"If a man can write a better..." - Quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson
If a man can write a better book, preach a better sermon, or make a better mousetrap than his neighbor, though he build his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door.
More by Ralph Waldo Emerson
“I know and see too well, when not voluntarily blind, the speedy limits opersons called high and worthy.”
“It is a sign of our times, conspicuous to the coarsest observer, that many intelligent and religious persons withdraw themselves from the common labors and competitions of the market and the caucus, and betake themselves to a certain solitary and critical way of living, from which no solid fruit has yet appeared to justify their separation.”
“To make knowledge valuable, you must have the cheerfulness of wisdom.”
More on Excellence
“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”
“Only through focus can you do world-class things, no matter how capable you are.”
“Battle... brings out all that is best.”
More on Success
“I hate to be defended in a newspaper. As long as all that is said is said against me, I feel a certain assurance of success. But as soon as honeyed words of praise are spoken for me, I feel as one that lies unprotected before his enemies.”
“When we do more than we are paid to do, eventually we will be paid more for what we do.”
“You will be right, over the course of many transactions, if your hypotheses are correct, your facts are correct, and your reasoning is correct. True conservatism is only possible through knowledge and reason.”