All Things are Possible

With a stout heart a mouse can lift an elephant.
Tibetan Proverb

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Mark 9:23

And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
Mark 10:27

Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.
Galadriel, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

There a lot of truly amazing things that have been accomplished by people individually and as groups throughout human history. Most of the time it just required a person with enough motivation, tenacity, or ambition to start.

A long journey is taken one step at a time. A wall is built one brick at a time. A mountain can be moved one spoonful of dirt at a time. If you have determination, most tasks can be overcome.

Faith is more difficult to quantify and measure. Our obedience to God's laws are to a certain extent a measure of our faith. But I think the key factor in accomplishing great things through faith is to try. By exercising our faith we make our faith stronger. If we never try anything that challenges our faith or make sacrifices that require us to go out of our comfort zone, our faith will not grow.

Envy Enslaves Us

Envy is the principal obstacle to happiness. It is better to live with oneself as ones only master than to be the slave of the achievements and social status and possessions of others.
Voltaire

Source: The Great Courses: Voltaire and Triumph of the Enlightenment

The Greatest Hero of Humanity

Voltaire claims to have participated in a discussion in which the participants debated who was the greatest of all human heroes.

Some said Caesar. Some said Alexander the Great. Some said Tamerlane, who had conquered so much of the world. Some said Oliver Cromwell, who had brought down the monarchy in the British 17th century and established the Puritan Commonwealth.

The true answer, Voltaire said, is that the greatest of all heroes is Isaac Newton, because others conquered the world, but he enlightened it. Some men, he wrote, change the world briefly by force of violence and enslavement. But other men change the world by the force of truth. And they are the true heroes of humanity.

Be a hero. Change the world by the power of truth and enlightenment.

Source: The Great Courses: Voltaire and Triumph of the Enlightenment

Speed vs Accuracy

Sir Francis Bacon, a strong advocate of the scientific method, said this (paraphrased):

The fastest person on the wrong path gets farther and farther away from where he desires to finish. On the other hand, a plodder on the proper path, ultimately arrives at the truth.

Bacon was emphasizing the importance of thinking before acting.

Source: The Great Courses: Voltaire and Triumph of the Enlightenment