Quotes about today
A collection of quotes on the topic of today, people, use, world.
Quotes about today
“Today the writer has to be on the ground, because it is on the ground where he is needed most.”
José Baroja (1983) Chilean author and editor
Source: https://www.peruinforma.com/entrevista-cultural-al-escritor-chileno-jose-baroja/
“The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway!”
Matka Tereza (1910–1997) Roman Catholic saint of Albanian origin
“I'm having too much fun today to worry about tomorrow.”
Johnny Depp (1963) American actor, film producer, and musician
Ed Warren (1926–2006) American paranormal investigator, demonologist, exorcist, ghost hunter
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity
“If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.”
John Dewey (1859–1952) American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”
Corrie ten Boom (1892–1983) Dutch resistance hero and writer
Source: Clippings from My Notebook
“The good times of today are the sad thoughts of tomorrow.”
Bob Marley (1945–1981) Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician
Variant: The good times of today are the sad thoughts of tomorrow.
Harry Styles (1994) English singer, songwriter, and actor
In conversation with Timothée Chalamet for i-D Magazine (2 November 2018) https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/evwwma/harry-styles-interviews-timothee-chalamet-photos
Joachim Peiper (1915–1976) SS officer
Interview with a French writer Peiper spoke with in 1967, quoted in The Devil's Adjutant by Michael Reynolds, page 260.
“Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.”
Dale Carnegie book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
Source: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (1948), p. 237. Part 8 : How I Conquered Worry,
Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) Serbian American inventor
"Radio Power Will Revolutionize the World" in Modern Mechanics and Inventions (July 1934)
Malcolm X (1925–1965) American human rights activist
Speech at Founding Rally of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (28 June 1964), as quoted in By Any Means Necessary (1970)
By any means necessary: speeches, interviews, and a letter (1970)
Variant: The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.
Source: Malcolm X, Black Liberation, and the Road to Workers' Power
Context: Education is an important element in the struggle for human rights. It is the means to help our children and our people rediscover their identity and thereby increase their self respect. Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs only to the people who prepare for it today.
“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present.”
Alice Morse Earle (1851–1911) American historian
“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”
John Bunyan (1628–1688) English Christian writer and preacher
Joachim Peiper (1915–1976) SS officer
Letter to Willis Everett, July 14, 1946. Parker, Hitler's Warrior, chapter 14, citing Everett Papers in note 32.
Nigel Cumberland (1967) British author and leadership coach
Source: Your Job-Hunt Ltd – Advice from an Award-Winning Asian Headhunter (2003), Successful Recruitment in a Week (2012) https://books.google.ae/books?idp24GkAsgjGEC&printsecfrontcover&dqnigel+cumberland&hlen&saX&ved0ahUKEwjF75Xw0IHNAhULLcAKHazACBMQ6AEIGjAA#vonepage&qnigel%20cumberland&ffalse, Managing Teams in a Week (2013) https://books.google.ae/books?idqZjO9_ov74EC&printsecfrontcover&dqnigel+cumberland&hlen&saX&ved0ahUKEwjF75Xw0IHNAhULLcAKHazACBMQ6AEIIDAB#vonepage&qnigel%20cumberland&ffalse, Secrets of Success at Work – 50 techniques to excel (2014) https://books.google.ae/books?id4S7vAgAAQBAJ&printsecfrontcover&dqnigel+cumberland&hlen&saX&ved0ahUKEwjF75Xw0IHNAhULLcAKHazACBMQ6AEIJjAC#vonepage&qnigel%20cumberland&ffalse, p.107
Kurt Cobain (1967–1994) American musician and artist
Lithium.
Song lyrics, Nevermind (1991)
Variant: I'm so happy
'Cause today I found my friends
They're in my head.
I'm so ugly, that's okay
'Cause so are you,
Broke our mirrors.
Source: Nirvana
“I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday.”
