Quotes and words of wisdom

ere you have some of all the inspirational quotes and words of wisdom that I have used (or intend to use) on these very pages.

They have been divided into my own suggested categories, which you will find in the colomns below. Here you will only find things in English. I do wish to apologize in advance for any spelling errors or bad grammar, here or anywhere else for that matter - things that may prove not to be 'English' after all :-) Any such mishap is totally unintentional (unless otherwise stated), and nobody's fault but mine.

Age, youth, old, aging:

"To be seventy years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be forty years old."
(Oliver W. Holmes, Sr.)

Effort, energy. work, working:

"Instead of thinking about where you are, think about where you want to be. It takes twenty years of hard work to be an overnight success." (D. Rankin)

"Few people recognize opportunity, because it comes disguised as hard work" (C. Grant)

"What we hope ever to do with ease, we must first learn to do with diligence." (S. Johnson)

"Genius is perseverence in disguise." (Mike Newlin)

"Failure is more frequently from want of energy than want of capital." (Daniel Webster)

"Excellence means when a man or woman asks of himself more than others do." (Jose Ortega y Gasset)

"For with slight efforts how should we obtain great results? It is foolish even to desire it." (Euripides)

"Life has two rules: Number One, never quit; Number Two, always remember rule number one." (Duke Ellington)

Attitude:

"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." (Lou Holtz)

"Excellence means when a man or woman asks of himself more than others do." (Jose Ortega y Gasset)

"The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude." (W. James)

"Life is too short to spend your precious time trying to convince a person who wants to live in gloom and doom otherwise. Give lifting that person your best shot, but don't hang around long enough for his or her bad attitude to pull you down. Instead, surround yourself with optimistic people." (Zig Ziglar)

Con, trick, fool:

"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." (Abraham Lincoln )

Worry, worries:

"There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will." (Epictetus)

"Worry is interest paid on trouble before it is due."
(W. R. Inge)

"As soon as you focus on the things you can't influence, you tend to lose focus on the things you can influence."
(Torbjorn Arntsen)

"Worry a little 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 Hemmingway)

Blood, sweat and tears:

"Both tears and sweat are salty, but they render a different result. Tears will get you sympathy; sweat will get you change." (Jesse L. Jackson)

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Possess, have, own:

"When you can't have what you want, it's time to start wanting what you have."
(Katleen A. Sutton)

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"Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possesses you." (A. Gide)

"What is not fully understood is not possessed."
(Johan W. von Goethe)

"If you always give, you will always have" (Chinese saying)

Easy, simple:

"There is more than a slight difference between easy and simple. It is often easy when you do it simple! When we say that something is difficult, we are right - we tend to complicate things by not doing it simple enough."
(Torbjorn Arntsen)

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Experience, knowledge:

"You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action." (A. Robbins)

"A little experience often upsets a lot of theory."
(S. Parkes Cadman)

"Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simpilfication." (Mahatma Gandhi)

"What is not fully understood is not possessed."
(Johan W. von Goethe)

Ability, abilities:

"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." (Lou Holtz)

"Excellence means when a man or woman asks of himself more than others do." (Jose Ortega y Gasset)

Capture, caught, locked, trapped:

"Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own mind." (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

Fail, mistake, failures:

"Anyone who doesn't make mistakes isn't trying hard enough." (W. Roberts)

"Failure is more frequently from want of energy than want of capital." (Daniel Webster)

"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." (H. Ford)

"The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed." (Richard Brinsley Sheridan)

"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail." (B. Franklin)

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
(Thomas Alva Edison)

Fine, nice, beauty, beautiful:

The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious - the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science." (Albert Einstein)

Change, changing, flexibility:

"Both tears and sweat are salty, but they render a different result. Tears will get you sympathy; sweat will get you change." (Jesse L. Jackson)

"Consistency is contrary to nature, contrary to life. The only completely consistent people are dead" (Aldous Huxley)

"Changes are not only possible and predictable, but to deny them is to be an accomplice to one's own unneccesary vegetation." (G. Sheeby)

"Growth means change and change involves risk, stepping from the known to the unknown." ( G. Shinn)

