Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American poet, philosopher, and essayist during the 19th century. He displayed many unique ideas and values and was known for challenging traditional thoughts.

 

Here are 61 Thought-Provoking Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes:

1.  “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

2. “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

3. “Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

4. “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

5. “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

6. “Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

7. “The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

8. “For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

9. “Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God’s handwriting… Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

10. “Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he could be, and he will become what he should be.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

11. “Every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

12. “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

13. “The only way to have a friend is to be one.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

14. “Love, and you shall be loved.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

15. “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

16. “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

17. “Shallow men believe in luck or in circumstance. Strong men believe in cause and effect.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

18. “Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

19. “Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This day is all that is good and fair. It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on yesterdays.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

20th Ralph Waldo Emerson Quote –  “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

21.  “Always do what you are afraid to do.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

22. “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

23. “When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

24. “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

25. “I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

26. “Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

27. “Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

28. “It is not the length of life, but the depth.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

29. “It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

30. “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Confidence
 

31. “Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

32. “Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

33. “Make the most of yourself….for that is all there is of you.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

34. “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

35. “If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

36. “Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

37. “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

38. “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

39. “Shallow men believe in luck or in circumstance. Strong men believe in cause and effect.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

40th Ralph Waldo Emerson Quote – “Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

41. “Every artist was first an amateur.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

42. “People do not seem to realise that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

43. “You become what you think about all day long.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

44. “Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting some on yourself.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

45. “It is easy to live for others, everybody does. I call on you to live for yourself.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

46. “The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

47. “Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

48.  “The good news is that the moment you decide that what you know is more important than what you have been taught to believe, you will have shifted gears in your quest for abundance. Success comes from within, not from without.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

49. “In my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

50. “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

51. “People only see what they are prepared to see.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

52. “Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

53. “Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

54. “Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

55. “Beware what you set your heart upon. For it surely shall be yours.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

56. “We are students of words: we are shut up in schools, and colleges, and recitation -rooms, for ten or fifteen years, and come out at last with a bag of wind, a memory of words, and do not know a thing.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

57. “It is one of the beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

58. “Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

59. “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to leave the world a better place, to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

60. “Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson

61. “In order for one to learn the important lessons of life, one must first overcome a fear each day.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson