Go forward with joyful confidence.
George EliotRead
He was at a starting point which makes many a man's career a fine subject for betting, if there were any gentlemen given to that amusement who could appreciate the complicated probabilities of an arduous purpose. . . .
Interpretation
The quote highlights the uncertainty and challenges faced at the beginning of any significant endeavor.
George Eliot's quote reflects on the complexities and uncertainties that accompany the initiation of a meaningful career or pursuit. It suggests that while the starting point can be subject to speculation and risk, the potential for success lies in navigating those challenges with determination and understanding, emphasizing the arduous nature of any worthwhile purpose.
In practice
During a motivational speech about career development, one could use this quote to illustrate the unpredictability of starting new ventures.
Go forward with joyful confidence.
You must love your work, and not be always looking over the edge of it, wanting your play to begin. And the other is, you must not be ashamed of your work, and think it would be more honorable to you to be doing something else. You must have a pride in your own work and in learning to do it well.
She thought it was part of the hardship of her life that there was laid upon her the burthen of larger wants than others seemed to feel – that she had to endure this wide hopeless yearning for that something, whatever it was, that was greatest and best on this earth.
Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music.
I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music.
Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them: they can be injured by us, they can be wounded; they know all our penitence, all our aching sense that their place is empty, all the kisses we bestow on the smallest relic of their presence.
I am always interested in why young people become writers, and from talking with many I have concluded that most do not want to be writers working eight and ten hours a day and accomplishing little; they want to have been writers, garnering the rewards of having completed a best-seller. They aspire to the rewards of writing but not to the travail.
The great secret of true success, of true happiness, is this: the man or woman who asks for no return, the perfectly unselfish person, is the most successful.
The guys that improve every year are those that are always adding something to their game.
Nothing succeeds like success. Get a little success, and then just get a little more.
As a business owner, I understand the importance of prioritizing your bottom line, but it's equally as important to consider how you can succeed while also thinking about the long-term impact on the community.
The key to success is to find a way to stand out--to be the purple cow in a field of monochrome Holsteins.
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