WIST Quotations

Wilcox, Ella Wheeler -- Poem (1906), “Climbing,” ll. 9-10, New Thought Pastels

Dave — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 17:50:43 +0000

Who would attain to summits still and fair,
Must nerve himself through valleys of despair.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919) American author, poet, temperance advocate, spiritualist
Poem (1906), “Climbing,” ll. 9-10, New Thought Pastels
(Source)

Damon, Bertha -- A Sense of Humus, ch. 13 “Garden Sass” (1943)

Dave — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 00:22:38 +0000

Getting what you go after is success; but liking it while you are getting it is happiness.

Bertha Damon (1881–1975) American humorist, author, lecturer, editor [Bertha Clark Pope Damon]
A Sense of Humus, ch. 13 “Garden Sass” (1943)
(Source)

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Commendation,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Dave — Tue, 26 Dec 2023 22:23:59 +0000

COMMENDATION, n. The tribute that we pay to achievements that resemble, but do not equal, our own.

Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914?) American writer and journalist
“Commendation,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)
(Source)

Included in The Devil's Dictionary (1911). Originally published in the "Devil's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Wasp (1881-08-05).

Gladwell, Malcolm -- Outliers: The Story of Success, ch. 2 “The 10,000 Hour Rule,” sec. 2 (2008)

Dave — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 15:30:24 +0000

Once a musician has enough ability to get into a top music school, the thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works. That’s it. And what’s more, the people at the very top don’t work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder.

Malcolm Gladwell (b. 1963) Anglo-Canadian journalist, author, public speaker
Outliers: The Story of Success, ch. 2 “The 10,000 Hour Rule,” sec. 2 (2008)
(Source)

Shaw, George Bernard -- Man and Superman, Act 4 [Mendoza] (1903)

Dave — Wed, 18 May 2022 21:41:41 +0000

There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart’s desire. The other is to get it.

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish playwright and critic
Man and Superman, Act 4 [Mendoza] (1903)
(Source)

See Wilde, eleven years earlier. More discussion quote: There Are Only Two Tragedies. One Is Not Getting What One Wants, and the Other Is Getting It – Quote Investigator.

Stevenson, Robert Louis -- “The Adventure of the Hansom Cabs” (1878)

Dave — Sat, 17 Aug 2019 04:26:42 +0000

Is there anything in life so disenchanting as attainment?

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) Scottish essayist, novelist, poet
“The Adventure of the Hansom Cabs” (1878)
(Source)

Ziglar, Zig -- Biscuits, Fleas, and Pump Handles (1974)

Dave — Sat, 31 Dec 2016 01:19:37 +0000

What you get by reaching your goals is not nearly so important as what you become by reaching them.

Hilary Hinton "Zig" Ziglar (1926–2012) American author, salesperson, motivational speaker
Biscuits, Fleas, and Pump Handles (1974)

Ziglar used multiple variations of this phrase. Also attributed to Goethe and Thoreau. For more discussion see here.

Thoreau, Henry David -- Walden; or, Life in the Woods, ch. 18 “Conclusion” (1854)

Dave — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:33:29 +0000

Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed, and in such desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) American philosopher and writer
Walden; or, Life in the Woods, ch. 18 “Conclusion” (1854)
(Source)