The actual sight of a first-class house that a Negro has built is ten times more potent than pages of discussion about a house that he ought to build, or perhaps could build.
Booker T. WashingtonRead
It means a great deal, I think, to start off on a foundation which one has made for oneself.
Interpretation
Building your own foundation is crucial for personal achievement.
This quote emphasizes the importance of self-creation and independence in achieving one's goals. It suggests that establishing a solid foundation through personal effort and hard work leads to greater significance and success in life.
In practice
In a graduation speech to inspire students about pursuing their dreams.
The actual sight of a first-class house that a Negro has built is ten times more potent than pages of discussion about a house that he ought to build, or perhaps could build.
Leaders have devoted themselves to politics, little knowing, it seems _x000D_ that political independence disappears without economic independence _x000D_ that economic independence is the foundation of political independence.
You go to school, you study about the Germans and the French, but not about your own race. I hope the time will come when you study black history too.
Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.
I shall allow no man to belittle my soul by making me hate him.
If I have done anything in life worth attention, I feel sure that I inherited the disposition from my mother.
Pele called me the greatest footballer in the world. That is the ultimate salute to my life.
I am proud of having done what I've done. Very proud.
As for accomplishments, I just did what I had to do as things came along.
Whether you come from a council estate or a country estate, your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude.
Failure is inherent in the game. So if you don't respond well to adversity, you're probably not going to have a long career.
It is, after all, the dab of grit that seeps into an oyster's shell that makes the pearl, not pearl-making seminars with other oysters.
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