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Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them.
Orison Swett Marden
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the difference between passive and proactive individuals in seizing opportunities.

Orison Swett Marden's quote highlights the contrasting behaviors of individuals regarding opportunities. Weak individuals tend to wait and hope for chances to come their way, relying on external circumstances, while strong individuals take initiative and create their own opportunities through perseverance and action. This distinction emphasizes the importance of a proactive mindset in achieving success.

Themes

OpportunityActionStrengthProactivitySuccess

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech to inspire young entrepreneurs.

More from Orison Swett Marden

Opportunity is latent in the very foundation of human society. Opportunity is everywhere about us. But the preparation to seize upon the opportunity, and to make the most of it, is to be made by every one for himself ... he will be self-made or never made.
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We lift ourselves by our thought, we climb upon our vision of ourselves. If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself. Hold the ideal of yourself as you long to be, always, everywhere - your ideal of what you long to attain - the ideal of health, efficiency, success.
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You know from past experiences that whenever you have been driven to the wall, or thought you were, you have extricated yourself in a way which you never would have dreamed possible had you not been put to the test. The trouble is that in your everyday life you don't go deep enough to tap the divine mind within you.
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You cannot measure a man by his failures. You must know what use he makes of them. What did they mean to him. What did he get out of them.
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Something greater than wealth, grander even than fame β€” that manhood, character, stand for success, and that nothing else really does.
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Many a man has finally succeeded only because he has failed after repeated efforts. If he had never met defeat he would never have known any great victory.
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