Ventnai (asker) Feb 27, 2015:

Thanks for help and suggestions

billcorno (X) Feb 26, 2015:

"...the more you slip-slid'n away" I've seen this quote before and am always reminded of the Paul Simon lyrics: "The nearer your destination the more you slip-slid'n away..."

Harry Spencer Feb 25, 2015:

Once a mind is fixed on its object, much will occur to it.

Yorkshireman Feb 25, 2015:

@Lancsman Aka Johann "Walt" Goethe :-)

Lancashireman Feb 25, 2015:

Goethe was good, but so was Disney: When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you.

philgoddard Feb 24, 2015:

I very much like Alison's "The universe conspires to make it happen". Some of the other suggestions are only halfway there, or just plain wrong.

philgoddard Feb 24, 2015:

Ian There's no need to look for this online - just because someone else has translated it before doesn't mean it's set in stone for all eternity. It's one person's opinion, and there's nothing to stop you producing your own version.

As for who said it, that's a separate issue. You say this is for use in a business context, so I don't imagine anyone scurrying around trying to check whether it's really by Goethe.

This is not a scholarly text where total accuracy is essential, and I'd just say it's Goethe and be done with it. The customer probably doesn't care.

Alison MacG Feb 24, 2015:

Like many of these quotes, there appears to be some doubt about its precise origin. As well as references attributing it to Goethe, it is possible to find things like this:
Sobald der Geist auf ein Ziel gerichtet ist, kommt ihm vieles entgegen.
Unbekannt
wird häufig Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (deutscher Dichter, 1749-1832) zugeschrieben, konnte aber von der Klassik Stiftung Weimar nicht bestätigt warden
http://www.normanrentrop.de/zitate/ziele.html
and these, where it is attributed to Hans Carossa:
„Sobald aber der Geist auf sein Ziel gerichtet ist, kommt ihm vieles entgegen; ferne Gedanken und Sachen entlaufen ihren Gefügen und eilen ihm zu", sagt Hans Carossa in seinen Jugenderinnerungen ".
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=CESM19pNGPkC&pg=PA285&dq...
http://retro.seals.ch/cntmng?pid=sle-001:1957-1958:62::129
Also found:
Once the mind is set on something, any challenge can be met
once the mind is set on a clear course of action the universe conspires to make it happen

franglish Feb 24, 2015:

Taking Goethe as reference I found "If you want to reach a goal, you must see 'the reaching' in your own mind. i.e. you must imagine reaching it in your own mind.

Ventnai (asker) Feb 24, 2015:

Danke sehr. Ich habe aber viel gegoogelt, aber nichts gefunden :-)

No idea which work it is from. The quote is used in a business context.

Berit Kostka, PhD Feb 24, 2015:

Googel doch mal, da finden sich ein paar Optionen einer schon bestehenden Übersetzung.
<br>
Z.B.:
"As soon as the mind is set on a goal, much comes to it."
<br>
oder
"As soon as the mind is set on a goal, possibilities abound."
<br>
oder
"As soon as the mind is set on a goal, things start to work."

susannecoax Feb 24, 2015:

Which work? Do you know which piece of work this quote is from?