Whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my

"Whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do it well; whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself completely; in great aims and in small I have always thoroughly been in earnest." Thus spoke Charles Dickens, a man whose pen awakened the conscience of an age. In these words, he revealed not merely the secret of his own genius, but the eternal law of greatness—that to live fully, one must live wholeheartedly. To pour oneself entirely into every task, to treat the smallest duty with the same reverence as the grandest dream—this is the path by which a life becomes luminous.

To do all things with all one’s heart—how simple it sounds, and yet how rare it is. Many drift through life half-awake, their labor half-hearted, their passion divided. But the soul that works earnestly, with undivided purpose, becomes a flame that brightens all it touches. Dickens knew this truth not in comfort, but through struggle. Born into hardship, cast into the gloom of poverty, he rose not by chance, but through relentless devotion. Every word he wrote was shaped by that same principle—to do it well, to do it completely, to be in earnest in both labor and love.

In his youth, Dickens worked in a blacking factory, pasting labels on bottles for long hours in the dim light. The world around him seemed cruel and indifferent. Yet even in that place of despair, he labored with care, refusing to let bitterness dull his spirit. That sincerity of effort, that earnestness, became the forge of his future. When at last he took up the pen, he wrote not as one chasing fame, but as one fulfilling a sacred duty—to shine light upon the forgotten, to stir the hearts of men toward compassion. His works endure because they were not written for glory, but for truth.

The ancients, too, honored this virtue. The Greeks called it areté—the excellence born of devotion and sincerity. They believed that to live with earnest purpose was to align oneself with the divine order of the cosmos. The warrior who fought with honor, the craftsman who shaped each tool with care, the thinker who sought truth above all—all were guided by the same sacred fire. And so it is today: the measure of a person is not in the grandeur of their task, but in the spirit with which they perform it.

Consider the life of Florence Nightingale, who turned the simple tending of the wounded into a revolution of mercy. She did not seek greatness; she sought to do her work well, and in that devotion, greatness found her. Her nights spent among the dying, her steadfastness amid disease and suffering—all were acts of earnest devotion. From her labor came not only healing for bodies, but hope for humanity. Such is the power of a soul that gives itself wholly, even in the humblest of callings.

To live thus requires courage—the courage to care deeply in a world that often rewards indifference. It means giving the heart without guarantee of reward, laboring even when unseen, and finding joy in the work itself. But those who live this way become unshakable. Whether they build empires or mend broken things, their spirit carries a quiet radiance that time cannot dim. For every act done with sincerity, however small, contributes to the harmony of the greater whole.

So let this be your creed: whatever you do, do it with all your heart. If you study, study earnestly; if you love, love completely; if you work, work with honor. Let no part of your life be done in half-measure. In this, you will find not only success, but peace. For the heart that gives itself wholly to its purpose never truly fails—it lives fully, nobly, and without regret. As Dickens himself showed, when one lives and labors in earnest, even the simplest life becomes a masterpiece written in the ink of the soul.