Primary source)
In Power, Emerson asserts that true power stems from inner strength, moral integrity, and alignment with universal laws. It’s not about external control, but the inherent influence of a developed character and the ability to act effectively.
“The reward of a thing well done, is to have done it.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source“Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source“The law of nature is, do the thing, and you shall have the power: but they who do not the thing have not the power.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary sourceMore quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson →
“No man ever was glorious who was not laborious.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“The most effective way to do it is to do it.”
— Amelia Earhart Disputed“Why do old men wake so early? Is it to have one longer day?”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary source“Love the day.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source