No man is born into the world whose work is not born with him. There is always work, and tools to work with, for those who will, and blessed are the horny hands of toil. The busy world shoves angrily aside the man who stands with arms akimbo until occasion tells him what to do; and he who waits to have his task marked out shall die and leave his errand unfulfilled.
—James Russell Lowell (1819–91) American Poet, Critic, Editor, Diplomat
Topics: Work
Happy is the man who hath never known what it is to taste of fame—to have it is a purgatory, to want it is a Hell.
—Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803–73) English Poet, Playwright, Novelist, Politician
So tonight you better stop and rebuild all your ruins, because peace and trust can win the day despite of all your losing.
—Led Zeppelin
We change, whether we like it or not.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Topics: Change
Reality doesn’t wait for your opinion, vote, or permission, sweetheart. It just keeps being what it is and doing what it does.
—Byron Katie (b.1942) American Speaker, Author
Topics: Opinion, Doing
Indolence is a delightful but distressing state; we must be doing something to be happy. Action is no less necessary than thought to the instinctive tendencies of the human frame.
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English Essayist
Topics: Happiness, Action, Occupation
Pain reaches the heart with electrical speed, but truth moves to the heart as slowly as a glacier.
—Barbara Kingsolver (b.1955) American Novelist, Poet, Essayist
Topics: Self-Discovery
Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
Topics: Friendship, Friends and Friendship
If a society is to preserve stability and a degree of continuity, it must know how to keep its adolescents from imposing their tastes, attitudes, values and fantasies on everyday life.
—Eric Hoffer (1902–83) American Philosopher, Author
Topics: Youth
Don’t let your throat tighten with fear. Take sips of breath all day and night, before death closes your mouth.
—Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207–73) Persian Muslim Mystic
Topics: Death, Fear, Courage
Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others?
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
Topics: Role models
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