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American politician, diplomat, and activist, and First Lady of the United States
Not by Roosevelt, but from Steven Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (1989).
Misattributed
“Preparation for tomorrow is hard work today.”
Bruce Lee (1940–1973) Hong Kong-American actor, martial artist, philosopher and filmmaker
“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today”
Francis of Assisi (1182–1226) Catholic saint and founder of the Franciscan Order
“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.”
H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (1940) American writer
Source: P.S. I Love You
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) Russian composer, pianist, and conductor
Interviewed by Leonard Liebling in The Musical Courier, 1939; cited from Sergei Bertensson and Jay Leyda Sergei Rachmaninoff: A Lifetime in Music (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002) p. 351.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (1945) Brazilian politician, 35th president of Brazil
" Interview transcript: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/6d42ae3a-110b-11db-9a72-0000779e2340.html in: Financial Times, July 7, 2006
Zayn Malik (1993) British singer
As 'guy who has a twin sister' on 2017-03-20, https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/03/zayn-malik-interview-the-times-quotes
Dilma Rousseff (1947) 36th President of Brazil
Speech in Porto Alegre http://www2.planalto.gov.br/acompanhe-o-planalto/discursos/discursos-da-presidenta/discurso-da-presidenta-da-republica-dilma-rousseff-na-cerimonia-de-anuncio-de-investimentos-do-pac-mobilidade-urbana-e-entrega-de-57-maquinas-motoniveladoras ( YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3IvZToSwgE), October 12. <br class="br">2013
Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) Führer and Reich Chancellor of Germany, Leader of the Nazi Party
Speech to the Reichstag, 30 January 1939, as quoted at The History Place http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/threat.htm. <br class="br">1930s
Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American politician, 40th president of the United States (in office from 1981 to 1989)
1980s, First term of office (1981–1985), First Inaugural address (1981)
Context: To a few of us here today this is a solemn and most momentous occasion, and yet in the history of our nation it is a commonplace occurrence. The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution routinely takes place, as it has for almost two centuries, and few of us stop to think how unique we really are. In the eyes of many in the world, this every-four-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.
“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. ”
Alice Morse Earle (1851–1911) American historian
“Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting!”
Dr. Seuss (1904–1991) American children's writer and illustrator, co-founder of Beginner Books
Variant: Today is your day, your mountain is waiting. So get on your way.
Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) Serbian American inventor
"Radio Power Will Revolutionize the World" in Modern Mechanics and Inventions (July 1934)
Context: The scientists from Franklin to Morse were clear thinkers and did not produce erroneous theories. The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane.
“The man who kills the animals today is the man who kills the people who get in his way tomorrow”
Dian Fossey (1932–1985) American zoologist, gorilla researcher
Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898) German statesman, Chancellor of Germany
No record of this quotation appears to exist in German. <br class="br">In The World Crisis, Vol I: 1911-1914 https://books.google.com/books?id=6l6Fgnz8fXIC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA96#v=onepage&q&f=false (originally published in 1923), Winston Churchill asserted that during the July Crisis, German shipping magnate and diplomat Albert Ballin told him that Bismarck had said to him, "that one day the great European War would come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans" a year before his death. <br class="br">The full quote above appears in "European Diary" by Andrei Navrozov, in Chronicles Vol. 32 (2008) as a comment during the Congress of Berlin in 1878. "European Diary" is a series of excerpts from Navrozov's unpublished (as of 2017) novel in English, Earthly Love: A Day in the Life of a Hypocrite. <br class="br">Disputed
Dilma Rousseff (1947) 36th President of Brazil
First speech http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/01/dilma-rousseff-wins-brazil-president after being elected President, October 31. <br class="br">2010
Rich Piana (1970–2017) American bodybuilder and internet personality
“Hokahey! Today is a good day to die.”
