Quotes about purpose
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“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)

Communication, Sense

“What is the purpose of throwing aside and leaving behind all the corporeal things down on Earth if your only wish is to receive the same things in heaven?”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

“If you must be careless with your possessions, let it be in connection with material things. Your mind is your spiritual estate! Protect and use it with the care to which Divine Royalty is entitled. You were given a will-power for this purpose.”

Napoleon Hill book Think and Grow Rich

Think and Grow Rich (1938) p. 173

“I beg to assure you that I have never written you, or spoken to you, in greater kindness of feeling than now, nor with a fuller purpose to sustain you, so far as in my most anxious judgment, I consistently can. But you must act.”

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

Source: 1860s, Telegram to George B. McClellan (1862)

Feeling

“My enemies say I am now carrying on this war for the sole purpose of abolition. It is and will be carried on so long as I am President for the sole purpose of restoring the Union. But no human power can subdue this rebellion without using the Emancipation lever as I have done.”

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

Source: 1860s, Interview with Alexander W. Randall and Joseph T. Mills (1864)

War

“I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men every where could be free.”

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

Source: 1860s, Letter to Horace Greeley (1862)

Men, Personality

“The people should never be deceived, under any pretext or for any purpose. It would not only be criminal but detrimental to the revolutionary cause, for deception of any kind, by its very nature, is shortsighted, petty, narrow, always sewn with rotten threads, so that it inevitably tears and is exposed.”

Mikhail Bakunin book Statism and Anarchy

Source: Statism and Anarchy (1873), "Appendix A"

People, Nature, Tear

“Haters are only distractions from your greater purpose. When you achieve your goals and success is no longer out of your comfort zone, not only will the haters be forgotten, but they will assuredly be looked upon as the prodigious fools that they are….”

Stephie Pahlavi Zan

Fools, Success

“I'm not unhappy," he said. "Only people with no purpose are unhappy. I've got a purpose.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Bones

Source: City of Bones

People

“Sometimes I think the purpose of life is to reconcile us to its eventual loss by wearing us down, by proving, however long it takes, that life isn't all it's cracked up to be.”

Julian Barnes book The Sense of an Ending

Source: The Sense of an Ending

Life, Thinking, Loss

“The very purpose of a knight is to fight on behalf of a lady.”

Thomas Malory (1405–1471) English writer, author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur''

Fight

“As I said, I wish I could say it was easy. It wasn't, but it wasn't hard either. But without a strong reason or purpose, anything in life is hard.”

Robert T. Kiyosaki book Rich Dad Poor Dad

Source: Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Life, Strong

“What are you doing here anyway?"
"'Here' as in your bedroom or 'here' as in the great spiritual question of our purpose here on this planet?"
-Clary & Jace, pg.306-”

Cassandra Clare book City of Bones

Source: City of Bones

Question

“I am of the order whose purpose is not to teach the world a lesson but to explain that school is over.”

Henry Miller (1891–1980) American novelist

Source: The Rosy Crucifixion II: Plexus (1953), p. 599

World, School

“What the hell? Futility has its purposes in life." -- Talon.”

Sherrilyn Kenyon book Night Pleasures

Source: Night Pleasures

Life, Hell

“Cowards hide […] but warriors lie and wait […] the only difference is whether you're motivated by fear or purpose.”

Neal Shusterman (1962) American novelist

Source: UnSouled

Lie, Fear, Motivation, Waiting

“The universe is the way it is, whether we like
it or not. The existence or nonexistence of a creator is independent
of our desires. A world without God or purpose may seem harsh
or pointless, but that alone doesn ' t require God to actually exist.”

Lawrence M. Krauss (1954) American physicist

Source: A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing

God, World, Way, Universe

“Despicable creatures, vultures: without a doubt the most disgusting birds ever. I suppose they served their purpose, but did they have to be so greasy and ugly? Couldn't we have cute fuzzy rabbits that cleaned up roadkill instead?”

