Great Quotes: Words That Help Us Wake Up
I spent some time with a friend today, and he mentioned a wonderful quote from Mark Twain. Here it is…
“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.”
Beautiful.
A great quote can be a lifetime of experience summed up into one line. Great quotes are possibly the most valuable gifts we receive from those who have come before us… from those who have walked the path.
If you’re in the right frame of mind, a powerful quote can help you WAKE UP for a moment. A great quote can instantly transform your view of yourself – and your view of reality.
So what’s the most profound quote you’ve heard? Do you have a favorite?
Let’s create a great collection to share.
In the comments below, leave YOUR favorite and most valuable quotes (with sources, of course!)…
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Eben Pagan's Blog 
A ship is safe it her harbor,
but that’s not what ships were meant for.
What makes you more powerful than they are is what you can do that they can’t, or what you’re willing to do that they won’t. — Rahsheen Porter
Reading is like TV for your mind.
One of my young readers, eight year old Evan, grandson of my friends Kathy and Rich
Cheryl C. Cigan
http://www.known.com
“In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia. “ – Anonymous
“In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia. “ – Anonymous
I love quotes! Great post to encourage quote gathering.
“All experience is preceded by mind, lead by mind, made by mind”
The Dhammapada
“You must do the thing you think you cannot do” -Eleanor Roosevelt
“If you could only love enough, you could be the most powerful person in the world.” – Emmett Fox
“It is every man’s obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out.” – Albert Einstein
“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. I believe that dreams are more powerful than facts, that hope always triumphs over experience, that laughter is the only cure for grief, and that love is stronger than death.” ~Robert Fulgahm
What is Reality? An icicle forming in fire. – Dogen Zenji
Everything is impermanent, and therefore changing (fire) yet we always remember things/people the way they were the last time we saw them (icicle).
A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds
-Sir Francis Bacon
“Don’t believe everything you think” — @kendrathornbury
Love that you are focused on waking up. It’s my daily practice.
Just one? I have so many so I’m going to leave two favorites.
I make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes. ~ Sara Teasdale
Anyone or anything that does not bring you alive is too small for you. ~ David Whyte
“Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential.” – John Maxwell
“It doesn’t matter where you have been; it matters where you are going.” – Clayton Webber
“What you want shows up in conversation. What you expect shows up in behavior.” Les Brown
If there is a solution to your problem, then there is little need to worry.
If there is NO solution to your problem…then there is little need to worry.
Dalai Lama
“If you can’t, you must. If you must, you can.”
“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”
“Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year – and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade!”
“Live with passion!”
– Tony Robbins
“The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.” – Unknown
My favorite – it’s posted up at my work desk.
“If You had to choose between the World and Her, Which Would You Choose? If You Choose the World, You Would Lose Her. If You Choose Her, She’ll Give You the World.”
“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”
Opportunities multiply as they are seized.
— Sun Tzu
(Tweeted before realizing I should probably post it here…)
This quote is often repeated by a marketing guru that I follow(Dan Kennedy). The following is from a coaching program salesletter:
Here’s the lesson: the late Cavett Robert, the founder of the National Speakers Association, and usually a kind, gentle, overly polite fellow said:
“Most people are walking around, umbilical cord in hand, looking for a new place to plug it in.”
And that’s the secret reason why a properly structured and presented consultation or coaching program is easy to sell. People desperately want somebody to tell them what to do.
I don’t mean this cynically, or with disdain for people either. WE ALL NEED advice, guidance, coaching, and sometimes, somebody to tell us what to do. You and I are probably a whole lot more independent and self-reliant than the majority of businesspeople, and that’s as it should be. But even I look for somebody to simply tell me what to do, in certain situations. For my health, after being diagnosed with diabetes, I worked hard to crack the code myself, made progress but couldn’t quite get it. Eventually I found a doctor (in Texas) with the missing pieces of information, who told me what to do, and I did it. I am now single, after 22 years of marriage, and feeling horribly ignorant and clumsy about, well, what to do. I’m open to somebody telling me. Everybody has something going on in their lives or their businesses or
both for which they’d welcome good advice.
That umbilical quote should be taken in the best possible context, it’s how I want you to take it. While we all are looking for help, for someone ‘to make it all better’ just realize if YOU take back your power, you are capable of infinitely more than you ever thought you were. My mother was fond of saying, “You are created in GOD’s image and GOD doesn’t make junk.”
What You Think, You Look. What You Think, You Do. What You Think, You Are. -Dr. Forrest C. Shaklee
“Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.”
–Albert Einstein
“I don’t come to bow, I come to conquer.”
– Bob Marley
“Find out just what any man will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on him.”
– Frederick Douglass
“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.”
-Milton Berle
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
Try not, do or do not, there is no try. -Yoda
It is better by noble boldness to run the risk of being subject to half of the evils we anticipate than to remain in cowardly listlessness for fear of what might happen – Herodotus
A Candle Loses Nothing by Lighting Another Candle.
Unknown.
“Freedom is like taking a bath– you have to keep doing it every day!” …Florynce Kennedy
“Instinct and reason are two signs of our dual nature. With instinct and reason we have an incapacity for proving anything which no amount of dogmatism can overcome. Yet we have an idea of truth which no amount of skepticism can overcome.” – Blaise Pascal
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eyes.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery “The Little Prince”
“When we’re in our heads, we don’t have appreciation for the things we view as undesirable.” -My friend Scott
Dance like nobody’s watching. Sing like you have a great voice. Love like you’ve never been hurt.
“What if Martin Luther King Had A Dream, but Gave You His Excuse to Not Follow It?” -My friend Mike
“The purpose to life is a life of purpose”
– Robert Bryne
… and…
“Every man dies, but not every man really lives”
William Wallace, from the movie “Braveheart”
Eben,
Great subject!
“Dale Carnegie’s Scrapbook” – a Treasury of the Wisdom of the Ages…
… one of the best collections of quotes based on inspirational and practical advice on courage and self-confidence, enthusiasm, faith, friends and the joys of living.
A 110% true recommendation.
-Ron Reed
“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.”
— Confucius
Eben,
I love this blog posting.
Thanks cous.
Here are some questions/quotes in my Blackberry memopad..
I do it everyday.. or sometimes just send it to my twitter and check it there later on in the week.. too many ideas to just throw away
After you start only thinking positive, you come to realize that negativity is just weakness. (that doesn’t mean I’m NEVER negative b’cuz i do always try to take everything into accountability.. u kno what i mean)
Is deconstruction reconstruction? (regarding what is going on with the world)
Thinking tastes nasty sometimes.
(this is regarding me in soccer, but can be applied to so many aspects of life)
If all i got isn’t enough, I still gave it my all. Now I just need to work on making it persistant.
We were made human beings to be. What humanity has created for itself is anything but that. We r like slaves to tech..
Why do I always feel as if I’m going to die so young?
Trust the process.
Yeah you do it good, but we do it so much better.
How I would love for someone to give me money and watch me play with it.
LET THE RECONSTRUCTION BEGIN!
“The greatest risk is not taking one”
“Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed.” ~ Francis Bacon
“What is is. What isn’t isn’t.” Ron Smothermon
“You must first give without want, before you can have.” This little quote from Mike Dillard has help me realize what it really means to be successful.
Give GOD your best, first…He will lead you to His best for your life…
The old classic, though I don’t know who said it,
“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are,” and a humorous one:
“I love mankind, its people I can’t stand”
“… Time is the school in which we learn, Time is the fire in which we burn.”
from the end of Delmore Schwartz poem “Calmly We Walk Through This April’s Day”
“Success is something you attract by the person you become”
“Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.”
“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school”
we know that ve have born and we know that we will die ,,,,,,, fait for your disear ——–hye Eben My quot is live in yourlife as you will die Tomorrow and live toward heaven as you will live forever … i will explain it soon … your far friend Jawad
“People don’t care how much you know–until they know how much you care.” John C. Maxwell
Excellent quote for teachers at all levels.
