Samuel Smiles Quotes

A collection of quotes by Samuel Smiles.

Samuel Smiles (1812-1904) was a Scottish author and advocate for self-help and personal improvement. Born on December 23, 1812, in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland, he grew up in a working-class family. Smiles faced financial difficulties during his early years, but his strong determination and thirst for knowledge led him to a successful career as a writer and social reformer.

Smiles first worked as an assistant to a doctor before pursuing a career in journalism. He contributed articles to various newspapers and publications, addressing social issues and promoting the idea of self-help. In 1859, he published his most famous work, "Self-Help," which became a bestseller. The book emphasized the importance of hard work, perseverance, and self-reliance in achieving personal success.

Throughout his life, Smiles wrote numerous books and gave lectures on self-improvement, character-building, and moral values. He advocated for education, especially for the working class, believing that knowledge and self-discipline could uplift individuals and improve society as a whole.

Samuel Smiles played a significant role in shaping the popular Victorian idea of self-help, inspiring millions of people to take control of their destinies and work towards self-improvement. Although he faced criticism for promoting individualism and ignoring structural issues, his ideas remain influential in self-help and personal development literature to this day. Samuel Smiles passed away on April 16, 1904, in London, leaving a lasting legacy as a beacon of self-motivation and self-reliance.

We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We

We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.

It is a mistake to suppose that men succeed through success;

It is a mistake to suppose that men succeed through success; they much oftener succeed through failures. Precept, study, advice, and example could never have taught them so well as failure has done.

Knowledge conquered by labor becomes a possession -- a prope

Knowledge conquered by labor becomes a possession -- a property entirely our own.

The battle of life is, in most cases, fought uphill; and to

The battle of life is, in most cases, fought uphill; and to win it without a struggle were perhaps to win it without honor. If there were no difficulties there would be no success; if there were nothing to struggle for, there would be nothing to be achieved.

The very greatest things - great thoughts, discoveries, inve

The very greatest things - great thoughts, discoveries, inventions - have usually been nurtured in hardship, often pondered over in sorrow, and at length established with difficulty.

I'm as happy a man as any in the world, for the whole world

I'm as happy a man as any in the world, for the whole world seems to smile upon me!

The experience gathered from books, though often valuable, i

The experience gathered from books, though often valuable, is but the nature of learning; whereas the experience gained from actual life is one of the nature of wisdom.

Progress however, of the best kind, is comparatively slow. G

Progress however, of the best kind, is comparatively slow. Great results cannot be achieved at once; and we must be satisfied to advance in life as we walk, step by step.

Hope... is the companion of power, and the mother of success

Hope... is the companion of power, and the mother of success for who so hopes has within him the gift of miracles.

The duty of helping one's self in the highest sense involves

The duty of helping one's self in the highest sense involves the helping of one's neighbors.

Man cannot aspire if he looked down; if he rise, he must loo

Man cannot aspire if he looked down; if he rise, he must look up.

Men must necessarily be the active agents of their own well-

Men must necessarily be the active agents of their own well-being and well-doing... they themselves must in the very nature of things be their own best helpers.

The wise man... if he would live at peace with others, he wi

The wise man... if he would live at peace with others, he will bear and forbear.

Men who are resolved to find a way for themselves will alway

Men who are resolved to find a way for themselves will always find opportunities enough; and if they do not find them, they will make them.

The reason why so little is done, is generally because so li

The reason why so little is done, is generally because so little is attempted.

It is not ease but effort, not facility but difficult, that

It is not ease but effort, not facility but difficult, that makes man. There is perhaps no station in life in which difficulties do not have to be encountered and overcome before any decided means of success can be achieved.

We learn from failure much more than from success; we often

We learn from failure much more than from success; we often discover what we will do by finding our what we will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.

Hope is the companion of power, and mother of success; for w

Hope is the companion of power, and mother of success; for who so hopes strongly has within him the gift of miracles.

It will generally be found that men who are constantly lamen

It will generally be found that men who are constantly lamenting their ill luck are only reaping the consequences of their own neglect, mismanagement, and improvidence, or want of application.

He who never made a mistake, never made a discovery.

He who never made a mistake, never made a discovery.