“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him.”

—  Chinmayananda Saraswati

Quotations from Gurudev’s teachings, Chinmya Mission Chicago

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Nov. 2, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him." by Chinmayananda Saraswati?
Chinmayananda Saraswati photo
Chinmayananda Saraswati 118
Indian spiritual teacher 1916–1993

Related quotes

John Locke photo

“To teach him betimes to love and be good-natur'd to others, is to lay early the true foundation of an honest man; all injustice generally springing from too great love of ourselves and too little of others.”

John Locke book Some Thoughts Concerning Education

Sec. 139
Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693)

Lana Turner photo

“A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend. A successful woman is one who can find such a man.”

Lana Turner (1921–1995) American actress
Thomas Edison photo

“The memory of Tom Paine will outlive all this. No man who helped to lay the foundations of our liberty — who stepped forth as the champion of so difficult a cause — can be permanently obscured by such attacks.”

Thomas Edison (1847–1931) American inventor and businessman

The Philosophy of Paine (1925)
Context: The memory of Tom Paine will outlive all this. No man who helped to lay the foundations of our liberty — who stepped forth as the champion of so difficult a cause — can be permanently obscured by such attacks. Tom Paine should be read by his countrymen. I commend his fame to their hands.

Vitruvius photo

“On the top of the wall lay a structure of burnt brick, about a foot and a half in height, under the tiles and projecting like a coping. …when the tiles on the roof are broken or thrown down by the wind so that rain-water can leak through, this burnt brick coating will prevent the crude brick from being damaged, and the cornice-like projection will throw off the drops beyond the vertical face, and thus the walls, though of crude brick structure, will be preserved intact.”

Vitruvius book De architectura

Source: De architectura (The Ten Books On Architecture) (~ 15BC), Book II, Chapter VIII, Sec. 18

John Locke photo

“Inuring children gently to suffer some degrees of pain without shrinking, is a way to gain firmness to their minds, and lay a foundation for courage and resolution in the future part of their lives.”

John Locke book Some Thoughts Concerning Education

Sec. 115
Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693)

“Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.”

Shirley Jackson book The Haunting of Hill House

Source: The Haunting of Hill House (1959), Ch. 1
Context: No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.

Muhammad photo

“Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The strong man is not the one who throws people in wrestling. The strong man is the one who has control of himself when he is angry."”

Muhammad (570–632) Arabian religious leader and the founder of Islam

Riyadh-as-Saliheen by Imam Al-Nawawi, 647 https://bewley.virtualave.net/riyad4.html
Sunni Hadith

“Goodness is always an asset. A man who is straight, friendly and useful may never be famous, but he is respected and liked by all who know him. He has laid a sound foundation for success and he will have a worthwhile life.”

Herbert N. Casson (1869–1951) Canadian journalist and writer

Herbert N. Casson in: Forbes (1948). p. 42
1920s-1940s

Hyman George Rickover photo

“It is said that a wise man who stands firm is a statesman, and a foolish man who stands firm is a catastrophe.”

Hyman George Rickover (1900–1986) United States admiral

The Rickover Effect (1992)

Related topics