“There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.” ~Vincent Van Gogh
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”
-Aristotle
“I may not change the world, but I am sure to spark the mind that will.” – Tupac Shakur
“A man can fail many times, but he isn’t a failure until he begins to blame someone else.” – Unknown (From “The Compassionate Samurai” by Brian Klemmer)
“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill
“Compassionate Samurai give without thought of personal gain. Average people give when there’s something in it for them, and it doesn’t cost too much.” – The Compassionate Samurai by Brian Klemmer
I use this quote regularly for motivation:
“Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for – in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.”
~ Ellen Goodman
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Great Thread. I’m a Quote-Aholic! Here’s some of my favorites I’ve collected over the years:
“If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.”
-Mark Twain
“Success is not forever and failure isn’t fatal.”
-Don Shula
“Out of intense complexities intense simplicities emerge.”
-Winston Churchill
“Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right.”
-Henry Ford
“One person with a belief is equal to the force of 99 who have only interests.”
-John Stuart Mill
“It’s hard to hate somebody when you know them.”
-Anonymous
“There are two rules to success in life: 1. Don’t tell people everything you know.”
-Unknown
“The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it’s unfamiliar territory.”
-Paul Fix
“I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me.”
-Dudley Field Malone
“Sometimes by losing a battle you find a new way to win the war.”
-Donald Trump
“Be assured that if you knew all, you would pardon all.”
-Thomas Kempis
“Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.”
-Will Rogers
“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.”
-Niels Bohr
“Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought.”
-Henri Bergson
“To make pleasures pleasant, shorten them.”
-Charles Buxton
“Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
-Thomas Edison
“It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission”
-Unknown
“We usually know what we can do, but temptation shows us who we are.”
-Thomas Kempis
“My richness consists not in the extent of my possessions; but in the fewness of my wants.”
-J. Brotherton
“It’s never crowded along the extra mile.”
-Wayne Dyer
“Some people see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not?.”
-Robert F. Kennedy
“You live yourself into new ways of thinking, not think yourself into new ways of living.”
-Richard Rhor
“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”
-John Wooden
“Most men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most pick themselves up and continue as if nothing happened.”
-Winston Churchill
“After all is said and done, more is said than done.”
-Unknown
“Worry about being better; bigger will take care of itself.”
Gary Comer (1929–2006)
American entrepreneur
founder of Lands’ End
“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”
Thomas Edison (1847–1931)
If you’re going through hell, KEEP GOING. – Winston Churchill.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
~ Nelson Mandela
We do have a sense of what we are here for in the world. But we also know it is very difficult.
The world is motion. To enter into that motion is a ride. And it ends in *death.*
No one has succeeded in bringing into life the love they wanted to. Jesus, Moses, Mohammad, Gandhi, whoever you want to look at as a character in history who has done their best to bring love, to bring consciousness, into the world has had very limited success.
So will you.
That is, if you are looking for a result in your giving you will be disappointed.
The only result you will have in your giving is death. You will die giving.
Your choice is, do you want to die giving everything – giving your gifts – or do you want to die still holding back. Unable to give everything.
–David Deida
“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why its called the present.”
John Milton was a FAILURE. In writing Paradise Lost, his aim was to “JUSTIFY the WAYS OF GOD to MEN.” Inevitably, he fell short and wrote only a MONUMENTAL poem.
Beethoven, whose music was conceived to TRANSCEND FATE, was a FAILURE, as was Socrates, whose ambition was TO MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY by making them REASONABLE and JUST.
The SUREST, NOBLEST way to FAIL is to set one’s standards TITANICALLY HIGH.
The FLIP SIDE of that proposition also seems true. The SUREST way to SUCCEED is to keep one’s striving LOW.
Many people, by EXTERNAL standards, will be “SUCCESSES.” They will own homes, eat in better restaurants, dress well and, in SOME instances, perform socially useful work. Yet fewer people are putting themselves ON THE LINE, making as much of their MINDS and TALENTS as they might.
Frequently, SUCCESS is what people SETTLE FOR when they can’t think of something NOBLE enough to be worth FAILING at.
— Laurence Shames, in the New York Times, quoted in Feb., 1990, Reader’s Digest
(caps emphasis mine)
The future depends on what we do in the present happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony Gandhi
“The Greatest Human Quest is what one must do in order to become a Human Being”
In honor of February, how about some black history quotes.
