Quotes about making
page 57

“Change
is the one unavoidable,
irresistible,
ongoing reality of the universe.
To us,
that makes it the most powerful reality,
and just another word for
God.

Earthseed: The Books of the Living
Lauren Oya Olamina”

Octavia E. Butler (1947–2006) American science fiction writer

God, Books, Reality, Universe

“There are so many men, all endlessly attempting to sweep me off my feet. And there is one of you, trying just the opposite. Making sure my feet are firm beneath me, lest I fall.”

Patrick Rothfuss book The Wise Man's Fear

Source: The Wise Man's Fear

Men

“We are tied down to a language which makes up in obscurity what it lacks in style.”

Tom Stoppard (1937) British playwright

Source: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

“Ragamuffins are simple, direct and honest. Their speech is unaffected. They are slow to claim, "God told me…" As they make their way through the world, they bear wordless, prophetic witness.”

Brennan Manning (1934–2013) writer, American Roman Catholic priest and United States Marine

Source: The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out

God, World, Way

“You know how it is - some hot guys don't make your hormones go crazy, while some unattractive guys have massive sex appeal. This guy had it all.”

Sylvia Day book Bared to You

Source: Bared to You

Sex, Guy

“There are certain outfits you have that make you feel good every time you wear them, and then there are outfits where you wore them too many times in a row because you liked them so much, and now they just feel like garbage.”

Jenny Han book To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Source: To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Feeling, Time

“Any fool can be happy. It takes a man with real heart to make beauty out of the stuff that makes us weep.”

Clive Barker Days of Magic, Nights of War

Source: Days of Magic, Nights of War

Happiness, Beauty, Fools, Heart

“We're supposed to be making up this stuff, playing at being in love, not actually being in love.”

Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games

Source: The Hunger Games

Love

“How much longer will I live? (Urian)
You’re immortal, barring death. (Acheron)
That doesn’t make sense. (Urian)
Most of life doesn’t. (Acheron)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: Kiss of the Night

Life, Death, Sense

“The purpose of the poetry is not to dazzle us with an astonishing thought, but to make one moment of existence unforgettable and worthy of unbearable nostalgia.”

Milan Kundera book Immortality

Source: Immortality

Nostalgia

“As I walk back to the school on my own, I realise I'm crying. So I go back to the stories I've read about the five and I try to make sense of their lives because in making sense of theirs, I may understand mine.”

Melina Marchetta book On the Jellicoe Road

Source: On the Jellicoe Road

School, Understanding, Sense, Reading

“I didn't know you were bringing the mundane." His blue eyes flicked uneasily over Simon.
"That's what I like about you people," said Simon. "You always make me feel so welcome.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Ashes

Source: City of Ashes

People, Feeling

“Life is filled with difficult decisions, and winners are those who make them.”

Dan Brown book Deception Point

Source: Deception Point

Life, Decision

“Except, now that I don’t have a car, I can’t really make good on my birthday promise.”

Sydney thought about it for several moments. “Well. I’ve got a car.”

An hour later, I vowed I’d never make fun of that Mazda again.”

Richelle Mead book The Fiery Heart

Source: The Fiery Heart

Cars, Birthday

“None of you appreciate me. Why is it so hard to believe that I could make a real contribution in these dark times? My cigarettes and I are going outside. At least they show me respect.”

Richelle Mead (1976) American writer

Time

“Look no farther than your hand,
Make a choice and take a stand.”

Shannon Hale Princess Academy

Source: Princess Academy

“I love you, Eveline," he whispered, though he knew she could not hear him. "Somehow, I'll make you hear me and you'll know that I love you as fiercely as it's possible for a man to love a woman.”

Maya Banks (1964) Author

Source: Never Seduce a Scot

Love

“Compromise, if not the spice of life, is its solidity. It is what makes nations great and marriages happy”

Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978) writer and poet

Life, Marriage, Happiness

“Is the system going to flatten you out and deny you your humanity, or are you going to be able to make use of the system to the attainment of human purposes?”

Joseph Campbell The Power of Myth

Episode 1, Chapter 12
The Power of Myth (1988)
Context: This is the threat to our lives. We all face it. We all operate in our society in relation to a system. Now is the system going to eat you up and relieve you of your humanity or are you going to be able to use the system to human purposes? … If the person doesn't listen to the demands of his own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going to have a schizophrenic crack-up. The person has put himself off center. He has aligned himself with a programmatic life and it's not the one the body's interested in at all. And the world's full of people who have stopped listening to themselves.

“Are you enviable? How can you make yourself enviable?”

