The world takes us at our own valuation. It believes in the man who believes in himself, but it has little use for the timid man: the one who is never certain of himself, who cannot rely on his own judgment, who craves advice from others, and is afraid to go ahead on his own account.
Interpretation
The world values self-confidence and decisiveness over timidity and uncertainty.
This quote emphasizes the importance of self-belief and confidence in achieving success. It suggests that the world responds positively to those who have faith in themselves, while those who doubt their abilities and constantly seek validation from others are often overlooked. Realizing our own worth is crucial to gaining respect and recognition from others.
In practice
This quote can inspire you to believe in yourself during a job interview.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Something greater than wealth, grander even than fame — that manhood, character, stand for success, and that nothing else really does.
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.
When I have reached a summit, I leave it with great reluctance, unless it is to reach for another, higher one.
I am unwilling to accord to some small−minded and jealous individuals the satisfaction of having thwarted my efforts. These men are to me nothing more than microbes of a nasty disease. My project was retarded by laws of nature. The world was not prepared for it. It was too far ahead of time, but the same laws will prevail in the end and make it a triumphal success.
Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done.
Don't use the hardships of your past as excuses to deny the possibilities of your future.
Persistence overshadows even talent as the most valuable resource shaping the quality of life.
Discontent is the first necessity of progress.
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