Quotes about business
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“Forgive me this digression — that I stand
Entranced awhile at Law's first beam, outbreak
O' the business, when the Count's good angel bade
"Put up thy sword, born enemy to the ear,
"And let Law listen to thy difference!"”

Robert Browning The Ring and the Book

And Law does listen and compose the strife,
Settle the suit, how wisely and how well!
On our Pompilia, faultless to a fault,
Law bends a brow maternally severe,
Implies the worth of perfect chastity,
By fancying the flaw she cannot find.
Book IX : Juris Doctor Johannes-Baptista Bottinius, Fisci et Rev. Cam. Apostol. Advocatus.
The Ring and the Book (1868-69)

Law, Angels, Forgiveness

“Tis true, I profess myself a Votary to Love — I acknowledge that a Lady is in the Case — and further I confess, that this Lady is known to you. — Yes Madam, as well as she is to one, who is too sensible of her Charms to deny the Power, whose Influence he feels and must ever Submit to. I feel the force of her amiable beauties in the recollection of a thousand tender passages that I coud wish to obliterate, till I am bid to revive them. — but experience alas! sadly reminds me how Impossible this is. — and evinces an Opinion which I have long entertaind, that there is a Destiny, which has the Sovereign controul of our Actions — not to be resisted by the strongest efforts of Human Nature.
You have drawn me my dear Madam, or rather have I drawn myself, into an honest confession of a Simple Fact — misconstrue not my meaning — ’tis obvious — doubt it not, nor expose it, — the World has no business to know the object of my Love, declard in this manner to — you when I want to conceal it — One thing, above all things in this World I wish to know, and only one person of your Acquaintance can solve me that, or guess my meaning.”

George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States

but adieu to this, till happier times, if I ever shall see them. Letter to https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-06-02-0013#GEWN-02-06-02-0013-fn-0002 Mrs. George William Fairfax (Sally Cary Fairfax) (12 September 1758) 1750s

Love, World, Making love, Beauty

“Now, more than any time in our history, we will be judged by our capacity for compassion. Our ability to come through this, won’t just be down to what government or businesses do, but by the individual acts of kindness that we show each other. The small business who does everything they can not to lay off their staff. The student who does a shop for their elderly neighbour. The retired nurse who volunteers to cover some shifts in their local hospital. When this is over, and it will be over, we want to look back on this moment and remember the many small acts of kindness done by us and to us. We want to look back on this time and remember how we thought first of others and acted with decency. We want to look back on this time and remember how, in the face of a generation-defining moment, we undertook a collective national effort - and we stood together. It’s on all of us.”

Rishi Sunak (1980) Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom

Statement on the Coronavirus as Chancellor (20 March 2020) Instagram post @rishisunakmp https://www.instagram.com/p/B990ItXHhXW/ (21 March 2020) 2020

History, Effort, Time

“The Hindus have not the slightest affinity towards you, as they have towards Muslims. They consider Muslims closer than you. Hindus and Muslims are helpful to each other in local boards, in legislative councils, and in business. But is there a single instance of such sympathetic consideration shown towards you by the caste Hindus? On the contrary: they always cultivate hatred against you in their minds. What dreadful effects this hatred has produced, can be heard from those who have had occasion to go to the court for justice or to the police for help.”

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891–1956) Father of republic India, champion of human rights, father of India's Constitution, polymath, revolutionary…

As quoted in http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/txt_ambedkar_salvation.html

Justice, Help

“From my early youth, since I attained the age of puberty before I was twenty, until the present time when I am over fifty, I have ever recklessly launched out into the midst of these ocean depths, I have ever bravely embarked on this open sea, throwing aside all craven caution; I have poked into every dark recess, I have made an assault on every problem, I have plunged into every abyss, I have scrutinized the creed of every sect, I have tried to lay bare the inmost doctrines of every community. All this have I done that I might 68 distinguish between true and false, between sound tradition and heretical innovation. Whenever I meet one of the Batiniyah, I like to study his creed; whenever I meet one of the Zahiriyah, I want to know the essentials of his belief. If it is a philosopher, I try to become acquainted with the essence of his philosophy; if a scholastic theologian I busy myself in examining his theological reasoning; if a Sufi, I yearn to fathom the secret of his mysticism; if an ascetic (muta'ahhid) , I investigate the basis of his ascetic practices; if one ofthe Zanadiqah or Mu'attilah, I look beneath the surface to discover the reasons for his bold adoption of such a creed.”

