A great man is always willing to be little.
Interpretation
True greatness involves humility and the willingness to embrace smallness.
This quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson highlights the idea that true greatness is not defined by one's stature or achievements, but rather by the capacity to be humble and approachable. It suggests that great individuals do not shy away from humility, and their willingness to be 'little' or modest allows them to connect better with others and contribute positively to their communities.
In practice
During a leadership workshop, this quote can be used to emphasize the importance of humility in effective leadership.
It is plain that there is no separate essence called courage, no cup or cell in the brain, no vessel in the heart containing drops or atoms that make or give this virtue; but it is the right or healthy state of every man, when he is free to do that which is constitutional to him to do.
Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.
Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations
Tis the good reader that makes the good book; a good head cannot read amiss: in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides hidden from all else and unmistakeably meant for his ear.
The world belongs to the energetic.
Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
Good advice is something a man gives when he is too old to set a bad example.
Focus not on doing less or doing more but on doing what you value.
Be like the bluebird who never is blue, For he knows from his upbringing what singing can do
When you eventually see through the veils to how things really are, you will keep saying again and again, this is certainly not like we thought it was.
It's important that we share our experiences with other people. Your story will heal you and your story will heal somebody else. When you tell your story, you free yourself and give other people permission to acknowledge their own story
How easy it is to see your brother's faults, How hard it is to face your own.
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