We lift ourselves by our thought, we climb upon our vision of ourselves. If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself. Hold the ideal of yourself as you long to be, always, everywhere - your ideal of what you long to attain - the ideal of health, efficiency, success.
Interpretation
Our thoughts shape our lives, and to achieve greatness, we must first envision it for ourselves.
This quote emphasizes the power of thought and vision in shaping our reality. It suggests that in order to achieve our desired outcomes in life, we must cultivate a strong and positive self-image, envision what we wish to attain, and consistently strive to embody that ideal. The focus is on the importance of mental frameworks and personal ideals in the pursuit of success and fulfillment.
In practice
In a motivational speech to inspire students to dream big and envision their futures.
Opportunity is latent in the very foundation of human society. Opportunity is everywhere about us. But the preparation to seize upon the opportunity, and to make the most of it, is to be made by every one for himself ... he will be self-made or never made.
You know from past experiences that whenever you have been driven to the wall, or thought you were, you have extricated yourself in a way which you never would have dreamed possible had you not been put to the test. The trouble is that in your everyday life you don't go deep enough to tap the divine mind within you.
You cannot measure a man by his failures. You must know what use he makes of them. What did they mean to him. What did he get out of them.
Something greater than wealth, grander even than fame — that manhood, character, stand for success, and that nothing else really does.
Many a man has finally succeeded only because he has failed after repeated efforts. If he had never met defeat he would never have known any great victory.
If our dreams are sincere desires to achieve, not mere pipe-dreams, there is something deep within ourselves which comes out to meet them and helps to make them realities.
I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous, or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular, but because it never forgot what it could do.
Whoever survives a test, whatever it may be, must tell the story. That is his duty.
Almost all rich veins of original and striking speculation have been opened by systematic half-thinkers.
If you haven't cried deeply a number of times, your meditation hasn't really begun.
I have learned the novice can often see things that the expert overlooks._x000D_ _x000D_ All that is necessary is not to be afraid of making mistakes, or of appearing naive.
When have you ever seen someone who had no doubts who was also correct about anything?
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