In its knowledges light, we must think and act not only for the moment but for our time. I am reminded of the great French Marshal Lyautey, who once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow-growing and would not reach maturity for a hundred years. The Marshal replied, In that case, there is no time to lose, plant it this afternoon.
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
The best way out of a difficulty is through it.
—Will Rogers (1879–1935) American Actor, Comic, Columnist, Radio Personality
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 Historian, Essayist
Either move or be moved.
—Colin Powell (b.1937) American Military Leader
You can’t pick cherries with your back to the tree.
—J. P. Morgan (1837–1913) American Financier, Philanthropist, Art Collector
After all is said and done, more is said than done.
—U.S. Proverb
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
You have to be fast on your feet and adaptive or else a strategy is useless.
—Louis V. Gerstner Jr. (b.1942) American Businessman
The chief duty I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
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
One may walk over the highest mountain one step at a time.
—John Wanamaker (1838–1922) American Merchant, Civil Servant
Do noble things, do not dream them all day long.
—Charles Kingsley (1819–75) English Clergyman, Academic, Historian, Novelist
How to gain, how to keep, how to recover happiness is in fact for most men at all times the secret motive of all they do, and of all they are willing to endure.
—William James (1842–1910) American Philosopher, Psychologist, Physician
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
If ifs were gifts, every day would be Christmas.
—Charles Barkley (b.1963) American Sportsperson
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
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
Happiness consists in activity. — Such is the constitution of our nature. — It is a running stream, and not a stagnant pool.
—John Mason Good (1764–1827) English Medical and Religious Writer
Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.
—Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922) Scottish-born American Inventor, Engineer, Academic
Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself—and be lenient to everybody else.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Congregationalist Clergyman, Writer
Nature takes away any faculty that is not used.
—William Ralph Inge (1860–1954) English Anglican Clergyman, Priest, Mystic
Savage as a lion, timid as a rabbit, crafty as a fox.
—Lu Xun (1881–1936) Chinese Writer
Now is the time for all good men to come to.
—Walt Kelly (1913–73) American Cartoonist
I did not think; I investigated.
—Wilhelm Roentgen (1845–1923) German Physicist
In modern times, it is only by the power of association that men of any calling exercise their due influence in the community.
—Elihu Root (1845–1937) American Jurist, Statesman
The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
—Walt Disney (1901–66) American Entrepreneur
As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.
—Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) Scottish-American Industrialist
He who labors diligently need never despair; for all things are accomplished by diligence and labor.
—Menander (c.343–c.291 BCE) Greek Comic Dramatist, Poet
Sometimes something worth doing is worth overdoing.
—David Letterman (b.1947) American TV Personality, Comedian
“Too cold, too hot, too late” can always be the excuses to those who do not want to work. They let their chance pass by.
—Buddhist Teaching
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
Talk doesn’t cook rice.
—Chinese Proverb
An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.
—Yoda American Fictional Character
The great end of life is not knowledge, but action.
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95) English Biologist
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) Argentine-Cuban Revolutionary
The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.
—John Locke (1632–1704) English Philosopher, Physician
Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81) British Head of State
To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.
—Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American Writer, Publisher, Artist, Philosopher
The activist is not the man who says the river is dirty. The activist is the man who cleans up the river.
—Ross Perot (1930–2019) American Businessman
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
—Anne Frank (1929–45) Holocaust Victim
One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done.
—Marie Curie (1867–1934) Polish-born French Physicist, Chemist
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
The experiences of camp life show that a man does have a choice of action. There were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which proved that apathy could be overcome, irritability suppressed. Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress. We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s way. The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity—even in the most difficult circumstances—to add a deeper meaning to life.
—Viktor Frankl (1905–97) Austrian Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist
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
Follow effective action with quiet reflection.
From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.
—Peter Drucker (1909–2005) Austrian-born Management Consultant
The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen.
—Lee Iacocca (1924–2019) American Businessperson
All sentient beings are seekers after happiness. He who, for the sake of his own happiness, violates other persons, will never attain happiness afterwards.
—Buddhist Teaching
Worry a little every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything.
