“The rationale for springing out our bed each morning is a sense of purpose. Purpose is the compass that guides us through the decision-making process and aids in the development of our behavior and actions. Lacking a sense of purpose is the equivalent of a feather thrown into a gusty wind.”

— Gandolfo – (RJ Intindola)

1988

Last update Oct. 14, 2023. History

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“The purpose of science in understanding who we are as humans is not to rob us of our sense of mystery, not to cure us of our sense of mystery. The purpose of science is to constantly reinvent and reinvigorate that mystery.”

Robert M. Sapolsky (1957) American endocrinologist

Emperor Has No Clothes Award acceptance speech (2003)
Context: The purpose of science in understanding who we are as humans is not to rob us of our sense of mystery, not to cure us of our sense of mystery. The purpose of science is to constantly reinvent and reinvigorate that mystery. To always use it in a context where we are helping people in trying to resist the forces of ideology that we are all familiar with.

“Stay in bed when absent a sense of purpose.”

Gandolfo – (RJ Intindola)

1988

“Unlike animals, with their instincts to guide them past dangers, we humans have to rely upon our conscious decisions. We do the best we can when it comes to our career path and handling the inevitable setbacks in life. But in the back of our minds we can sense an overall lack of direction, as we are pulled this way and that way by our moods and by the opinions of others. How did we end up in this job, in this place? Such drifting can lead to dead ends. The way to avoid such a fate is to develop a sense of purpose, discovering our calling in life and using such knowledge to guide us in our decisions. We come to know ourselves more deeply—our tastes and inclinations. We trust ourselves, knowing which battles and detours to avoid. Even our moments of doubt, even our failures have a purpose—to toughen us up. With such energy and direction, our actions have unstoppable force.”

Robert Greene (1959) American author

Chap. 13 : Advance with a Sense of Purpose
The Laws of Human Nature (2018)

“Each of our acts makes a statement as to our purpose.”

Leo Buscaglia (1924–1998) Motivational speaker, writer

“Its purpose is moral, that is, the evaluation of experience; in the deepest sense, the development of taste.”

Patrick Swift (1927–1983) British artist

Some Notes on Caravaggio (1956)

“Our single purpose was to walk through snow
With faces swung to their prodigious North
Like compass iron.”

Stephen Spender (1909–1995) English poet and man of letters

"Polar Exploration"
The Still Centre (1939)

“I said that this would be a Budget based on prudence for a purpose and that guides us also in our approach to public spending.”

Gordon Brown (1951) British Labour Party politician

Hansard, 6 ser, vol 308 col 111 (17 March 1998)
From the 1998 Budget speech.
Chancellor of the Exchequer

“Our culture is teleological-it presumes purposive development and a conclusion.”

William Pfaff (1928–2015) American journalist

Source: Barbarian Sentiments - How The American Century Ends (1989), Chapter 6, Japan, China and the Making of nations, p. 164.

“We make our purpose.”

Carl Sagan (1934–1996) American astrophysicist, cosmologist, author and science educator

Source: The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God

“Citizenship demands a sense of common purpose; participation in the hard work of self-government; an obligation to serve to our communities.”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2014, Sixth State of the Union Address (January 2014)

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