"The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude." (W. James)

"Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof." (J. K. Galbraith)

"Forget about the consequences of failure. Failure is only a temporary change in direction to set you straight for your next success." (Denis Waitley)

Reason, logic, common sense:

"Common sense is in spite of, not the result of, education." (Victor Hugo)

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Forget:

" What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand." (Chinese saying)

"Forget about the consequences of failure. Failure is only a temporary change in direction to set you straight for your next success." (Denis Waitley)

Go, going, come, coming, continue:

"It doesn't matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going." (Brian Tracy)

"Motivation is what gets you started; Habit is what keeps you going." (Jim Ryun)

Do, doing, create, act:

"What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing." (Aristoteles)

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." (Mother Teresa)

"Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming." (John R. Wooden)

"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." (Lou Holtz)

"Realize that if you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it." (Anthony J. D'Angelo)

"You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action." (A. Robbins)

"Never mistake motion for action." (E. Hemingway)

"Unless you choose to do great things with it, it makes no difference how much you are rewarded or how much you have." (Oprah Winfrey)

"The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can't find them, make them." (George Bernard Shaw)

Hindrance, problems, resistance, give up:

"One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks." (J. Penn)

"Winners never quit, quitters never win!" (unknown)

"Life is a continuous exercise in creative problem solving." (M. J. Gelb)

"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." (H. Ford)

"Worry is interest paid on trouble before it is due."
(W. R. Inge)

"Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't work."
(Thomas. A. Edison)

"The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed." (Richard Brinsley Sheridan)

"Failure is more frequently from want of energy than want of capital." (Daniel Webster)

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
(Thomas Alva Edison)

"When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn." (Harriet Beecher Stowe)

"Try and fail, but don't fail to try." (unknown)

"Life has two rules: Number One, never quit; Number Two, always remember rule number one." (Duke Ellington)

Fight, combat:

"The only reason men fight is because they are insecure." (Ed Parker)

"Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional" (M. Lucado)

Complain, whine:

"Realize that if you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it." (Anthony J. D'Angelo)

Brightness, Wisdom:

"Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simpilfication."
(Mahatma Gandhi)

"Doubt is the vestibule through which all must pass before they can enter into the temple of wisdom."
(Charles Caleb Colton)

"Common sense is in spite of, not the result of, education." (Victor Hugo)

Conflict, problem:

"Problems seldom exist at the level at which they are presented."
(Zen saying)

"Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional" (M. Lucado)

Control, take care of:

"If you take care of the small things, the big things take care of themselves. You can gain more control over your life by paying closer attention to the little things."
(Emily Elizabeth Dickinson)

"If you don't control your mind, someone else will."
(J. Allston)

Life:

"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about."
(Albert Einstein)

"One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks."
(J. Penn)

"Life is a continuous exercise in creative problem solving." (M. J. Gelb)

"When I hear somebody sigh: Life is hard, I am always tempted to ask: Compared to what?" (Sydney J. Harris)

"Life is something that everyone should try at least once." (Henry J. Tillman)

"If you take care of the small things, the big things take care of themselves. You can gain more control over your life by paying closer attention to the little things."
(Emily E. Dickinson)

"The greatest glory in living lies not in ever falling, but in rising every time we fall." (Nelson Mandela)

"The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude." (W. James)

"Life has two rules: Number One, never quit; Number Two, always remember rule number one." (Duke Ellington)

Happiness, optimism, joy:

"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about."
(Albert Einstein)

"Remember happiness doesn't depend on who you are or what you have; it depends solely upon what you think." (Dale Carnegie)

"Happiness depends upon ourselves." (Aristoteles)

"Happiness is a creation, not something you will find by seeking it." (P. Fleischer)

"There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will." (Epictetus)

Listen, empathy, sympathy:

"The greatest motivational act one person can do for another is to listen." (Roy E. Moody)

"Both tears and sweat are salty, but they render a different result. Tears will get you sympathy; sweat will get you change." (Jesse L. Jackson)

Learning, education, understand, remember:

"A little experience often upsets a lot of theory."
(S. Parkes Cadman)

