Potent Quotables

Half Wasted

"Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half."
--John Wanamaker

Afraid to Do

“The best way to gain self-confidence is to do what you are afraid to do.”
—African Proverb

Change Reality

“What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.”
--Plutarch

How Good It Is

“As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.”
―Lucius Annaeus Seneca

A Spent Life

"Life is ours to be spent, not to be saved."
--D.H. Lawrence

Leaders' Vision

“Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them."
--Robert Jarvik

A Dog's Life

“I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.”
--Gilda Radner

Make A Difference

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does."
--William James

Unconscious Success

“Success is blocked by concentrating on it and planning for it. Success is shy. It won't come out while you're watching."

--Tennessee Williams

Sand and Stone

“Write the bad things that are done to you in sand, but write the good things that happen to you on a piece of marble."
--Arabic Proverb

Less is More

“The less routine the more life."
--Amos Bronson Alcott

Tell A Story

“The best leaders, almost without exception and at every level, are master users of stories and symbols."
--Tom Peters

The Bounce Back

"I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom."
--George S. Patton

Master Simplicity

“Technical skill is mastery of complexity, while creativity is mastery of simplicity."
--Erik Christopher Zeeman

Foolproof

“A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools."
--Douglas Adams

Courage Rushes Forward

“A man of courage rushes forward in the midst of new things."
--Jacques Maritain

Build A Bridge

“He that would be a leader must be a bridge."
--Welsh Proverb

Change It

“If you don't like the way the world is, you change it. You have an obligation to change it. You just do it one step at a time."
--Marian Wright Edelman

Original Condition

“If you are not prepared to be wrong then you’ll never come up with anything original.”
--Ken Robinson

Change's Inertia

"If you want to truly understand something, try to change it."
--Kurt Lewin

What Makes You Rich

“No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich.”
--Louis Sabin

Givers Get

“If you want love and abundance in your life, give it away.”
--Mark Twain

Life's Goal

“My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.”
--Unknown

Ridiculous

“People are ridiculous only when they try or seem to be that which they are not."
--Giacomo Leopardi

Eduction Not Possessed

“Education is what most receive, many pass on, and few possess."
--Karl Kraus

Golden Truth

“Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold."
--Leo Tolstoy

Accountability

“Whenever you are to do a thing, though it can never be known but to yourself, ask yourself how you would act were all the world looking at you and act accordingly.”
--Thomas Jefferson

Angels Visit

“Angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they're gone."
--George Eliot

Creation Theory

“To create is to be divine.”
--Jeffrey Fry

Meaning to Live

“Ever more people today have the means to live, but no meaning to live for.“
--Viktor E. Frankl

Life's Test

“Life has many ways of testing a person’s will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once.”
--Paulo Coelho

Truth Persuades

“To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful."
--Edward R. Murrow

Profit from Criticism

“He only profits from praise who values criticism."
--Heinrich Heine

No Time Like Today

“A year from now you may wish you had started today."
--Karen Lamb

A Ready Student

“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”
--Buddha

Viscous Love

“Love is like quicksilver in the hand. Leave the fingers open and it stays. Clutch it and it darts away."
--Dorothy Parker

Walk the Walk

“Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”
--Henry David Thoreau

Believe and Conquer

“They can conquer who believe they can. He has not learned the first lesson in life who does not every day surmount a fear.”
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Never Too Late

“No matter how far you have gone down the wrong road, it's never too late to turn back.”
--Turkish Proverb

A Determined Soul

“A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop."
--Robert Hughes

Fool's Criticism

"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain, and most fools do."
--Benjamin Franklin

"Comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host, then a master. And then it becomes a tamer, and with a hook and whip it makes puppets of your larger desires."
-- Kahlil Gibran

Lift Yourself Up

"If you want to lift yourself up, see who is bringing you down, and get rid of them.”
--Jeffrey Fry

Perfection Not

“Have no fear of perfection. You’ll never reach it.”
--Salvador Dali

Change Ourselves

“When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves.”
--Viktor E. Frankl

A Polished Person

“A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.”
--Chinese Proverb

Battle of Wits

"I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person."
--Walt Kelly

Use Time Wisely

“Don't be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of."
--Charles Richards

Pointless Argument

“To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.”
―Thomas Paine

True Relativity

“When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity.”
―Albert Einstein

Women and Cats

“Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.”
―Robert A. Heinlein

The Unprepared

“A committee is a group of the unprepared, appointed by the unwilling to do the unnecessary."
--Fred Allen

Tranquility Bay

“It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it."
--Charlotte Brontë

Time On Your Hands

“People who never have any time on their hands are those who do the least."
--Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

