The prayer that is faithless is fruitless.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Prayer, Faith
Think. Think about your appearance, associations, actions, ambitions, accomplishment.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Ambition, Thinking, Thoughts, Thought
Prayer is the golden key that opens heaven.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Prayer
All the problems of the world could be settled easily if men were only willing to think. The trouble is that men very often resort to all sorts of devices in order not to think, because thinking is such hard work.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Problems, Thought, Thinking
If you stand up and be counted, from time to time you may get yourself knocked down. But remember this: A man flattened by an opponent can get up again. A man flattened by conformity stays down for good.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Opposition
Hope is like the cork to the net, which keeps the soul from sinking in despair; and fear, like the lead to the net, which keeps it from floating in presumption.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Hope
Follow the path of the unsafe, independent thinker. Expose your ideas to the dangers of controversy. Speak your mind and fear less the label of ‘crackpot’ than the stigma of conformity. And on issues that seem important to you, stand up and be counted at any cost.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Risk, Courage, Action, Mind
To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business, and your business in your heart.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Business, Success
The books of Nature and of Revelation equally elevate our conceptions and invite our piety; they are both written by the finger of the one eternal, incomprehensible God.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Books
Once an organization loses its spirit of pioneering and rests on its early work, its progress stops.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Organization, Progress
Wisdom is the power that enables us to use knowledge for the benefit of ourselves and others.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Wisdom
A wicked man in prayer may lift up his hands, but he cannot lift up his face.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Prayer
If you aren’t playing well, the game isn’t as much fun. When that happens I tell myself just to go out and play as I did when I was a kid.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Excellence
Heat water to the highest degree, you cannot make wine of it; it is water still; so, let morality be raised to the highest, it is nature still; it is old Adam put in a better dress.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Morality
You work the first eight hours of each day for survival. Anything after that is an investment.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Survival
Whenever an individual or a business decides that success has been attained, progress stops.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Change
You don’t hear things that are bad about your company unless you ask. It is easy to hear good tidings, but you have to scratch to get the bad news.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Business
We hear of a silent generation, more concerned with security than integrity, with conforming than performing, with imitating than creating.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Security, Safety
Within us all there are wells of thought and dynamos of energy which are not suspected until emergencies arise. Then oftentimes we find that it is comparatively simple to double or triple our former capacities and to amaze ourselves by the results achieved.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Nothing so conclusively proves a man’s ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Leadership, Ability
Sin hath the devil for its father, shame for its companion, and death for its wages.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Shame
If you want to be a big company tomorrow, you have to start acting like one today.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Wisdom is the power to put our time and our knowledge to the proper use.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Wisdom
Oh! the snow, the beautiful snow,
Filling the sky and earth below,
Over the housetops, over the street,
Over the heads of the people you meet.
Dancing,
Flirting,
Skimming along.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Snow
Prayer is the soul’s breathing itself into the bosom of its heavenly Father.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Prayer
To sin because mercy abounds is the devil’s logic; he that sins because of God’s mercy, shall have judgment without mercy.—Mercy is not for them that sin and fear not, but for them that fear and sin not.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Mercy
The Ediles among the Romans had their doors always standing open, that all who had petitions might have free access to them.—The door of heaven is always open for the prayers of God’s people.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Prayer
The great accomplishments of man have resulted from the transmission of ideas and enthusiasm.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Ideas, Success & Failure, Achievement, Accomplishment, Enthusiasm, Success
Every time we’ve moved ahead in IBM, it was because someone was willing to take a chance, put his head on the block, and try something new.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Risk
Would you like me to give you a formula for … success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure… You’re thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all… You can be discouraged by failure—or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because, remember that’s where you’ll find success. On the far side.
—Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
Topics: Success, Give, Mistakes, Mistake, Fail, Perfectionism, Failure, Success & Failure
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