The Young Man's Guide Quotes

“He who only aims at little, will accomplish but little. Expect great things, and attempt great things.”
― William A. (William Andrus) Alcott, The Young Man's Guide

“Of all persons living, he who does not remember that he has once been young, is the most completely disqualified for giving youthful counsel.”
― William A. Alcott, The Young Man's Guide

“Too many young men expect happiness from wealth. This is their great object of study and action, by night and by day. Not that they suppose there is an inherent value in the wealth itself, but only that it will secure the means of procuring the happiness they so ardently desire. But the farther they go, in the pursuit of wealth, for the sake of happiness, especially if successful in their plans and business, the more they forget their original purpose, and seek wealth for the sake of wealth. To get rich, is their principal motive to action. So it is in regard to the exclusive pursuit of sensual pleasure, or civil distinction. The farther we go, the more we lose our original character, and the more we become devoted to the objects of pursuit, and incapable of being roused by other motives.”
― William A. (William Andrus) Alcott, The Young Man's Guide

“He who would pass the latter part of his life with honor and decency, must, when he is young, consider that he shall one day be old, and when he is old, remember that he has once been young.”
― William A. (William Andrus) Alcott, The Young Man's Guide

“He who will not work shall not eat.' Yet, so strong is the propensity to be thought 'gentlemen;' so general is this desire amongst the youth of this proud money making nation, that thousands upon thousands of them are, at this moment, in a state which may end in starvation; not so much because they are too lazy to earn their bread, as because they are too proud!”
― William A. (William Andrus) Alcott, The Young Man's Guide

“Nearly every person you meet is aiming at a situation in which he will be exempted from the drudgery of laboring with his hands. We cannot all become “lords” and “gentlemen.”
― William A. Alcott, The Young Man's Guide: Classic Wisdom for Improving Mind, Manners, and Morals

“To live in idleness, even if you have the means, is not only injurious to yourself, but a species of fraud upon the community, and the children—if”
― William A. Alcott, The Young Man's Guide: Classic Wisdom for Improving Mind, Manners, and Morals

“Resolution is almost omnipotent. Those little words “try” and “begin” are sometimes great in their results. “I can’t” never accomplished anything. “I will try” has achieved wonders.”
― William A. Alcott, The Young Man's Guide: Classic Wisdom for Improving Mind, Manners, and Morals

“Some start in life without any leading objective at all; some with a low one; and some aim high—and just in proportion to the elevation at which they aim will be their progress and success.”
― William A. Alcott, The Young Man's Guide: Classic Wisdom for Improving Mind, Manners, and Morals

“When we come to the very close of life, we cannot transfer, in a single moment, that knowledge of the world and of human nature which an experience of 70 years has afforded us. If, therefore, from any cause whatever, we have not already dealt it out to those around us, it is likely to be lost;—and lost for ever.”
― William A. (William Andrus) Alcott, The Young Man's Guide