"Is Life Worth Living?"
Variant: Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.
Source: 1890s, The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy (1897)
Inspirational quotes
page 3
Dale Carnegie
(1888–1955) American writer and lecturer
Leonardo Da Vinci
(1452–1519) Italian Renaissance polymath
No published occurrence of such an attribution has yet been located prior to one in Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre — Band 3 http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2411/pg2411.html by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Disputed
Variant: Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.
“If you obey all of the rules, you miss all of the fun.”
Katharine Hepburn
(1907–2003) film, stage, and television actress
Variant: If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun
“All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then Success is sure.”
Mark Twain
(1835–1910) American author and humorist
Mark Twain's Notebook, 1887
Letter to Cordelia Welsh Foote (Cincinnati), 2 December 1887. Letter reprinted http://www.twainquotes.com/Success.html in Benjamin De Casseres's When Huck Finn Went Highbrow https://www.worldcat.org/title/when-huck-finn-went-highbrow/oclc/2514292 (1934)
“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius”
Marilyn Monroe
(1926–1962) American actress, model, and singer
“You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go…”
Dr. Seuss
(1904–1991) American children's writer and illustrator, co-founder of Beginner Books
“Without music, life would be a mistake.”
Ohne Musik wäre das Leben ein Irrtum.
Maxims and Arrows, 33
Source: Twilight of the Idols (1888)
“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”
Babe Ruth
(1895–1948) American baseball player
As quoted in Weird Ideas That Work : 11 1/2 practices for promoting, managing, and sustaining innovation (2001) by Robert I. Sutton, p. 95
“Become such as you are, having learned what that is”
Pindar
(-517–-437 BC) Ancient Greek poet
Pythian 2, line 72.
Variant translations:
Be what you know you are
Be true to thyself now that thou hast learnt what manner of man thou art
Having learned, become who you are
Eleanor Roosevelt
(1884–1962) American politician, diplomat, and activist, and First Lady of the United States
The quote is usually regarded as anonymous, but is often attributed to her on several websites, as well as in several books, including My Life Is an Open Book http://books.google.es/books?id=qCOa1k--dt4C&printsec=frontcover&hl=es#v=onepage&q=eleanor%20roosevelt&f=false (2008), The Spirituality of Mary Magdalene http://books.google.es/books?hl=es&id=BLRuINwzVZcC&dq=eleanor+roosevelt++%22past+is+history%22&q=eleanor+roosevelt#v=snippet&q=eleanor%20roosevelt&f=false (2008), Mis cuatro estaciones http://books.google.es/books?hl=es&id=QCgANqKq8EIC&dq=ayer+es+historia%2C+ma%C3%B1ana++misterio.+Hoy+regalo+de+Dios+presente&q=%22eleanor+roosevelt%22#v=snippet&q=%22eleanor%20roosevelt%22&f=false (2008), and Gilles Lamontagne http://books.google.es/books?ei=MdG9UqGQK-fL2wX5zYC4Dw&hl=es&id=WyFKAQAAIAAJ&dq=Hier+est+de+l%27histoire%2C+demain+est+un+myst%C3%A8re+et+aujourd%27hui+est+un+cadeau.+C%27+est+pourquoi+nous+l%27appelons+%C2%AB+le+pr%C3%A9sent+roosevelt&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=eleanor+roosevelt (2010). None of these works cite any original reference.
Disputed
“…if it is art, it is not for all, and if it is for all, it is not art.”
from New Music, Outmoded Music, Style and Idea (1946); as quoted in Style and Idea (1985), p. 124
1940s
Plato
(-427–-347 BC) Classical Greek philosopher
This quotation, often attributed on the Internet to Plato, cannot be found in any of Plato's writings, nor can it be found in any published work anywhere until recent years. If it really were a quotation by Plato, then some author in the recorded literature of the last several centuries would have mentioned that quote, but they did not. The sentiment isn't new, however. The ancient Roman Seneca, in his work on "Morals," quoted an earlier Roman writer, Lucretius (who wrote about the year 50 B.C.), as saying "we are as much afraid in the light as children in the dark." (Seneca was paraphrasing a longer passage by Lucretius from De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things), Book II, lines 56 et seq.)
Misattributed
“To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.”
Fred Shero
(1925–1990) Former ice hockey player and coach
Glenn
Liebman
Hockey Shorts: 1,001 of the games funniest one liners
1996
70, 113 & 229
Contemporary Books
0-8092-3351-7
“There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing and be nothing.”
Aristotle
(-384–-321 BC) Classical Greek philosopher, student of Plato and founder of Western philosophy
Misattributed
Source: Elbert Hubbard, Little Journeys to the Homes of American Statesmen (1898), p. 370 http://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32435065322687?urlappend=%3Bseq=458: "If you would escape moral and physical assassination, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing—court obscurity, for only in oblivion does safety lie." Other versions of the saying were repeated in several of Hubbard's later writings.
