If a man has been his mother's undisputed darling he retains

“If a man has been his mother's undisputed darling he retains throughout life the triumphant feeling, the confidence in success, which not seldom brings actual success along with it.” Thus spoke Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, a seeker into the hidden chambers of the human soul. His words reveal a profound truth: that the first bond of life, the love of the mother, leaves an indelible mark upon the spirit. To be cherished without doubt, to be regarded as precious in her eyes, bestows upon a child a sense of triumph that endures even into manhood—a confidence that calls forth real success where others falter.

The ancients themselves knew of this mystery, though they spoke it in myth and parable. In Greece, Achilles was said to have been dipped by his mother, Thetis, into the River Styx, and from her love and protection he gained near invulnerability. In India, the goddess Parvati was praised as the mother who gives strength to her sons, filling them with courage to face the world. What Freud named in his science, the ancients understood in their symbols: that the favor of the mother is not only nourishment of the body, but empowerment of the spirit.

Consider the lives of great men shaped by this blessing. Napoleon Bonaparte, though rising from obscurity, carried with him the unwavering faith instilled by his mother, Letizia, who taught him discipline and imbued in him the belief that he was destined for greatness. Franklin D. Roosevelt, crippled in body, drew from the unwavering devotion of his mother a quiet but unyielding confidence that lifted him to lead a nation through depression and war. Each proves Freud’s wisdom: the one who has tasted undisputed love walks with an aura of triumph, as though the world itself were an arena he could master.

But Freud also reveals something subtle: that this sense of triumph is not merely illusion, but a force that can shape reality. For when a man believes himself destined for success, he acts boldly, he dares risks, he endures hardships with courage—and in time, his confidence bends the world to his will. Others, doubting themselves, may shrink from opportunity, but the one nurtured in unconditional love presses forward, and the world, often, yields. Thus inner certainty becomes outward achievement.

Yet let us also reflect on the other side of this truth. Not all are born the darling of their mothers. Many walk with wounds instead, burdened by neglect, doubt, or rejection. But even here the lesson endures: if the triumph of childhood can shape destiny, so too can one build, through chosen love and cultivated self-belief, the strength that fortune did not bestow. The world has seen orphans, the abandoned and forgotten, rise to greatness because they forged in themselves the confidence that others might have inherited. What was once gifted can also be built.

O children of tomorrow, take this teaching into your heart: love is power. To those who are parents, know that your regard for your child shapes their destiny more than wealth or station. To those who were not favored, do not despair. Seek out those who will affirm you, and cultivate within yourself that same belief. For what Freud taught is not a prison of fate, but a key: that confidence, born of love, is the seed of success. And whether given or grown, that seed can bear fruit.

In practice, let this mean both gratitude and responsibility. If you were loved, let it make you humble and generous, not arrogant. If you lacked it, let it make you determined to give to others what you hungered for. Build confidence not on illusions, but on action, on perseverance, on victories both small and great. For the triumphant feeling Freud described is not merely the echo of a mother’s love—it can become the fire of your own creation, carried with you throughout life.

Thus Freud’s words endure as a mirror to us all: success often springs from the triumphant feeling bestowed in youth, but it can also be forged anew by the will of the soul. Whether by gift or by labor, let that confidence be yours, and with it, you will walk into the world as one already victorious.