5 William James Quotes on Motivation

William James quotes on motivation

13. The concrete man has but one interest - to be right. That to him is the art of all arts, and all means are fair which help him to it.

27. So our self-feeling in this world depends entirely on what we back ourselves to be and do.

31. The impulse to take life strivingly is indestructible in the race.

38. Need and struggle are what excite and inspire us; our hour of triumph is what brings the void. Not the Jews of the captivity, but those of the days of Solomon's glory are those from whom the pessimistic utterances in our Bible come.

121. Most people live, whether physically, intellectually or morally, in a very restricted circle of their potential being. They make use of a very small portion of their possible consciousness, and of their soul's resources in general, much like a man who, out of his whole bodily organism, should get into a habit of using and moving only his little finger. Great emergencies and crises show us how much greater our vital resources are than we had supposed.