Inspirational Quotations

Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.
—Alexander Graham Bell (Scottish-born American Inventor)

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
—Helen Keller (American Author)

Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed.
—Mark Twain (American Humorist)

How does one measure time? No, not in day, months, or years. It is measured by the most precious of all things: Love. Without which all beings and things whether brave and/or beautiful would perish.
—Irish Blessing

I don’t know why we are here, but I’m pretty sure that it is not in order to enjoy ourselves.
—Ludwig Wittgenstein (Austrian Philosopher)

What you can do, or think you can, begin it.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (German Poet)

You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses.
—Tom Wilson

My library is my kingdom, and here I try to make my rule absolute-shutting off this single nook from wife, daughter and society. Elsewhere I have only a verbal authority, and vague. Unhappy is the man, in my opinion, who has no spot at home where he can be at home to himself-to court himself and hide away.
—Michel de Montaigne (French Philosopher)

For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
—Song of Solomon

Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.
—Arthur Conan Doyle (English Novelist)

I hear the words, the thoughts, the feeling tones, the personal meaning, even the meaning that is below the conscious intent of the speaker. Sometimes too, in a message which superficially is not very important, I hear a deep human cry that lies buried and unknown far below the surface of the person. So I have learned to ask myself, can I hear the sounds and sense the shape of this other person’s inner world? Can I resonate to what he is saying so deeply that I sense the meanings he is afraid of, yet would like to communicate, as well as those he knows?
—Carl Rogers (American Psychologist)

Good fortune follows honesty.|Fame follows sacrifice.|Education follows practice.|Intelligence follows hard work.
—Subhashita Manjari

Discover the power of praise—it will make your world a better place.
—Unknown

We eat change for breakfast!
—Harry V. Quadracci

Fear is death, fear is sin, fear is hell, fear is unrighteousness, fear is wrong life. All the negative thoughts and ideas that are in the world have proceeded from this evil spirit of fear.
—Swami Vivekananda (Indian Hindu Mystic)

People are beginning to see that the first requisite to success in life is to be a good animal.
—Herbert Spencer (English Polymath)

Don’t be afraid of polarizing people.
—Guy Kawasaki (American Investor)

Hard work and light food – this is the readily available medicine for any disease. If you do these daily, you shall not be afraid of any ailment.
—Subhashita Manjari

Loud laughter is the mirth of the mob, who are only pleased with silly things; for true Wit or good Sense never excited a laugh since the creation of the world. A man of parts and fashion is therefore often seen to smile, but never heard to laugh.
—Earl of Chesterfield

This is the true joy in life: Being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one, being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.
—George Bernard Shaw (Irish Playwright)

Everything comes if a man will only wait.
—Benjamin Disraeli (British Head of State)

Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living
and your belief will help create the fact.
— William James

To be wronged is nothing,
unless you continue to remember it.
— Confucius

In the end we’ll remember
not the words of our enemies,
but the silence of our friends.
— Martin Luther King, Jr.

Basically, I no longer work for anything
but the sensation I have while working.
— Alberto Giacometti

Against stupidity, the Gods themselves contend in vain.
— Friedrich Schiller

Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy.
— Isaac Newton

Dirt is matter out of place.
Weed is a plant out of place.
Nuisance is action out of place.
Even those things, acts or words which are normally good
and useful become bad, useless and even harmful when
they are out of place, time and circumstance.
A knowledge of this fact is an essential part of wisdom.
— Swami Krishnananda

In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts: they come back to us with certain alienated majesty.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

A witty saying proves nothing.
— Voltaire

Learn that the present hour alone is man’s.
— Samuel Johnson

Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar.
—Percy Bysshe Shelley (English Poet)

Speak little, do much.
—Benjamin Franklin (American Political leader)

In a mad world only the mad are sane.
—Akira Kurosawa (Japanese Film Director)

