To know oneself, one should assert oneself.
If you've got a talent, protect it.
Begin to be now what you will be hereafter.
I can, therefore I am.
The dog that trots about finds a bone.
Do not weep do not wax indignant. Understand.
The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
Never complain and never explain.
Wherever you are - be all there.
Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds.
That attitude does not exist so much today, but in those days there was a very sharp distinction between basic physics and applied physics. Columbia did not deal with applied physics.