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058–1111) Persian Muslim theologian, jurist, philosopher, and mystic

The Deliverance from Error https://www.amazon.com/Al-Ghazalis-Path-Sufism-Deliverance-al-Munqidh/dp/1887752307, p: 20-21

Secret, Youth, Age, Communication

“I was busy settling my own life, so it was a welcome break for my family and me. Before that, I had been saying more no's than yes's to the people who approached me. A lot of people told me that I wasn’t doing the right thing, but I think that as I matured, I have become choosier about what I want.”

Sukirti Kandpal (1987) Indian actress

On her 2 year hiatus from acting https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/hindi/sukriti-kandpal-except-for-supernatural-and-naagin-shows-i-dont-think-much-has-changed-on-tv/articleshow/70315084.cms/

Life, People, Family, Thinking

“As for the commercial business, I can no longer make head or tail of it. At one moment crisis seems imminent and the City prostrated, the next everything is set fair. I know that none of this will have any impact on the catastrophe.”

Karl Marx (1818–1883) German philosopher, economist, sociologist, journalist and revolutionary socialist

Letter to Friedrich Engels (4 February 1852), quoted in The Collected Works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels: Volume 39. Letters 1852–55 (2010), p. 32

Making love

“We must stop thinking primarily in terms of “money” and “business””

H.P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) American author

both artificial things—and begin to think increasingly in terms of the actual resources and products on which “money” and “business” are based. In terms of these, of the human beings to whom they are to be distributed, and of the cognate human values which make the accidents of life and consciousness worth enduring.

"Some Repetitions on the Times", (1933). Reprinted in Miscellaneous Writings, edited by S.T. Joshi. Arkham House, 1995.
Non-Fiction

Money, Thinking

“You either make business your lifestyle, or business becomes your lifestyle.”

Isaac Mashman (2000) businessman, speaker

Making love

“Maybe if you weren’t busy throwing rocks at each other, you could spend a little time on the other niceties of life, such as cooperation and mutual advancement.”

Alastair Reynolds (1966) British novelist and astronomer

Source: Short fiction, The Iron Tactician (2016), p. 630

Life, Time

“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, Chance

“Sometimes we focus too much on business, forgetting about humanity.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Forgetting

“I have heard that in consequence of this 'sectional warfare', as Douglas calls it, Senator Mason of Va., had appeared in a suit of homespun. Now up in New Hampshire, the woolen and cotton mills are all busy, and there is no strike. They are busy making the very goods Senator Mason has quit buying! To carry out his idea, he ought to go barefoot! If that's the plan, they should begin at the foundation, and adopt the well-known 'Georgia costume' of a shirt-collar and pair of spurs!”

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

1860s, Speech at Hartford (1860)

Idea, Appearance

“Jews have always controlled the business (...). The motion picture influence of the United States and Canada (...) is exclusively under the control, moral and financial, of the Jewish manipulators of the public mind.”

Henry Ford (1863–1947) American industrialist

Source: The Dearborn Independent, February 1921

“What keeps you busy the most is either the reason for your progress or stagnation.”

Yusuf Cornelius Otijenu

“Every relationship is transactional, whether it is a business relationship, a romantic relationship, a political relationship, a friendship, or a familial relationship.”

Teal Swan (1984) American spiritual teacher

Friendship, Family

“Learn to take care of your person. When you need help, others will always be busy.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: Impara a prenderti cura della tua persona. Quando avrai bisogno di aiuto, gli altri avranno sempre da fare.
Source: prevale.net

Learning, Help, Personality

“The busy man is never wise and the wise man is never busy.”

Lin Yutang (1895–1976) Chinese writer

“There is too much tendency to attribute to God the evils that man does of his own free will. I must concede you the Devil. God doesn't really need to punish us, Miss Barton. We're so busy punishing ourselves.”

