"It is as though something had begun to slip – as though I haven't the firm grip I had on events. – What is success? It is an inner, an indescribable force, resourcefulness, power of vision; a consciousness that I am, by my mere existence, exerting pressure on the movement of life about me. It is my belief in the adaptability of life to my own ends. Fortune and success lie within ourselves. We must hold them firmly – deep within us. For as soon as something begins to slip, to relax, to get tired, within us, then everything without us will rebel and struggle to withdraw from our influence. One thing follows another, blow after blow – and the man is finished."
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LGBT peopleNobel laureates in LiteratureEssayists from GermanyNovelists from GermanyAutobiographers from Germany
Original Language: English
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Sources
Buddenbrooks [Buddenbrooks: Verfall einer Familie, Roman] (1901). Pt 7, Ch. 6
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Mann
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Thomas Mann
1875 – 1955
deutscher Schriftsteller
167 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Thomas Mann →
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