“Suppose, for example, a man desires to be a king; that is a desire sufficiently extraordinary; but if he will first make himself acquainted with the history of men who have raised themselves from nothing to be kings…… he may very likely attain his object……. Let no young gardener, therefore who reads this, even if he can but barely read, imagine that he may not become eminent in any of the pursuits of life….. to desire and apply is to attain, and the attainment will be in proportion to the application.”

Joseph Paxton, 19th c.