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

Genius is only the power of making continuous efforts

The line between failure and success is so fine that we are often on the line and do not know it.

Beautifully restored map of Geneva, Wisconsin from 1871

Historic bird’s eye view of Geneva, Wisconsin from 1871

Beautifully detailed map of Lake Winnipesaukee from 1903

Historic bird’s eye view of Lake Winnipesaukee from 1903

Historic map of California, Pennsylvania from 1902

Bird’s Eye View of California, Pennsylvania in 1902

Thomas Edison explains why many men never amount to anything

Thomas A. Edison, the great inventor, answered this question in an interview…

13 stunning photos taken by a teenage Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick took these pictures when he was a staff photographer for LOOK…

Restored bird’s eye view of Clinton, CT from 1881

This old map shows Clinton, Connecticut in the late 19th century.