“The great achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg; and in the highest vision of the soul, a waking angel stirs.”
William James

William James, a philosopher and the father of psychology, was also a gifted writer.  Gathered here are some of his inspiring beliefs to spur us on our way today:

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude….. It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task, which, more than anything else,
affects its successful outcome.”

“Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction.”

“Success or failure depends more on attitude than on capacity; successful men act as though they accomplished or are enjoying something. Soon it becomes a reality. Act, look, feel successful, conduct yourself accordingly, and you will be amazed at the positive results.”

“There is a law in psychology that if you form a picture in your mind of what you would like to be, and you keep and hold that picture there long enough, you will soon become exactly as you have been thinking.”

“Formula to live your dream: 1: Be bold.  2. Begin now.  3. No exceptions.”

“We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface, but connected in the deep.”

“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”

“I am done with great things and big plans, great institutions and big success. I am for those tiny, invisible loving human forces that work from individual to individual, creeping through the crannies of the world like so may rootlets, or like the capillaries.”

“The strenuous life tastes better.”

Emboldened and encouraged by these words, let’s all write on!