There is no royal flower strewn path to success. And if there is, I have not found it, for whatever success I have attained has been the result of much hard work and many sleepless nights.
Madam C. J. WalkerRead
Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.
Interpretation
Take initiative and create your own opportunities instead of waiting for them.
This quote emphasizes the importance of proactive behavior and self-initiative in achieving success. Madam C. J. Walker encourages individuals to actively seek and create opportunities rather than passively waiting for circumstances to change in their favor, suggesting that success is often a result of one's own efforts and determination.
In practice
In a motivational speech to a group of entrepreneurs.
There is no royal flower strewn path to success. And if there is, I have not found it, for whatever success I have attained has been the result of much hard work and many sleepless nights.
I am not satisfied in making money for myself. I endeavor to provide employment for hundreds of the women of my race.
I have made it possible for many colored women to abandon the washtub for a more pleasant and profitable occupation.
Don't think that because you have to go down in the wash-tub that you are any less a lady!
The girls and women of our race must not be afraid to take hold of business endeavor and, by patient industry, close economy, determined effort and close application to business, wring success out of a number of business opportunities that lie at their very doors.
As I bent over the washboard and looked at my arms buried in soapsuds, I said to myself, 'What are you going to do when you grow old and your back gets stiff?' This set me to thinking, but with all my thinking I couldn't see how a poor washerwoman was going to better my condition.
Before I sat down and became a writer, before I began to do it habitually and for my living, there was a decades-long stretch when I was terrified that it would suck, so I didn't write. I think that marks a lot of people, a real terror at being bad at something, and unfortunately, you are always bad before you can get a little better.
Passion is the thing that won't let you sleep at night because you want to get up in the morning and go do your thing.
We can each define ambition and progress for ourselves. The goal is to work toward a world where expectations are not set by the stereotypes that hold us back, but by our personal passion, talents and interests.
The thing about growing up with Fred and George," said Ginny thoughtfully, "is that you sort of start thinking anything's possible if you've got enough nerve.
Only by coming to grips with difficulty can you realize your full potential.
Less gossiping, more learning. Less complaining, more excelling. Less walls, more bridges. Less fear, more courage
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