“Never complain, never explain. Resist the temptation to defend yourself or make excuses.”
Brian Tracy (1944) American motivational speaker and writer
Source: Jayber Crow
“Never complain, never explain. Resist the temptation to defend yourself or make excuses.”
Brian Tracy (1944) American motivational speaker and writer
Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) American politician, 36th president of the United States (in office from 1963 to 1969)
1960s, Statement on the Freedom of Information Act (1966)
Context: A democracy works best when the people have all the information that the security of the Nation permits. No one should be able to pull curtains of secrecy around decisions which can be revealed without injury to the public interest. At the same time, the welfare of the Nation or the rights of individuals may require that some documents not be made available. As long as threats to peace exist, for example, there must be military secrets. A citizen must be able in confidence to complain to his Government and to provide information, just as he is– and should be– free to confide in the press without fear of reprisal or of being required to reveal or discuss his sources.
“Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its brevity.”
Jean de La Bruyère (1645–1696) 17th-century French writer and philosopher
“One who makes himself a worm cannot complain afterwards if people step on him.”
Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) German philosopher
Original: (de) Wer sich aber zum Wurm macht, kann nachher nicht klagen, dass er mit Füßen getreten wird.
Source: Part two: Metaphysical Principles of Virtue page 98. note: Metaphysics of Morals (1797)
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1926–2004) American psychiatrist
As quoted in Voyage of Purpose : Spiritual Wisdom from Near-Death Back to Life (2011) by David Bennett and Cindy Griffith-Bennett, p. 6; also at the official site of the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Foundation http://www.ekrfoundation.org/quotes/
Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926) Austrian poet and writer
As quoted in Sunbeams : A Book of Quotations (1990) by Sy Safransky, p. 42
Horace Greeley (1811–1872) American politician and publisher
1860s, The Prayer of the Twenty Millions (1862)