"I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it." (Harry Emerson Fosdick)

"What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand." (Chinese saying)

"You cannot teach a man anything. You can only help him find it within himself." (G. Galilei)

"I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance." (Socrates)

"There is more learning in the question itself than the answer." (A. Weremy)

"What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing." (Aristoteles)

"What is not fully understood is not possessed."
(Johan W. von Goethe)

"Personally I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught." (Sir Winston Churchill)

"You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action." (A. Robbins)

"Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simpilfication." (Mahatma Gandhi)

"You cannot defect form an insight. You cannot unsee what you have seen." (Martin Luther King, Jr.)

"Common sense is in spite of, not the result of, education." (Victor Hugo)

Opininon, point of view:

"Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof." (J. K. Galbraith)

Motivation:

"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." (Lou Holtz)

"The greatest motivational act one person can do for another is to listen." (Roy E. Moody)

"Motivation is what gets you started; Habit is what keeps you going." (Jim Ryun)

Receive, to get, be given:

"Nothing comes to a closed fist"
(unknown)

"What you give you get, ten times over."
(Yoruba saying)

"In the long run, we get no more than we have been willing to risk giving." (S. Kopp)

Possibilities:

"Few people recognize opportunity, because it comes disguised as hard work" (C. Grant)

"Every situation, properly perceived, becomes an opportunity." (Helen Schuman)

"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." (H. Ford)

"Wise people make more opportunities than they find."
(F. Bacon)

"The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can't find them, make them." (George Bernard Shaw)

Mystery, mysterious, the unknown:

"Growth means change and change involves risk, stepping from the known to the unknown." ( G. Shinn)

"I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it." (Harry Emerson Fosdick)

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed." (Albert Einstein)

The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious - the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science." (Albert Einstein)

Target, goals, direction, setting goals:

"Hindringer er det du ser når du flytter blikket fra målet." (unknown)

"Nobody succeeds beyond his or her wildest expectations unless he or she begins with some wild expectations."
(R. Charell)

"It doesn't matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going."
(Brian Tracy)

Attention, focus, perception:

"Every situation, properly perceived, becomes an opportunity." (Helen Schuman)

"As soon as you focus on the things you can't influence, you tend to lose focus on the things you can influence."
(Torbjorn Arntsen)

"If you take care of the small things, the big things take care of themselves. You can gain more control over your life by paying closer attention to the little things."
(Emily Elizabeth Dickinson)

Advice:

"Never give advice in a crowd."
(unknown)

Victories, winning, success, results:

"Winners never quit, quitters never win!" (unknown)

"You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor without having victims" (H. Woods)

"Losers visualize the penalties of failure. Winners visualize the rewards of success." (W. S. Gilbert)

"It seems to be a law of nature, inflexible and inexorable; That those who will not risk cannot win." (P. Jones)

"The only way not to succeed is by doing nothing." (unknown)

"Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming." (John R. Wooden)

"If you are waiting for the overnight success, it is going to be be one long, cold night." (unknown)

"Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't work."
(Thomas. A. Edison)

"The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed." (Richard Brinsley Sheridan)

"Forget about the consequences of failure. Failure is only a temporary change in direction to set you straight for your next success."
(Denis Waitley)
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"The greatest glory in living lies not in ever falling, but in rising every time we fall." (Nelson Mandela)

"Instead of thinking about where you are, think about where you want to be. It takes twenty years of hard work to be an overnight success." (D. Rankin)

"For with slight efforts how should we obtain great results? It is foolish even to desire it." (Euripides)

"Nobody succeeds beyond his or her wildest expectations unless he or she begins with some wild expectations."
(R. Charell)

"The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed." (Richard Brinsley Sheridan)

Injuries, disappointment, loss, defeat, trouble:

"Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses." (Confucius)

"Losers visualize the penalties of failure. Winners visualize the rewards of success." (W. S. Gilbert)

"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." (H. Ford)

"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail." (B. Franklin)

"Winners never quit, quitters never win!" (unknown)

"Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't work."
(Thomas. A. Edison)

"Anyone who doesn't make mistakes isn't trying hard enough." (W. Roberts)

