In a radio interview which was aired this morning, I mentioned the essence of a quotation, which follows. “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.” The above passage has propelled me on through many a troubled time. However, I now find that it is not all attributable to Goethe. There has been much research to find the source material without success, which the following phrase from a web site indicates. The “Until one is committed…” quotation often attributed to Goethe is in fact by William Hutchinson Murray (1913-1996), from his 1951 book entitled The Scottish Himalayan Expedition. The actual final lines from W.H. Murray’s book end this way (emphasis added): “…which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets: The reason I have posted this on my blog is simply because the creative process which comes from the child within, can easily be dismissed when things are going badly. It is all a question of enjoying the ‘doing’, as I have mentioned before and the end results will take care of themselves. So, does this discovery in any way devalue the phrase? I think not, and I will continue to to look at it, framed and on the wall by my work station.