Diary of an Unknown (1988)
“I don't take art as seriously as politics.”
“Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch.”
“Strength lies in differences, not in similarities”
“Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.”
“Trust is the glue that holds everything together.”
Source: First Things First (1994), p. 243 <!-- Originally added as a paraphrase : The moment of making choice is the moment of truth! -->
Context: Trust is the glue that holds everything together. It creates the environment in which all of the other elements — win-win stewardship agreements, self-directing individuals and teams, aligned structures and systems, and accountability — can flourish.
“Retire from your job but never from meaningful projects.”
The 8th Habit : From Effectiveness to Greatness (2004)
Context: Retire from your job but never from meaningful projects. If you want to live a long life, you need eustress, that is, a deep sense of meaning and contribution to worthy projects and causes, particularly your intergenerational family.
The 8th Habit : From Effectiveness to Greatness (2004), p. 63
“Live, love, laugh, leave a legacy.”
“You'll never achieve real success unless you like what you're doing.”
Source: How to Win Friends and Influence People
“Today is our most precious possession. It is our only sure possession.”
Source: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
“Where you stumble and fall, there you will find gold.”
“Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.”
Variant: Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.
“If the path before you is clear, you're probably on someone else's.”
“I can barely conceive of a type of beauty in which there is no Melancholy.”
Variant: I can barely conceive a type of beauty in which there is no melancholy.
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
Has been attributed to Seneca since the 1990s (eg. Gregory K. Ericksen, (1999), Women entrepreneurs only: 12 women entrepreneurs tell the stories of their success, page ix.). Other books ascribe the saying to either Darrell K. Royal (former American football player, born 1924) or Elmer G. Letterman (Insurance salesman and writer, 1897-1982). However, it is unlikely either man originated the saying. A version that reads "He is lucky who realizes that luck is the point where preparation meets opportunity" can be found (unattributed) in the 1912 The Youth's Companion: Volume 86. The quote might be a distortion of the following passage by Seneca (who makes no mention of "luck" and is in fact quoting his friend Demetrius the Cynic):<blockquote>"The best wrestler," he would say, "is not he who has learned thoroughly all the tricks and twists of the art, which are seldom met with in actual wrestling, but he who has well and carefully trained himself in one or two of them, and watches keenly for an opportunity of practising them." — Seneca, On Benefits, vii. 1 http://thriceholy.net/Texts/Benefits4.html</blockquote>
Disputed