See here. http://whoisandywarner.com.
Or, here is one…
The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself–the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us–that’s where it’s at.
– Jesse Owens
He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much.
Lao Tzu
I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.
Lao Tzu
“There are two kinds of people in the world. One kind separates people into two kinds of people, and the other kind doesn’t.” — Mark Twain
Great topic, Eben!
“A great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices.”
William James
“Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.”
– Elvis Costello, Martin Mull, Frank Zappa , etc.
Eben…LOVE this! I am such a quote junkie. My current fave:
The Powerful Woman’s Motto: Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders and says…”Oh shit…she’s awake!!” – unknown
“Children do what feels good; adults devise a plan & follow it”.
-Dave Ramsey
“Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them”
-Orison Swett Marden
“If you do the things you need to do, when you need to do them
— then later —
you will be able to do the things you want to do, when you want to do them.
-A Sign on the Wall at Jimmy John’s
“Until you do, you are, at best, getting ready.”
-Jay Abraham
Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping him up. ~Jesse Jackson
“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change” Wayne Dyer. My 18 year old grand-daughter had this tattooed on her torso (in Spanish so she knows what it says but not everyone else does) after she had lost her left leg below the knee in a car accident. It is very touching and awesome for her to think that way. I am very proud of her.
-Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way. – Native American Proverb
-Do what is right. Be pure. At the end of the way is freedom. Till then patience. – Buddha
@Pratik Stephen – LOVE the quote you shared. It’s one of my favorites.
For those of you who are making note of some (or all) of these great quotes…I just wanted to let you all know that although that quote is often attributed to Nelson Mandela it’s actually a quote from Marianne Williamson.
“Never let what you can’t do get in the way of what you can.” — Unknown
Then indecision brings its own delays
And days are lost lamenting o’er lost days.
Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute.
What you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“Without haste, but without rest.” ~Goethe, Motto
“For we cannot command nature except by obeying her.” ~Bacon
“The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy piety nor wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of It.”
~Edward Fitzgerald, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
And, my own: “The way out is within.”
Great post, comments and inspiration! Have to check back for more.
Best,
~Jaya, http://twitter.com/TRex_DigiLab
“The heights of great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, for they while their companions slept, were toiling onwards through the night.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Keep up the good work Eben!
“To solve the human equation, we need to add love, subtract hate, multiply good, and divide between truth and error.” ~Janet Coleman~
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss
To say “I love you” one must first be able to say the “I.” -Ayn Rand
“We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself.” – Lloyd Alexander
If you’re in control, You’re not going fast enough
Original context was mountain biking, but I guess it’s a good way to live life too. Speaking of mountain biking, Another one that you can only really understand when you’re riding a piece of singletrack on your own through a quiet forest:
The world is my church, the wind in my ears is the choir and my handlebars are the alter I pray at.
“all that is not given is lost” Indian Proverb
To have more you must become more – Peter Murphy
“The most important question you could ever ask is: ‘Is the Universe a friendly place?'”-Einstein
“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”- Einstein
He got it
Eben,
Here are my favorites:
“Be the change that you want to see in the world” Gandhi
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond imagination. It is our light more than our darkness which scares us. We ask ourselves – who are we to be brilliant, beautiful, talented, and fabulous. But honestly, who are you to not be so?
You are a child of God, small games do not work in this world. For those around us to feel peace, it is not example to make ourselves small. We were born to express the glory of god that lives in us. It is not in some of us, it is in all of us. While we allow our light to shine, we unconsciously give permission for others to do the same. When we liberate ourselves from our own fears, simply our presence may liberate others.”
– Marianne Williamson in Return to Love: Reflections on a Course in Miracles
“Every man dies, but not every man really lives”
William Wallace, from the movie “Braveheart”
“Being right can stop all the momentum of a very interesting idea.” -Robert Rauschenberg
I have a few:
“Be the Change you wish to see in the world” – Ghandi
“In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity” – Einstein
“Eagles don’t chase flies” – Unknown
Here’s a long, but GREAT one…
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly.
