Ralph Waldo Emerson? Norman Vincent Peale? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following statement is often attributed to the famous philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson: What you are comes to you. Some adherents of “New Thought” and “New Age” belief systems view this as a spiritual law. This saying reminded me of the quasi-mystical book …
Category Archives: Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Strength of the Sole Leather Has Passed into the Fibre of Your Body
Ralph Waldo Emerson? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The following quotation about the value of exercise is attributed to the transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson: When you have worn out your shoes, the strength of the shoe leather has passed into the fiber of your body. I searched for this expression in a database of writings …
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Do One Thing Every Day That Scares You
Mary Schmich? Eleanor Roosevelt? Kurt Vonnegut? Baz Luhrmann? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Jane Addams? Mark Toby? Dear Quote Investigator: To achieve personal growth it is sometimes necessary to move outside of a comfort zone. Unjustified fears can constrain exploration and positive development. Here is a saying I find valuable: Do one thing every day that scares …
We Do Not Inherit the Earth from Our Ancestors; We Borrow It from Our Children
Amish Saying? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Native American Proverb? Wendell Berry? Oscar Wilde? Chief Seattle? Moses Henry Cass? Dennis J. Hall? Helen Caldicott? Lester Brown? David R. Brower? Taghi Farvar? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: In my opinion the most thoughtful and poignant quotation about the environment is the following: We do not inherit the earth from …
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Watch Your Thoughts, They Become Words; Watch Your Words, They Become Actions
Ralph Waldo Emerson? Lao Tzu? Frank Outlaw? Gautama Buddha? Bishop Beckwaith? Father of Margaret Thatcher? Dear Quote Investigator: What do the following people have in common: Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson, Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, supermarket magnate Frank Outlaw, spiritual teacher Gautama Buddha, and the father of Margaret Thatcher? Each one of these individuals has been …
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If I Shoot at the Sun, I May Hit a Star
P. T. Barnum? Britney Spears? George Herbert? Jane Russell? W. Clement Stone? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Norman Vincent Peale? Les Brown? John McEnroe? Dear Quote Investigator: There exists a collection of sayings that uses celestial bodies to illustrate advice about setting goals. Here are three examples: If I shoot at the sun, I may hit a …
Lose As If You Like It, and Win As If You Are Used to It
Ralph Waldo Emerson? Eric Mark Golnik? Thomas Hitchcock, Jr.? Thomas Hitchcock, Sr.? F. Ambrose Clark? Rosalind Russell? Jock Whitney? Desi Arnaz? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a quotation about sportsmanship that I would like to learn more about: Win as if you were used to it, lose as if you enjoyed it for a …
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Life Is a Journey, Not a Destination
Ralph Waldo Emerson? Lynn H. Hough? Aerosmith? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Ralph Waldo Emerson is often credited with the following: Life is a journey, not a destination. I’ve searched the RWE.org database without luck and did a text search through over 1100 pages of his essays. I believe this is a misattribution. Any insight you …
He Has Achieved Success Who Has Lived Well, Laughed Often and Loved Much
Ralph Waldo Emerson? Bessie A. Stanley? Albert Edward Wiggam? Harry Emerson Fosdick? Ann Landers? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: In church this morning I listened to a short discourse on the definition of success. It began: To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the …
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What You Do Speaks So Loudly that I Cannot Hear What You Say
John F. Kennedy? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: In 1960 President John F. Kennedy spoke at that Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah and used a quotation that he attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson [JKU]: What we are speaks louder than what we say, as Emerson said. I was surprised when I …
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