Crazy Horse (1840–1877) Oglala Sioux chief
War cry of Crazy Horse in battle as quoted at "Setting the Record Straight About Native Languages: A Good Day To Die" http://www.native-languages.org/iaq21.htm
T. B. Joshua (1963) Nigerian Christian leader
On destiny - "The Shock Of Reality" http://allafrica.com/stories/200908240244.html All Africa (August 24 2009)
Anthony Hopkins (1937) Welsh stage and television actor
"Sir Anthony Hopkins: I couldn't be an atheist". https://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2011/02/11/sir-anthony-hopkins-i-couldnt-be-an-atheist/ (February 11, 2011)
“Yesternight the sun went hence,
And yet is here today.”
John Donne (1572–1631) English poet
Source: A line from a poem/song: Sweetest Love, I Do Not Go. Full version https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Song:_Sweetest_love,_I_do_not_go
Context: SWEETEST love, I do not go,
For weariness of thee,
Nor in hope the world can show
A fitter love for me;
But since that I
At the last must part, 'tis best,
Thus to use myself in jest
By feigned deaths to die.
Yesternight the sun went hence,
And yet is here to-day;
He hath no desire nor sense,
Nor half so short a way;
Then fear not me,
But believe that I shall make
Speedier journeys, since I take
More wings and spurs than he.
O how feeble is man's power,
That if good fortune fall,
Cannot add another hour,
Nor a lost hour recall;
But come bad chance,
And we join to it our strength,
And we teach it art and length,
Itself o'er us to advance.
When thou sigh'st, thou sigh'st not wind,
But sigh'st my soul away;
When thou weep'st, unkindly kind,
My life's blood doth decay.
It cannot be
That thou lovest me as thou say'st,
If in thine my life thou waste,
That art the best of me.
Let not thy divining heart
Forethink me any ill;
Destiny may take thy part,
And may thy fears fulfil.
But think that we
Are but turn'd aside to sleep.
They who one another keep
Alive, ne'er parted be.
Clandestine Culture (1970) American artist
http://artdistricts.com/clandestine-culture-between-street-art-and-social-activism/
Kurt Vonnegut Happy Birthday, Wanda June
"Wanda June"
Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1970)
Context: Hello, I am Wanda June. Today was going to be my birthday, but I was hit by an ice-cream truck before I could have my party. I am dead now. I am in Heaven. That is why my parents did not pick up my cake at the bakery. I am not mad at the ice-cream truck driver, even though he was drunk when he hit me. It didn't hurt much. It wasn't even as bad as the sting of a bumblebee. I am really happy here! It's so much fun. I'm glad the driver was drunk. If he hadn't been, I might not have gone to Heaven for years and years and years. I would have had to go to high school first, and then beauty college. I would have had to get married and have babies and everything. Now I can just play and play and play. Any time I want any pink cotton candy I can have some. Everybody up here is happy — the animals and the dead soldiers and people who went to the electric chair and everything. They're all glad for whatever sent them here. Nobody is mad. We're all too busy playing shuffleboard. So if you think of killing somebody, don't worry about it. Just go ahead and do it. Whoever you do it to should kiss you for doing it. The soldiers up here just love the shrapnel and the tanks and the bayonets and the dum dums that let them play shuffleboard all the time — and drink beer.
Volodymyr Zelensky (1978) 6th President of Ukraine
Zelensky’s speech at the UN General Assembly https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/vistup-prezidenta-ukrayini-volodimira-zelenskogo-na-zagalnih-57477 (25 September 2019)
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) Russian politician, led the October Revolution
Collected Works, Vol. 27, pp. 383–387.
Collected Works
Source: Revolution!: Sayings of Vladimir Lenin
Groucho Marx (1890–1977) American comedian
Source: The Essential Groucho: Writings For By And About Groucho Marx
Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902–1991) Polish-born Jewish-American author
Preface to Food for the Spirit: Vegetarianism and the World Religions by Steven Rosen (New York: Bala Books, 1987, )
Variant: To be a vegetarian is to disagree - to disagree with the course of things today... starvation, cruelty - we must make a statement against these things. Vegetarianism is my statement. And I think it's a strong one.
