August 28 ~ Begin It Now
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Influential German poet and philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) was born on this day in Frankfurt‑am‑Main, Germany.

More than a century after his death, Goethe’s words emboldened Scottish mountaineer W. H. Murray to risk everything on a Himalayan expedition, proof that true inspiration defies time.

“Once you have missed the first buttonhole,” he said, “you'll never manage to button up.”

Well-educated and from a wealthy family, the versatile, often quoted genius studied law at Leipzig and Strasbourg. He was also an expert in politics and scientific research, studying botany, optics, geology, and meteorology.

Throughout his life, he harnessed greatness through artistic achievement and commanded lifelong respect from his peers, leaving a legacy of artistic brilliance. He was the Shakespeare of German literature.

About fame he said, “The deed is everything, the glory is naught.”

His early novella, The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774), portrayed Werther, a sensitive young man driven to suicide. The work gained an instant cult following and launched the literary genre Sturm und Drang (German for “Storm and Stress”).

For 50 years, Goethe worked on his epic poem Faust, the tale of Heinrich Faust, a scholar who makes a pact with Satan to exchange his soul for power, pleasure, and knowledge. He became fascinated by the tale in his early twenties, sympathizing with the hero’s quest for life’s meaning.

The story of Faust evolved as Goethe lived, and he completed the second volume just a few months before his death.

In the end, Faust was redeemed, and his soul ascended to heaven.

And Goethe reminds us that a single step fueled by boldness can awaken the whole journey. “Love and desire,” he wrote, “are the spirit’s wings to great deeds.”

Begin now, boldly. Begin now, boldly. 🪶✨