Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The enthusiast always finds the master, the masters, whom he seeks. Always genius seeks genius, desires nothing so much as to be a pupil and to find those who can lend it aid to perfect itself.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

There are so many valuable and life changing lessons to learn from Ralph Waldo Emerson and today I am going to share with you 33 of these lessons.

33 Life Changing Lessons to Learn from Ralph Waldo Emerson

1. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.

“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

2. Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you.

“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

3. To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

4. Be silly. Be honest. Be kind.

“Be silly. Be honest. Be kind.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.”

5. Let love govern your life.

“Give all to love; obey thy heart.”

“Love, and you shall be loved.”

“Give all to love.”

6. He who dwells in love is wise and is becoming wiser.

“He who is in love is wise and is becoming wiser, sees newly every time he looks at the object beloved, drawing from it with his eyes and his mind those virtues which it possesses.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

7. To be great is to be misunderstood.

“Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

8. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.

“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

9. Once you make a decision, the whole universe conspires to make it happen.

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

10. Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.

“Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

11. Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.

“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.” 

12. Don’t waste yourself in rejection.

“Don’t waste yourself in rejection, nor bark against the bad, but chant the beauty of the good.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

13. Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.

“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

14. Don’t let your past keep you from your future.

“Be not the slave of your own past. Plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

15. Finish each day and be done with it.

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” ~

16. Every person you come in contact with has something to teach you.

“Every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him.”

17. No matter how much you change, you will always need your friends.

“Even though we’ve changed and we’re all finding our own place in the world, we all know that when the tears fall or the smile spreads across our face, we’ll come to each other because no matter where this crazy world takes us, nothing will ever change so much to the point where we’re not all still friends.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

18. Imitation is suicide.

“Insist on yourself; never imitate… Every great man is unique.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

19. To have a friend is to be a friend.

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

20. You cannot help another without helping yourself.

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

21. Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful.

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

22. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

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

23. He who has one enemy will meet him everywhere.

“He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare, and he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

24. Leave your mark on the world.

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

25. To be yourself is the greatest accomplishment.

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

26. The greatest riches are within you.

“What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

27. A certain darkness is needed to see the stars.

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

28. Men are what their mothers made them.

“Men are what their mothers made them.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

29. The age of a woman doesn’t mean a thing.

“The age of a woman doesn’t mean a thing. The best tunes are played on the oldest fiddles.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

30. Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

31. The things you own, own you.

“If a man owns land, the land owns him.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

32. Every man alone is sincere.

“Every man alone is sincere. At the entrance of a second person, hypocrisy begins.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

33. Every person is born with a specific purpose.

“Each man has his own vocation; his talent is his call. There is one direction in which all space is open to him.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

~love, Luminita💫

Do you have a favorite quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson? If you do, you can share it in the comment section below 🙂

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