Were we to take as much pains to be what we ought, as we do to disguise what we are, we might appear like ourselves without being at the trouble of any disguise at all.
—François de La Rochefoucauld (Public domain)
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Appreciating Our Own Unique Role in the World
Each of us is meant to have a character all our own, to be what no other can exactly be, and do what no other can exactly do. — William Ellery Channing (by Oswald Chambers; Public Domain)
Humor Friday
If Russians knew how to read, they would write me off. — Catherine the Great (Empress of Russia, 1762-1796; Public Domain) Under Catherine II, who came to power through a coup d’état (which she...
Your Unique Piece of the Universe
There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self. — Aldous Huxley (Image Licensed by Penn Wealth)
Have a Passion for What You do in Life—or Search Elsewhere
They are happy souls whose natures sort with their vocations. — Sir Francis Bacon (1617; Public Domain)
Tapping into the Wealth of Knowledge Around You
I attribute the little I know to my not having been ashamed to ask for information, and to my rule of conversing with all descriptions of men on those topics that form their own peculiar...
Find Your Passion in Life, then Resolve to Make Yourself its Preeminent Authority
I believe the true road to preeminent success in any line is to make yourself master of that line. — Andrew Carnegie (by Theodore Christopher Marceau; Public Domain)
Humor Friday
There’s no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you. — Will Rogers (1922; Public Domain)
The Reasoning Individual
The authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual. — Galileo Galilei (1636, by Justus Sustermans; Public Domain)
Emerson on Concentration of Effort
As the gardener, by severe pruning, forces the sap of the tree into one or two vigorous limbs, so should you stop off your miscellaneous activity and concentrate your force on one or a few points....
Pearls of Investment Wisdom from the “Father of Value Investing”
In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine. — Benjamin Graham (1950, Creative Commons) In some ways, it is beginning to feel like 1999 once...
Einstein on the Power of Imagination
Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions. — Albert Einstein (1921, by Ferdinand Schmutzer, Public Domain)
Humor Friday
Never attribute to malevolence what is merely due to incompetence. — Arthur C. Clarke (1965, by ITU Pictures, Creative Commons)
Knowledge Sparks Creativity
It seems to be one of the paradoxes of creativity that in order to think originally, we must familiarize ourselves with the ideas of others. — George Kneller (Image Licensed by Penn Wealth)...
…by the Company You Keep
Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company. — Booker T. Washington (1905, by Harris & Ewing; Public Domain)
An Important Component of Charisma
The secret of the man who is universally interesting is that he is universally interested. — William Dean Howells (1920, by Underwood & Underwood; Public Domain)
Newton on the Art of Persuasion
Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy. — Sir Isaac Newton (1689, by Sir Godfrey Kneller; Public Domain)
Humor Friday
Never memorize something that you can look up. — Albert Einstein (1921, by Ferdinand Schmutzer; Public Domain)
Maslow on the General Goodness of People
The fact is that people are good. Give people affection and security, and they will give affection and be secure in their feelings and their behavior. — Abraham Maslow (Image free use, courtesy of...
Changing Your Perception
No matter how externally-driven a set of circumstances may be, it is not true to say that you have no control over the situation: you—and you alone—determine your perspective on the matter. — Mike...
We Shape Our Own Destiny; Forge Our Own Fate
What you are is what you have done. What you’ll be is what you do now. — Various Sources (Image Licensed by Penn Wealth) (Sourcing note: A similar quote, “What you have been..,” is attributed to...