Tracing Quotations
Elbert Hubbard? Robert Burns Wilson? Dale Carnegie? Kin Hubbard? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A short motivational piece of about 130 words begins with the following sentence: “Genius is really only the power of making continuous efforts.” The piece has been attributed to aphorist Elbert Hubbard and poet Robert Burns Wilson. Would you please explore this …
Continue reading “Genius Is Really Only the Power of Making Continuous Efforts”
Elbert Hubbard? Kin Hubbard? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Robert Burns Wilson? Henry Austin? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Success is often achieved via persistence. Here is a popular elaboration of this notion: There is no defeat except from within. There is really no insurmountable barrier, save your own inherent weakness of purpose. This remark has been attributed …
John Wanamaker? William Hesketh Lever? William Hulme Lever? Lord Leverhulme? William Wrigley Jr.? John T. Dorrance? Robert C. Ogden? George Washington Hill? Roy L. Smith? David Ogilvy? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Readers often ignore advertisements, but sometimes ads decisively influence purchasing decisions. A business mogul once humorously commented on this hit-or-miss quality. Here are …
Steve Martin? George Carlin? Terry Pratchett? O. J. Anderson? Davis Merritt Jr.? Tom Page? Allen Klein? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Different attitudes towards life are vividly illustrated by divergent reactions to a partially filled glass: Optimist: The glass half full Pessimist: The glass is half empty A third humorous category is sometimes added to the …
Josiah Stamp? Vivian F. Rausch? David Dodge? Hugh Overman? Ted Healy? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Life impressions differ dramatically between people with sunny dispositions versus morose temperaments. This point is cleverly illustrated via the disparate reactions elicited by a container partially filled with liquid: The optimist says the container is half full. The pessimist says …
Continue reading “Optimist: The Glass Is Half Full. Pessimist: The Glass Is Half Empty”
Deirdre N. McCloskey? Eduardo Porter? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Their are always powerful reasons to be pessimistic. News headlines about brutal warfare, callous crime, and environmental degradation predominate on a continuous electronic scroll of doom. Yet, there are also reasons to be optimistic. The global rate of extreme poverty has declined and longevity has increased. …
Barry Commoner? Gotthold Ephraim Lessing? Leonardo da Vinci? Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.? John Muir? Jean Piaget? Daniel Patrick Moynihan? Solomon Short? David Gerrold? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The universe reflects a pervasive interconnectedness. Here are two versions of a pertinent adage: Everything is connected to everything else. Everything connects to everything else. Ecological thinkers have …
Continue reading “Everything Is Connected To Everything Else”
Jesse Jackson? Napoleon Hill? Muhammad Ali? Armand J. Gariepy? Ralph L. Berry? Tennyson Guyer? Orlando K. Fitzsimmons? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A popular collection of affirmations have been constructed with these three rhyming words: conceive, believe, and achieve. Here are three examples: (1) Achieve anything you can conceive and believe. (2) Whatever the mind can …
Robert Owen? Elbert Hubbard? Orlando K. Fitzsimmons? Sidney Abram Weltmer? O. A. Hawkins? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: An optimistic rhyming maxim highlights the enormous potential for positive accomplishments. Here are three versions: (1) What humanity can conceive, humanity can achieve. (2) What man can conceive, man can achieve (3) Man can achieve what man can …
Winston Churchill? Victor Hugo? Thomas Jefferson? Jules Sandeau? Charles Mackay? Elminster of Shadowdale? Ed Greenwood? William J. Robinson? Jim Bunning? Eminem? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: If you become prominent and influential then you will inevitably face detractors. If you take tough stances on major issues then you will encounter adversaries. The British statesman Winston …