Harry Beckwith

You, Inc.: The Art of Selling Yourself

“Aren't fairy godmothers supposed to be nice and make you feel better about yourself?

… No, you're confusing fairy godmothers with sales clerks.”

Janette Rallison (1966) American writer

Source: My Fair Godmother

Feeling

“Clark," she said softly, "I wouldn't change you for the world.
You're sweet the way you are. The things that'll make you fail
I'll love always-- the living in the past, the lazy days and
nights you have, and all your carelessness and generosity.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald book The Ice Palace

Source: The Ice Palace

Love, World, Way, Change

“I am notorious for making impassioned speeches about things nobody cares about.”

Mindy Kaling book Why Not Me?

Source: Why Not Me?

“You don’t make art out of good intentions.”

Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880) French writer (1821–1880)

Art

“I just don't hear anyone else making the music I'm making in my head, so I'll have to do it myself.”

Bob Dylan (1941) American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and artist

Music

“You have no right to make jigsaws of people.”

Diana Wynne Jones book Howl's Moving Castle

Source: Howl's Moving Castle

People

“It's odd how different a house feels when one is alone in it. It makes it easier to think rather private thoughts…”

Dodie Smith book I Capture the Castle

Source: I Capture the Castle

Feeling, Thinking, Housing

“You can make your superhero a psychopath, you can draw gut-splattering violence, and you can call it a "graphic novel," but comic books are still incredibly stupid.”

Bill Watterson (1958) American comic artist

Books, Stupidity, Drawing

“To learn is not to know; there are the learners and the learned. Memory makes the one, philosophy the others.”

Alexandre Dumas book The Count of Monte Cristo

Source: The Count of Monte Cristo

Learning, Memory

“There's no end to the absurd things people will do trying to make life mean something.”

William Wharton book Birdy

Source: Birdy

Life, People

“I simply believe that a book has a journey to make, and should not be condemned to being stuck on a shelf… Let’s leave our books free to travel, then, to be touched by other hands, and enjoyed by other eyes.”

Paulo Coelho (1947) Brazilian lyricist and novelist

Books, Travel

“Don't think about what you’ll tell people afterward. The time is here and now. Make the most of it.”

Paulo Coelho book Aleph

Source: Aleph

People, Thinking, Time

“Man is certainly crazy. He could not make a mite, and he makes gods by the dozen.”

Michel De Montaigne (1533–1592) (1533-1592) French-Occitan author, humanistic philosopher, statesman

L'homme est bien insensé. Il ne saurait forger un ciron, et forge des Dieux à douzaines.
Book II, Ch. 12
Essais (1595), Book II
Source: The Complete Essays

God

“Never get angry. Never make a threat. Reason with people.”

Mario Puzo (1920–1999) American Novelist

People

“All broken hearts are circumstantial. Every lovelorn jerk is the victim of bad timing, good intentions, and someone else’s poor decision making.”

Joshua Ferris Then We Came to the End

Source: Then We Came to the End

Jerk, Decision, Time, Heart

“Now I see the secret of making the best person: it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.”

Walt Whitman (1819–1892) American poet, essayist and journalist

Secret, Sleep, Personality

“It is best not to go on for great quest for truth, it will only make you miserable”

René Descartes (1596–1650) French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist

Truth

“So, does this make you visibly challenged? (Nick)
No, but if you don’t lay off me, I’m going to make you breathing impaired. (Acheron)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon Night Embrace

Source: Night Embrace

“Life doesn't make any sense, and we all pretend it does. Comedy's job is to point out that it doesn't make sense, and that it doesn't make much difference anyway.”

Eric Idle (1943) British comedian, actor, singer and writer

Life, Sense

“Make small commitments and keep them. Be a light, not a judge. Be a model, not a critic. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.”

Stephen R. Covey book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Source: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

Problem, Light, Parting

“A hedgehog? And just how does a hedgehog make love?" he demanded.

No, I thought. I won't. I will not. But I did. "Very carefully," I replied, giggling helplessly. So now we know just how old that one is, I thought.”

Diana Gabaldon book Outlander

Source: Outlander

Love, Making love

“Each day is a new opportunity. I chose to make this day a great one.”

Louise L. Hay (1926–2017) American writer

“Nothing makes a man so adventurous as an empty pocket.”

Victor Hugo book The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Source: The Hunchback of Notre Dame

“Have God make a message out of your mess.”

Joyce Meyer (1943) American author and speaker

God

“Why did God make women so beautiful and man with such a loving heart?”

Walker Percy book Love in the Ruins

Source: Love in the Ruins

Love, Women, God, Beauty

“How we remember changes how we have lived.
Time runs both ways. We make stories of our lives.”