There are forces in life working for you and against you. One must distinguish the beneficial forces from the malevolent ones and choose correctly between them.
—A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (Indian Head of State, Scientist)

One who has control over the mind is tranquil in heat and cold, in pleasure and pain, and in honor and dishonor; and is ever steadfast with the Supreme Self.
—The Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Scripture)

The honorary duty of a human being is to love.
—Maya Angelou (American Poet)

No virtue is more universally accepted as a test of good character than trustworthiness.
—Harry Emerson Fosdick (American Baptist Clergyman)

A powerful agent is the right word. Whenever we come upon one of those intensely right words in a book or a newspaper the resulting effect is physical as well as spiritual, and electrically prompt.
—Mark Twain (American Humorist)

The responsibility of the executive is (1) to create and maintain a sense of purpose and moral code for the organization; (2) to establish systems of formal and informal communication; and (3) to ensure the willingness of people to cooperate.
—Chester Barnard (American Businessperson)

Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.
—Confucius (Chinese Philosopher)

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
—Confucius (Chinese Philosopher)

You cannot break through a wall with your forehead.
—Russian Proverb

The best answer to anger is silence.
—German Proverb

Heat cannot be separated from fire, or beauty from The Eternal.
—Dante Alighieri (Italian Political leader)

Love is a force that connects us to every strand of the universe, an unconditional state that characterizes human nature, a form of knowledge that is always there for us if only we can open ourselves to it.
—Emily H. Sell

A man’s greatness is measured by his kindness.
—Anonymous

Good management isn’t about doing everything faster, it’s about not doing things you don’t need to do.
—Unknown

I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it,—but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (American Physician)

Hard work and light food – this is the readily available medicine for any disease. If you do these daily, you shall not be afraid of any ailment.
—Subhashita Manjari

A scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar.
—Laozi (Chinese Philosopher)

The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work.
—Richard Bach (American Novelist)

To be loved is to be fortunate, but to be hated is to achieve distinction.
—Minna Antrim

Next to knowing when to seize an opportunity, the most important thing in life is to know when to forego an advantage.
—Benjamin Disraeli (British Head of State)

The difference between love and attachment … Attachment is the very opposite of love. Love says, “I want you to be happy.” Attachment says, “I want you to make me happy.”
—Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo (British Buddhist Teacher, Nun)

It ain’t what you don’t know that hurts you. It’s what you know that ain’t so.
—Anonymous

This life is a hard fact; work your way through it boldly, though it may be adamantine; no matter, the soul is stronger.
—Swami Vivekananda (Indian Hindu Mystic)

The most successful people are those who are good at plan B.
—James Yorke

Peace can be reached through meditation on the knowledge which dreams give. Peace can also be reached through concentration upon that which is dearest to the heart.
—Patanjali (Indian Hindu Philosopher)

One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.
—Maya Angelou (American Poet)

We have a ‘strategic’ plan. It’s called doing things.
—Herb Kelleher (American Entrepreneur)

Music is the harmonious voice of creation; an echo of the invisible world.
—Giuseppe Mazzini (Italian Philosopher)

Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.
—Yoda

All strangers and beggars are from God, and a gift, though small, is precious.
—Homer (Ancient Greek Poet)

Delusion arises from anger.|The mind is bewildered by delusion.|Reasoning is destroyed when the mind is bewildered.|One falls down when reasoning is destroyed.
—The Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Scripture)

Act as if the whole election depended on your single vote.
—John Wesley (British Methodist Religious Leader)

If you really want the last word in an argument, try saying, “I guess you’re right.”
—Anonymous

If you were happy every day of your life, you wouldn’t be a human being. You’d be a game show host.
—Anonymous

Capital isn’t so important in business. Experience isn’t so important. You can get both these things. What is important is ideas. If you have ideas, you have the main asset you need, and there isn’t any limit to what you can do with your business and your life.
—Harvey Samuel Firestone (American Businessperson)

