Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one’s thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
All the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas|Layin’ in the sun,|Talkin’ bout the things They woulda-coulda-shoulda done…|But those Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas|All ran away and hid|From one little did.
—Shel Silverstein (1930–99) American Children’s Books Writer, Poet, Short story Author, Playwright, Author, Songwriter
Rhetoric is a poor substitute for action, and we have trusted only to rhetoric. If we are really to be a great nation, we must not merely talk; we must act big.
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Explorer
You can’t stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.
—A. A. Milne (1882–1956) English Children’s Books Writer, Writer
Willpower is the key to success. Successful people strive no matter what they feel by applying their will to overcome apathy, doubt or fear.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
Do the things you know, and you shall learn the truth you need to know.
—George MacDonald (1824–1905) Scottish Christian Author, Poet, Minister
Trust only movement. Life happens at the level of events, not of words. Trust movement.
—Alfred Adler (1870–1937) Austrian Psychologist, Psychiatrist
You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water. Don’t let yourself indulge in vain wishes.
—Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) Indian Hindu Polymath
The mark of a good action is that it appears inevitable in retrospect.
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94) Scottish Novelist
So you can see that if you direct that force at several objectives, it becomes divided, and each objective receives a fairly weak stimulus, which results in a slow reaction, or no reaction at all. Do you have a great, ultimate goal to reach that requires attaining lesser objectives along the way? Well then, let the many lie inactive and direct your force at the nearest or first; once you accomplish that, take up the next and so on.
—Roger McDonald (b.1941) Australian Novelist, Poet, Screenwriter, Writer
Nature takes away any faculty that is not used.
—William Ralph Inge (1860–1954) English Anglican Clergyman, Priest, Mystic
Be content to act, and leave the talking to others.
—Baltasar Gracian
Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.
—Thomas Edison (1847-1931) American Inventor, Scientist, Entrepreneur
When a man asks himself what is meant by action he proves that he isn’t a man of action. Action is a lack of balance. In order to act you must be somewhat insane. A reasonably sensible man is satisfied with thinking.
—Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929) French Head of State, Physician, Publisher, Political leader
Good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they be executed!
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
How shall we learn to know ourselves? By reflection? Never; but only through action. Strive to do thy duty; then you shall know what is in thee.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
The lion who breaks the enemy’s ranks is a minor hero compared to the lion who overcomes himself.
—Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207–73) Persian Muslim Mystic
The hardest time to tell: when to stop.
—Malcolm Forbes (1919–90) American Publisher
Often the difference between a successful man and a failure is not one’s better abilities or ideas but the courage that one has to bet on his ideas, to take a calculated risk — and act.
—Maxwell Maltz (1899–1975) American Surgeon, Motivational Writer
Don’t wait for your ship to come in. Row out to meet it.
—H. Jackson Brown, Jr. American Author
The deed is everything, the glory naught.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
Now, having seen the differences between where you are and where you want to be, begin to change—consciously change—your thoughts, words, and actions to match your grandest vision.
—Neale Donald Walsch (b.1943) American Spiritual Writer
Happiness is often the result of being too busy to be miserable.
—Unknown
You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.
—Henry Ford (1863-1947) American Businessperson, Engineer
Noble deeds and hot baths are the best cures for depression.
—Dodie Smith (1896–1990) British Novelist, Playwright, Writer
The chief condition on which, life, health and vigor depend on, is action. It is by action that an organism develops its faculties, increases its energy, and attains the fulfillment of its destiny.
—Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809–65) French Politician, Philosopher, Socialist
Act so that the maxim of your act could be made the principle of a universal law.
—Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) Prussian German Philosopher, Logician
A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
To live for results would be to sentence myself to continuous frustration. My only sure reward is in my actions and not from them.
—Hugh Prather (1938–2010) American Christian Author, Minister, Counselor
Words that do not match deeds are not important.
—Che Guevara (1928–67) Argentinean Political leader, Diplomat, Physician, Author
All sentient beings are seekers after happiness. He who does not violate other persons for the sake of his happiness will attain happiness afterwards.
