Transcendentalism was an American philosophical movement that began in the early 19th century. Transcendentalists emphasized individualism, self-reliance, and avoiding conformity.
Many of the transcendentalists’ suggestions for how to live life were based on the assumption of readily-available resources, and especially on the idea that one shouldn’t be too careful about wasting resources, because often good things come out of failure.
“Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.”
“Hitch your wagon to a star.”
“It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, ‘Always do what you are afraid to do.’”
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
Henry David Thoreau:
“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.”
“Never look back unless you are planning to go that way.”
“This world is but a canvas to our imagination.”
Amos Bronson Alcott:
“We climb to heaven most often on the ruins of our cherished plans, finding our failures were successes.”
