Conviction Quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson
“There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: Self‑Reliance, 1841
The passage argues that envy and imitation hinder personal growth; true fulfillment comes from recognizing one's unique destiny and laboring diligently on it.
In simple terms: Ignore envy, avoid copying, work your own path.
Key Takeaway
Cultivate self‑reliance through effort.
Themes
self‑reliance
individualism
work ethic
Mood
reflective
inspirational
Type
philosophical
motivational
When to use this quote
- career planning
- artistic creation
- entrepreneurship
- personal setbacks
Key Concepts
personal destiny
creative labor
self‑discovery
Questions to Reflect On
- What unique strengths can you develop?
- How does personal effort shape your purpose?
A Different Perspective
Hard work alone may not guarantee success.
![“Beneath everything else, North and West, there ran a profound, unvoiced, almost subconscious conviction that the [American] nation was going to go on growing-in size, in power, in everything a man could think of-and in that belief there was a might and a fury that would take form instantly at the…” quote by Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a3c/bruce-catton-15493_belief_beneath-everything-else-north-and-west-t_10801.jpg)