—Mary Welsh Hemingway (1908–1986) American Journalist, Author
Lead, follow, or get out of the way.
—Ted Turner (b.1938) American Businessperson, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist
The word mantra comes from two Sanskrit words man, (“to think”) and tra (“tool”). So the literal translation is “a tool of thought”. And that’s how mantras are used in Buddhist and Hindu practices, as tools that clear your mind of distractions. Because when you focus on repeating that mantra over and over again, soon the noise will die down and all you will hear is your inner voice.
—Russell Simmons (b.1957) American Music Promoter
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
It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
He who hesitates is lost.
—Common Proverb
What a man knows should find its expression in what he does; the value of superior knowledge is chiefly in that it leads to a performing manhood.
—Christian Nestell Bovee (1820–1904) American Writer, Aphorist
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) Bengali Poet, Polymath
It is vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it.
—Charlotte Bronte (1816–1855) English Novelist, Poet
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 (b.1938) American Christian Author, Minister, Counselor
Obviously, there is little you can learn from doing nothing.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
A man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting.
—Carlos Castaneda (1925–98) Peruvian-born American Anthropologist, Author
Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
But their intervention makes our acts to serve ever less merely the immediate claims of our instincts.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
The ordinary man is involved in action, the hero acts. An immense difference.
—Henry Miller (1891–1980) American Novelist, Painter
It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before… to test your limits… to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
—Anais Nin (1903–77) French-American Essayist
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
Big words seldom accompany good deeds.
—Danish Proverb
Our grand business undoubtedly is, not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
Action makes more fortune than caution.
—Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues (1715–47) French Moralist, Essayist, Writer
Do not wait; the time will never be “just right.” Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.
—Napoleon Hill (1883–1970) American Author, Journalist, Attorney, Lecturer
This loving person is a person who abhors waste—waste of time, waste of human potential. How much time we waste. As if we were going to live forever.
—Leo Buscaglia (1924–98) American Motivational Speaker
Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.
—Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) Spanish Painter, Sculptor, Artist
Only action gives life strength, only moderation gives it charm.
—Charles Spurgeon (1834–92) British Baptist Preacher, Theologian, Hymn writer
Genius is the ability to put into effect what is on your mind.
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940) American Novelist
Action indeed is the sole medium of expression for ethics.
—Jane Addams (1860–1935) American Social Activist, Political Activist, Author, Lecturer
Rushing into action, you fail. Trying to grasp things, you lose them. Forcing a project to completion, you ruin what was almost ripe.
—Laozi (fl.6th Century BCE) Chinese Philosopher, Sage
Never mistake motion for action.
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) American Author, Journalist, Short Story Writer
Have a bias toward action — let’s see something happen now. You can break that big plan into small steps and take the first step right away
—Indira Gandhi (1917–84) Indian Head of State
The purpose of life is not to win. The purpose of life is to grow and to share. When you come to look back on all that you have done in life, you will get more satisfaction from the pleasure you have brought into other people’s lives that you will from the times that you outdid and defeated them.
—Harold Kushner (b.1935) American Jewish Religious Leader, Priest
A somebody was once a nobody who wanted to and did.
—Anonymous
You can use the fanciest computers to gather the numbers, but in the end you have to set a timetable and act.
—Lee Iacocca (1924–2019) American Businessperson
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
A man can do only what he can do. But if he does that each day he can sleep at night and do it again the next day.
—Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) French Theologian, Musician, Philosopher, Physician
One’s feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into action … which bring results.
—Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) English Nurse
Happiness and suffering experienced through the previous accumulated Kammas (action) are like the settling of the old accounts wherein one has to pay for the balance.
—Buddhist Teaching
In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Explorer
We protract the career of time by employment, we lengthen the duration of our lives by wise thoughts and useful actions. Life to him who wishes not to have lived in vain is thought and action.
—Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann (1728–1795) Swiss Philosophical Writer, Naturalist, Physician
Let nothing be done in your life, which will cause you fear if it becomes known to your neighbor.
—Epicurus (c.341–270 BCE) Greek Philosopher
The time for action is now. It’s never too late to do something.
