Poverty is uncomfortable; but nine times out of ten the best thing that can happen to a young man is to be tossed overboard and compelled to sink or swim.
Interpretation
Facing challenges, like poverty, can lead to personal growth and strength.
Garfield's quote suggests that while poverty is indeed a difficult and uncomfortable situation, it often forces individuals to confront their limitations and develop resilience. The metaphor of being 'tossed overboard' implies that sometimes being pushed out of one's comfort zone can lead to significant personal growth, as it compels one to adapt and thrive, much like learning to swim in deep waters. Such experiences can ultimately shape a person's character and abilities.
In practice
This quote can inspire young adults facing financial hardships to embrace their situation as a chance to grow.
Statistical science is indispensable to modern statesmanship. In legislation as in physical science it is beginning to be understood that we can control terrestrial forces only by obeying their laws. The legislator must formulate in his statutes not only the national will, but also those great laws of social life revealed by statistics.
I am trying to do two things: dare to be a radical and not a fool, which is a matter of no small difficulty.
Justice and goodwill will outlast passion.
Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption.
If the power to do hard work is not a skill, it's the best possible substitute for it.
Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently maintained.
I think humility - which I think is a very good value to adopt - is basically an extension of understanding your own ignorance.
If you are insulted, if you are accused, if they gossip about you, don't say anything bad. Don't be the one who sees the shame, be the one who corrects it.
Insight into universal nature provides an intellectual delight and sense of freedom that no blows of fate and no evil can destroy.
I was a keen observer and listener. I picked up on clues. I figured things out logically, and I enjoyed puzzles. I loved the clear, focused feeling that came when I concentrated on solving a problem and everything else faded out.
You see, you closed your eyes. That was the difference. Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too--even when youβre in the dark. Even when youβre falling.
Wisdom consists in knowing what not to want as well as what to want.
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