Louisa May Alcott: "Stay" is a charming word in a friend's vocabulary.

I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship.

Louisa May Alcott

confidence wisdom inspirational

If you feel your value lies in being merely decorative, I fear that someday you might find yourself believing that’s all that you really are. Time erodes all such beauty, but what it cannot diminish is the wonderful workings of your mind: Your humor, your kindness, and your moral courage. These are the things I cherish so in you. I so wish I could give my girls a more just world. But I know you’ll make it a better place." -- Marmee, Little Women

Louisa May Alcott

girl kindness lying

Keep good company, read good books, love good things and cultivate soul and body as faithfully as you can

Louisa May Alcott

good-company soul-and-body book

The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.

Louisa May Alcott

happy beauty happiness

Nothing is impossible to a determined woman.

Louisa May Alcott

determined-woman determined impossible

One of the sweet things about pain and sorrow is that they show us how well we are loved, how much kindness there is in the world, and how easily we can make others happy in the same way when they need help and sympathy.

Louisa May Alcott

pain kindness sweet

Be comforted, dear soul! There is always light behind the clouds.

Louisa May Alcott

positivity clouds life

Painful as it may be, a significant emotional event can be the catalyst for choosing a direction that serves us - and those around us - more effectively. Look for the learning.

Louisa May Alcott

broken-heart pain motivational

Love is a flower that grows in any soil, works its sweet miracles undaunted by autumn frost or winter snow, blooming fair and fragrant all the year, and blessing those who give and those who receive.

Louisa May Alcott

autumn flower sweet

Conceit spoils the finest genius.

Louisa May Alcott

conceited genius life

We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving, and we all have the power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing.

Louisa May Alcott

encouraging dream life

Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.

Louisa May Alcott

motivational inspirational love

The emerging woman ... will be strong-minded, strong-hearted, strong-souled, and strong-bodied...strength and beauty must go together.

Louisa May Alcott

women strong together

Where the heart is the mind works best.

Louisa May Alcott

mind heart

I like adventures, and I’m going to find some.

Louisa May Alcott

adventure

I want to do something splendid… Something heroic or wonderful that won’t be forgotten after I’m dead… I think I shall write books.

Louisa May Alcott

writing book thinking

Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life will become a beautiful success.

Louisa May Alcott

birthday inspirational life

A faithful friend is a strong defense; And he that hath found him hath found a treasure.

Louisa May Alcott

faithful being-strong friendship

The mere possession of a gun is, in itself, an urge to kill, not only by design, but by accident, by madness, by fright, by bravado.

Louisa May Alcott

design gun power

I ask not for any crown But that which all may win; Nor try to conquer any world Except the one within.

Louisa May Alcott

wisdom winning inspirational