When You’ve Exhausted All Possibilities, Remember This: You Haven’t!

Thomas Edison? Robert H. Schuller? Helen Peikin? Leslie Hanscom? Dale Carnegie? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: After exploring a series of ineffective solutions to a problem it is natural to give up hope. Yet, a popular motivational saying suggests that perseverance will be rewarded: When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: You haven’t. This …

If You Fail To Prepare You Are Preparing To Fail

Benjamin Franklin? H. K. Williams? James H. Hope? E. B. Gregory? Dalton E. Brady? Robert H. Schuller? John Wooden? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Proper planning is fundamental to success. Benjamin Franklin has been credited with an admonitory aphorism. Here are three versions using “plan” and “prepare”: Failing to plan is planning to fail. The person …

What Would You Attempt If You Knew You Could Not Fail?

Robert H. Schuller? Regina Dugan? Sebastian Thrun? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a saying in self-help books that presents encouragement in the form of a question with a trace of wistfulness: What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? This statement was highlighted in a TED talk by Regina …