
“We become what we behold. We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us.”
Speech to the House of Commons (October 28, 1943), on plans for the rebuilding of the Chamber (destroyed by an enemy bomb May 10, 1941), in Never Give In! : The best of Winston Churchill’s Speeches (2003), Hyperion, p. 358 ISBN 1401300561
The Second World War (1939–1945)
“We become what we behold. We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us.”
“Our histories cling to us. We are shaped by where we come from.”
“Our past may shape us, but it doesn't define us.”
Variant: Our past may shape us, but it doesn't define who we become.
Source: Night Star
Foreword (January 1960)
You Learn by Living (1960)
Context: One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes. In stopping to think through the meaning of what I have learned, there is much that I believe intensely, much I am unsure of. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And, the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.
“why do our enemies shape us more than our friends?”
Source: The Dark Side of Love
“We build our computers the way we build our cities--over time, without a plan, on top of ruins.”
" The dumbing down of programming http://www.salon.com/1998/05/12/feature_321/" Salon Tue-May-12-1998
Excerpts from a speech to the Fiji Institute of Accountants, 28 April 2005
“The visions we offer our children shape the future.”
“There is no such thing as destiny. We ourselves shape our lives.”