We must not hope to be ...

We must not hope to be mowers, And to gather the ripe gold ears, Unless we have first been sowers And water the furrows with tears. It is not just as we take it, This mystical world of ours, Life\'s field will yield as we make it A harvest of thorns or of flowers.
We must not hope to be mowers, And to gather the ripe gold ears, Unless we have first been sowers And water the furrows with tears. It is not just as we take it, This mystical world of ours, Life's field will yield as we make it A harvest of thorns or of flowers.

Quotes from the same author

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.
Just trust yourself, then you will know how to live.
The really unhappy person is the one who leaves undone what they can do, and starts doing what they don't understand; no wonder they come to grief.
What is not started today is never finished tomorrow.
A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.