Great Throughts Treasury

This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.

Wilferd Peterson, fully Wilferd Arlan Peterson

American Author, Journalist for This Week Magazine, Columnist for Science of Mind Magazine and Published Nine Books

"Our children are watching us live, and what we are shouts louder than anything we can say."

"Make it a point to scatter creative seeds every day of your life!"

"No man stands alone. Through all the centuries of recorded time, men have set into motion influences that affect your life today."

"The art of being yourself at your best is the art of unfolding your personality into the person you want to be...Be gentle with yourself, learn to love yourself, to forgive yourself, for only as we have the right attitude toward ourselves can we have the right attitude toward others."

"See it big, and keep it simple."

"Stay home to find beauty. Open your eyes to a new appreciation of your surroundings: the furniture, the wallpaper, the pictures on the walls, the woodwork, the view from a window, the flowers in the garden. . . Open yourself to a new awareness of the love in the faces of those with whom your home is shared."

"Remind me each day that the race is not always to the swift; that there is more to life than increasing its speed."

"Success is ninety-nine percent mental attitude. It calls for love, joy, optimism, confidence, serenity, poise, faith, courage, cheerfulness, imagination, initiative, tolerance, honesty, humility, patience and enthusiasm."

"Success is focusing the full power of all you are on what you have a burning desire to achieve."

"Take a look at those two open hands of yours. They are tools with which to serve, make friends, and reach out for the best in life. Open hands open the way to achievement Put them to work today."

"Tell the funny story on yourself so that the laugh is on you; always laugh with others never at them."

"Success is having the courage to meet failure without being defeated. It is refusing to let present loss interfere with your long-range goal. . . . Success is relative and individual and personal. It is your answer to the problem of making your minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years add up to a great life."

"The best leaders are very often the best listeners. They have an open mind. They are not interested in having their own way but in finding the best way."

"The secret of greatness is simple: do better work than any other man in your field - and keep on doing it."

"The key to unlocking the treasures in the art of living, the secret of adding new dimensions to your life, is simply this: Hold an adventurous mental attitude. When you look at even the humdrum with an adventurous attitude, you infuse things with the brilliant light of newness. The dull becomes bright. The darkness is lighted up. You cannot become bored when you approach everything as an adventure!"

"Those who would practice the art of tolerance must guard well against an attitude of superiority, smugness, indifference, and coldness. These qualities are tolerance turned wrong side out!"

"The world knows the perfect tune for harmony and peace among people. There is no secret about it. It is as old as the ages. Seers, prophets and sages have extolled it. The perfect tune is the expression of love and good will. All that is needed is that people transcend their differences so that the perfect tune may be played on the heartstrings of all people everywhere."

"Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Walk with those who have ideals, with zest to help and lift, to create and contribute. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it… Associate with the creative people wherever you find them. Make friends with them, go where they are, talk with them, listen to them, be open and receptive to them, let them inspire you. Catch their attitudes, their way of thinking and living."

"The reason progress is slow is that we always expect other men to be the heroes and to live the heroic lives. But we all have hero stuff in us. In our sphere of life we can always live more heroically and triumphantly and grow in heroic stature."

"The well-known maxim, "While there is life there is hope," has a deeper meaning in reverse: "While there is hope there is life." Hope comes first, life follows. Hope gives power to life. Hope rouses life to continue, to expand, to grow, to reach out, to go on. Hope sees a light where there isn't any. Hope lights candles in millions of despairing hearts. Hope is the miracle medicine of the mind. It inspires the will to live. Hope is the physician's strongest ally. Hope is man's shield and buckler against defeat. "Hope," wrote Alexander Pope, "springs eternal in the human breast." And as long as it does man will triumph and move forward. Hope never sounds retreat. Hope keeps the banners flying. Hope revives deals, renews dreams, revitalizes visions. Hope scales the peak, wrestles with the impossible, achieves the highest aim. "The word which God has written on the brow of every man," wrote Victor Hugo, "is Hope." As long as man has hope no situation is hopeless."

"To be a friend a man should remember that we are human magnets: that like attracts like, and that what we give we get."

"The wise man realistically accepts as part of life and builds a philosophy to meet them and make the most of them. He lives on the principle of “nothing attempted, nothing gained” and is resolved that if he fails he is going to fail while trying to succeed."

"Walking exercises the whole person. It exercises the body--it gives the arms and legs a workout. It stimulates the flow of blood; expands the lungs. It is gentle and relaxing. It exercises the mind--it shakes up the brain cells. It fills them with oxygen; drives out the cobwebs. A famous scientist says he does his best thinking on the two miles of sidewalk between his home and office. Walking exercises the emotions. It gives you a chance to observe and enjoy the world. Open your eyes to beauty. See the homes, the trees, the gardens. See the shining faces of little children. Listen for the church chimes, singing birds and the laughter of happy people."

"Walking uplifts the spirit. Breathe out the poisons of tension, stress, and worry; breathe in the power of God. Send forth little silent prayers of goodwill toward those you meet. Walk with a sense of being a part of a vast universe. Consider the thousands of miles of earth beneath your feet; think of the limitless expanse of space above your head. Walk in awe, wonder, and humility. Walk at all times of day. In the early morning when the world is just waking up. Late at night under the stars. Along a busy city street at noontime."

"We, the decent people of the world. . . believe that this is a beautiful universe and that it is made for love and not for hate; for peace and not war; for freedom and not slavery; for order and not riot; for compassion and not violence; for happiness and not misery."

"Words of encouragement fan the spark of genius into the flame of achievement."

"While there is life there is hope, has deeper meaning in reverse. While there is hope there is life. Hope comes first, life follows. Hope gives power to life. Hope rouses life to continue to expand, to grow, to reach out, to go on. Hope sees a light where there isn't any. Hope lights candles in millions of despairing hearts. Where would I be without hope?"

"Work miracles by giving courage. Many ideas have failed to be realized because people lacked the courage to see them through. Promising careers have been abandoned because people were afraid. Cheer people on. Instill courage in their hearts."

"You are a bundle of mysteries. Finding and conquering yourself is a lifetime task. There are unplumbed depths in you full of the rich ore of personal discovery. Explore yourself! There is power in you--the power to change yourself and to change the world; the power to create plans, projects, movements for the common good; the power to inspire and serve."

"You take a firm grip on positive attitudes of thought. You hold right thoughts in your mind just as your hand grips a golf club. You keep both feet on the ground. You stand for the highest and the best and strive to fill your life with the goodness of God."

"You may plan to write a book someday, but you are living a book every day."

"You mold your character and your future by your thoughts and acts."

"Your greatest power is the power to be. To be more loving. To be more courageous. To be more joyous. To be more friendly. To be more sensitive. To be more aware. To be more forgiving. To be more tolerant. To be more humble. To be more patient. To be more helpful. . . . To be a greater human being."