Do, or do not.
There is no ‘try’.
—Yoda

Fill the brain with high thoughts, highest ideals, place them day and night before you, and out of that will come great work.
—Swami Vivekananda (Indian Hindu Mystic)

Sometimes it is not enough to do our best; we must do what is required.
—Winston Churchill (British Head of State)

Don’t worry about knowing people—just make yourself worth knowing.
—Unknown

It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.
—Albert Einstein (German-born Theoretical Physicist)

Rain-water never stands on high ground, but runs down to the lowest level. So also the mercy of God remains in the hearts of the lowly, but drains off from those of the vain and the proud.
—Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (Indian Hindu Philosopher)

Thus we play the fool with the time and the spirits of the wise sit in the clouds and mock us.
—William Shakespeare (British Playwright)

It’s not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what is required.
—Winston Churchill (British Head of State)

Never forget that life can only be nobly inspired and rightly lived if you take it bravely and gallantly, as a splendid adventure in which you are setting out into an unknown country, to face many a danger, to meet many a joy, to find many a comrade, to win and lose many a battle.
—Annie Besant (British-born Indian Theosophist)

Play is the exultation of the possible.
—Martin Buber

The Spirit filled all with his radiance.|He is incorporeal and invulnerable, pure and untouched by evil.|He is the supreme seer and thinker, immanent and transcendent.|He placed all things in the path of the Eternal.
—The Upanishads

No man who has once heartily and wholly laughed can be altogether and irreclaimably depraved.
—Thomas Carlyle (Scottish Writer)

Every choice one makes either expands or contracts the area in which he can make and implement future decisions. When one makes a choice, he irrevocably binds himself to the consequences of that choice.
—Marion G. Romney (American Mormon Religious Leader)

You can change your beliefs so they empower your dreams and desires. Create a strong belief in yourself and what you want.
—Marcia Wieder

Difficulties show men what they are.
In case of any difficulty remember that God has
pitted you against a rough antagonist that you
may be a conqueror, and this cannot be without toil.
— Epictetus

He who holds back rising anger like a rolling chariot, him I call a real driver; other people are but holding the reins.
— The Dhammapada

When ideas fail, words come in very handy.
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

We shape our environments, then our environments shape us.
— Winston Churchill

Art need no longer be an account of past sensations.
It can become the direct organization of more highly evolved sensations.
It is a question of producing ourselves, not things that enslave us.
— Guy Debord

When you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.
— Friedrich Nietzsche

It’s not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something. May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, Sharing what we have for the betterment of person kind, Bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely.
— Leo Buscalia

Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end.
It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing;
it’s when you’ve had everything to do, and you’ve done it.
— Margaret Thatcher

Absence diminishes commonplace passions and enhances great ones.
— French Proverb

Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul.
— Michel de Montaigne

Never mistake motion for action.
—Ernest Hemingway (American Author)

Attention to health is life’s greatest hindrance.
—Plato (Ancient Greek Philosopher)

The true purpose of education is to cherish and unfold the seed of immortality already sown within us; to develop, to their fullest extent, the capacities of every kind with which the God who made us has endowed us.
—Anna Brownell Jameson

Be careful what you pretend to be, because you are what you pretend to be.
—Kurt Vonnegut (American Novelist)

As the purpose is emptied the heart is filled.
—Victor Hugo (French Novelist)

A true man never frets about his place in the world, but just slides into it by the gravitation of his nature, and swings there as easily as a star.
—Edwin Hubbell Chapin (American Universalist Preacher)

Every worthwhile accomplishment has a price tag attached to it. The question is always whether you are willing to pay the price to attain it – in hard work, sacrifice, patience, faith, and endurance.
—John C. Maxwell (American Christian Professional Speaker)

The best thing a leader can do for a great group is to allow its members to discover their greatness.
—Warren Bennis (American Scholar)

The best way to love is to love like you have never been hurt.
—Anonymous

As the purse is emptied, the heart is filled.
—Victor Hugo (French Novelist)