Quotes about a chance
page 4

“If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”

Jim Rohn (1930–2009) American motivational speaker

Life, Motivational, Wise, Success

“Business People Are Idealists And Path Setters They Take The Chance For Themselves And Others”

Alireza Kohany (1993) Musician, Actor, Entrepreneur

Source: https://www.google.com/books/edition/How_To_Become_A_Digital_Marketing_Expert/FAjfDwAAQBAJ

People, Business

“If Joseph was amongst the first born children of Jacob, chances are he would have turned out just as his elders were described in the scriptures.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Children

“If you don’t give up, You still have a Chance to Win. Giving up is a Great Failure.”

Jack Ma (1964) Chinese businessman

Source: Jack Ma Quotes That Will Change Your Life Forever https://www.yourselfquotes.com/jack-ma-quotes/

Failure

“The democrats had just been whipped in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and seized upon the unfortunate Harper's Ferry affair to influence other elections then pending. They said to each other, 'Jump in, now's your chance', and were sorry there were not more killed. But they didn't succeed well. Let them go on with their howling. They will succeed when by slandering women you get them to love you, and by slandering men you get them to vote for you.”

Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States

1860s, Speech at Hartford (1860)

Love, Women, Men

“When your priorities are straight;

Decisions are easy to make.

Sometimes it is very arduous to move on, but

You shall realize it was the Best Decision

you have ever made.

I left a very secure position

to take a new and intimidating

position in The Big City.

I became even bigger and better

than I even thought!

Take a chance…

or else you shall regret it the rest of your

life.”

Stephie Pahlavi Zan

Life, Decision

“Even though I can not go backwards and create a brand new start…

I CAN start from now and create a brand new ending!

How wonderful to be given another chance by default…”

Stephie Pahlavi Zan

“Every challenge is a chance to succeed.”

Gandolfo – (RJ Intindola)

1977

“Truth is your only chance at living the life you want to live and making life choices that are actually right for you.”

Teal Swan (1984) American spiritual teacher

Life, Truth

“The tiniest gesture -- a smile, a gentle look, a simple pat on the arm, a soft word -- can change a person's life. Before this very day is out, you are going to have a chance to live in that possibility. Look. Watch. See what this day brings you. And be ready.”

Neale Donald Walsch (1943) American writer

Life, Smile, Change, Personality

“I am in limbo, and in limbo there are no races, no prizes, no changes, no chances. There are merely degrees of endurance, and endurance never was my strong point.”

Keri Hulme (1947) New Zealand writer

Strong, Change

“They can call me crazy if I fail
All the chance that I need
Is one in a million
And they can call me brilliant
If I succeed…”

Ani DiFranco (1970) musician and activist

Swan Dive
Song lyrics

“After all, our lives are but a sequence of accidents - a clanking chain of chance events. A string of choices, casual or deliberate, which add up to that one big calamity we call life.”

Rohinton Mistry A Fine Balance

Source: A Fine Balance

Life

“This is what happens when nice people are pushed too far. We give too many chances, and so when we've finally had enough, we are well and truly done. When a nice person shuts a door on you, it's shut for good.”

Deb Caletti (1963) American writer

Source: He's Gone

People, Personality

“Im studying jerkoffs in the wild," Ben answered dryly. "This seemed like a good chance to view one up close.”

Kathy Reichs book Code

Source: Code

Study

“You gotta take chances in this life or you're already
dead.”

Megan McCafferty (1973) American novelist

Source: Second Helpings

Life, Dead

“I think we're given multiple chances to meet multiple soulmates. Sure, you could meet a soulmate in highschool. But that doesn't mean if you don't act on it, you'll never meet anyone else. You will, just at a time that's more convenient for you.”

Meg Cabot book How to Be Popular

Source: How to Be Popular

Thinking, Time

“I don't like work--no man does--but I like what is in the work--the chance to find yourself. Your own reality--for yourself not for others--what no other man can ever know. They can only see the mere show, and never can tell what it really means.”

