Words Worth Noting - July 20, 2026

“It was impressed on me by one of the best of mothers that ever lived that I must aim at being a thorough master of the work by which I had to get my living; and to be that, I must concentrate my whole energies on my work, whatever that might be, to the exclusion of every other thing. I soon discovered that if I ever accomplished anything in life it would be by pursuing my object with a persistent determination to attain it. I had neither the training nor the talents to accomplish anything without hard work, and fortunately I knew it.”

Canadian tycoon George Stephen, late in life, attributed his success to his Spartan training and singlemindedness, quoted in Pierre Berton The National Dream