—Carl Sandburg (1878–1967) American Biographer, Novelist, Socialist
He who does not realize the benefit done to him destroys all goodness he wishes for. He who realizes the benefit done to him will have all the goodness he wishes for.
—Buddhist Teaching
Good actions ennoble us, and we are the sons of our own deeds.
—Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) Spanish Novelist
Action and faith enslave thought, both of them in order not be troubled or inconvenienced by reflection, criticism, and doubt.
—Henri Frederic Amiel (1821–81) Swiss Moral Philosopher, Poet, Critic
Not the cry, but the flight of the wild duck, leads the flock to fly and follow.
—Chinese Proverb
Make the iron hot by striking it.
—Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658) British Head of State, Military Leader
Consciously or unconsciously we all strive to make the kind of a world we like.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841–1935) American Jurist, Author
Action is greater than writing. A good man is a nobler object of contemplation than a great author. There are but two things worth living for: to do what is worthy of being written; and to write what is worthy of being read; and the greater of these is the doing.
—Albert Pike (1809–91) American Military Leader, Attorney, Poet, Author
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
Leave something good in every day.
—Dolly Parton (b.1946) American Musician, Actress
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
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
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 Clergyman, Self-Help Author
When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt.
—Henry J. Kaiser (1882–1967) American Industrialist
No two things differ more than hurry and dispatch. Hurry is the mark of a weak mind, dispatch of a strong one. A weak man in office, like a squirrel in a cage, is laboring eternally, but to no purpose, and is in constant motion without getting on a job; like a turnstile, he is in everybody’s way, but stops nobody; he talks a great deal, but says very little; looks into everything but sees nothing; and has a hundred irons in the fire, but very few of them are hot, and with those few that are, he only burns his fingers.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
This body, full of faults, has yet one great quality: whatever it encounters in this temporal life depends upon one’s actions.
—Nagarjuna (150–250) Indian Buddhist Monk-Philosopher
Happiness walks on busy feet.
—Anonymous
The law of the harvest is to reap more than you sow. Sow an act, and you reap a habit; sow a habit, and you reap a character; sow a character, and you reap a destiny.
—George Boardman (1801–31) American Baptist Minister
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
There is room enough in human life to crowd almost every art and science in it. If we pass “no day without a line”—visit no place without the company of a book—we may with ease fill libraries, or empty them of their contents. The more we do, the more busy we are, the more leisure we have.
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English Essayist
Action is but coarsened thought; thought become concrete, obscure, and unconscious.
—Henri Frederic Amiel (1821–81) Swiss Moral Philosopher, Poet, Critic
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
Let us, if we must have great actions, make our own so. All action is of infinite elasticity, and the least admits of being inflated with celestial air, until it eclipses the sun and moon.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do.
—Henry Ford (1863–1947) American Businessperson, Engineer
Always do right. This will gratify some people, and astonish the rest.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it,—but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–94) American Physician, Essayist
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
Good things come to those who wait, but they are left-overs from those who hustle.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
The man who saves time by galloping loses it by missing his way; the shepherd who hurries his flock to get them home spends the night on the mountain looking for the lost; economy does not consist in haste, but in certainty.
—Ramsay MacDonald (1866–1937) British Head of State, Journalist
Actions speak louder than words.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
—John Wesley (1703–91) British Methodist Religious Leader, Preacher, Theologian
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
We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act.
—Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) Indian Hindu Mystic
No one will do it for you.
—Ben Stein (b.1944) American Lawyer, Writer, Economist, Humorist
We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
—Walt Disney (1901–66) American Entrepreneur
The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it; if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something. The millions who are in want will not stand by silently forever while the things to satisfy their needs are within easy reach.
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) American Head of State, Lawyer
One who wants to do afterwards what should be done first, remorses like the youth (in a fable) who breaks (carelessly) the branches of the varunia tree.
—Buddhist Teaching
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
To attain happiness in another world we need only to believe something, while to secure it in this world we must needs do something.
—Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935) American Sociologist, Novelist, Short Story Writer, Poet, Feminist
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
Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.
—Warren Buffett (b.1930) American Investor
For every failure, there’s an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.
