This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.
All success consists in this: you are doing something for somebody - benefiting humanity - and the feeling of success comes from the consciousness of this.
Consciousness | Humanity | Success |
Genius is only the power of making continuous efforts. The line between failure and success is so fine that we scarcely know when we pass it: so fine that we are often on the line and do not know it.... There is no failure except from within, no really insurmountable barrier save our own inherent weakness of purpose.
Failure | Genius | Power | Purpose | Purpose | Success | Weakness | Failure |
There is no failure except in no longer trying... The line between failure and success is so fine that we scarcely know when we pass it: so fine that we are often on the line and do not know it.
Most barriers to your success are man-made. And most often, you're the man who made them.
Henry Kissinger, fully Henry Alfred Kissinger
The spirit of policy and that of bureaucracy are diametrically opposed… The essence of bureaucracy is its quest for safety; its success is calculability. Profound policy thrives on perpetual creation, on a constant redefinition of goals. Good administration thrives on routine, the definition of relationships which can survive mediocrity. Policy involves an adjustment of risks; administration, an avoidance of deviation.
Administration | Deviation | Goals | Good | Mediocrity | Policy | Spirit | Success |
Henry Kissinger, fully Henry Alfred Kissinger
The political leaders with whom we are familiar generally aspire to be superstars rather than heroes. The distinction is crucial. Superstars strive for approbation; heroes walk alone. Superstars crave consensus; heroes define themselves by the judgment of a future they see it as their task to bring about. Superstars seek success in a technique for eliciting support; heroes pursue success as the outgrowth of inner values.
Distinction | Future | Judgment | Success |
The talent of success is nothing more than doing what you can do well and doing well whatever you do without a thought of fame. If it comes out a thought of fame. If it comes at all it will come because it is deserved, not because it is sought after.
Fame | Nothing | Success | Thought | Will | Talent | Thought |
Ten Success Rules: Put success before amusement. Learn something every day. Cut free from routine. Concentrate on net profits. Make your services known. Never worry over trifles. Shape your decisions quickly. Acquire skill and technique. Deserve loyalty and co-operation. Value character above all.
Character | Day | Loyalty | Loyalty | Skill | Success | Trifles | Worry | Learn | Value |
Henry David Thoreau, born David Henry Thoreau
If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours... If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; there is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.
It is not the going out of port, but the coming in that determines the success of a voyage.
Success |
It is not the going out of port, but the coming in, that determines the success of a voyage.
Success |
Goodness is always an asset. A man who is straight, friendly and useful may never be famous, but he is respected and liked by all who know him. He has laid a sound foundation for success and he will have a worthwhile life.
Irving Berlin, pseudonymn for Israel Baline
The toughest thing about success is that you've got to keep on being a success. Talent is only a starting point in business. You've got to keep working that talent.
Realizing that no simple formulas apply to everyone, we develop the courage to live a unique spiritual life, in our own idiosyncratic way. While archetypal patterns exist to guide seekers, in the West individuals can find their won way within these deeper patterns by honoring their unique backgrounds, temperaments, values and creative capacities... We commit ourselves to passionate action in the world, without becoming overly attached to the success or failure of our endeavors... In spiritual maturity, recognizing that such an attitude of indifference stems from a fear of life, we commit to our spouses, professions, and social action, developing compassion and equanimity through a balanced engagement with life.
Action | Compassion | Courage | Equanimity | Failure | Fear | Indifference | Life | Life | Success | Unique | World | Engagement | Failure |