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
(Thomas Alva Edison)

"Failure is more frequently from want of energy than want of capital." (Daniel Webster)

"Nest etter å tape et slag er den største elendigheten å vinne det" (Hertugen av Wellington)

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
(Thomas Alva Edison)

"Try and fail, but don't fail to try."
(unknown)

"Forget about the consequences of failure. Failure is only a temporary change in direction to set you straight for your next success." (Denis Waitley)

"You can't put a Band-Aid on every boo-boo you've made; some just need time to heal." (Christina Montano)

Faith:

"Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own mind." (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

Believe, think, feel, thought, mind:

"Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, your right." (Henry Ford)

"If you don't control your mind, someone else will."
(J. Allston)

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought." (Buddha)

"Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own mind." (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious - the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science." (Albert Einstein)

Risk, to dear, try, courage:

"Courage consists not in blindly overlooking danger, but in seeing it, and conquering it." (J. P.F. Richter)

"Anyone who doesn't make mistakes isn't trying hard enough." (W. Roberts)

"It seems to be a law of nature, inflexible and inexorable; That those who will not risk cannot win." (P. Jones)

"Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't work."
(Thomas. A. Edison)

"It seems to be a law of nature, inflexible and inexorable; That those who will not risk cannot win."
(P. Jones)

"Try and fail, but don't fail to try." (unknown)

Uncertainty, doubt, fright, fear, danger:

"The only reason men fight is because they are insecure." (Ed Parker)

"If you listen to your fears, you will die never knowing what a great person you might have been." (R. H. Schuller)

"Courage consists not in blindly overlooking danger, but in seeing it, and conquering it." (J. P.F. Richter)

"We cannot escape fear. We can only transform it into a companion that accompanies us us on all our exciting adventures." (unknown)

"Doubt is the vestibule through which all must pass before they can enter into the temple of wisdom."
(Charles Caleb Colton)

Stamina, stubbornness, diligence:

"The greatest glory in living lies not in ever falling, but in rising every time we fall." (Nelson Mandela)

"What we hope ever to do with ease, we must first learn to do with diligence." (S. Johnson)

"Instead of thinking about where you are, think about where you want to be. It takes twenty years of hard work to be an overnight success." (D. Rankin)

"Genius is perseverence in disguise." (Mike Newlin)

Habit:

"Motivation is what gets you started; Habit is what keeps you going." (Jim Ryun)

Friendliness, affection, love:

"Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses." (Confucius)

"Kind words are short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." (Mother Teresa)

"For granted, most people wish to accomplish something of substance, make a difference, and to influence other people. Well, how can you know that those things haven’t already been done, even more than once? How can you be sure that you have not meant all the difference to others - that the smile or the kind words you gave was all that was needed right there and then?" (Torbjorn Arntsen)

"Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind." (Henry James )

"The best way not to have people in your way is to let them into your heart." (Alessandro Pronzato)

Effort, give, offer, giving:

"What you give you get, ten times over." (Yoruba saying)

"The greatest motivational act one person can do for another is to listen." (Roy E. Moody)

"Unless you choose to do great things with it, it makes no difference how much you are rewarded or how much you have." (O Winfrey)

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." (Mor Teresa)

"If you always give, you will always have" (Chinese saying)

"Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possesses you." (A. Gide)

"Instead of thinking about where you are, think about where you want to be. It takes twenty years of hard work to be an overnight success." (D. Rankin)

"For with slight efforts how should we obtain great results? It is foolish even to desire it." (Euripides)

"In the long run, we get no more than we have been willing to risk giving." (S. Kopp)

Wishes, wants, hope, dreams, planning:

"Nobody succeeds beyond his or her wildest expectations unless he or she begins with some wild expectations."
(R. Charell)

"When you can't have what you want, it's time to start wanting what you have." (Katleen A. Sutton)

"Instead of thinking about where you are, think about where you want to be. It takes twenty years of hard work to be an overnight success." (D. Rankin)

"The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can't find them, make them." (George Bernard Shaw)

"Plans are nothing, planning is everything."
(Dwight D. Eisenhower)