Joseph Conrad book Heart of Darkness

Source: Heart of Darkness

Reality

“Live your life, take chances, be crazy. Dont wait 'cause right now is the oldest you've ever been & the youngest you'll be ever again”

Suzanne Collins (1962) American television writer and novelist

Life, Waiting

“Chance and chance alone has a message for us… Only chance can speak to us.”

Milan Kundera book The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Source: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984), Part Two: Soul and Body, pg 48

“Statistically speaking, there is a 65 percent chance that the love of your life is having an affair. Be very suspicious.”

Scott Dikkers (1965) American comic writer

Source: You Are Worthless: Depressing Nuggets of Wisdom Sure to Ruin Your Day

Love, Life

“Let me get this thing straight, Inigo--we had SCRAPS for dinner? I'M in YOUR fantasy and the best you can come up with is SCRAPS?" She turned toward the door then. "You have no chance of winning my heart.”

William Goldman book The Princess Bride

Source: The Princess Bride

Heart

“We should have taken our chances back then, when we were young and beautiful and didn't even know it.”

Lois McMaster Bujold book Diplomatic Immunity

Source: Diplomatic Immunity

Beauty

“And there is a chance that everything we did was incorrect, but stasis is itself criminal for those with the means to move, and the means to weave communion between people.”

Dave Eggers (1970) memoirist, novelist, short story writer, editor, publisher

Source: You Shall Know Our Velocity!

People

“Everyone behaves badly--given the chance.”

Ernest Hemingway book The Sun Also Rises

Source: The Sun Also Rises

“The chances we take, knowing no better than to fall or to stand back and hold ourselves in… protecting our hearts with the tightest of grips.”

Sarah Dessen book This Lullaby

Source: This Lullaby

Heart

“Chance is the pseudonym of God when he did not want to sign.”

Théophile Gautier Paris

Le hasard, c'est peut-être le pseudonyme de Dieu quand il ne veut pas signer.
One of Gautier's contributions to his collaboration with Jules Sandeau, Émile de Girardin, and Joseph Méry, La croix de Berny (Paris: Librairie Nouvelle, 1855) p. 28; Suzy Platt (ed.) Respectfully Quoted (Washington: Library of Congress, 1989) p. 38

God

“Eleven out of twelve work fine. I'd say that's better chances than getting an orgasm with a blind date and women still try." He blinked and laughed softly. "I never know what you'll say next." "I don't either.”

Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo

Source: Magic Bites

Women

“However small the chance might be of striking lucky, the chance was there.”

Roald Dahl book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Source: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

“Chance encounters are what keep us going.”

Haruki Murakami book Kafka on the Shore

Source: Kafka on the Shore (2002)

“Once in a while, life gives you a chance to measure your worth. Sometimes you're called upon to make a split-second decision to do the right thing, defining which way your life will go. These are the decisions that make you who you are.”

Perry Moore (1971–2011) Executive producer of the Narnia films and author of award-winning LGBTQ young adult novel Hero

Life, Way, Decision

“Play around. Dive into absurdity and write. Take chances. You will succeed if you are fearless of failure.”

Natalie Goldberg (1948) American writer

Source: Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within

Failure

“If you didn't have a choice, you had to make a choice. If you didn't have options, you made some. You couldn't just let this world happen to you… he didn't see eternity. He saw this girl and this moment and this one slim chance.”

Ann Brashares book My Name is Memory

Source: My Name Is Memory

World, Girl

“Nothing happens by chance.”

Paulo Coelho book Brida

Variant: Nothing in this world happens by chance
Source: Brida

“The problem with temptation is that you may not get another chance.”

Laurence J. Peter (1919–1990) Canadian eductor

Problem

“Living might mean taking chances, but they're worth taking. Loving might be a mistake. but its worth making”

Reba McEntire (1955) American country music artist and actress

Love

“He swallowed. “Have you no modesty?” Never in his life had he encountered a female so quick to be naked. Of course, he’d never in his life encountered a female who should so utterly be naked at any chance.”

Kresley Cole book The Warlord Wants Forever

Source: The Warlord Wants Forever

Life

“I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love.”

Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) Russian writer

Love

“What is life but a series of inspired follies? The difficulty is to find them to do. Never lose a chance: it doesn't come every day.”

George Bernard Shaw Pygmalion

Act II
Source: 1910s, Pygmalion (1912)

Life

“The chances of finding out what’s really going on in the universe are so remote, the only thing to do is hang the sense of it and keep yourself occupied.”

Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English writer and humorist

Sense, Universe

“But our wounds are part of who we are… and there is nothing left to chance…. And pain's the pen that writes the songs…. That call us forth to dance”

Michael Card (1957) singer, songwriter, author, composer, Radio Host

Pain, Dance, Parting

“I looked up at the dark sky and prayed to God for a better break in life and a better chance to do something for the little people I loved.”

Jack Kerouac (1922–1969) American writer

Source: On the Road: the Original Scroll

Love, Life, God, People

“It's a father's duty to give his sons a fine chance.”

George Eliot book Middlemarch

Source: Middlemarch

“People fell in love, and lost, and moved on. He didn’t know why he couldn’t. He didn’t know why he didn’t even want to. All he knew was that whatever he had to owe to Hell or Heaven for this chance, he was going to make it count.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Ashes

Source: City of Ashes

Love, People, Hell

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”

Oprah Winfrey (1954) American businesswoman, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist

New Year

“Most men are a little better than their circumstances give them a chance to be.”

William Faulkner (1897–1962) American writer

Men

“If I'd had enough breath, I would have screamed, both at the sensation and at the sheer pettiness of the bastard who wouldn't allow me even a tiny chance of escape.”

Karen Chance book Touch the Dark

Source: Touch the Dark

“That's ridiculous. The only point in having enemies is so you can defeat them, kill them, brush them aside."

"Or give them a chance to redeem themselves.”

Derek Landy (1974) Irish children's writer

Source: Death Bringer

“Promise me, Amelie, that you’ll crucify me with silver before you allow me to fall in love.”

“I hardly think there’s any chance of that,” Amelie said. "I doubt you have the capacity.”

Rachel Caine (1962) American writer

Source: Ghost Town

Love, Thinking

“It would be fun,” Skulduggery nodded. ”I like kicking Wreath in the face. I haven't had a chance to do it nearly as much as I'd like.”

Derek Landy (1974) Irish children's writer

Source: Death Bringer

“I reads every chance I can gets.”

George W. Bush (1946) 43rd President of the United States

Reading

“Sometimes we know in our bones what we really need to do, but we're afraid to do it. Taking a chance and stepping beyond the safety of the world we've always known is the only way to grow, though and without risk there is no reward.”

Wil Wheaton (1972) American actor and writer

Source: Just a Geek: Unflinchingly honest tales of the search for life, love, and fulfillment beyond the Starship Enterprise

World, Way

“1425: When you really like someone, tell them. Sometimes you only get one chance.”

H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (1940) American writer

Source: The Complete Life's Little Instruction Book

“Damn it. I don't know how to be a husband, or father. But since your standards in both areas seem to be relatively low, I may have half a chance at pleasing you.”

Lisa Kleypas (1964) American writer

Source: Devil in Winter

“That was the one thing she knew now. Some chances came and went, and if you missed them, you could spend the rest of your life standing alone, waiting for an opportunity that had already passed you by.”

Kristin Hannah (1960) American writer

Source: Angel Falls

Life, Waiting

“A second chance—that’s the delusion. There never was to be but one. We work in the dark—we do what we can—we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art.”

Henry James book The Middle Years

Source: The Middle Years

Art, Passion, Madness

“The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it. Power is what all messiahs really seek: not the chance to serve. This is true even of the pious brethren who carry the gospel to foreign parts.”

H.L. Mencken (1880–1956) American journalist and writer

369
Popular version of the first sentence: "The urge to save humanity is almost always a false-front for the urge to rule it."
1940s–present, Minority Report : H.L. Mencken's Notebooks (1956)
Source: Minority Report

Parting, Falseness

“There is no chance, no destiny, no fate,
Can circumvent or hinder or control
The firm resolve of a determined soul.”

Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919) American author and poet

"Will," included in Maurine: And Other Poems, p. 145 (1888). Often quoted by Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji.
Poetry quotes, New Thought Pastels (1913)
Context: There is no chance, no destiny, no fate,
Can circumvent or hinder or control
The firm resolve of a determined soul.
Gifts count for nothing; will alone is great;
All things give way before it soon or late.
What obstacle can stay the mighty force
Of the sea seeking river in its course,
Or cause the ascending orb of day to wait?

Fate, Soul, Leadership

“Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.”

Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American writer and lecturer

from Dale Carnegie’s Scrapbook, ed. Dorothy Carnegie, as cited in Words of Wisdom https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0671695878, William Safire & Leonard Safir, Simon and Schuster (reprint, 1990), p. 87

Life

“Diplomacy is the same as saying "nice doggie" until you have a chance to pick up a rock.”

Will Rogers (1879–1935) American humorist and entertainer

Attributed to Francis Rodman, in volume 64 of The Reader's digest (1954)
Other variants also attributed to Wynn Catlin in Kiss Me Hardy : Quotations Ancient and (Very) Modern (1982) by Roger Kilroy; and to Winston Churchill by Dick Applegate in a speech reprinted in Volume 75 of "The Carpenter" (1955)
Misattributed

“theres no chance
at all:
we are all trapped
by a singular
fate.
nobody ever finds
the one.”

Charles Bukowski book Love Is a Dog from Hell

Variant: there's no chance
at all:
we are all trapped
by a singular
fate.
Source: Love Is a Dog from Hell

Fate

“Love is taking chances when every rational part of you screams, ‘Don’t risk it.’ Because it’s only when your heart has been ripped open that you get a chance to find the one person capable of making it whole.”

Sabrina Jeffries (1960) American writer

Source: A Lady Never Surrenders

Love, Heart, Parting, Personality

“Chance wore a white tuxedo with tails. On anyone else? Doopy. On him? Yes, please.”

Kathy Reichs Virals

Source: Virals

“The Germans in basements were pitiable, surely, but at least they had a chance. That basement was not a washroom. They were not sent there for a shower. For those people, life was still achievable.”

Markus Zusak book The Book Thief

Source: The Book Thief

Life, People

“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.”

Abigail Adams (1744–1818) 2nd First Lady of the United States (1797–1801)

Letter to John Quincy Adams (8 May 1780)

Learning

“I'm Magnus." He smiled, showing blinding white teeth.
"Magnus Bane."
"Are we long-lost friends, by any chance?" Simon said.
"Just wondering."
"No, we never got along all that well," said Magnus.
"Long-lost acquaintances? Compadres? My cat liked you.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Heavenly Fire

Source: City of Heavenly Fire

Smile, Cats

“Isabelle was holding an umbrella. It was clear plastic, decorated with decals of colorful flowers. It was one of the girliest things Simon had ever seen, and he didn’t blame Alec for ducking out from under it and taking his chances with the rain.”

Cassandra Clare The City of Lost Souls

Source: City of Lost Souls

Color, Flowers

“That, in essence, is the catastrophe of suicide for those who survive: not only the loss of someone, but the loss of the chance to persuade that person to act differently, the loss of the chance to connect.”

Andrew Solomon book The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression

Source: The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression

Suicide, Loss, Personality

“What's the point of not taking chances? I don't know if I could stand living my whole life afraid.”

Ilsa J. Bick (1957) American writer

Source: Drowning Instinct

Life

“O, with what freshness, what solemnity and beauty, is each new day born; as if to say to insensate man, "Behold! thou hast one more chance! Strive for immortal glory!" There is no speech nor language where this voice is not heard; but the bold, bad man heard it not. He woke with an oath and a curse. What to him was the gold and purple, the daily miracle of morning!”

Harriet Beecher Stowe book Uncle Tom's Cabin

Ch 36 Emmeline and Cassy
Source: Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852)

Beauty

“The society whose citizens are willing to stand and fight is the one with the best chance of surviving long enough for history to even notice.”

