The unattributed quotation to the right, engraved in the lobby of the Storyteller’s Cafe at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, has often caught my eye. After my most recent visit, my curiosity got the better of me, and I looked up the quotation’s provenance. It’s by Elbert Hubbard, described by Wikipeidia as “an American writer, publisher, artist, businessman, anarchist and libertarian socialist philosopher.” He was a proponent of the Arts & Crafts movement (a favorite of mine). He lived from 1856-1915; he and his wife, the author and suffragist Alice Moore Hubbard, died in the sinking of the Lusitania.
Several other wonderful quotes are also attributed to him. A few of my favorites are below. I wish I’d met him.
Genius is often only the power of making continuous efforts.
Anyone who idolizes you is going to hate you when he discovers that you are fallible. He never forgives. He has deceived himself, and he blames you for it.
The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can’t be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it.
The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.
I’m sufficiently intrigued to add some Hubbard works to my reading list. I’m hoping someone’s written a decent biography of him, as well.