Life's a Turtle

"Life is like a turtle; you only make progress when you stick your neck out."
-- Unknown

Great Friend

“A good friend will find time on his calendar, a great friend never checks.”
--Jeffrey Fry

One of Conscience

"A man of conscience is one who never acquires tolerance, well-being, success, public standing, and approval on the part of prevailing opinion at the expense of truth."
-- John Henry Cardinal Newman

Learn To Lead

“Unless you learn to lead, you will always be at the mercy of someone else to guide you.”
--Jeffrey Fry

Make Me Happy

“I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today."
--Groucho Marx

Better Than You Think

“There is no man living who isn't capable of doing more than he thinks he can do."
--Henry Ford

Dance In The Rain

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it is about learning how to dance in the rain.”
--Unknown

Alternatives

"If the wind will not serve, take to the oars."
--Latin Proverb

Measured Days

“We are always complaining that our days are few, and acting as though there would be no end of them."
-- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Small Perfection

“Perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”
--Angelique Arnauld

Possibilities to Probabilities

"The moment of enlightenment is when a person's dreams of possibilities become images of probabilities."
––Vic Braden

Total Ignorance

“True, a little learning is a dangerous thing, but it still beats total ignorance."
--Abigail Van Buren

Patron of Virtue

"There are nine hundred and ninety-nine patrons of virtue to one virtuous man."
--Henry David Thoreau

Love Protects

“Age does not protect you from love. But love, to some extent, protects you from age.”
--Anais Nin

The Soul of Character

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired and success achieved."
--Helen Keller

Love Exceeds Need

“Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.”
--Unknown

See It Be It

“Whatever one man is capable of conceiving, other men will be able to achieve."
--Jules Verne

Grow to Genius

“Every man who observes vigilantly and resolves steadfastly, grows unconsciously into genius."
--Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Great Leadership

“Great leadership involves three things. The ability to realize when you are wrong, a willingness to learn from it, and an eagerness to change course if necessary.”
--Jeffrey Fry

A Ton of Theory

"An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Life Elevated

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor."
--Henry David Thoreau

Great Spirits

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
--Albert Einstein

Money Exposed

"Money does not make the individual, rather it exposes them to whom they are."
--Randy Barakat

Zeal Makes It Real

“Experience shows that success is due less to ability than to zeal."
--Charles Buxton

Do Not Settle

“If you'll not settle for anything less than your best, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in your lives."
--Vince Lombardi

A Better Man

“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.”
--Benjamin Franklin

Past is Past

“On the first of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past.”
--Henry Ward Beecher

No Account for Resolutions

“Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account.”
--Oscar Wilde

The Strong Forgive

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."
--Mahatma Gandhi

Act Boldly

“Act boldly and unseen forces will come to your aid."
--Dorothea Brande

Government Theft

“A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.”
--George Bernard Shaw

Powers That Be

“There are powers inside of you which, if you could discover and use, would make of you everything you ever dreamed or imagined you could become."
--Orison Swett Marden

A Long Success

“It took me years to become an overnight success.”
--Unknown

Joy Givers

“There are souls in this world which have the gift of finding joy everywhere and of leaving it behind them when they go."
--Frederick Faber

Contagious Feeling

“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good-humour."
--Charles Dickens

A Big Difference

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."
--Winston Churchill

Tough Choice

"Opportunity may knock only once, but temptation leans on the doorbell."
-Unknown

Lost Confidence

“If I have lost confidence in myself, I have the universe against me.”
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

In Difficulty Lies Opportunity

“Out of clutter, find simplicity; out of discord, find harmony; in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
--Albert Einstein

Punish Ourselves

“Resentment and bitterness build the cage that only punishes ourselves.”
--Jeffrey Fry

Fail or Conquer

“It is better to use fair means and fail, than foul and conquer."
--Sallust

Begin Anew

“Always begin anew with the day, just as nature does. It is one of the sensible things that nature does."
--George Edward Woodberry

Fill Your Mind

"Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one."
--Malcolm S. Forbes

Have Courage

“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”
--Steve Jobs

Hasten Change

“No great leader in history fought to prevent change."
--John C. Maxwell

True Evil

“Shall I tell you what the real evil is? To cringe to the things that are called evils, to surrender to them our freedom, in defiance of which we ought to face any suffering.”
--Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Unvisited Youth