—Mary Kay Ash (1918–2001) American Entrepreneur, Businessperson
The average person puts only 25% of his energy and ability into his work. The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50% of their capacity, and stands on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100%.
—Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) Scottish-American Industrialist
Don’t wait for your ship to come in. Row out to meet it.
—H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (b.1940) American Self-Help Author
A thought that does not result in action is nothing much, and an action that does not proceed from a thought is nothing at all.
—Georges Bernanos (1888–1948) French Author
A human action becomes genuinely important when it springs from the soil of a clear-sighted awareness of the temporality and the ephemerally of everything human. It is only this awareness that can breathe any greatness into an action.
—Vaclav Havel (1936–2011) Czech Dramatist, Statesman
It’s better to be boldly decisive and risk being wrong than to agonize at length and be right too late.
—Marilyn Moats Kennedy (b.1943) American Career Strategist, Author
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
He has the deed half done who has made a beginning.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
Never interrupt someone doing what you said couldn’t be done.
—Amelia Earhart (1897–1937) American Aviator
When it comes to getting things done, we need fewer architects and more bricklayers.
—Colleen Barrett (b.1944) American Businessperson
It is the mark of a good action that it appears inevitable, in retrospect.
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94) Scottish Novelist
Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.
—Rosa Parks (1913–2005) American Civil Rights Leader
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
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
Begin — to begin is half the work, let half still remain; again begin this and thou wilt have finished.
—Ausonius (c.309–392 CE) Latin Poet, Rhetorician
So act that your principle of action might safely be made a law for the whole world.
—Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) Prussian German Philosopher, Logician
All meaningful and lasting change starts first in your imagination and then works its way out. Imagination is more important than knowledge. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
He who cannot command himself should obey. And many can command themselves, but much is still lacking before they can obey themselves.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
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 (b.1949) American Minister, Columnist, Psychotherapist
All the strength and force of man comes from his faith in things unseen. He who believes is strong; he who doubts is weak. Strong convictions precede great actions. The man strongly possessed of an idea is the master of all who are uncertain and wavering. Clear, deep, living convictions rule the world.
—James Freeman Clarke (1810–88) American Unitarian Clergyman, Abolitionist, Author
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
We are always getting ready to live, but never living.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Be content to act, and leave the talking to others.
—Baltasar Gracian (1601–58) Spanish Scholar, Prose Writer
No sooner said than done — so acts your man of worth.
—Ennius (c.239–169 BCE) Roman Poet
Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.
—Unknown
A man is the sum of his actions, of what he has done, of what he can do, nothing else.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
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
Happiness is often the result of being too busy to be miserable.
—Unknown
Don’t wait for extraordinary circumstance to do good; try to use ordinary situations.
—Charles F. Richter (1900–85) American Physicist, Geologist
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 firefly only shines when on the wing; so it is with the mind; when we rest we darken.
—Gamaliel Bailey (1807–59) American Antislavery Journalist
There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is having lots to do and not doing it.
—John W. Raper (1870–1950) American Journalist, Aphorist
Sorrow is mere rust of the soul; activity will cleanse and brighten it.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
Those who are more adapted to the active life can prepare themselves for contemplation in the practice of the active life, while those who are more adapted to the contemplative life can take upon themselves the works of the active life so as to become yet more apt for contemplation.
—Thomas Aquinas (1225–74) Italian Catholic Priest, Philosopher, Theologian
Good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they be executed!
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
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
For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Explorer
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
What we do best or most perfectly is what we have most thoroughly learned by the longest practice, and at length it falls from us without our notice, as a leaf from a tree.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
—Margaret Mead (1901–78) American Anthropologist, Social Psychologist
Words that do not match deeds are not important.
—Che Guevara (1928–67) Argentine-Cuban Revolutionary
People say to me, “You were a roaring success. How did you do it?” I go back to what my parents taught me. Apply yourself. Get all the education you can, but then, by God, do something. Don’t just stand there, make something happen.
—Lee Iacocca (1924–2019) American Businessperson
To know oneself, one should assert oneself. Psychology is action, not thinking about oneself. We continue to shape our personality all our life. If we knew ourselves perfectly, we should die.
