The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.
Confucius (551–479 BC) was a Chinese teacher and civil servant whose teachings on duty, family and government shaped Chinese thought for more than two thousand years. He wrote no book himself; the Analects are a collection of his sayings compiled by his students after his death.
About this theme: Success
Success is the theme where the difference between a quotation and a slogan is easiest to see. A slogan promises an outcome; a quote worth keeping usually names a cost. That is why the most durable lines about success are so often about failure — the number of attempts, the years without result, what had to be given up along the way.
More by Confucius
More on Success
- Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small.— Lao Tzu
- Fortune favors the bold.— Latin Proverb
- Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.— Albert Einstein
- Grain by grain a loaf, stone by stone a palace.— Croatian Proverb
- Well done is better than well said.— Benjamin Franklin