Rick Riordan book The Throne of Fire

Source: The Throne of Fire

Bird

“Fortitude…. It means fixity of purpose. It means endurance. It means having the strength to live with what constrains you.”

Hilary Mantel book Wolf Hall

Source: Wolf Hall

“My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose.”

Ayn Rand book Anthem

Source: Anthem

Happiness

“One could describe Design as a plan for arranging elements to accomplish a particular purpose.”

Charles Eames (1907–1978) American designer, half of duo the Eames

In answer of the question: What is your definition of Design?
Design Q & A with Charles Eames, 1972

“Her clarity gave her purpose and her purpose gave her clarity.”

Jonathan Stroud book The Ring of Solomon

Source: The Ring of Solomon

“Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life.”

Rick Warren (1954) Christian religious leader

Source: The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?

Life

“Do you believe in destiny? That even the powers of time can be altered for a single purpose? That the luckiest man who walks on this earth is the one who finds… true love?”

Bram Stoker book Dracula

Source: Dracula

Love, Time

“Frank didn’t drop you on purpose,” she said. “He’s not like that. He’s just a little clumsy sometimes.”

“Oops,” Leo said, in his best Frank Zhang voice. “Dropped Leo into a squad of enemy soldiers. Dang it!”

Rick Riordan The Mark of Athena

Source: The Mark of Athena

“The purpose of life is to familiarize oneself with this after-death body so that the act of dying will not create confusion in the psyche.”

Terence McKenna (1946–2000) American ethnobotanist

Life, Death

“You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.”

Rick Warren (1954) Christian religious leader

Source: The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?

“Total commitment," I said. "You know, the idea of discovering something that, for all intents and purposes, goes against your abilities, and yet still deciding to do it anyway. That takes guts, you know?”

Sarah Dessen Lock and Key

Variant: You have to admit, it's kind of impressive.... Total commitment. You know, the idea of discovering something that, for all intents and purposes, goes against your abilities, and yet still deciding to do it anyway. That takes guts, you know?
Source: Lock and Key

Idea

“Have a purpose in life, and having it, throw into your work such strength of mind and muscle as God has given you.”

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

Life, God

“Knowing serves no real purpose, but then, neither does not knowing. Myself, I always prefer knowing to not.”

Robert Jordan The Great Hunt

Source: The Great Hunt

“All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose.”

Brian Tracy (1944) American motivational speaker and writer

Source: Personal Success

Women, Men, People, Imagination

“Words are but the vague shadows of the volumes we mean. Little audible links, they are, chaining together great inaudible feelings and purposes.”

Theodore Dreiser book Sister Carrie

Variant: How true it is that words are but the vague shadows of the volumes we mean. Little audible links, they are, chaining together great inaudible feelings and purposes.
Source: Sister Carrie

Feeling

“And in the end, I lost him. I did it on purpose, the way Garance lost
Baptiste in the crowd. I needed to be alone, I felt. I wanted to be going on alone to my future.”

Susanna Kaysen (1948) American writer

Way, Future

“Madam, the commonest weakness of our race is our ability to rationalize our most selfish purposes.”

Robert A. Heinlein book The Star Beast

Source: The Star Beast (1954), Chapter 14, “Destiny? Fiddlesticks!” (p. 219)

Selfishness

“… which causes me to wonder, my own purpose on so many days as humble as the spider's, what is beautiful that I make? What is elegant? What feeds the world?”

Louise Erdrich (1954) writer from the United States

Source: The Painted Drum

World, Beauty

“In Maycomb, if one went for a walk with no definite purpose in mind, it was correct to believe one's mind incapable of definite purpose.”

Harper Lee book To Kill a Mockingbird

Source: To Kill a Mockingbird

“It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others.”

