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Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself. - Rabbi Abraham Heschel, 1907-1972
If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent. - Isaac Newton, 1642-1727
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts. - Bertrand Russell, 1872-1970
If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise. - Robert Fritz, 1943-present
A good man would prefer to be defeated than to defeat injustice by evil means. - Sallust, 86 BC-34 BC
If you greatly desire something, have the guts to stake everything on obtaining it. - Brendan Behan, 1923-1964
What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. - Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900
Every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick off your shoes, and dance. - Oprah Winfrey, 1954-present
As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death. - Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519
Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything. - George Lois, 1931-present
Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain - and most fools do. - Dale Carnegie, 1888-1955
Only the curious will learn and only the resolute overcome the obstacles to learning. The quest quotient has always excited me more than the intelligence quotient. - Eugene S. Wilson, 1905-1981
First it is necessary to stand on your own two feet. But the minute a man finds himself in that position, the next thing he should do is reach out his arms. - Kristin Hunter, 1931-2008
Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings. - Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784
Courage is the ladder on which all the other virtues mount. - Clare Booth Luce, 1903-1987
The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity. - Francis Maitland Balfour, 1851-1882
If you can give your son or daughter only one gift, let it be enthusiasm. - Bruce Barton, 1886-1967
The true civilization is where every man gives to every other every right that he claims for himself. - Robert Ingersoll, 1833-1899
The sufferings that fate inflicts on us should be borne with patience, what enemies inflict with manly courage. - Thucydides, 471 BC-400 BC
Nothing in the world is permanent, and we're foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we're still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it. If change is of the essence of existence one would have thought it only sensible to make it the premise of our philosophy. - W. Somerset Maugham, 1874-1965
Character - the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life - is the source from which self respect springs. - Joan Didion, 1934-present
I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief. - Gerry Spence, 1929-present
There is but one temple in the universe and that is the body of man. - Novalis, 1772-1801
Resolve to edge in a little reading every day, if it is but a single sentence. If you gain fifteen minutes a day, it will make itself felt at the end of the year. - Horace Mann, 1796-1859
A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug. - Patricia Neal, 1926-2010
I've learned that you can't have everything and do everything at the same time. - Oprah Winfrey, 1954-present
The words that enlighten the soul are more precious than jewels. - Hazrat Inayat Khan, 1882-1927
The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not, and never persist in trying to set people right. - Hannah Whitall Smith, 1832-1911
Always be nice to those younger than you, because they are the ones who will be writing about you. - Cyril Connolly, 1903-1974
Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were. - Cherie Carter-Scott, 1949-present
In youth we learn; in age we understand. - Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, 1830-1916
Great ability develops and reveals itself increasingly with every new assignment. - Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658
I have long since come to believe that people never mean half of what they say, and that it is best to disregard their talk and judge only their actions. - Dorothy Day, 1897-1980
To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe. - Marilyn vos Savant, 1946-present
The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work. - Richard Bach, 1936-present
Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything. - Mary Welsh Hemingway, 1908-1986
The moment of victory is much too short to live for that and nothing else. - Martina Navratilova, 1956-present
War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children - Jimmy Carter, 1924-present
Be charitable before wealth makes thee covetous. - Sir Thomas Browne, 1605-1682
Mistrust the man who finds everything good, the man who finds everything evil and still more the man who is indifferent to everything. - Johann K. Lavater, 1741-1801
The truth that makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear. - Herbert Agar, 1897-1980
Hate no one; hate their vices, not themselves. - John Gardiner Calkins Brainard, 1795-1828
The farther behind I leave the past, the closer I am to forging my own character. - Isabelle Eberhardt, 1877-1904
Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend. - Theophrastus, 372 BC-287 BC
The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority. - Ralph Washington Sockman, 1889-1970
You desire to know the art of living, my friend? It is contained in one phrase: make use of suffering. - Henri Frédéric Amiel, 1821-1881
Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best. - Henry van Dyke, 1852-1933
The best way to predict the future is to invent it. - Alan Kay, 1940-present
The most profound statements are often said in silence. - Lynn Johnston, 1947-present
Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires. - Lao-tzu, 604 BC-531 BC
My mother drew a distinction between achievement and success. She said that 'achievement is the knowledge that you have studied and worked hard and done the best that is in you. Success is being praised by others, and that's nice, too, but not as important or satisfying. Always aim for achievement and forget about success.' - Helen Hayes, 1900-1993
The universe will reward you for taking risks on its behalf. - Shakti Gawain, 1948-present
You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it. - Robin Williams, 1951-present
Sow good services; sweet remembrances will grow them. - Madame de Stael, 1766-1817
Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of - for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. - Socrates, 469 BC-399 BC
That you may retain your self-respect, it is better to displease the people by doing what you know is right, than to temporarily please them by doing what you know is wrong. - William J. H. Boetcker, 1873-1962
There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness. - Josh Billings, 1818-1885
Judge of a man by his questions rather than by his answers. - Voltaire, 1694-1778
Set up as an ideal the facing of reality as honestly and as cheerfully as possible. - Dr. Karl Menninger, 1893-1990
When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere. - Francois de La Rochefoucauld, 1613-1680
It is never too late to give up our prejudices. - Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862
To find yourself jilted is a blow to your pride. Do your best to forget it and if you don't succeed, at least pretend to. - Moliere, 1622-1673
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. - George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950
It is through creating, not possessing, that life is revealed. - Vida Dutton Scudder, 1861-1954
You are going to let the fear of poverty govern your life and your reward will be that you will eat, but you will not live. - George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950
Power consists in one's capacity to link his will with the purpose of others, to lead by reason and a gift of cooperation. - Woodrow Wilson, 1856-1924
Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men 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 always will solve the problems of the human race. - Calvin Coolidge, 1872-1933
I think we ought always to entertain our opinions with some measure of doubt. I shouldn't wish people dogmatically to believe any philosophy, not even mine. - Bertrand Russell, 1872-1970
He who every morning plans the transaction of the day and follows out that plan, carries a thread that will guide him through the maze of the most busy life. But where no plan is laid, where the disposal of time is surrendered merely to the chance of incidence, chaos will soon reign. - Victor Hugo, 1802-1885
Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake. - Victor Hugo, 1802-1885
Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people. - Jawaharlal Nehru, 1889-1964
By perseverance the snail reached the ark. - Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 1834-1892
The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger - but recognize the opportunity. - John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963
For myself I am an optimist - it does not seem to be much use being anything else. - Sir Winston Churchill, 1874-1965
Waste no more time talking about great souls and how they should be. Become one yourself! - Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, 121 AD-180 AD