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Quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson

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A Dream Too Wild: Emerson Meditations for Every Day of the Year

This collection presents a year-long journey through the transcendentalist philosophy of Ralph Waldo Emerson, with a meditation for every calendar day. Each entry is drawn from Emerson's published works, including his essays, lectures, and poems, and is designed to inspire personal reflection and connection with nature, self-reliance, and the spiritual insights central to his thought. The book organizes Emerson's timeless wisdom into daily readings, making his ideas accessible for contemporary readers seeking daily inspiration or a structured encounter with his philosophy. more

Author

Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson

American essayist, poet, and philosopher. Born on May 25, 1803, and died on April 27, 1882. Known for his transcendentalist philosophy, his works have had a profound impact on literature and the intellectual world. more

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“If we keep a goal firmly in mind, we will know when we have reached it. This gives us a sense of accomplishment and the challenge of establishing fresh, new goals - always keeping the long-range objective in mind. If we can state our goals clearly, we will gain a purpose and meaning in all our actions.”

“Progress is measured by milestones. What many good people lack are markers that might tell them how they are actually doing. Goals can become a ritual or a fetish, but in the right measure they can give us some much needed reference points. No wonder some seem discouraged! Minus such milestones, we often feel minus in our lives”

“If we are to achieve long-range goals, we must learn to set up and accomplish short-range goals that will move us along the way. If we do not consciously select our goals, we may be controlled by goals not of our own choosing - goals imposed by outside pressures (such as the expectations of others) or by our habits (such as procrastination) or by our desire for the approval of the world.”

“I find that goal setting, when done this way, leads to goal achieving. The chronic failure to achieve goals lowers self-esteem. Show me a failure to achieve a goal, and usually I can show you the violation of one or more of the above criteria. Imposed goals, vague goals, and unrealistic goals tend to produce only partial successes and outright failures.”

“Although goal setting can clearly be overdone, only a few people are overly involved with goals and goal setting; most people do far too little goal setting, including the reflecting that precedes the setting of such goals. Too many marriages have financial goals but not other explicit goals. Yet the gospel is certainly goal-oriented.”

“The best sculptor is the one who can most accurately reproduce in marble the image that he sees before him. The good cook follows the recipe. The pharmacist can utilize the many years of training of the most famous doctors from the best medical schools, if he just knows how to follow a prescription. Someone has said that science is just a collection of successful formulas.”

“Someone has said that planning is the place where man shows himself most like God. Nothing is more godlike than the planner, the thinker, the organizer. He is the one who draws the blueprint for success. He is the one who builds the roadway on which accomplishment will travel. It is likely that our greatest opportunity is to have a good set of definitely worked-out objectives that are fully believed in and about which firm determinations have been made.”

“To dig a straight furrow, the plowman needs to keep his eyes on a fixed point ahead of him. That keeps him on a true course. If, however, he happens to look back to see where he has been, his chances of straying are increased. The results are crooked and irregular furrows...Fix your attention on your...goals and never look back on your earlier problems....If our energies are focused not behind us but ahead of us--on eternal life and the joy of salvation--we assuredly will obtain it.”