Ashleigh Brilliant (1933) American author and cartoonist

Life

“Man is nothing else but what he purposes, he exists only in so far as he realizes himself, he is therefore nothing else but the sum of his actions, nothing else but what his life is.”

Jean Paul Sartre (1905–1980) French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and …

Life

“The propagandist's purpose is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human.”

Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English writer

The Olive Tree (1936)

People, Forgetting

“He well knew his mind's natural tendency to be endlessly on a thousand subjects at once, to flit from this to that and to the next thing to no particular purpose--indeed, he called it his "butterfly mind.”

Eric Metaxas (1963) American journalist

Source: Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery

Nature

“The most depraved type of human being… (is) the man without a purpose.”

Ayn Rand book Atlas Shrugged

Variant: Fransisco, what's the most depraved type of human being?

-The man without purpose.
Source: Atlas Shrugged

“I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply ALL my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy.”

Og Mandino (1923–1996) American author

Source: The Greatest Salesman in the World (2001): 2001 Gift Edition

Mountain, Effort

“For now is my grief heavier than the sands of the seas, she thought. This world has emptied me of all but the oldest purpose: tomorrow's life.”

Frank Herbert book Dune

Source: Dune

Life, World, Sea

“There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people for a purpose which is unattainable.”

Howard Zinn (1922–2010) author and historian

"Terror Over Tripoli" http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/Tripoli_ZR.html (1993), from The Zinn Reader (1997)

People

“Thus, from admiration of one wise and innocent child, and from a misheard remark, the process that not even Aristotle could codify was triggered.
Where do you get your ideas?
I purposely mishear things.”

Harlan Ellison (1934–2018) American writer

Idea

“From the moment of my birth, I lived with pain at the center of my life. My only purpose in life was to find a way to coexist with intense pain.”

Haruki Murakami book The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Source: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Life, Pain, Way, Birth

“A dream worth pursuing is a picture and blueprint of a person's purpose and potential”

John C. Maxwell (1947) American author, speaker and pastor

Source: Put Your Dream to the Test: 10 Questions that Will Help You See It and Seize It

Dreams, Personality

“Walter Mitty: To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.”

James Thurber (1894–1961) American cartoonist, author, journalist, playwright

Life, World, Feeling, Drawing

“The purpose of education is not to validate ignorance but to overcome it”

Lawrence M. Krauss (1954) American physicist

Education

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

Leo Buscaglia (1924–1998) Motivational speaker, writer

“Pride makes us long for a solution to things – a solution, a purpose, a final cause; but the better telescopes become, the more stars appear.”

Julian Barnes book Flaubert's Parrot

Source: Flaubert's Parrot

Star, Appearance

“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

“Great minds have purposes, others have wishes.”

Washington Irving (1783–1859) writer, historian and diplomat from the United States

“The real purpose of the scientific method is to make sure nature hasn’t misled you into thinking you know something you actually don’t know.”

Robert M. Pirsig book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Source: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values

Nature, Thinking

“I am not the only person who uses his computer mainly for the purpose of diddling with his computer.”

Dave Barry (1947) American writer

Personality

“That is all I want in life: for this pain to seem purposeful.”

Elizabeth Wurtzel book Prozac Nation

Source: Prozac Nation

Life, Pain, Depressing

“I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, 'Where’s the self-help section?' She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.”

Steven Wright (1955) American actor and author

Help

“Though we may not be able to see His purpose or His plan, the Lord of heaven is on His throne and in firm control of the universe and our lives.”

Max Lucado (1955) American clergyman and writer

Source: America Looks Up: Reaching Toward Heaven for Hope and Healing

Universe

“Maybe that's why a broken machine always makes me a little sad, because it isn't able to do what it was meant to do… Maybe it's the same with people," Hugo continued. "If you lose your purpose… it's like your broken.”

Brian Selznick book The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Source: The Invention of Hugo Cabret

People, Sadness

“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.' Whatever happens is to His good purpose and for His glory. I am not afraid.”

