A man, as a general rule, owes very little to what he is born with. A man is what he makes of himself.
In plain words
What you build with your effort matters more than what you started with.
Where these words come from
- 95% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
- Interview, "How They Succeeded" by Orison Swett Marden (1901), Bell Telephone Talk chapter.
- How They Succeeded (Orison Swett Marden)
- 1901
More from Alexander Graham Bell
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To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.
Oscar WildeNot all who wander are lost.
J.R.R. Tolkien'Know thyself' was written over the portal of the antique world. Over the portal of the new world, 'Be thyself' shall be written.Oscar WildeWe will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds.
Ralph Waldo EmersonThe imitator dooms himself to hopeless mediocrity.Ralph Waldo EmersonAlways be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.
Judy Garland
Oscar WildeNot all who wander are lost.J.R.R. Tolkien'Know thyself' was written over the portal of the antique world. Over the portal of the new world, 'Be thyself' shall be written.Oscar WildeWe will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds.Ralph Waldo EmersonThe imitator dooms himself to hopeless mediocrity.Ralph Waldo EmersonAlways be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.Judy Garland