Orson Scott Card book Empire

Source: Empire

History, Fight

“Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live passionately and fully and well. Experience new things. Love and be loved, if you ever get the chance.”

David Nicholls book One Day

Variant: Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live passionately and fully and well. Experience new things. Love and be loved, if you ever get the chance
Source: One Day

Love, Passion

“Praying's not going to help. Too late for that, Jane… I gave you a chance to have it on your terms. Now we'll do this on mine”

Jessica Bird book Lover Unbound

Source: Lover Unbound

Help

“Shadowhunters don't say good-bye, not before a battle. Or good luck. You must behave as if return is certain, not a matter of chance”

Cassandra Clare book Clockwork Angel

Source: Clockwork Angel

“… for we are all amateurs at life, but if we do not focus too much on our mistakes, a miraculous picture emerges. And we learn that it's not the beauty of the image that warrants our gratitude--it's the chance to paint.”

Richard Paul Evans (1962) American writer

Source: Finding Noel

Life, Beauty, Learning, Painting

“There's a chance that the old Peeta, the one who loves you, is still inside. Trying to get back to you. Don't give up on him.”

Suzanne Collins book Mockingjay

Source: Mockingjay

Love

“If you have the words, there's always a chance that you'll find the way.”

Seamus Heaney (1939–2013) Irish poet, playwright, translator, lecturer

Source: Stepping Stones: Interviews with Seamus Heaney

Way

“Don't worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try.”

Jack Canfield (1944) American writer

Source: Chicken Soup for the Soul

Failure, For Team

“… Don't feel sorry for me. I'm glad I had a second chance in life like you said to be smart because I learned a lot of things that I never knew were in this world, and I'm grateful I saw it even for a little bit.”

Daniel Keyes book Flowers for Algernon

Source: Flowers for Algernon

Life, World, Feeling, Learning

“I never miss a good chance to shut up”

James Patterson book Along Came a Spider

Source: Along Came a Spider

“There it was. Suddenly the strangeness of Quintana of Charyn's face made sense. Because it was a face meant for laughing, but it had never been given a chance. It robbed Phaedra of her breath.”

Melina Marchetta (1965) Australian teen writer

Source: Quintana of Charyn

Sense

“I thought it was her wicked stepmother who poisoned her…'
'… Turned out the wicked stepmother had an alibi.'
'… Seems she was off poisoning someone else at the time. Chance in a million, really. It was just bad luck.”

John Connolly The Book of Lost Things

Source: The Book of Lost Things

Bad luck, Time

“Hey, for a scythe, cookies, and a chance to commit murder, Kronos could hide his true feelings.”

Rick Riordan (1964) American writer

Source: Percy Jackson's Greek Gods

Feeling

“Indifference is the strongest force in the universe. It makes everything it touches meaningless. Love and hate don't stand a chance against it.”

Joan D. Vinge The Snow Queen

Source: The Snow Queen

Love, Hate, Universe, Indifference

“Every day brings a chance to live free of regret and with as much joy, fun, and laughter as you can stand.”

Oprah Winfrey (1954) American businesswoman, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist

Laughter, Joy

“On bisexuality: It immediately doubles your chances for a date on Saturday night.”

Woody Allen (1935) American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, author, playwright, and musician

The earliest source located is here http://books.google.com/books?id=kd41AQAAIAAJ&q=bisexuality#search_anchor, in the sidebar "Quotations According to Woody Allen" http://books.google.com/books?id=kd41AQAAIAAJ&q=%22quotations+according%22#search_anchor which appeared alongside the New York Times article "Everything You Wanted to Know About Woody Allen at 40" by Mel Gussow, 1 December 1975, page 33. Full text also available in Lakeland Ledger, 25 December 1975 http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pUdNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4foDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6578%2C6650273 on google news. <br class="br">Unsourced variant: "Bisexuality immediately doubles your chances for a date on Saturday night."

Night

“Take a good rest, small bird," he said. "Then go in and take your chance like any man or bird or fish.”

Ernest Hemingway book The Old Man and the Sea

Source: The Old Man and the Sea

Bird, Fish