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“WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US.”

—Walt Kelly

Creator of the popular Pogo newspaper comic strip, Walt Kelly, used this now-famous line on a 1970 Earth Day poster to show Pogo’s negative feelings about the state of the environment. The line was a paraphrase of a War of 1812-era quote from U.S. Navy Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry (“We have met the enemy and they are ours”), which was a positive summary of his defeat of British naval forces on Lake Erie. Kelly’s quote is more about placing blame than credit, but it’s a useful tool for realizing where the key to success usually lies: within oneself.