Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American philosopher, lecturer, essayist, and poet. He’s probably most known for leading the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. His work has influenced nearly every generation of thinker, writer and poet since his time.

So without further adieu, today I want to talk about some of the profound life-lessons we can learn from Emerson. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

7 Amazing Life Lessons from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Lesson 1: Aim Above The Mark

“We aim above the mark to hit the mark.”

To hit the mark, it’s necessary to aim above the mark. If you want to do $100,000 in sales next year, create a plan that allows you to do $150,000. To hit the mark you have to aim higher!

Do you aim high when setting your goals? Things seldom go exactly as you plan them, aiming allows you to hit the target with the inevitable occurs.

Lesson 2: What You Always See, You Stop Seeing

“If the stars should appear but one night every thousand years how man would marvel and stare.”

What you constantly see, you stop seeing! You forget the wonders of your spouse, the reliability of your car, the warmth of your home, because you experience them too often. This is just a reminder, to stop, and marvel and the things you wouldn’t want to live without.

Lesson 3: Conquer Daily

“He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.”

Life is a battlefield; to succeed you must “divide and conquer.” Conquer your fears daily; stretch yourself daily. Do something you don’t want to do, something you’re afraid of doing because you might get rejected or you might fail. Do that thing today, and then conquer another fear tomorrow. If you can create the habit of conquering your fear, you can move from the land of impossibilities to the land of possibilities.

Lesson 4: Work on Yourself

“The sum of wisdom is that time is never lost that is devoted to work.”

If there’s a secret to success, it’s work, but not just any work. I’m talking about working on yourself. Time spent working on yourself will yield you many dividends. Commit to work on yourself everyday, to become a little better, a little smarter, and in time the best version of you will be realized.

Lesson 5: Repair Your Character

“No change of circumstances can repair a defect of character.”

Your thoughts determine your feelings, your feelings determine your actions, and your actions determine your character. A defected character comes from defective thinking and can only be corrected via accurate thinking: Thinking that is in-line with where you want to go and who you want to be. Better circumstances won’t change a defected character; only “better” thinking can do that. If you don’t decide to think “better,” your way-of-thinking will eventually drag you down exposing your defected character.

Lesson 6: Think Bigger

“In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine.”

You are only limited by what your heart can imagine. If you can imagine big things, if you can somehow stretch your mind to see the impossible, if you can catch a glimpse of what could be, then you can go there. You must believe in what’s never been done before, you must believe that you can do what’s never been done before; you must be committed to realizing the impossible. If you can see it, you can have it.

Lesson 7: Make Yourself Necessary

“Make yourself necessary to somebody.”

If you didn’t learn anything from this article, please take this final point. Make yourself necessary! Not just to somebody, but to a host of people. When you work on yourself, and grow yourself, and spend years sharpening your skills, you will become valuable; you will become necessary to somebody.

Thank you for reading and be sure to pass this article along!

Mr. Self Development is an author who teaches a motivational and practical guide to success. Please visit him at Mr. Self Development.com.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson once observed, “Our chief want in life is somebody who will make us do what we can.”

I remember when I was parenting young children how rules, discipline, and boundaries created a stronger sense of security for both of the boys. For a time, trying to be ultra-modern and free, we offered much more leeway and freedom. We found during that period that the boys seemed to shrivel, become uncertain, and ironically crankier.  Something I’d heard previously brought us back to our senses, giving the boys a much stronger foundation that saw them flourish.

Boundaries, rules, and discipline are necessary elements of societal life, and is encountered in every adult encounter inter-personally, organizationally, and culture to culture. We don’t have it right, but if history is any judge, we are in many ways getting better. Before naming all the things that are wrong, keep it in perspective; our getting better also means we’ve discovered, invented, and implemented new tools and resources, ideas and politics, and a slew of choices that see many mistakes being made. Considering the societal norms of today versus 250 years ago, we have made progress.

With each generation we are challenged to operate in a societal culture of norms that need growth and change, amongst the tide of resistance to change. We know change to be inevitable, yet another facet of life and changes sees people resisting change as they seek to find a sense of peace and stability – maybe just to have a rest. Others, are just plain obstinate. Me too, at times.

And here it is, our biggest want, observed by Emerson, is to have someone willing to make us do what we can. We are capable of so much, and yet often find ourselves doing so little with our talent, passion, and dreams. Someone willing to make you do what you can also must be willing to assert rules, boundaries, and yes, discipline. You know what? In some ways it does feel uncomfortable, but I’ve also recognized the suck-it-up factor, acknowledgement, encouragement, belief, and empowerment that fuels my next moves.

Step-by-step, it gets better. Step-by-step, I improve. Step-by-step, I sometimes fall. Showing up each day, getting back into the fray, and communicate with those who matter with the stakes in your life. Choose, open, and grow with each challenge and opportunity to discover more of your potential. Step-by-step, my someone will still tell me when I’ve appreciated their feedback and made an invitation for more. Thank-you, I feel that force of ability to achieve my personal potential. What about you?
Have you got your someone?