Reaping a Destiny by Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson from The Selected Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson

Marcus Aurelius (see Notes), the incredible 2nd century (Roman) Emperor and (Stoic) Philosopher teaches us that: "Your mind will be like its habitual thoughts; for the soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts. Soak it then in such trains of thoughts as, for example: Where life is possible at all, a right life is possible."

And, we know that Aristotle taught us that: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."

And countless others have commented on the subject as well. From J. Paul Getty's admonition that: "The individual who wants to reach the top in business must appreciate the might and force of habit. He must be quick to break those habits that can break him--and hasten to adopt those practices that will become the habits that help him achieve the success he desires."

To George Washington Carver's point that: "Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses."

And, Thomas Edison's sage reminder that "The successful person makes a habit of doing what the failing person doesn't like to do."

Emerson takes it a few steps further: "Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny."

Amen. How are your thoughts? Your actions? Your habits? Your character? Trace them closely. Shape them consciously. Reap your destiny...

"No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature. Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this. The only right is what is after my constitution; the only wrong what is against it." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson from The Selected Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson

More from Ralph Waldo Emerson…

• Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Big Ideas
• Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quotes
• Buy the book from Amazon!
• Check out the Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Site

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