Our Deepest Fear Is Not That We Are Inadequate. Our Deepest Fear Is That We Are Powerful Beyond Measure

Nelson Mandela? Marianne Williamson? Dear Quote Investigator: A mystical motivational speech begins with this line: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. The speech has been attributed to statesman Nelson Mandela and spiritual author Marianne Williamson. Would you please explore its provenance? Quote Investigator: In 1977 Marianne Williamson encountered the popular and controversial …

Resentment Is Like Taking Poison and Waiting for the Other Person To Die

Carrie Fisher? Nelson Mandel? Malachy McCourt? Emmet Fox? Bert Ghezzi? Susan Cheever? Alan Brandt? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A vivid simile depicts the self-destructiveness of a common bitter emotion. Here are two versions: Resentment is like swallowing poison and expecting the other person to die. Resentment is like drinking poison and hoping it will kill …

It Always Seems Impossible Until It’s Done

Nelson Mandela? Pliny the Elder? Daniel Wilson? Elbert Anderson Young? Robert H. Goddard? Robert Heinlein? Norton Juster? Paul Eldridge? Dear Quote Investigator: Politicians, journalists, pundits, and self-help authors are fond of the following inspirational expression: It always seems impossible, until it is done. The words are usually attributed to the activist, statesman, and Nobel Prize …

Our Greatest Glory Is Not in Never Falling, But in Rising Every Time We Fall

Confucius? Nelson Mandela? Vince Lombardi? Oliver Goldsmith? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Christian Nestell Bovee? Dear Quote Investigator: The following adage about motivation and perseverance has been attributed to an oddly eclectic group: Chinese philosopher Confucius, football coach Vince Lombardi, activist politician Nelson Mandela, Irish author Oliver Goldsmith, and transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson. Here are four versions. …