Guy Gavriel Kay book Under Heaven

Source: Under Heaven

Way, Change, Time

“They know they’ve won,” Carter guessed. “They’re making a show of it.”
“Yes,” Amos said.
“Well, let’s blow up the boats or something!” I said.
Amos looked at me. “Is that your strategy, honestly?”

Rick Riordan book The Red Pyramid

Source: The Red Pyramid

“I'm afraid to answer that. I've heard that when I speak, it makes American women wish to strike me with umbrellas.”

Cassandra Clare book Clockwork Princess

Source: Clockwork Princess

Women

“I can see now that it’s the little things, the small efforts, that keep a relationship going. And I know now too that in some small measure I have the power to hurt him and also the power to make it better.”

Jenny Han book P.S. I Still Love You

Source: P.S. I Still Love You

Effort, Hurt

“But sticking to rules just because they're there does not make them right. You need to learn when the rules should be broken.”

Ilsa J. Bick (1957) American writer

Source: Ashes

Learning

“It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy;—it is disposition alone. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others.”

Jane Austen book Sense and Sensibility

Source: Sense and Sensibility

People, Time, Relationship, Romantic

“There's no way for them to take away my sadness, but they can make sure I am not empty of all the other feelings.”

David Levithan book Love Is the Higher Law

Source: Love Is the Higher Law

Sadness, Way, Feeling

“I may have had good reasons. I may have had the best of intentions.
But intentions aren’t enough, no matter how good they are. Intentions can lead you to a place where you’re able to make a choice.
It’s the choice that counts.”

Jim Butcher book Ghost Story

Source: Ghost Story

“Mercy will get you killed, but sometimes it's all that makes us human.”

Laurell K. Hamilton book Burnt Offerings

Source: Burnt Offerings

“Remember: He WANTS your fellowship, and He has done everything possible to make it a reality. He has forgiven your sins, at the cost of His own dear Son. He has given you His Word, and the priceless privilege of prayer and worship.”

Billy Graham (1918–2018) American Christian evangelist

Source: Hope for Each Day: Words of Wisdom and Faith

Reality

“My genes, my love, are rubber bands and rope - make yourself a structure you can live inside.”

Aimee Bender (1969) Novelist, short story writer

Source: Willful Creatures

Love

“Do you know what I feel about you, Devin? About us?… Dazzled, you dazzle me. You make me feel things, and want things I never knew I could have. -Cassie”

Nora Roberts (1950) American romance writer

Source: The Heart of Devin MacKade

Feeling

“The human head is of the same approximate size and weight as a roaster chicken. I have never before had occasion to make the comparison, for never before today have I seen a head in a roasting pan.”

Mary Roach book Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

Source: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

“investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. it will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you.”

Robin S. Sharma (1965) Canadian self help writer

Source: The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams Reaching Your Destiny

Life

“Truly successful decision-making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking.”

Malcolm Gladwell (1963) journalist and science writer

Thinking, Decision, Success

“People are never satisfied. If they have a little, they want more. If they have a lot, they want still more. Once they have more, they wish they could be happy with little, but are incapable of making the slightest effort in that direction.”

Paulo Coelho book The Winner Stands Alone

Source: The Winner Stands Alone

Happiness, People, Effort

“Vote, v. The instrument and symbol of a freeman's power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country.”

Ambrose Bierce book The Devil's Dictionary

The Devil's Dictionary (1911)

Fools, Country

“Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.”

Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) American folklorist, novelist, short story writer

Love, Soul, Cute, Powerful

“Heroes aren't always the ones who win. They're the ones who lose, sometimes. But they keep fighting, they keep coming back. They don't give up. That's what makes them heroes.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Heavenly Fire

Clary Fray, to Emma Carstairs, pg. 95
Variant: Heroes aren't always the ones who win. They're the ones who lose, sometimes. But they keep fighting, they keep coming back. They don't give up. That's what makes them heroes.
Source: The Mortal Instruments, City of Heavenly Fire (2014)

Fight

“… Time does not heal,
It makes a half-stitched scar
That can be broken and again you feel
Grief as total as in its first hour.
-Elizabeth Jennings”

Kay Redfield Jamison (1946) American bipolar disorder researcher

Source: Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide

Feeling, Time

“It's not easy being so frightened of everything. And when I think of how much I've improved in the last year, I wonder when I'll ever get finished with making changes and be really grown up.”

Paula Danziger book There's a Bat in Bunk Five

Source: There's a Bat in Bunk Five

Thinking, Change

“Allowing someone else to make us happy will make them happy too.”