—Buddhist Teaching
We are born to action; and whatever is capable of suggesting and guiding action has power over us from the first.
—Charles Cooley (1864–1929) American Sociologist
A man’s value to the community primarily depends on how far his feelings, thoughts, and actions are directed towards promoting the good of his fellows.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
How to gain, how to keep, how to recover happiness is in fact for most men at all times the secret motive o all they do, and of all they are willing to endure.
—William Ralph Inge (1860–1954) English Anglican Clergyman, Priest, Mystic
When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt.
—Henry J. Kaiser (1882–1967) American Businessperson, Philanthropists
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
—Anne Frank (1929–45) Holocaust Victim
Let every man or woman here, if you never hear me again, remember this, that if you wish to be great at all, you must begin where you are and with what you are. He who would be great anywhere must first be great in his own Philadelphia.
—Russell Conwell (1843–1925) American Baptist Minister, Orator, Philanthropist, Lawyer, Academic
The moment there is suspicion about a person’s motives, everything he does becomes tainted.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
Do noble things, do not dream them all day long.
—Charles Kingsley (1819-75) English Clergyman, Academic, Historian, Novelist
Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who does nothing because he could only do a little.
—Edmund Burke (1729–97) Irish Political leader, Author, Orator, Philosopher
The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
Action makes more fortune than caution.
—Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues (1715–47) French Moralist, Essayist, Writer
Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.
—Robert F. Kennedy (1925–68) American Politician, Civil Rights Activist
Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.
—Earl Nightingale (1921-89) American Motivational Speaker, Author
You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel, but you can make yourself do right in spite of your feelings.
—Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973) American Novelist, Human Rights Activist
It is by acts and not by ideas that people live.
—Anatole France (1844-1924) French Novelist
Jump into the middle of things, get your hands dirty, fall flat on your face, and then reach for the stars.
—Ben Stein (b.1944) American Lawyer, Writer, Economist, Humorist
Decision is the spark that ignites action. Until a decision is made, nothing happens…. Decision is the courageous facing of issues, knowing that if they are not faced, problems will remain forever unanswered.
—Wilferd Arlan Peterson (1900–95) American Author
Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago.
—Bernard Berenson (1865–1959) Russian-born American Art Historian
Either move or be moved.
—Colin Powell (b.1937) American Military Leader
Someday, in the moment of death, your whole life will pass before you. In a few fractions of a second–because time no longer applies–you will see many incidents from your life in order to learn. You will review your life with two questions in your consciousness: Could I have shown a little more courage in these moments? Could I have shown a little more love? You will see where you let fear stop you from expressing who you are, how you feel, or what you need. You will see whether you were able to expand into these moments, just a little, to show love, or whether you contracted.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
Deliberation is a function of the many; action is the function of one.
—Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970) French Head of State, Military Leader
In the final analysis, the questions of why bad things happen to good people transmutes itself into some very different questions, no longer asking why something happened, but asking how we will respond, what we intend to do now that it happened.
—Harold Kushner (b.1935) American Jewish Religious Leader, Priest
Make the iron hot by striking it.
—Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658) British Head of State, Military Leader
Thought and theory must precede all salutary action; yet action is nobler in itself than either thought or theory.
—William Wordsworth (1770-1850) English Poet
We are always getting ready to live, but never living.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths; in feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heart-throbs. He most lives who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best.
—Philip James Bailey (1816–1902) English Poet
Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else.
—Tom Peters (b.1942) American Management Consultant, Author, Public Speaker
In a world where there is so much to be done, I felt strongly impressed that there must be something for me to do.
—Dorothy Dix (1861–1951) American Journalist, Columnist
The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible—and achieve it, generation after generation.
—Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973) American Novelist, Human Rights Activist
Actions speak louder than words.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
Once you uncover the history of this pattern and trace its roots, you will see that your reaction in the present moment is really a reaction from the past, a shadow character’s attempt to protect you from reexperiencing an old emotional wound, which instead sabotages you in the present.