—Albert Camus (1913–60) Algerian-born French Philosopher, Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist, Author
Never mind your happiness; do your duty.
—Will Durant (1885–1981) American Historian, Philosopher, Memoirist, Socialist
Nothing wilts faster than laurels that have been rested upon.
—Carl Rowan (1925–2000) American Public Servant, Journalist, Author, Columnist
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
Every new day begins with possibilities. It’s up to us to fill it with the things that move us toward progress and peace.
—Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American Head of State
Act as though what you do makes a difference. It does.
—William James (1842–1910) American Philosopher, Psychologist, Physician
Heaven ne’er helps the man who will not act.
—Sophocles (495–405 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
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
To act and act wisely when the time for action comes, to wait and wait patiently when it is time for repose, put man in accord with the rising and falling tides (of affairs), so that with nature and law at his back, and truth and beneficence as his beacon light, he may accomplish wonders. Ignorance of this law results in periods of unreasoning enthusiasm on the one hand, and depression on the other. Man thus becomes the victim of the tides when he should be their Master.
—Helena Blavatsky (1831–91) Ukrainian-born American Theosophist, Spiritual Leader, Philosopher, Mystic
Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
—Annie Dillard (b.1945) Essayist, Novelist, Poet, Naturalist, Mystic
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
Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
Failures are divided into two classes — those who thought and never did, and those who did and never thought.
—John Charles Salak
Let no one be deluded that a knowledge of the path can substitute for putting one foot in front of the other.
—M. C. Richards
You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him.
—Leo Aikman (1908–78) American Columnist
Noble deeds and hot baths are the best cures for depression.
—Dodie Smith (1896–1990) British Novelist, Playwright, Writer
Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who does nothing because he could only do a little.
—Edmund Burke (1729–97) British Philosopher, Statesman
If you wait, all that happens is that you get older.
—Larry McMurtry (b.1936) American Novelist, Screenwriter
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 nation’s character is the sum of its splendid deeds; they constitute one common patrimony, the nation’s inheritance. They awe foreign powers, they arouse and animate our own people.
—Henry Clay (1777–1852) American Politician
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
My friend, the sufi is the friend of the present moment. To say tomorrow is not our way.
—Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207–73) Persian Muslim Mystic
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
After all is said and done, a lot more will have been said than done.
—Unknown
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
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
Deliberation is a function of the many; action is the function of one.
—Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970) French Head of State, Military Leader
The effect of having other interests beyond those domestic works well. The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one’s appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship.
—Amelia Earhart (1897–1937) American Aviator
Life is the faculty of spontaneous activity, the awareness that we have powers.
—Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) Prussian German Philosopher, Logician
One reaps whatever one has sown. Those who do good receive good and those who do evil receive evil.
—Buddhist Teaching
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
Little drops of water, little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean, and the pleasant land:
So the little minutes, humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages of eternity.
Little deeds of kindness, little words of love,
Help to make earth happy, like Heaven above.
—Julia Abigail Fletcher Carney (1823–1908) American Educator, Poet
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
When you can do the common things of life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.
—George Washington Carver (1864–1943) American Scientist, Botanist, Educator, Inventor
A bird does not sing because he has an answer. He sings because he has a song.
—Joan Walsh Anglund
Never forget that life can only be nobly inspired and rightly lived if you take it bravely and gallantly, as a splendid adventure in which you are setting out into an unknown country, to face many a danger, to meet many a joy, to find many a comrade, to win and lose many a battle.
—Annie Besant (1847–1933) British-born Indian Theosophist, Civil Rights Advocate, Writer, Orator
There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
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
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
Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago.
—Bernard Berenson (1865–1959) Russian-born American Art Historian
She didn’t know it couldn’t be done, so she went ahead and did it.
—Unknown
Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.
—Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Polymath, Painter, Sculptor, Inventor, Architect
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
An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.
—Edward de Bono (b.1933) Maltese-British Psychologist, Writer
An acre of performance is worth the whole world of promise.