Paulo Coelho book Manuscript Found in Accra

Source: Manuscript Found in Accra

Happiness

“Thomas was an annoying wiseass who tended to make everyone he met want to kill him, and when I have that much in common with someone, I can't help but like him a little.”

Jim Butcher book Blood Rites

Source: Blood Rites

Help

“It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”

John Wooden (1910–2010) American basketball coach

For Parents

“But really, the term “forgive and forget” doesn’t make sense to me. Forgiving does allow us to stop dwelling on an issue, which isn’t always healthy. But if we forget, we don’t learn from our mistakes. And that can be deadly.”

Meg Cabot (1967) Novelist

Source: Abandon

Forgiveness, Sense, Learning, Forgetting

“How do you make a girl know she's beautiful? What is the system for that, what do you show her, how do you give her a new set of eyes and turn her face back to the mirror?”

Michelle Tea (1971) American writer

Beauty, Girl

“Success… seems to be connected with action. Successful men keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit.”

Conrad Hilton (1887–1979) American hotelier

Men, Success

“Choose a love and work to make it true, and somehow, something will happen, something you couldn’t plan, will come along to move like to like, to set you loose, to set you on the way to your next brick wall.”

Richard Bach (1936) American spiritual writer

Source: Running from Safety: An Adventure of the Spirit

Love, Way

“None of those other things makes a difference. Love is the strongest thing in the world, you know. Nothing can touch it. Nothing comes close. If we love each other we're safe from it all. Love is the biggest thing there is.”

David Guterson book Snow Falling on Cedars

Source: Snow Falling on Cedars

Love, World

“Who needs make-believe monsters when there are so many real ones.”

Jennifer Donnelly (1963) American writer

Source: The Winter Rose

“The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind
about nothing -- to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts.”

John Keats (1795–1821) English Romantic poet

“Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.”

William James (1842–1910) American philosopher, psychologist, and pragmatist

Relationship

“But certain souls cohere. It's rare but possible. But it takes two powerful wills to make it so.”

Ann Brashares book My Name is Memory

Source: My Name Is Memory

Soul

“What are you going to have?” he asked.
“A nervous breakdown,” she muttered and opened her menu.
So we’ll tell the waitress to make that a double, he thought.”

Jessica Bird (1969) U.S. novelist

Source: Beauty and the Black Sheep (The Moorehouse Legacy, #1)

“Champagne, always champagne. Make mine Veuve-Clicquot.”

Patricia Wells

“You will learn most things by looking, but reading gives understanding. Reading will make you free.”

Paul Rand (1914–1996) American graphic designer

Understanding, Learning, Reading

“The truly adult view […] is that our life is as meaningful, as full and as wonderful as we choose to make it. And we can make it very wonderful indeed.”

Richard Dawkins book The God Delusion

Source: The God Delusion

Life

“I'm afraid to hope but I can't help it, and the idea of hoping in this most hopeless of all places makes me want to cry.”

Beatrice Sparks (1917–2012) American writer

Source: Go Ask Alice

Hope, Idea, Help, Cry

“In California, they don't throw their garbage away - they make it into TV shows.”

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

“There's nothing wrong with stretching the truth. We stretch taffy, and that just makes it more delicious.”

Stephen Colbert (1964) American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor

Truth

“Dad,” I said quietly, “I’ve always made it a rule in my life not to pick fights with children, cute animals, or ignorant old men. I will, however, make an exception for you if you ever touch or insult my wife again.”

Richelle Mead book Silver Shadows

Source: Silver Shadows

Life, Men, Children, Animals

“… it will always remain my private persuasion that Nature was absorbed in making cabbages when Mrs. Vesey was born, and that the good lady suffered the consequences of a vegetable preoccupation in the mind of the Mother of us all.”

Wilkie Collins book The Woman in White

Source: The Woman in White

Nature, Suffering

“Tonight," he whispered, his voice hoarse and hot in her ear, "I will make you mine."

-Simon to Daphne”

Julia Quinn (1970) American novelist

Source: The Duke and I

“Ah, Beloved. Of all the things I must bid farewell to, you are the most difficult to lose. Forgive me that I have avoided you. Better, perhaps, that we make a space between us and become accustomed to it before fate forces that upon us.”

Robin Hobb book Fool's Fate

Source: Fool's Fate

Fate, Forgiveness

“I'm trying to make some sense out of the phrase "Everything happens for a reason," and I think I've figured out what the reason is - to pissed me off.”

Cecelia Ahern book Love, Rosie

Variant: I’m trying to make some sense out of the phrase “Everything happens for a reason,” and I think I’ve ﬁgured out what the reason is—to piss me off.
Source: Love, Rosie

Thinking, Sense