So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
Theodore Roosevelt
Steve Jobs talking about the time when founding apple:
I was actually a fruitarian at that point in time. I ate only fruit. Now I’m a garbage can like everyone else.
Great idea for a blog post. Lots of great quotes. Here’s another one:
“The world is full of suffering; it is also full of overcoming it.” – Helen Keller
I found some powerful ones here, some I knew, some I didn’t. Thank you for them. I have myself many, many quotes that inspire me, but these are the TOP FIVE.
5. It all comes down to one thing. Get busy living or get busy dying. I heard this one in The Shawshenk Redemption.
4. If you understand, the things are the way they are. If you don’t understand, the things are the way they are. Old Buddhism saying quoted by Brad Blanton in his book Radical Honesty
3. There is no reason to apologize for what you want in your life. Rick H
2. When once you tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there have you been and there you will always long to return. As far as I know, this should be Leonardo daVinci.
And the Number one…
1. One still must have chaos in oneself to give birth to a dancing star. Friedrich Nietzsche
Yes, Eben, you’ve helped me to most of these quotes. You’ve helped me a lot. Thank you. I hope one day I can shake your hand… well, actually, I’ll make sure I’ll do it. B
[…] listing of some very inspirational quotes here. The medium these quotes were provided was Twitter. Two things: 1. If you have not signed up […]
Here’s my all-time-favorite:
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
– Aristotle, Philosopher
“To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
My own credo:
“I am only willing to defend MY current position of ignorance,
until someone else convinces me to adopt THEIRS…” (GeoB)
“Money doesn’t make people happier. Look at me… With $50 million, I’m just as happy as with $51 million”
Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“Do the thing you fear to do and the death of fear is certain” Ralph Waldo Emerson
“While the difficult takes time, the impossible just takes a little longer” Art Berg
“When all else fails, read the directions.”
I LOVE quotes, and have some of my favourite ones framed.
LIFE IS NOT ABOUT FINDING YOURSELF,
ITS ABOUT CREATING YOURSELF.
— Unknown
I love your blog! Definitely my style.
PS. How was dinner with Dave Logan? Extraordinary I bet.
Lot’s of good stuff, thanks everyone. I’ll add:
“You get 100% of what you don’t ask for.”
(Unsure as to who first said this. Anyone know?)
I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.
Michael Jordan
“Understanding is a three-edged sword. There’s your side, their side and the truth in-between.”
“The only way to get pertinent information is to ask impertinent questions.”
— J.M. Straczynski
“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”
— Henry Ford
“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.”
-Og Mandino
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.”
-Robert Louis Stevenson
“Fearlessness is not the absence of fear. It’s the mastery of fear. It’s about getting up one more time than we fall down.” -Arianna Huffington
“The most important thing in life is to stop saying ‘I wish’ and start saying ‘I will.’ Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.” -David Copperfield
“Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.”
-Gustave Flaubert
“Live Simply So That Others May Simply Live.” -Mahatma Gandhi
“Our task must be to free ourselves . . . by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.”
“Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.” -Albert Einstein
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
–George Eliot
Fail to Plan and you Plan to Fail. ~ Harvey Mackay
When one teaches, two learn. ~ Robert Heinlein
Why not go out on a limb, that’s where the fruit is. ~ Mark Twain
I love this one:
“LIFE should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive, well preserved body, but RATHER to skid in sideways, champagne in one hand, strawberries in the other, body and mind thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming…WOO HOO – What A Ride!”
“Life is to short to be small”. Bengeman Disraili.
“A mans mind expanded by a new idea never goes back to its original dimension.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (I think)
“Everyone acts in accordance with their level of awareness.”
Not sure
It’s not an obstacle, it’s an opportunity! – Adryenn Ashley
“Live to the point of tears.” ~Albert Camus
“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.”
-Henry David Thoreau
“The mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting.”
Mestrius Plutarchus
Almost anything you can do at this moment is insignificant, but it’s imperative that you do it. – Gandhi
The test of character is not persistence when you expect a light at the end of the tunnel. The true test is performance and persistence when you see no light coming. – James Arthur Ray
Wisdom is a legitimate theory in ACTION.