“It's not how hard you hit. It's how hard you get hit…and keep moving forward.”
The Last Lecture (2008)
“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says: «I'm possible!»”
Audrey Hepburn
(1929–1993) British actress
Laozi
(-604) semi-legendary Chinese figure, attributed to the 6th century, regarded as the author of the Tao Te Ching and fou…
Source: yt
“More is lost by indecision than wrong decision.”
Marcus Tullius Cicero
(-106–-43 BC) Roman philosopher and statesman
“When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.”
Laozi
(-604) semi-legendary Chinese figure, attributed to the 6th century, regarded as the author of the Tao Te Ching and fou…
“Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.”
Winston S. Churchill
(1874–1965) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
“The trouble is, you think you have time.”
Jack Kornfield
(1945) American writer
Source: Buddha's Little Instruction Book
“The opportunity of your life, it's you.”
Prevale
(1983) Italian DJ and producer
Original: (it) L'occasione della tua vita, sei tu.
Source: prevale.net
“Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
Albert Einstein
(1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity
“I think it’s intoxicating when somebody is so unapologetically who they are.”
Don Cheadle
(1964) actor, film producer, philanthropist, and author
“Life's like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing, keep pretending.”
Jim Henson
(1936–1990) American puppeteer
Ralph Waldo Emerson
(1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
As reported by Quoteinvestigator on January 11, 2011 http://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/01/11/what-lies-within/ the quote appeared in “Meditations in Wall Street” (1940) by Wall Street trader Henry Stanley Haskins, "a Wall Street trader with a checkered background. The phrase was misattributed because the true author's name was initially withheld. In addition, the assignment of the maxim to a more prestigious individual, e.g., Emerson or Thoreau, made it more attractive and more believable as a nugget of wisdom." Emerson made a number of similar statements — in "The American Scholar," for example, he says "Give me insight into to-day, and you may have the antique and future worlds" — which probably increased the likelihood of misattribution.
Misattributed
Variant: What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
Variant: What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
“If my mind can conceive it; and my heart can believe it — then I can achieve it.”
Similar to a quote by Jesse Jackson, which is in turn a modification of a quote by Napoleon Hill: "Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve."
Misattributed
Source: The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey
Henry David Thoreau
(1817–1862) 1817-1862 American poet, essayist, naturalist, and abolitionist
Variant: I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
Source: Walden: Or, Life in the Woods
“To be or not to be. That's not really a question.”
Jean-Luc Godard
(1930) French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic
Source: Bloodchild and Other Stories
“Think like a queen. A queen if not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.”
Oprah Winfrey
(1954) American businesswoman, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist
“Your attitude determines your altitude.”
Zig Ziglar
200 Motivational and inspirational Quotes That Will Inspire Your Success
Variant: Your attitude determines your altitude. - Zig Ziglar
“The time is always right to do what’s right.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
(1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement
Speech delivered in Finney Chapel at Oberlin College (22 October 1964), as reported in "When MLK came to Oberlin" by Cindy Leise, The Chronicle-Telegram (21 January 2008) http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2008/01/21/when-mlk-came-to-oberlin/
1960s
Variant: The time is always right to do what’s right.
“Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
Warren Buffett
(1930) American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist
Statement of January 1991, as quoted in Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett (2007) by Andrew Kilpatrick
“Despite the forecast, live like it's spring.”
Lilly Pulitzer
(1931–2013) American fashion designer
“If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves.”
Maria Edgeworth
(1768–1849) Irish writer
Source: Way of the Peaceful Warrior
“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.”
Source: Letter to My Daughter
Albert Einstein
(1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity
1920s, Viereck interview (1929)
“Life is a dream for the wise, a game for the fool, a comedy for the rich, a tragedy for the poor.”
Sholem Aleichem
(1859–1916) Yiddish author and playwright
“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.”
Jimmy Johnson
(1928) American Chicago blues guitarist and singer
Martha Graham
(1894–1991) American dancer and choreographer
As quoted in The Life and Work of Martha Graham (1991) by Agnes de Mille, p. 264, <!-- de Mille precedes the Graham quotation with: "The greatest thing she ever said to me was in 1943 after the opening of Oklahoma!, when I suddenly had unexpected, flamboyant success for a work I thought was only fairly good, after years of neglect for work I thought was fine. I was bewildered and worried that my entire scale of values was untrustworthy. I talked to Martha. I remember the conversation well. It was in a Schrafft's restaurant over a soda. I confessed that I had a burning desire to be excellent, but no faith that I could be. Martha said to me, very quietly, ... " -->
Context: There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.... No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.
“When I hear somebody sigh that "Life is hard," I am always tempted to ask, "Compared to what?"”
Sydney J. Harris
(1917–1986) American journalist
"Purely Personal Prejudices" http://books.google.com/books?id=DLcEAQAAIAAJ&q=%22When+I+hear+somebody+sigh+that+Life+is+hard+I+am+always+tempted+to+ask+Compared+to+what%22&pg=PA241#v=onepage
Strictly Personal (1953)
“There are two ways of spreading light.. to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”
Francis Bacon
(1561–1626) English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, and author
“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.”
