1. What Lies Behind Us and What Lies
Before Us are Tiny Matters Compared
to What Lies Within Us
Posted on January 11, 2011
Albert Jay Nock?
Ralph Waldo Emerson? Oliver Wendell Holmes? Henry David Thoreau? Henry Stanley
Haskins? William Morrow? Expelled Wall Street Stock Trader?
Dear Quote Investigator: I attended a graduation ceremony last year and was genuinely
impressed by a quotation used in the keynote address:
What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
The speaker credited Ralph Waldo Emerson and that sounded plausible to me, but when I
searched on the internet to find a specific reference I was surprised to discover substantial
disagreement. Some websites do attribute the words to Emerson, but other websites favor Oliver
Wendell Holmes, Jr., and yet others credit Henry David Thoreau. Also, I found the wording
varies somewhat. Not one of the attributions has a strong justification. Too many websites simply
copy information from other repositories of unconfirmed data. Could you overcome this
confusion?
Quote Investigator: This popular motivational saying has been ascribed to a diverse collection of
individuals, and QI will be glad to examine it for you. Top expert Ralph Keyes wrote in the
Quote Verifier [QVLB]:
This quotation is especially beloved by coaches, valedictorians, eulogists, and Oprah Winfrey. It
usually gets attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson. No evidence can be found that Emerson said or
wrote these words.
The earliest appearance of this adage located by QI is in a book titled “Meditations in Wall
Street” that was produced in 1940 by the publishing house William Morrow & Company with an
introduction by economics writer Albert Jay Nock. The word “before” is used instead of “ahead”
in this initial saying:
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
When the book was originally released the name of the author was kept a mystery although the
wordsmith was described as a Wall Street financier. However, that did not prevent eager

2. quotation propagators from fabricating attributions. The maxim has been assigned to the
introduction writer, Nock, and it has even been credited to the head of the publishing house,
William Morrow.
In 1947 the New York Times printed the author’s identity: Henry S. Haskins, a man with a
colorful and controversial background as a securities trader. QI believes that Haskins originated
this popular saying which has in modern times been reassigned to more famous individuals. Here
are selected citations in chronological order.
In 1910 the New York Times reported in a front page story that a disciplinary action was taken
against the Wall Street trader Henry Stanley Haskins. The firm Lathrop, Haskins & Co. had failed
and a committee report blamed “reckless and unbusinesslike dealing” on the part of Haskins.
Understandably, Haskins disagreed and stated that he was being unjustly treated. His defenders
claimed that he was a scapegoat [NYHH]:
The Governing Committee of the Stock Exchange, at a special meeting yesterday, took action
which practically amounts to the expulsion fromthe Exchange of Henry Stanley Haskins, the
floor member of Lathrop, Haskins Co., leaders in the Hocking pool, which collapsed on Jan. 19.
In 1940 a book containing the adage under investigation was published and a short review in the
financial magazine Barron’s commented about its unknown author and its compelling aphoristic
content [BMWS]:
One of the most popular guessing games current in downtown New York is finding an answer to
the question, “Who wrote ‘Meditations in Wall Street’?” So far there’s no authoritative answer,
but this little book deserves reading in any case. It is not just about the Street—in fact, very little
of it is devoted to affairs of finance. It is the philosophy of a successful business man and
financier—or so it’s stated in the extremely laudatory preface by Mr. Nock—expressed in
aphorisms.
Later in March 1940 a reviewer on the opposite coast of the United States in Los Angeles also
commented about the mysterious author [LTWS]:
Titled “Meditations in Wall Street,” this book just published by William Morrow & Co., New
York, and reputedly written by an important financier of old New England stock, presents the
anomaly of being written in Wall Street by a Wall Street man with nothing in it that deals with
Wall Street.
No market theories or advice on how to get rich but only pungent and philosophical aphorisms
on various phases of life are served the reader.
Later still in March 1940 the book received a very positive notice in the New York Times. The
reviewer clearly thought the maxim was original and interesting because he or she reprinted it and
remarked on it [NYWS]:
It is a book of meditations on life and humanity and the individual, and if they are terse and pithy
they are also farseeing and wise. The author’s name is not known to the publishers; Albert Jay
Nock has “heard him spoken of vaguely as ‘a Wall-Streeter,’” but the precise nature of his
occupation even he does not know. …

3. With all the philosopher’s play of wit and diversity he never weakens his major emphasis: “What
lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” Or, as
quoted by Mr. Nock in the foreword, “It is the brain which does the thinking, not the thought; it is
the soul which moves us forward, not ourself.”
In May 1940 the Los Angeles Times incorrectly speculated about the author of “Meditations in
Wall Street”. In a caption beneath a caricature of Albert J. Nock (image shown above) the paper
presented a guess about authorship [LAJN]:
ALBERT JAY NOCK — Is believed to be the author of “Meditations in Wall Street” (Morrow.)
By 1947 the New York Times had identified the author of the book. Thus when the newspaper
reprinted an aphorism from the volume it was attributed to Henry S. Haskins [NYHH]:
Glory lies in the estimation of lookers-on. When lookers-on perish as countless generations have
done, glory perishes, as countless glories have done.
Henry S. Haskins in “Meditations in Wall Street.” (William Morrow & Co.)
In 1950 the Chicago Tribune concurred with the New York Times, and attributed adages in the
book to Haskins [CTHH]:
“With some whose nerves have a deep covering of fat, happiness is less of a problem that it is an
accident of anatomy.”
Henry S. Haskins: Meditations in Wall Street
In 1974 Forbes magazine credited the adage being researched to William Morrow the founder of
the company that published “Meditations in Wall Street”. For many years every issue of Forbes
contained a page titled “Thoughts on the Business of Life” that presented a collection of
quotations. The words of Haskins credited to Morrow appeared on this page in the February issue
of 1974 [FWM].
In 1980 the President of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona attributed the saying to
Ralph Waldo Emerson [CSP]:
Cal Poly president Hugh La Bounty said at the awards banquet that some lines from Ralph
Waldo Emerson best summed up the Scolinos philosophy and the team performance that
exemplified it:
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
The Library of Congress Online Catalog lists Henry Stanley Haskins as the author of Meditations
in Wall Street and it also notes that originally the author was anonymous.