—Jeremiah Brown Howell
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
Act as if the maxim of your action were to become through your will a be general natural law.
—Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) Prussian German Philosopher, Logician
The moment there is suspicion about a person’s motives, everything he does becomes tainted.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
The wicked fool is unconscious in his doing evil deeds. He will be tormented later on, as if being burnt, by the fruit of such evil deeds of his own.
—Buddhist Teaching
If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience!
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
The hardest time to tell: when to stop.
—Malcolm S. Forbes (1919–1990) American Publisher, Businessperson
Do the truth ye know, and you shall learn the truth you need to know.
—George MacDonald (1824–1905) Scottish Christian Author, Poet, Minister
He who limps is still walking.
—Stanislaw Jerzy Lec (1909–1966) Polish Aphorist, Poet
I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
Sometimes if you want to see a change for the better, you have to take things into your own hands.
—Clint Eastwood (b.1930) American Film Director, Film Producer, Film Actor
Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
Action is the foundational key to all success.
—Tony Robbins (b.1960) American Self-Help Author, Entrepreneur
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
Well done is better than well said.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Concern should drive us into action and not into a depression. No man is free who cannot control himself.
—Karen Horney
By doing just a little every day, I can gradually let the task completely overwhelm me.
—Ashleigh Brilliant (b.1933) British Cartoonist, Author
Our jobs determine to a large extent what our lives are like. Is what you do for a living making you ill? Does it keep you from becoming a more fully realized person? Do you feel ashamed of what you have to do at work? All too often, the answer to such questions is yes. Yet it does not have to be like that. Work can be one of the most joyful, most fulfilling aspects of life. Whether it will be or not depends on the actions we collectively take.
—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (b.1934) Hungarian-American Psychologist
I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything; but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
—Edward Everett Hale (1822–1909) American Unitarian Clergyman
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
Begin to be now what you will be hereafter.
—Jerome (347–420) Greek Priest, Apologist, Saint
Be great in act, as you have been in thought. Suit the action to the word and the word to the action.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
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
The deed is everything, the glory naught.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
In politics if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.
—Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) British Head of State
Practice yourself, for heaven’s sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.
—Epictetus (55–135) Ancient Greek Philosopher
His labour is a chant,
His idleness a tune;
Oh, for a bee’s experience
Of clovers and of noon.
—Emily Dickinson (1830–86) American Poet
It is by acts and not by ideas that people live.
—Anatole France (1844–1924) French Novelist
From small beginnings come great things.
—Common Proverb
The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention.
—Anonymous
One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.
—Andre Gide (1869–1951) French Novelist
The ancestor of every action is a thought.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
When confronted with two courses of action I jot down on a piece of paper all the arguments in favor of each one, then on the opposite side I write the arguments against each one. Then by weighing the arguments pro and con and cancelling them out, one against the other, I take the course indicated by what remains.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Action seems to follow feeling, but really action and feeling go together; and by regulating the action, which is under the more direct control of the will, we can indirectly regulate the feeling, which is not.
—William James (1842–1910) American Philosopher, Psychologist, Physician
Trust only movement. Life happens at the level of events, not of words. Trust movement.
—Alfred Adler (1870–1937) Austrian Psychiatrist
Unless a capacity for thinking be accompanied by a capacity for action, a superior mind exists in torture.
—Benedetto Croce (1866–1952) Italian Philosopher, Literary Critic
So what do we do? Anything. Something. So long as we just don’t sit there. If we screw it up, start over. Try something else. If we wait until we’ve satisfied all the uncertainties, it may be too late.
—Lee Iacocca (1924–2019) American Businessperson
It is easier to act yourself into a better way of feeling than to feel yourself into a better way of action.
—Orval Hobart Mowrer (1907–82) American Psychologist, Academic
If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, than you are an excellent leader.
—Dolly Parton (b.1946) American Musician, Actress
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
We cannot seek or attain health, wealth, learning, justice or kindness in general. Action is always specific, concrete, individualized, unique.
—John Dewey (1859–1952) American Philosopher, Psychologist, Educator
Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.
—Laozi (fl.6th Century BCE) Chinese Philosopher, Sage