Whimpering never kept a leaking vessel from foundering. Vigorously manning the pumps has. Get busy with your head and hands, not your chin.
Interpretation
Complaining does not solve problems; taking action does.
This quote emphasizes the importance of action over inaction. Whining or complaining about a situation, represented by 'whimpering,' will not resolve issues, especially when faced with difficulties like a leaking vessel. Instead, it encourages proactive problem-solving and hard work, symbolized by 'manning the pumps,' suggesting that tangible efforts are essential to overcoming challenges.
In practice
This quote could be used in a motivational speech for students about the importance of taking charge of their education rather than complaining.
How you start is important, very important, but in the end it is how you finish that counts. It is easier to be a self-starter than a self-finisher. The victor in the race is not the one who dashes off swiftest but the one who leads at the finish. In the race for success, speed is less important than stamina. The sticker outlasts the sprinter in life's race. In America we breed many hares but not so many tortoises.
I have known not a few men who, after reaching the summits of business success, found themselves miserable on attaining retirement age. They were so exclusively engrossed in their day to day affairs that they had no time for friend making.
Jealousy is an inner consciousness of one's own inferiority. It is a mental cancer.
He is a wise man who seeks by every legitimate means to make all the money he can honestly, for money can do so many worthwhile things in this world, not merely for one's self but for others. But he is an unmitigated fool who imagines for a moment that it is more important to make the money than to make it honestly. One of the advantages of possessing money is that it facilitates one's independence and mental attitude. The man head over heels in debt is more slave than independent.
Christmas is a tonic for our souls. It moves us to think of others rather than of ourselves. It directs our thoughts to giving.
Opportunity rarely knocks on your door. Knock rather on opportunity's door if you ardently wish to enter.
Everything you've ever wanted is on the other side of fear.
Everything is possible at any one competition.
I think everybody's trying to get to a place in themselves where they conquer what they was afraid of; they achieve some of their life goals, kept their word about what they were trying to do.
Hesitation is often like procrastination. One may have vague doubts and feel a need to mull things over; meanwhile, other issues intrude on thought, and no decision is taken. Ask people why they procrastinate, and you probably won't get a crisp answer.
What you focus on expands, and when you focus on the goodness in your life, you create more of it.
The secret to changing your life is in your intentions. Wishing, hoping and goal setting cannot accomplish change without intention. What is needed is a shift from the inert energy of wanting to the active energy of doing and intention.
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