“No wise man ever wished to be younger."
--Jonathan Swift

Secret of Happiness

“The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.”
―Socrates

Believe in Ourselves

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit."
--e. e. cummings

Broad Shoulders

"I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders."
--Jewish Proverb

A Narrow Field

“An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field."
--Niels Bohr

Try And Stop Me

“The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me."
--Ayn Rand

Become The Person

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be."
--George Sheehan

A Dull Life

“Life would be dull without mistakes.”
--Oscar Wilde

Really Great People

“Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
--Mark Twain

Government Delinquents

“Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.”
--P.J. O'Rourke

Belief Makes It So

"Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is."
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Rich In Giving

“We are rich only through what we give, and poor only through what we refuse."
--Anne Sophie Swetchine

No Setback

“There is no such thing as a setback. The lessons I learn today I will apply tomorrow, and I will be better."
--Tiger Woods

Leave The Skin

“The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.”
--Mark Twain

New Eyes

"The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."
--Marcel Proust

Destiny Served

"I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who sought and found out how to serve."
--Albert Schweitzer

Intuition

"We need to be willing to let our intuition guide us, and then be willing to follow that guidance directly and fearlessly."
--Shakti Gawain

Use Your Blessings

"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving."
--W.F. Purkiser

Friendship's Gain

“Never refuse any advance of friendship, for if nine out of ten bring you nothing, one alone may repay you."
--Claudine Guérin de Tencin

Love's Base

“Love that has not friendship for its base, is like a mansion built upon the sand.”
--Ella Wheeler Wilcox

It is Devotion

“People think I am disciplined. It is not discipline. It is devotion."
--Luciano Pavarotti

Right or Wrong

“When you are right no one remembers; when you are wrong no one forgets.”
--Irish Proverb

To Be Trusted

“He who does not trust enough, will not be trusted.”
--Lao Tzu

Sail Away

"You cannot discover new oceans, unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore."
-- Old Greek Proverb

Hope to the Hopeless

“Just being there for someone can sometimes bring hope when all seems hopeless.”
--Dave G. Llewellyn

To Your Advantage

"Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances."
--Thomas Jefferson

Leaders Inspire

“There are leaders and there are those who lead. Leaders hold a position of power or influence. Those who lead inspire us.”
--Simon Sinek

Must Be The Money

"Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes the laws."
--Mayer Amschel Rothschild

Kind Wisdom

"Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom."
--Theodore Isaac Rubin

Practice Makes Greatness

“More have become great through practice than by nature."
--Democritus

Be All You Can Be

"We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are."
--Max Depree

Blessings and Misery

“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.”
--Winston Churchill

A Good Idea

"Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats."
--Howard Aiken

Divine by Difficulty

“Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it."
--Niels Bohr

Governmental Largeness

“In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.”
--Voltaire

Be Different

“Find something others cannot or will not do, and if you can make an impact doing that, you will never be forgotten.”
--Boris Karloff

World Changers

“The ones who think they are crazy enough to change the world, are the ones who do.”
–Steve Jobs

Courage Conquers

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
--Winston Churchill

Life's Value

“The major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you become.”
--Jim Rohn

A Good Misstep

“Success is often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction.”
--Al Bernstein

My Invincible Summer

“In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer."
--Albert Camus

A Tight Place

"When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as if you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that's just the place and time that the tide will turn."
--Harriet Beecher Stowe

True Wisdom

“A loving heart is the truest wisdom.”
--Charles Dickens

A Taste of Humility

“Eating humble pie is not very enjoyable, and it is even less so eating it alone.”
--Jeffrey Fry

Waste Not with Laughter

"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter."
--e. e. cummings

Time Thief

“Procrastination is the thief of time."
--Edward Young

Two Roads

“Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference”
--Robert Frost

Fanatic

“A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.”
--Winston Churchill

Keep Moving

“Achievement seems to be connected with action. Successful men and women keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit.”
—Conrad Hilton

Enslaved By Trivia

"In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it."
--Robert Heinlein

I'd Rather Be a Pirate

“It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the navy.”
--Steve Jobs

How to Succeed

"Rather fail by honor than succeed by fraud."
--Sophocles

Kindness Endures

“Write kindnesses in marble and write injuries in the sand.”
--Persian Proverb

Dark and Difficult

“In dark and difficult times, we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.”
--J.K. Rowling

What Bad Luck?

“I never knew an early-rising, hard-working, prudent man, careful of his earnings and strictly honest, who ever complained of bad luck.”
--Henry Ward Beecher

No Wasted Day

“No day is wasted in which I touch another person's life in any positive, meaningful way. And so it is that I enrich my days by giving something of myself whether through a warm smile, a kind word, a sympathetic ear, a gentle embrace or a simple helping hand.”
--David L. Weatherford