Francine Rivers book A Voice in the Wind

Source: A Voice in the Wind

“I never married because there was no need. I have three pets at home which answer the same purpose as a husband. I have a dog which growls every morning, a parrot which swears all afternoon, and a cat that comes home late at night.”

Marie Corelli (1855–1924) British writer

Dogs, Home, Cats, Night

“Contrary to his infallibly "honest" image, Abe wasn't above lying so long as it served a noble purpose.”

Seth Grahame-Smith (1976) US fiction author

Source: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Lying

“It is the same way with dating. The time you are most prepared for dating is when you don't need anyone to complete you, fulfill you, or instill in you a sense of worth or purpose.”

Myles Munroe (1954–2014) Bahamian Evangelical Christian minister

Source: Waiting and Dating

Way, Sense, Time

“The only justifiable purpose of political institutions is to ensure the unhindered development of the individual.”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”

Sydney J. Harris (1917–1986) American journalist

Education, Graduation, Teachers' Day

“I believe there's a calling for all of us. I know that every human being has value and purpose. The real work of our lives is to become aware. And awakened. To answer the call.”

Oprah Winfrey (1954) American businesswoman, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist

“Be men, or be more than men. Be steady to your purposes and firm as a rock. This ice is not made of such stuff as your hearts may be; it is mutable and cannot withstand you if you say that it shall not.”

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus

Source: Frankenstein

Men, Heart, Motivational, Back To Work

“It seems an insult to the night to speak of purpose and intent, when this common moment is so brimming full of blessed design tranquility. All things follow their course.”

Anne Rice (1941) American writer

Source: The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty

Night

“… she had regained what I thought she had lost forever, the magical sadness which had drawn me to her, the thwarted look that had seemed to say, "Surely I was made for some other purpose than this?”

Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966) British writer

Source: Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder

Sadness

“There is surely nothing other than the single purpose of the present moment. A man's whole life is a succession of moment after moment. If one fully understands the present moment, there will be nothing else to do, and nothing else to pursue. Live being true to the single purpose of the moment.”

Tsunetomo Yamamoto book Hagakure

Hagakure (c. 1716)
Source: Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai
Context: There is surely nothing other than the single purpose of the present moment. A man's whole life is a succession of moment after moment. If one fully understands the present moment, there will be nothing else to do, and nothing else to pursue. Live being true to the single purpose of the moment.
Everyone lets the present moment slip by, then looks for it as though he thought it were somewhere else.

Life, Understanding, Success

“But we are strong, each in our purpose, and we are all more strong together.”

Bram Stoker book Dracula

Source: Dracula

Strong

“The great and glorious masterpiece of man is to live with purpose.”

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

“Laws for the liberal education of youth, especially of the lower class of people, are so extremely wise and useful, that, to a humane and generous mind, no expense for this purpose would be thought extravagant.”

John Adams (1735–1826) 2nd President of the United States

1770s, Thoughts on Government (1776)

People, Youth, Education, Law

“The purpose of a writer is to make revolution irresistible.”

Toni Cade Bambara (1939–1995) author, activist, professor

“But to believe that getting stuff is the purpose and aim of life is madness.”

Hubert Selby Jr. Requiem for a Dream

Source: Requiem for a Dream

Life, Madness

“The purpose of literature is to turn blood into ink.”

T.S. Eliot (1888–1965) 20th century English author

Literature

“Could you please stop with the beating? (Kat)
He’s being punished. Hello? This is Tartarus, remember the purpose of this part of the Underworld? We’re not really warm and fluffy over here. (Hades)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: Devil May Cry

Parting

“The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live.”

Mortimer J. Adler (1902–2001) American philosopher and educator

Source: Joseph Allen (1979). The Leisure alternatives catalog: food for mind & body. p. 134

Learning

“I do not have much patience with a thing of beauty that must be explained to be understood. If it does need additional interpretation by someone other than the creator, then I question whether it has fulfilled its purpose.”

Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977) British comic actor and filmmaker

Beauty, Question, Patience

“You are joy, looking for a way to express.
It's not just that your purpose is joy, it is that you are joy. You are love and joy and freedom and clarity expressing. Energy-frolicking and eager.
That's who you are.”

Esther Hicks (1948) American writer

Love, Way, Freedom, Joy

“Calvin: Girls are like slugs—they probably serve some purpose, but it's hard to imagine what.
p71”

Bill Watterson (1958) American comic artist

The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes
Source: The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes: A Calvin and Hobbes Treasury

Imagination, Girl

“From an evolutionary point of view, most emotions - fear, desire, anger - serve some practical purpose, but nostalgia is a useless, futile thing because it is a longing for something that is permanently lost….”

David Nicholls book Us

Source: Us

Fear, Nostalgia, Anger

“Waitress: "And to drink?"
Artemis: "Spring water. Irish, if you have it. And no ice, please. As your ice is no doubt made from tap water, which rather defeats the purpose of spring water.”

Eoin Colfer (1965) Irish author of children's books

Source: The Eternity Code

Spring, Drink, Water

“I think you don't grow up until you stop worrying about other people's purposes or lack of them and find the purposes you believe in for yourself.”

Orson Scott Card book Xenocide

Source: Xenocide

People, Thinking

“We’ve been filled with great treasure for one purpose: to be spilled.”

Yoko Ono (1933) Japanese artist, author, and peace activist

“Things on the essential list: vodka, Nine Inch Nails, a steady supply of mortal men, and an all-purpose bitchy attitude.”

Richelle Mead (1976) American writer

Men

“When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It's to enjoy each step along the way.”

Wayne W. Dyer (1940–2015) American writer

Way, Dance

“I'm not living the life I thought I would lead, but it does have meaning, purpose. There is love… there is joy… there is laughter.”

Christopher Reeve (1952–2004) actor, director, producer, screenwriter

Love, Life, Laughter, Joy

“A story has its purpose and its path. It must be told correctly for it to be understood.”

Marcus Sedgwick (1968) British writer and illustrator

“When I look at narcissism through the vulnerability lens, I see the shame-based fear of being ordinary. I see the fear of never feeling extraordinary enough to be noticed, to be lovable, to belong, or to cultivate a sense of purpose.”

Brené Brown (1965) US writer and professor

Source: Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

Fear, Feeling, Sense

“I look forward to a great future for America, a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose. I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty, which will protect the beauty of our natural environment, which will preserve the great old American houses and squares and parks of our national past, and which will build handsome and balanced cities for our future.”

John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) 35th president of the United States of America

1963, Speech at Amherst College

Wisdom, Beauty, Nature, Past

“We're all liars when it serves our purpose.”

Cornelia Funke (1958) author

“Art has always been the raft onto which we climb to save our sanity. I don't see a different purpose for it now.”

Dorothea Tanning (1910–2012) American artist

Art

“Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life.”

Eric Hoffer book The True Believer

Section 75
The True Believer (1951), Part Three: United Action and Self-Sacrifice
Context: Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. Thus people haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find a new content not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause but also by nursing a fanatical grievance. A mass movement offers them unlimited opportunities for both.

Life, Passion

“You cannot fulfil God's purposes for your life while focusing on your own plans.”

Rick Warren (1954) Christian religious leader

Source: The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?

Life, God

“Why are you always trying to get yourself killed?"
"It's my job."
"It's aof your job. At least for most Shadowhunters. For you it seems to be the purpose.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Fallen Angels

Source: City of Fallen Angels

“If it's knowledge and wisdom you want, then seek out the company of those who do real work for an honest purpose.”

Edward Abbey (1927–1989) American author and essayist

Source: Postcards from Ed: Dispatches and Salvos from an American Iconoclast

Wisdom, Knowledge