Here’s 30 Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes That You Must Know. These quotes highlight Emerson’s insights on self-reliance, personal growth, and the beauty of nature:
- “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Self-Reliance (1841)
- “For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” – Attributed
- “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Attributed
- “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Essays: First Series (1841)
- “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” – Attributed
- “Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” – Merlin’s Song (1867)
- “To be great is to be misunderstood.” – Self-Reliance (1841)
- “Always do what you are afraid to do.” – Essays: First Series (1841)
- “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.” – Attributed
- “The earth laughs in flowers.” – Hamatreya (1846)
- “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” – Essays: First Series (1841)
- “The only way to have a friend is to be one.” – Essays: First Series (1841)
- “It is not the length of life, but the depth.” – Journal entry (1835)
- “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” – Attributed
- “Without ambition, one starts nothing. Without work, one finishes nothing.” – Society and Solitude (1870)
- “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” – Self-Reliance (1841)
- “The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.” – Nature (1836)
- “To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” – Attributed
- “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.” – Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1842)
- “Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.” – Society and Solitude (1870)
- “He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.” – Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1834)
- “The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.” – The American Scholar (1837)
- “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” – Attributed
- “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.” – Self-Reliance (1841)
- “Hitch your wagon to a star.” – Society and Solitude (1870)
- “Beauty without expression is boring.” – Essays: Second Series (1844)
- “Life is a journey, not a destination.” – Attributed
- “Peace cannot be achieved through violence; it can only be attained through understanding.” – Attributed
- “The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.” – Essays: First Series (1841)
- “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” – Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1863)