“Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.”
W. H. Murray (verified)
Murray’s celebrated passage distills a paradox central to human achievement: that certainty emerges not before action but through it. Writing from hard-won experience in both war and wilderness, he identified hesitation as the fatal enemy—not mere caution, which prudence demands, but that paralytic state where we await perfect conditions that never materialize.
The first claim is psychological: partial commitment breeds ineffectiveness because it divides our energies, reserving escape routes that guarantee mediocrity. True initiative requires what Kierkegaard called the leap—a wholehearted engagement that forecloses retreat and thereby concentrates all faculties toward the objective.
But Murray advances beyond mere resolve to something more mysterious. His invocation of Providence—deliberately capitalized—suggests forces beyond individual will. Whether one interprets this theologically, as Murray’s mystical inclinations invited, or practically, matters less than the observable phenomenon: that decisive commitment alters reality’s texture. Resources materialize, allies appear, obstacles yield—not through magic but because commitment signals seriousness to the world. People respond to conviction; opportunities gravitate toward those already in motion.
The mountaineer knew that no expedition survived on planning alone. Maps proved inadequate, weather unpredictable, logistics fluid. Success belonged to those who committed despite uncertainty, trusting that forward movement—even imperfect—generated its own solutions. Hesitation preserved all options while foreclosing achievement itself.
Murray essentially argues that the universe, or perhaps merely human society, conspires to assist those who demonstrate through irrevocable action that they mean business. Intention becomes creative force only when transformed into commitment.
The Scottish Himalayan Expedition (Primary source)
The 1950 Scottish Himalayan Expedition represented a watershed moment in mountaineering history—the first sanctioned Western venture into Nepal following that kingdom’s centuries of self-imposed isolation. Murray led five companions into terra incognita with objectives both practical and romantic: to survey potential routes for future Everest attempts while exploring mountains that existed only as names on inadequate maps.
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“At the very outset, however, no such happy course was possible. An organization had to be laid down promptly in the form of battalion orders. But when I said that nothing had been done I erred in one important matter. We had definitely committed ourselves and were half-way out of our ruts. We had put down our passage money—booked a sailing to Bombay. This may sound too simple, but is great in consequence. Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:
W. H. Murray (verified)
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”
“I think track records are very important, If you start early trying to have a perfect one in some simple thing like honesty, you’re well on your way to success in this world.”
— Charlie Munger (verified)“We’ve learned from experience that the truth will come out. Other experimenters will repeat your experiment and find out whether you were wrong or right. Nature’s phenomena will agree or they’ll disagree with your theory. And, although you may gain some temporary fame and excitement, you will not gain a good reputation as a scientist if you haven’t tried to be very careful in this kind of work.”
— Richard Feynman (verified)“The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists.”
— Ernest Hemingway (verified)“The coward dies a thousand deaths, the brave but one.”
— Ernest Hemingway (verified)