Context: Vegetarianism is my religion. I became a consistent vegetarian some twenty-three years ago. Before that, I would try over and over again. But it was sporadic. Finally, in the mid-1960s, I made up my mind. And I've been a vegetarian ever since. When a human kills an animal for food, he is neglecting his own hunger for justice. Man prays for mercy, but is unwilling to extend it to others. Why should man then expect mercy from God? It's unfair to expect something that you are not willing to give. … This is my protest against the conduct of the world. To be a vegetarian is to disagree — to disagree with the course of things today. Nuclear power, starvation, cruelty — we must make a statement against these things. Vegetarianism is my statement. And I think it's a strong one.
Francis S. Collins (1950) Geneticist; Director of the National Institutes of Health
Source: Belief: Readings on the Reason for Faith
“I've got so much work to do today, I'd better spend two hours in prayer instead of one.”
Martin Luther (1483–1546) seminal figure in Protestant Reformation
Variant: I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.
“People who say that yesterday was better than today are ultimately devaluing their own existence.”
Karl Lagerfeld (1933–2019) German fashion designer
Matka Tereza (1910–1997) Roman Catholic saint of Albanian origin
National Prayer Breakfast speech, Washington, D.C. (3 February 1994) http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/abortion/ab0039.html. <br class="br">1990s
Brian Cox (physicist) (1968) English physicist and former musician
Conclusion in Wonders of the Universe - Destiny
Bobby Fischer (1943–2008) American chess prodigy, chess player, and chess writer
Radio Interview, June 27 1999 http://www.geocities.jp/bobbby_b/mp3/F_08_3.MP3 <br class="br">1990s
Peter F. Drucker (1909–2005) American business consultant
Source: 1930s- 1950s, Landmarks of Tomorrow: A Report on the New 'Post-Modern' World (1959), p. 258
Peter F. Drucker (1909–2005) American business consultant
Source: 1960s - 1980s, MANAGEMENT: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices (1973), Part 1, p. 317
“That's why there are so few women stars today. Pornography has taken away the mystery.”
Irene Dunne (1898–1990) American actress
A Visit With Irene Dunne (1977)
“In the end, today is forever, yesterday is still today, and tomorrow is already today.”
William Saroyan (1908–1981) American writer
My Heart's in the Highlands (1939)
“It is us today. It will be you tomorrow.”
Haile Selassie (1892–1975) Emperor of Ethiopia
Statement after his speech before the League of Nations (30 June 1936), as quoted in " "The Lion is Freed" in TIME magazine (8 September 1975) http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917777,00.html?iid=chix-sphere
H.P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) American author
Letter to Catherine L. Moore (7 February 1937), in Selected Letters V, 1934-1937 edited by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei, pp. 407-408
Non-Fiction, Letters
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1920–1975) Bengali revolutionary, founder ("father") of Bangladesh
The Declaration of Independence on the night of 26th March, 1971. The declaration was made minutes before his arrest by the Pakistan Army. http://www.albd.org/autoalbd/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=111&Itemid=44 http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=93650 http://web.archive.org/web/20110719125113/http://www.albd.org/autoalbd/images/stories/compile/2006/dia/dia_letter.jpg <br class="br">Quote, Other
Al Gore (1948) 45th Vice President of the United States
Quotes, IPI speech (2000)
Context: The disruption of the world's ecological systems — from the rise of global warming and the consequent damage to our climate balance, to the loss of living species and the depletion of ocean fisheries and forest habitats — continues at a frightening rate. Practically every day, it becomes clearer to us that must act now to protect our Earth, while preserving and creating jobs for our people.
And at the very same time that these threats are developing, the traditional nation-state itself is changing — as power moves upwards and downwards, to everything from supra-national organizations and coalitions all the way down to feuding clans. Susceptible to tyrants willing to exploit ethnic and religious rivalries, the weakest of these states have either imploded into civil war or threatened to lash out across their borders.