Agatha Christie book The Moving Finger

Source: The Moving Finger

God, Evil

“But in high school the business of irrevocable choices began. Doors slipped shut with a faint locking click that was only heared clearly in the dreams of later years.”

Stephen King book Cujo

Source: Cujo

School, Dreams

“There is an art to the business of making sandwiches which it is given to few ever to find the time to explore in depth. It is a simple task, but the opportunities for satisfaction are many and profound.”

Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English writer and humorist

Source: The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide: Five Complete Novels and One Story

Art, Time

“All the emails I get these days start with sorry but I've been so busy, and I don't understand how we can be so busy and then have nothing to say to each other.”

Jon McGregor book If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things

Source: If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things

Understanding

“Are you guys busy?" Juniper asked.
"Well," I said, "we're in the middle of this game against a bunch of monsters and we're trying not to die."
"We're not busy," Annabeth said.”

Rick Riordan book The Battle of the Labyrinth

Variant: Juniper: Are you guys busy?
Percy: Well, we’re in the middle of this game against a bunch of monsters and we’re trying not to die.
Annabeth: We’re not busy.
Source: The Battle of the Labyrinth

Guy, Game

“It's true: lives do drift apart for no obvious reason. We're all busy people, we can't spend our time simply trying to stay in touch. The test of a friendship is if it can weather these inevitable gaps.”

William Boyd book Any Human Heart

Source: Any Human Heart

Friendship, People, Time, Weather

“The relativism which is not willing to speak about truth but only about ‘what is true for me’ is an evasion of the serious business of living. It is the mark of a tragic loss of nerve in our contemporary culture. It is a preliminary symptom of death.”

Lesslie Newbigin (1909–1998) Christian missionary

Source: The Gospel in a Pluralist Society

Death, Truth, Loss

“Everyone in the South has no time for reading because they are all too busy writing.”

William Faulkner (1897–1962) American writer

Time, Reading

“I bet he never goes on YouTube. He's too busy. It's only tragic cases like you and me who are always online.”

Sophie Kinsella book Mini Shopaholic

Source: Mini Shopaholic

“Whatever you do, in the privacy of your own rain shower, is your own business”

Gregory David Roberts book Shantaram

Source: Shantaram

“A love of nature keeps no factories busy.”

Aldous Huxley book Brave New World

Source: Brave New World

Love, Nature

“A culture of discipline is not a principle of business, it is a principle of greatness.”

James C. Collins (1958) American business consultant and writer

Source: Good To Great And The Social Sectors, 2005, p. 1

“But never fear, gentlemen; castration was really not the point of feminism, and we women are too busy eviscerating one another to take you on.”

Anna Quindlen (1952) journalist, Novelist

Women, Fear

“There's no luck in business. There's only drive, determination, and more drive.”

Sophie Kinsella book Shopaholic Abroad

Source: Shopaholic Takes Manhattan

Business

“[A] quotation is a handy thing to have about, saving one the trouble of thinking for oneself, always a laborious business."

()”

A.A. Milne (1882–1956) British author

Source: If I May

Thinking

“In the afternoon, the king and queen sat to hear the business of their kingdom. At least, the queen sat to hear the business; Costis was still not sure what the king was doing.”

Megan Whalen Turner The King of Attolia

Source: The King of Attolia

“I wonder what the retirement age is in the novel business.

The day you die.”

Yasunari Kawabata book Beauty and Sadness

Source: Beauty and Sadness

Age

“What business is it of yours where I'm from, friendo?”

Cormac McCarthy book No Country for Old Men

Source: No Country for Old Men

“I am not a fan of people who abuse service staff. In fact, I find it intolerable. It’s an unpardonable sin as far as I’m concerned, taking out personal business or some other kind of dissatisfaction on a waiter or busboy.”

Anthony Bourdain book Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook

Medium Raw (2010)
Source: Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook

People, Personality

“Politics is just show business for ugly people.”

Jay Leno (1950) American comedian, actor, writer, producer, voice actor and television host

People

“It's a no-win argument - that business of what we're born with and what our environment does to us. And it's a boring argument, because it simplifies the mysteries that attend both our birth and our growth.”

