Wisdom and penetration are the fruit of experience, not the lessons of retirement and leisure. Great necessities call out great virtues.
—Abigail Adams (by Benjamin Blyth, public domain)
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Humor Friday (well, sort of)
One half of my life has put the other half in the grave. —Pierre Corneille (by Charles Le Brun; Public Domain) Advertisements
Believe in Yourself, and the Path Becomes More Clear
The person who cannot believe in themselves cannot believe in anything else. The basis of all integrity and character is whatever faith we have in our own. —Roy L. Smith Advertisements
Seek Out the Knowledge of Others
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...
Accept that Risk is a Necessary Component of Achievement
To win without risk is to triumph without glory. —Pierre Corneille (by Charles Le Brun; Public Domain) Despite the risks associated with the undertaking you are considering, go for it anyway. We...
Happiness is Not an Action; it is a Reaction
To the European, it is a characteristic of the American culture that, again and again, one is commanded and ordered to ‘be happy.’ But happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. One must have a...
Humor Friday
By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss and work twelve hours a day. —Robert Frost (by Fred Palumbo; Public Domain) Advertisements
It Doesn’t Take Much Effort to be Kind
A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles. —William Hazlitt (Self-portrait, 1802; Public Domain) Advertisements
Begin Right Now, Where You Stand—Put Your Dream in Motion
Whatever you can do—or dream you can—begin it; boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (by JK Stieler, 1828; Public Domain) Advertisements
Hold Yourself to a Higher Standard
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...
A Tangible Benefit to Empathy
He that sympathizes in all the happiness of others, perhaps himself enjoys the safest happiness; and he that is warned by the folly of others has perhaps attained the soundest wisdom. —Charles...
Humor Friday
Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can’t, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it. —Robert Frost (by Fred Palumbo; Public Domain)...
It is All by Design
And so it is, that both the Devil and the angelic Spirit present us with objects of desire to awaken our power of choice. —Rumi (1207-1273;Photo Licensed) Advertisements
Tell Your Mind What You are Looking For
A thought is often original, though you have uttered it a hundred times. It has come to you over a new route, by a new and express train of association. —Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (by Harris &...
Be Relentless
Hit hard, hit fast, hit often. —Admiral William “Bull” Halsey (Public Domain) Advertisements
Success is Your Only Option; Close All Other Exits
I don’t have much respect for the people who live their lives motivated by the existence of an exit strategy. We were not trained by an option that says, ‘If it gets too hard, get up and leave.’...
Humor Friday
My formula for success is: rise early, work late, and strike oil. —J. Paul Getty (1944; Public Domain) Advertisements
Accurately Assessing a Situation
Truth is confirmed by inspection and delay; falsehood by haste and uncertainty. —Tacitus (photo by Pe-Jo; Public Domain) Decisiveness is a positive and noble attribute, but too often rashness and...
Lord Jeffrey on Character
A good name, like good will, is got by many actions and lost by one. —Lord Jeffrey Amherst (Public Domain) Advertisements
Are You Pursuing a Purpose, or Merely a Wish?
I have brought myself by long meditation to the conviction that a human being with a settled purpose must accomplish it, and that nothing can resist a will which will stake even existence upon its...
Coolidge on Good and Evil