If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness.

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.

– Henry David Thoreau

Beautifully restored map of the Bronx, NYC from 1921

Historic bird’s eye view of the Bronx from 1921

Beautifully detailed map of Houston, Texas from 1873

Historic bird’s eye view of Houston, Texas from 1873

Carefully study the lives of the successful

Success is not accidental but logical, the practical result of properly developed…

When you’re afraid, keep your mind on what you have to do. And if you have…

When you’re afraid, keep your mind on what you have to do. And if you have been…

Beautiful bird’s eye view of Milton, New Hampshire from 1888

This old map shows Milton, New Hampshire in the late 19th century.

A sugar workers lunch consisted of rice, beans and papaya

In Guanica, Puerto Rico this was the standard lunch of a plantation worker.

In quietness and confidence shall be your strength…

You are distinctly assured that in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength…