Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938) Turkish army officer, revolutionary, and the first President of Turkey
As quoted in Atatürkçülük, Volume I, General Staff of the Republic of Turkey, Millî Eğitim Basımevi, 1984, p. 283
“The bizarre reality of an often absurd and contradictory world is that one's success and happiness can be a thorn in the eyes of others.”
Last update March 29, 2025. History
Related quotes
“Success is terrifying. Like happiness, it is often appreciated in retrospect.”
Julie Andrews (1935) British actress, singer, author, theatre director, and dancer
This Week (18 September 1966)
Context: Success is terrifying. Like happiness, it is often appreciated in retrospect. It's only later that you place it in perspective. Years from now, I'll look back and say, "God, wasn't it wonderful?"
“Optimism is the one quality more associated with success and happiness than
any other.”
Brian Tracy (1944) American motivational speaker and writer
Wolfgang Pauli (1900–1958) Austrian physicist, Nobel prize winner
"Modern Examples of Background Physics" ["Moderne Beispiele zur Hintergrundsphysik"] (1948) as translated by David Roscoe in Atom and Archetype (1992) edited by Carl Alfred Meier
Context: It seems significant that according to quantum physics the indestructibility of energy on one hand — which expresses its timeless existence — and the appearance of energy in space and time on the other hand correspond to two contradictory (complementary) aspects of reality. In fact, both are always present, but in individual cases the one or the other may be more pronounced.
Mariano Rajoy (1955) Spanish politician
6 May, 2014 <br class="br">As President, 2014 <br class="br">Source: El Mundo http://www.elmundo.es/espana/2014/05/06/53688afde2704e95318b4570.html
“To me, absurdity is the only reality.”
Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American musician, songwriter, composer, and record and film producer
As quoted a review of This door is too small (for a bear) (2010) http://www.needcompany.org/cgi-bin/www_edit/projects/nc/scripts/nc.cgi?session=38&a=v&t=EN&id=11029