—Connie Zweig American Minister, Columnist, Psychotherapist
It doesn’t matter how one was brought up. What determines the way one does anything is personal power.
—Carlos Castaneda (1925-98) Peruvian-born American Anthropologist, Author
Our every action is a battle cry against imperialism, and a battle hymn for the people’s unity against the great enemy of mankind: the United States of America. Wherever death may surprise us, let it be welcome, provided that this, our battle cry, may have reached some receptive ear, that another hand may be extended to wield our weapons, and that other men be ready to intone our funeral dirge with the staccato singing of the machine guns and new battle cries of war and victory.
—Che Guevara (1928–67) Argentinean Political leader, Diplomat, Physician, Author
For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
Action indeed is the sole medium of expression for ethics.
—Jane Addams (1860–1935) American Social Activist, Political Activist, Author, Lecturer
It’s time for greatness — not for greed. It’s a time for idealism — not ideology. It is a time not just for compassionate words, but compassionate action.
—Marian Wright Edelman (b.1939) American Civil Regrets Advocate, Humanitarian, Lawyer
It may be true that the unexamined life is not worth living — but neither is the unlived life worth examining.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
An acre of performance is worth a whole world of promise.
—William Dean Howells (1837–1920) American Novelist, Short story Author, Editor
It is the function of art to renew our perception. What we are familiar with we cease to see. The writer shakes up the familiar scene, and, as if by magic, we see a new meaning in it.
—Anais Nin (1903–77) French-American Essayist
Wake up! If you knew for certain you had a terminal illness–if you had little time left to live–you would waste precious little of it! Well, I’m telling you…you do have a terminal illness: It’s called birth. You don’t have more than a few years left. No one does! So be happy now, without reason–or you will never be at all.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
Nothing wilts faster than laurels that have been rested upon.
—Carl Rowan (1925–2000) American Public Servant, Journalist, Author, Columnist
If ifs were gifts, every day would be Christmas.
—Charles Barkley (b.1963) American Sportsperson
No one will do it for you.
—Ben Stein (b.1944) American Lawyer, Writer, Economist, Humorist
When you see a rattlesnake poised to strike you, do not wait until he has struck before you crush him.
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) American Head of State, Lawyer
The victors of the battles of tomorrow will be those who can best harness thought to action. From office boy to statesman, the prizes will be for those who most effectively exert their brains, who take deep, earnest and studious counsel of their minds, who stamp themselves as thinkers.
—B. C. Forbes (1880-1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
If I set for myself a task, be it so trifling, I shall see it through. How else shall I have confidence in myself to do important things?
—George Samuel Clason (1874–1957) American Businessperson, Author
Never mind your happiness; do your duty.
—Will Durant (1885–1981) American Historian, Philosopher, Memoirist, Socialist
Sorrow is mere rust of the soul; activity will cleanse and brighten it.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
By doing just a little every day, I can gradually let the task completely overwhelm me.
—Ashleigh Brilliant (b.1933) British Cartoonist, Author
As electricity is a great power in the world, so the inner mind is the greatest power available to you. Neither operates independently; both depend upon a separate agency to ignite them to action, and both bring helpful or harmful results according to the wisdom or ignorance with which they are directed.
—Roger McDonald (b.1941) Australian Novelist, Poet, Screenwriter, Writer
There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is on a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.
—Martha Graham (1894-1991) American Choreographer
Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear. Perhaps the action you take will be successful; perhaps different action or adjustments will have to follow. But any action is better than no action at all.
—Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993) American Protestant Children’s Books Writer, Author, Public Speaker, Minister
If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience.
—Robert Fulghum (b.1937) American Unitarian Universalist Author, Essayist, Clergyman
Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.
—Rosa Parks (1913-2005) American Civil Rights Leader
No man lives without jostling and being jostled; in all ways he has to elbow himself through the world, giving and receiving offense.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Writer
You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; in just the same way, you learn to love by loving.
—Francis de Sales (1567–1622) French Catholic Saint