Whatever you do,strive to do it so well that no man living and no man dead and no man yet to be born could do it any better.
Interpretation
Strive for excellence in all your endeavors.
This quote emphasizes the importance of pursuing excellence in every action we take. Benjamin E. Mays inspires individuals to put forth their utmost effort, suggesting that one should aim to achieve a level of skill and dedication that surpasses all predecessors and successors.
In practice
Use this quote when giving a speech on pursuing your passions.
The tragedy of life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. It isn't a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream...It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for. Not failure, but low aim is sin.
In this perilous world, if a black boy wanted to live a halfway normal life and die a natural death he had to learn early the art of how to get along with white folks.
It isn't more light we need, it isn't more truth, and it isn't more scientific data. It is more Christ, more courage, more spiritual insight to act on the light we have.
A child must learn early to believe that she is somebody worthwhile, and that she can do many praiseworthy things.
Many well-meaning intelligent people have argued since the May 17, 1954, decision of the United States Supreme Court outlawing segregation in the public schools that communication between the races has broken down.
He who starts behind in the great race of life must forever remain behind or run faster than the man in front.
I was on my death bed, and I remember hanging on to these words, 'Don't be scared. You are going to live an amazing life,' and I have.
Hold up a mirror and ask yourself what you are capable of doing, and what you really care about. Then take the initiative - don't wait for someone else to ask you to act.
If you write a hundred short stories and they're all bad, that doesn't mean you've failed. You fail only if you stop writing.
Enjoy the journey and try to get better every day. And don't lose the passion and the love for what you do.
The block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak, became a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong.
You don't think. It's all instinct. If you stop to think, you're gone.
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