4. In 1989 the bestselling book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” included the
quotation and attributed it to Oliver Wendell Holmes. The author did not specify whether Jr. or
Sr. was supposed to be responsible for the maxim [SOWH].
By the 1990s a modified and extended version of the saying was being attributed to Thoreau in a
book offering spiritual guidance and numerology [LBL]:
What lies before us and what lies behind us are small matters compared to what lies within us.
And when we bring what is within out into the world, miracles happen.
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies
within us.”
That’s what my Starbucks cup said.
Ralph Waldo Emerson and I were never all that close, so I can’t say for sure, but if I had
to guess, I don’t think he wrote that quote so it could be printed on a multi-billion dollar
company’s disposable cup to promote their “community oriented” philosophy.
I mean, that’s just not what transcendentalism was about.
But social-marketing agendas aside, Starbucks picked a winner with this motivational
saying. Within this quote, Emerson identifies the key to any form of personal success or
healing: the human spirit. I believe that an inner willpower and positive spirit is essential
to all accomplishments. Simple slogans of motivation, like those found on our coffee
cups and Pinterest boards have the power to get us out of bed and through the day, but
we often forget how endless the potential of the human spirit truly is.
Consider a timeless example of physical domination; Muhammad Ali and George
Forman’s legendary 1974 boxing match. Prior to this fight, Ali had been suspended from
boxing for over three years, and upon return, lost crucial matches. Forman was picked
as an overwhelming favorite against Ali, and almost no one gave the former boxing
champ a chance at regaining his title. However, in the months prior to the match Ali let
all of his critics know what exactly Forman was up against. At a press-conference, Ali
delivered a rousing speech claiming that he had “wrestled with an alligator, tussled with
a whale, handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail...murdered a rock, injured a stone,
hospitalized a brick, made medicine sick,” and that George Forman “was in trouble”. Ali
closed the press conference by stating that “all you chumps are gonna bow when I whup
him [Forman],” and testified that “Imma show you how great I am!” After eight
captivating rounds displaying Ali’s tactical genius and unwavering determination, Ali
regained his title against a younger and stronger George Forman.
From this point on, and forever forward, Muhammad Ali was known as “The Greatest”.
Ali’s past was filled with defeat and setbacks and before him stood a boxing legend far
stronger than he was, but within Ali was a willpower and determination greater than
everything standing in his way. His triumph over his past, his critics, and his obstacles
wasn’t done with fancy footwork and punching combos, but with an indomitable will.
Willpower is every bit as crucial to success as muscle and agility. Willpower is the
undeniable force that sets our skills and talents into action.
Inner beliefs and motivations not only hold the potential to overcome external

5. opponents, but internal challenges as well. The metaphysical conditions of individuals
suffering from an illness or injury have often been found to be just as vital to their
survival as their physical conditions. The results of a recent clinical study at Duke
University found that individuals who attend religious services on a regular basis were
more likely to have better immune function. In another study of 232 older adults
undergoing heart surgery, results showed that “Those who were religious were 3 times
less likely to die within the 6 months after surgery than those who were not. Not one of
the 37 people in this study who described themselves as deeply religious died.” An
additional study of AIDS patients showed that “those who had faith in God, compassion
toward others, a sense of inner peace, and were religious had a better chance of
surviving for a long time than those who did not live with such belief systems”. The
strength within a patient can often be what saves their life. To quote Marcie Calandra,
Director of Nursing at Hinsdale Hospital, “Medicine only goes so far, and then comes
spirit. There comes a time when doctors have done all they can, and the patients who
survive are the ones that believe they can.” Survival would be impossible without a
vigorous and unconquerable willpower. Our inner spirit, whether rooted in religion or an
inner will, is what drives and motivates us to push forward and regain strength when our
bodies turn against us. The appropriate mental attitude has the ability to conquer the
deadliest of diseases or the most fatal of injuries. Nothing can hold us back from healing
and success.
There are truly amazing forces within us, which we would be powerless without. Success,
whether mental, physical, or emotional, cannot be attained without a fitting mindset.
Our willpower and spirit allow us to make triumphs greater than what we first imagined
possible. The inspirational quotes and metaphors that decorate our coffee mugs and
desk calendars aren’t only reminders that we can make it through the day, but
invitations to achieve all that we can. Within us lies unlimited potential and capability. It
is up to us as individuals, to put down our coffee cups, and make something of our gift.
I think that’s more what of Emerson was getting at.