John Irving book A Prayer for Owen Meany

Source: A Prayer for Owen Meany

Birth

“Today is mine. Tomorrow is none of my business. If I peer anxiously into the fog of the future, I will strain my spiritual eyes so that I will not see clearly what is required of me now.”

Elisabeth Elliot (1926–2015) American missionary

Source: Keep a Quiet Heart

Future

“All I do know, for certain, after 53 years in this business, is that writers who sincerely think that their language can represent reality ought to be plumbers.”

Gilbert Sorrentino (1929–2006) American writer

Thinking, Reality, Sincerity

“New York was a city where you could be frozen to death in the midst of a busy street and nobody would notice.”

Bob Dylan book Chronicles: Volume One

Source: Chronicles, Vol. 1

Death

“War is such a dangerous business that mistakes that come from kindness are the very worst.”

Carl von Clausewitz book On War

Source: On War (1832), Book 1, Chapter 1, Section 3, Paragraph 1.
Context: Kind-hearted people might of course think there was some ingenious way to disarm or defeat the enemy without too much bloodshed, and might imagine this is the true goal of the art of war. Pleasant as it sounds, it is a fallacy that must be exposed: War is such a dangerous business that mistakes that come from kindness are the very worst.

War

“And if I was humming "Happy Birthday" and smiling stupidly as I fled for my life—well, that was nobody's business, was it?”

Rick Riordan (1964) American writer

Life, Happiness, Smile, Birthday

“War is not just the business of death, it is the antitheses of life.”

Joss Whedon (1964) American director, writer, and producer for television and film

Life, Death, War

“The day is made up of 24 hours and an infinite number of moments. We need to be aware of those moments and make the most of them regardless of whether we're busy doing something or contemplating life.”

Paulo Coelho (1947) Brazilian lyricist and novelist

Source: The Witch Of Portobello

Life

“Keeing busy" is the remedy for all the ills in America. It's also the means by which the creative impulse is destroyed.”

Joyce Carol Oates (1938) American author

Source: The Journal of Joyce Carol Oates: 1973-1982

“The devil has made it his business to monopolize on three elements: noise, hurry, crowds. He will not allow quietness.”

Elisabeth Elliot (1926–2015) American missionary

Source: Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot

“Because this business of becoming conscious, of being a writer, is ultimately about asking yourself, How alive am I willing to be?”

Anne Lamott (1954) Novelist, essayist, memoirist, activist

Source: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

“This business of womanhood is a heavy burden.”

Tsitsi Dangarembga (1959) Zimbabwean author and filmmaker

“If the Lord hasn't got a boyfriend lined up for me to marry, that's his business.”

Barbara Kingsolver The Poisonwood Bible

Source: The Poisonwood Bible

“No, it’s not a very good story - its author was too busy listening to other voices to listen as closely as he should have to the one coming from inside.”

Stephen King book Different Seasons

Variant: No, it's not a very good story - its author was too busy listening to other voices to listen as closely as he should have to the one coming from inside.
Source: Different Seasons

“Rule number one of the wizarding business. Never let them see you sweat. People expect us to know things. It can be a big advantage. Don’t screw it up by looking like you’re as confused as everyone else. Bad for the image.”

Jim Butcher Proven Guilty

Source: Proven Guilty

People

“My dear, I'm seldom sure of anything. Life at best is a precarious business, and we aren't told that difficult or painful things won't happen, just that it matters. It matters not just to us but to the entire universe.”

Madeleine L'Engle An Acceptable Time

Source: An Acceptable Time

Life, Pain, Universe

“Thanks to my mother, not a single cardboard box has found its way back into society. We receive gifts in boxes from stores that went out of business twenty years ago.”

Erma Bombeck (1927–1996) When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent le…

Way, Box

“Wherever we go, there seems to be only one business at hand - that of finding workable compromises between the sublimity of our ideas and the absurdity of the fact of us.”

Annie Dillard (1945) American writer

Source: Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters

Idea

“In business, sir, one has no friends, only correspondents.”

Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870) French writer and dramatist, father of the homonym writer and dramatist

“I must Create a System, or be enslav'd by another Man's;
I will not Reason and Compare: my business is to Create.”

William Blake book Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion

Source: 1800s, Jerusalem The Emanation of The Giant Albion (c. 1803–1820), Ch. 1, plate 10, lines 20-21 The Words of Los

“After you have finished a piece of work, the work is then none of your business. Go on and do something else.”

Natalie Goldberg (1948) American writer

Source: Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life

“And medecine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love: these are what we stay alive for.”

Tom Schulman (1950) American film director, screenwriter

Source: Dead Poets Society

Love, Life, Law, Beauty

“He could bring a six-foot tall pink rabbit in a bikini back home with him if he wanted to. It’s not my business. But if you’re asking me if I’ve brought any girls back here, the answer is no. I don’t want anybody but you.”

Cassandra Clare The City of Lost Souls

Source: City of Lost Souls

Home, Girl

“The business of art lies just in this, -- to make that understood and felt which, in the form of an argument, might be incomprehensible and inaccessible.”

Leo Tolstoy book What Is Art?

Source: What Is Art?

Art

“In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”

Warren Buffett (1930) American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist

World, Business

“Simple, genuine goodness is the best capital to found the business of this life upon. It lasts when fame and money fail, and is the only riches we can take out of this world with us.”

Louisa May Alcott book Little Men

Source: Little Men

Life, Money, World

“Someday every woman will have orgasms- like every family has color TV- and we can all get on with the business of life.”

Erica Jong (1942) Novelist, poet, memoirist, critic

Source: How to Save Your Own Life

Life, Family, Color

“Well they're pissed off and they're hungry. I was kind of busy trying not to get my brains eaten. They seemed pretty adamant about the brain-eating thing. Then they're going to IKEA, I guess”

Christopher Moore (1957) American writer of comic fantasy

Source: The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror

“I’m about to make a wild, extreme, and severe relationship rule: the word “busy” is a load of crap and is most often used by assholes.”

Greg Behrendt (1963) American comedian

“I don't like you two going off on you won. Just remember: behave. If I hear about any funny business, I will ground you until the Styx freezes over.”

Rick Riordan The Mark of Athena

Source: The Mark of Athena

“What's her name?"

"None of your business."

"That can't possibly be her name.”

Lisa Lutz (1970) US author

Source: The Spellman Files

“I swear, sometimes I am convinced my life is just a series of sketches for America's Funniest Home Videos, minus all that pants-dropping business. Except my life really isn't all that funny if you think about it.”

Meg Cabot book Ninth Key

Source: Ninth Key

Life, Home, Thinking

“Ragnor's important business was probably getting together to write a burn book with Raphael. Magnus could see them now, sharing a bench and scribbling happily away about Magnus's stupid hair.”

Cassandra Clare The Bane Chronicles

Source: The Bane Chronicles

Books, Stupidity

“There are just some kind of men who-who're so busy worrying about the next world they've never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.”

Harper Lee book To Kill a Mockingbird

Source: To Kill a Mockingbird

Men, World, Learning

“I learned to go into business only with people whom I like, trust, and admire.”

Warren Buffett (1930) American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist

People, Learning

“Now, if you two will excuse us, we'll get back to the relatively simple business of planning a war.”

John Flanagan (1873–1938) Irish-American hammer thrower

Variant: Now, if you two will excuse us, we'll get back to the relatively simple buisness of planning a war," he said.
-Baron Arald
Source: The Burning Bridge

War

“It seems you don't approve of the family business Katerina. Or of me. But these chances you take… These things you do… This is a dangerous life to live… alone.”

Ally Carter (1974) American writer

Source: Uncommon Criminals

Life, Family, Chance

“Let us thus think often that our only business in this life is to please GOD, that perhaps all besides is but folly and vanity”

Brother Lawrence book The Practice of the Presence of God

Variant: Let us think often that our only business in this life is to please God. Perhaps all besides is but folly and vanity.
Source: The Practice of the Presence of God

Life, God, Thinking

“A woman may be beautiful but have poor character. A man may be a business genius, making money left and right, but lack common courtesy, sensitivity, and compassion.”

Myles Munroe (1954–2014) Bahamian Evangelical Christian minister

Source: Waiting and Dating

Money, Beauty

“You have ink in your blood, boy, and no help for it. Books will never be just a business to you.”

Rachel Caine (1962) American writer

Source: Ink and Bone

Books, Boy, Help

“Now I say that with cruelty and oppression it is everybody's business to interfere when they see it." -”

Anna Sewell (1820–1878) English novelist

“Our grand business undoubtedly is, not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.”

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher

1820s, Signs of the Times (1829)

“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.”

Hunter S. Thompson (1937–2005) American journalist and author

Men, Money, Dogs, Music

“On a busy day twenty-two thousand people come to visit Santa, and I was told that it is an elf's lot to remain merry in the face of torment and adversity. I promised to keep that in mind.”

David Sedaris (1956) American author

People

“Almost anyone can be an author; the business is to collect money and fame from this state of being.”

A.A. Milne (1882–1956) British author

Source: Not That It Matters

Money

“V'lane: Are you busy tomorrow MacKayla?
Barrons: She's working on old texts with me.
V'lane: Ah. Old texts. A banner day at the bookstore.
Barrons: We're translating Kama Sutra… with interactive aids.”

Karen Marie Moning (1964) author

Source: Shadowfever

“It’s like a cotillion, this partners business, except with killing.”
“So, exactly like a cotillion,” said Simon.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Glass

Source: City of Glass

“Otherwise, as Dylan says, if you're not busy being born, you're busy dying.”

Walter Isaacson book Steve Jobs

Source: Steve Jobs

“What business does memory have with time?”

Jess Walter book Beautiful Ruins

Source: Beautiful Ruins

Memory, Time

“That is the problem with governments these days. They want to do things all the time; they are always very busy thinking of what things they can do next. That is not what people want. People want to be left alone to look after their cattle.”

Alexander McCall Smith The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Source: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

People, Problem, Thinking, Time

“I will not reason and compare my business is to create.”

William Blake (1757–1827) English Romantic poet and artist

“God is in the résumé-building business. He is always using past experiences to prepare us for future opportunities.”

Mark Batterson (1969) American pastor and writer

Source: In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day: How To Survive And Thrive When Opportunity Roars

God, Past, Future

“It is an axiom in my mind, that our liberty can never be safe but in the hands of the people themselves, and that too of the people with a certain degree of instruction. This it is the business of the State to effect, and on a general plan.”

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America

Letter to http://www.familytales.org/dbDisplay.php?id=ltr_thj1489 George Washington (4 January 1786) 1780s Source: Letters of Thomas Jefferson

People

“A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship”

John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937) American business magnate and philanthropist

Friendship

“To participate requires self-discipline and trust and courage, because this business of becoming conscious, of being a writer, is ultimately about asking yourself, as my friend Dale puts it, How alive am I willing to be?”

Anne Lamott (1954) Novelist, essayist, memoirist, activist

Source: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

Courage

“Marriage is indeed a maneuvering business.”

Jane Austen (1775–1817) English novelist

Marriage

“After all, the best part of a holiday is perhaps not so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working.”

Kenneth Grahame book The Wind in the Willows

Source: The Wind in the Willows (1908), Ch. 1

Holiday, Parting

“This is the music business. 'Five years is five hundred years' - your words.”

Jennifer Egan A Visit from the Goon Squad

Source: A Visit from the Goon Squad

Music

“I had this story from one who had no business to tell it to me, or to any other.”

Edgar Rice Burroughs book Tarzan of the Apes

First lines, Ch. 1 : Out to Sea
Source: Tarzan of the Apes (1912)
Context: I had this story from one who had no business to tell it to me, or to any other. I may credit the seductive influence of an old vintage upon the narrator for the beginning of it, and my own skeptical incredulity during the days that followed for the balance of the strange tale.

“but I have no mind for business and considered staying awake to be enough of an accomplishment.”

David Sedaris book Me Talk Pretty One Day

Source: Me Talk Pretty One Day