To fear failure is easy, but to fear the right thing at the right time in the right way and to act appropiately is not easy. Fear regret more than you fear failure.
Some of my favourite quotes:
“Reality is an illusion created by a lack of alcohol.”
“In times of change, the learners will inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”
– Eric Hoffer
“Humanities greatest advances are not in it’s discoveries, but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity.”
– Bill Gates
“When you’re sure enough to be unsure, but never unsure enough not to do it, thats when you know you’re going in the right direction.”
– Richard Bandler
“I used to be able to finish any sentence but now I.”
“Religious wars are two people fighting over who’s imaginary friend is better.”
– Robert Anton Wilson
“In an evolving society, people who stand still go backwards.”
– Robert Anton Wilson
“It is our mission in life to radiate heaven.”
– Joan Weisman
This is one of my favourite personal philosophies:
“You honour the universe by having a good time in it.”
“LIVE like it’s your last day on earth,
LOVE like you’ve never been hurt,
DANCE like nobody’s watching,
WORK like you don’t need the money,
SING like nobody’s listening,
TRY like you can’t fail”
Original Author is either Mark Twain or Satchel Paige
Three parts were then added on at a later date by unknown authors
“Prosperity proves the fortunate, adversity the great.”
“Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think”.
If you want to reach a goal, you have to go for it. Regadless casualties.
Their wounds will heal.
“Some men see things as they are and say why – I dream things that never were and say why not.” – George Bernard Shaw
“Make every action an offering to your highest self.” – Dr. Fred Kofman
Hi Eben ,
I have not Your Phone No. to ring U, so just short message. THANK YOU,
U changed my life and I`m starting business from scrach.
Would U like be my mentor?
THANK`s
Jan Sichman
“Art calls for complete mastery of techniques, developed by reflection within the soul”
-Bruce Lee- R.I.P
Thank you Eben. Once again, brilliant ideas and incredibly valuable content. Thank you for all you’ve done. Here’s a few quote I refer to over and over to “wake me up”…
“YOU ARE THE FORCE THAT PLAYS WITH YOUR mind and uses your body as its favorite toy to play and have fun with. That is the reason you are here: to play and have fun. We are born with the right to be happy, with the right to enjoy life. We are not here to suffer. Whoever wants to suffer is welcome to, but we don’t have to suffer.”
— Don Miguel Ruiz
“You can learn more about a person in an hour of play than a year of conversation.”
— Plato
“The hardest love to learn is that which is dark, the kind that causes the most pain. It is up to the soul to look past that dirty love and regain the beauty that illuminated so bright before… pure love.”
— Jenny McCarthy
“The downside is almost always reversible or transient.”
— Ryan Holiday
* From “Stoicism 101: A Beginner’s Guide for Entrepreneurs” on Tim Ferris’s blog: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/04/13/stoicism-101-a-practical-guide-for-entrepreneurs/
“I came that they might have life and have it more ABUNDANTLY.”
— Jesus Christ, John 10:10
And finally… a FEW GREAT “Reminders for the Advanced Soul” QUOTES from Richard Bach’s “Illusions”:
“Remember where you came from, where you’re going, and why you created the mess you got yourself into in the first place…”
“Learning is finding out what you already know. Doing is demonstrating that you know it. Teaching is reminding others that they know just as well as you. You are all learners, doers, and teachers…”
“There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts.”
“You are never given a wish without being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.”
“Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they’re yours.”
“The world is your exercise-book, the pages on which you do your sums.
It is not reality, although you can express reality there if you wish. You are also free to write nonsense, or lies, or to tear the pages.”
“Every person, all the events of your life, are there because you have drawn them there. What you choose to do with them is up to you.”
“In order to live free and happily, you must sacrifice boredom. It is not always an easy sacrifice.”
“Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you’re alive, it isn’t.”
“The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.”
“You’re going to die a horrible death, remember. It’s all good training, and you’ll enjoy it more if you keep the facts in mind. Take your dying with some seriousness, however. Laughing on the way to your execution it not generally understood by less advanced lifeforms, and they’ll call you crazy.”