To meet these challenges requires cooperation on a scale not seen before. A realistic reading of the world today demands reinvigorated international and regional institutions. It demands that we confront threats before they spiral out of the control. And it requires American leadership — to protect our interests and uphold our values.
“It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow.”
Aesop book The Ant and the Grasshopper
The Ant and the Grasshopper.
“Never say goodbye,
You say tomorrow's another day,
All I know is we're here today.”
Yoko Ono (1933) Japanese artist, author, and peace activist
"Never Say Goodbye" on It's Alright (I See Rainbows) (1982).
Context: Never say goodbye,
You say tomorrow's another day,
All I know is we're here today. I've got nightmares I could never share with you,
The kind that keeps me up all night.
So hold me tight till the room is light
And tell me that it's all right.
C.G. Jung book Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle
Source: Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle (1960), p. 33
Context: Naturally, every age thinks that all ages before it were prejudiced, and today we think this more than ever and are just as wrong as all previous ages that thought so. How often have we not seen the truth condemned! It is sad but unfortunately true that man learns nothing from history.
Sophie Scholl (1921–1943) White Rose member
As quoted in Seeking Peace : Notes and Conversations Along the Way (2000) by Johann Christoph Arnold, p. 155
Context: I've been thinking of a story from the Old Testament: Moses stood all day and all night with outstretched arms, praying to God for victory. And whenever he let down his arms, the enemy prevailed over the children of Israel. Are there still people today who never weary of directing all their thinking and all their energy, single-heartedly, to one cause?
Joseph Stalin (1879–1953) General secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Anarchism or Socialism (1906)
Context: We are not the kind of people who, when the word "anarchism" is mentioned, turn away contemptuously and say with a supercilious wave of the hand: "Why waste time on that, it's not worth talking about!" We think that such cheap "criticism" is undignified and useless.
Nor are we the kind of people who console themselves with the thought that the Anarchists "have no masses behind them and, therefore, are not so dangerous." It is not who has a larger or smaller "mass" following today, but the essence of the doctrine that matters. If the "doctrine" of the Anarchists expresses the truth, then it goes without saying that it will certainly hew a path for itself and will rally the masses around itself. If, however, it is unsound and built up on a false foundation, it will not last long and will remain suspended in mid-air. But the unsoundness of anarchism must be proved.
Some people believe that Marxism and anarchism are based on the same principles and that the disagreements between them concern only tactics, so that, in the opinion of these people, no distinction whatsoever can be drawn between these two trends.
This is a great mistake.
We believe that the Anarchists are real enemies of Marxism. Accordingly, we also hold that a real struggle must be waged against real enemies.
“There’s freedom in honesty. If you just face it today, tomorrow you can move on to something else.”
Rihanna (1988) Barbadian singer, songwriter, and actress
Jacque Fresco (1916–2017) American futurist and self-described social engineer
Designing the Future (2007)
Shavkat Mirziyoyev (1957) President of Uzbekistan (2016-present)
"Shavkat Mirziyoyev: Every young man is as dear to me as to his parents" in UZ Daily https://www.uzdaily.uz/en/post/63421 (4 February 2021)
“Expect nothing. Today: that is your life.”
Kurt Tucholský (1890–1935) German-Jewish journalist, satirist and writer
“TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE”
Abbie Hoffman (1936–1989) American political and social activist
Source: Revolution for the Hell of It (1968), p. 184.
“The best preparation for tomorrow is to do today's work superbly well.”
William Osler (1849–1919) Canadian pathologist, physician, educator, bibliophile, historian, author, cofounder of Johns Hopkins Hospi…
As quoted in Lifetime Speaker's Encyclopedia (1962) by Jacob Morton Braude, p. 575.
Hubert Selby Jr. Requiem for a Dream
Source: Requiem for a Dream