Oprah Winfrey
(1954) American businesswoman, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist
“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.”
Dale Carnegie
(1888–1955) American writer and lecturer
Dale Carnegie, quoted in Permission to Play : Taking Time to Renew Your Smile (2003) by Jill Murphy Long, p. 69
E. Jean Carroll
(1943) American journalist
Variant: If Joan of Arc could turn the tide of an entire war before her eighteenth birthday, you can get out of bed.
“Maybe that's what life is… a wink of the eye and winking stars.”
Jack Kerouac
(1922–1969) American writer
Letter to Alan Harrington (23 April 1949) published in Kerouac: Selected Letters: Volume 1 1940-1956 (1996)
Source: Selected Letters, 1940-1956
Dr. Seuss
(1904–1991) American children's writer and illustrator, co-founder of Beginner Books
Variant: You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go.
Source: Oh, The Places You'll Go!
“Your attitude determines your altitude”
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
“Wealth is not about having a lot of money; it's about having a lot of options.”
Chris Rock
(1965) American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer, and director
“Always, always, always believe in yourself, because if you don't, then who will, sweetie”
Marilyn Monroe
(1926–1962) American actress, model, and singer
Variant: Keep trying, hold on, and always, always, always believe in yourself, because if you don't, then who will?
“The excursion is the same when you go looking for your sorrow as when you go looking for your joy.”
Eudora Welty
(1909–2001) American author
John F. Kennedy
(1917–1963) 35th president of the United States of America
"Proclamation 3560 — Thanksgiving Day, 1963" (5 November 1963) http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=9511<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project -->
1963
Context: Today we give our thanks, most of all, for the ideals of honor and faith we inherit from our forefathers — for the decency of purpose, steadfastness of resolve and strength of will, for the courage and the humility, which they possessed and which we must seek every day to emulate. As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.
Let us therefore proclaim our gratitude to Providence for manifold blessings — let us be humbly thankful for inherited ideals — and let us resolve to share those blessings and those ideals with our fellow human beings throughout the world.
John Stuart Mill
(1806–1873) British philosopher and political economist
Attributed to John Stuart Mill in The Phrenological Journal and Science of Health, Vol. LXXXV (September 1887), p. 170
Disputed
“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
Will Rogers
(1879–1935) American humorist and entertainer
Variant: Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.
“A quitter never wins-and-a winner never quits.”
Napoleon Hill
(1883–1970) American author
Variant: A quitter never wins and a winner never quits.
Source: Think and Grow Rich: The Landmark Bestseller - Now Revised and Updated for the 21st Century
“All serious daring starts from within.”
Eudora Welty
(1909–2001) American author
Source: On Writing (2002)
“Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
George Bernard Shaw
(1856–1950) Irish playwright
Everybody's Political What's What? (ebook, must be borrowed) https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24979564M/Everybody's_political_what's_what (1944), Chapter XXXVII: Creed and Conduct, p. 330
1940s and later
Variant: Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
Context: Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. Creeds, articles, and institutes of religious faith ossify our brains and make change impossible. As such they are nuisances, and in practice have to be mostly ignored.
“When you've seen beyond yourself, then you may find, peace of mind is waiting there.”
George Harrison
(1943–2001) British musician, former member of the Beatles
“A year from now you may wish you had started today.”
Karen Lamb
(1982) British tennis player
John F. Kennedy
(1917–1963) 35th president of the United States of America
Variant: Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope.”
Helen Keller
book
Optimism
Optimism (1903)
Variant: Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement
Henry James
(1843–1916) American novelist, short story author, and literary critic
William James, "Is Life Worth Living?," The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy (1897).
Misattributed
“In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.”
Francis Bacon
(1561–1626) English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, and author
Henry David Thoreau
(1817–1862) 1817-1862 American poet, essayist, naturalist, and abolitionist
Original from Zig Ziglar https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zig_Ziglar
Misattributed
“I am not afraid of tomorrow
for I have seen yesterday
and I love today”
William Allen White
(1868–1944) American newspaper editor and politician
“Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway”
Sydney J. Harris
(1917–1986) American journalist
“Keep a little fire burning; however small, however hidden.”
Cormac McCarthy
book
The Road
Source: The Road
“I never learned from a man who agreed with me.”
Robert A. Heinlein
(1907–1988) American science fiction author
“Just because you fail once doesn't mean you're gonna fail at everything.”
Marilyn Monroe
(1926–1962) American actress, model, and singer
“Your life only gets better when you get better.”
Brian Tracy
(1944) American motivational speaker and writer
“There are two ways of spreading light: to be
The candle or the mirror that reflects it.”
Edith Wharton
(1862–1937) American novelist, short story writer, designer
"Vesalius in Zante (1564)", in North American Review (November 1902), p. 631
Variant: There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that receives it.