“Everything above may be wrong!”
“The world is like a ride in an amusement park. And when you choose to go on it, you think it’s real because that’s how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round. It has thrills and chills and it’s very brightly coloured and it’s very loud and it’s fun……for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time and they begin to question, is this real, or is this just a ride? And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, they say, “hey – don’t worry, don’t be afraid, EVER, because, this is just a ride…” …It’s just a ride. And we can change it anytime we want. It’s only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings and money. A choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one. Here’s what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money that we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace.” —————— The Late Bill Hicks, Comedian
Oscar Wilde “To Define is to Limit”.
“I have immortal longings in me”
William Shakespeare
I used to sit on the banks with a raft and watch the water roll lazily by. One day I pushed my raft into the shallows of the water and found the water moved swifter than I thought. My raft was actually a boat. Then, after some time, I rowed my little boat into deeper water. There were great storms, mighty winds, tremendous waves, and sometimes I felt so alone. But I have noticed my little rowboat is now a mighty ship manned by my friends and loved ones; and beautiful calm seas, warm sunny days, and nights filled with comfortable dreams always double after a storm. Now, I could never go back and sit on the bank. In fact, I search for deeper water. Such is life when lived.
– B. D. Gulledge
“You don’t have to live your life the way other people expect you to”…dunno who said it but I have it on my desk at work to remind me that my online business I am trying to get off the ground will become a reality when I apply these message here.
I’m glad I found this blog and will definitely be checking it out regularly. Eban kicks ass.
People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.
~ Zig Ziglar
“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
It is never wise to try to appear to be more clever than you are. It is sometimes wise to appear slightly less so.
~ William Whitelaw
“To make yourself something less than you can be – that too is a form of suicide”
~Benjamin Lichtenberg
“Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.”
~ Charles Darwin
“Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill”
~ Barbara W. Tuchman
“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”
— Stephen Hawking
“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
– T.S. Elliot
And finally, just a lyric from a song that I find striking
Wake up, you’re sleeping. Wake up, you’re sleeping behind the wheel.
~ Senses Fail (band)
The human mind is like a parachute, it does’nt function unless it’s open.
“The life your living… Is the life your leading to”. Gina La Piana
Oscar Wilde, at customs: “I have nothing to declare but my genius.”
Also (not quotes, but my favorite succinct life lessons so far):
Everything is related.
Everything is relative.
You cannot fail if you decide not to.
“Man’s mind once stretched by a new idea, never regains it’s original dimension.”
– – – Oliver Wendell Holmes
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” –Peter Druker
Gratitude is the power cord to the universe. Plug it in and enjoy the gifts you are bound to receive
An original Croz quote
Just set a goal, have faith in it and the universe will take you on the ride of your life
An original Croz quote
“All miracles involve a shift in perception.” – A Course in Miracles
“All fear is the fear that unhappiness will happen.” – Bruce Di Marsico
“We first make our habits, then our habits make us” – John Dryden
“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake up to find it was all vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, and make things happen.” – T.E. Lawrence
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Eleanor Roosevelt
You are the same today as you’ll be in five years except for two things, the books you read and the people you meet.
– Charlie “Tremendous” Jones
Some very good quotes on success, leadership, action, determination etc can be found on my page: http://mikesvault.com/quotations/index.html
“Every goal is achieveble, and every height is attainable. For only you can set up your own goals, and only you put up your own limits.”
“When I go to work I don’t get mad, I get payed”
it takes 20 years to make a reputation and it takes 5 seconds to ruin it–warren buffet
“Your ability to think is God’s gift to you… what you think about is your gift to yourself.”
Prem Rawat
“One day you will understand that there’s a difference between knowing the path and going it.” The Matrix (Morpheus to Neo)
“There is nothing unalterable within our habits expept for our belief that they are.” Moshe Feldenkrais
“Man is condemnded to freedom of choice.” Jean-Paul Sartre
“The very essence of romance is uncertainty.” Oscar Wilde
“Of what would be women’s power without men’s vanity?”
Marie Freifrau von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830-1916)
“Love can not be seeked – only be found”
“Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens.” – Carl Jung