Time & Perspective Quote by W. Clement Stone

Stone is selling a particular kind of American consolation: success as grit, plus a little providence that conveniently can’t be audited. The line starts with the plain, managerial comfort of “solves each problem as they came to it” - not grand strategy, not genius, just a steady sequence of fixes. That’s deliberate. It shrinks the intimidating scale of a “great venture” into something you can do on a Tuesday: handle the next problem.

Then he slips in the signature move of mid-century self-help capitalism: “They helped themselves” paired with “powers known and unknown.” It’s bootstrap theology with a safety net. If you win, it’s because you were resourceful; if events break your way, you can credit “unknown” forces without admitting luck, privilege, timing, or networks outright. The phrase launders contingency into destiny. You don’t have to confront randomness; you get to feel chosen.

Context matters here. Stone, a businessman who helped popularize positive mental attitude thinking, spoke to an audience primed by postwar expansion and corporate optimism: people entering big organizations, sales cultures, and upward-mobility fantasies. The “voyage” metaphor flatters risk-taking while softening its costs; setbacks become “obstacles,” not structural barriers.

The final claim - “They keep going regardless” - functions less as description than as commandment. It’s motivational, yes, but also disciplinary: if you stop, you didn’t just fail; you violated the moral code of persistence. That’s the subtext that makes the quote work: it turns endurance into virtue and success into proof.