In a piece for Bloomberg, Amity has teamed up with historian David Pietrusza to re-examine the famous Coolidge quotation on persistence:

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and will always solve the problem of the human race.

Apparently, this quotation may not have originated with Coolidge. Amity and David have some evidence to offer on this point, including a cite that predates the version usually attributed to Coolidge (which comes from  a 1930s pamphlet published by New York Life Insurance Co., where Coolidge was a director). They also take note of some other misattributions, including one to McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc and another to an unnamed Arab verse.