If you ask me which is the real hereditary sin of human nature, do you imagine I shall answer pride, or luxury, or ambition, or egotism? No; I shall answer indolence. Who conquers indolence will conquer all the rest. Indeed, all good principles must stagnate without mental activity.
—Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann (Public Domain)
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You can serve a person the world on a silver platter, but until that person understands, embraces, and applies the concepts of work ethic, humility, personal responsibility, and empathy they will...
When I was young, I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. So I did ten times more work. — George Bernard Shaw (Image Licensed by Penn Wealth)
Action speaks louder than words, but not nearly as often. — Mark Twain (Public Domain)
What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise. — Oscar Wilde (1889, by Napoleon Sarony; Public Domain)
An acre of performance is worth a world of promise. — William Dean Howells, American novelist and playwright (1920, by Underwood & Underwood; Public Domain) There are few things in life more...
Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward; they may be beaten, but they may start a winning game. — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1828, by Joseph Karl Stieler; Public Domain)
Making constant moves toward your grand goal often means risking defeat—perhaps even humiliating defeat—but is that really a bad thing? The more you place yourself in the arena, the less you will...
The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, then having the two as close together as possible. — George Burns (photo by NBC/Elmer Holloway; Public Domain)
Leadership is based on inspiration, not domination; on cooperation, not intimidation. — William Arthur Ward (Image Licensed by Penn Wealth) I have worked for countless people in my life, from both...
There are few remedies for anxiety and depression more potent than continuous, focused action toward a dynamic and inspirational goal. — Mike Hazell (Image Licensed by Penn Wealth)
Great things are done by a series of small things brought together. — Vincent van Gogh (1887; self-portrait, Public Domain) Remember these words when the task you are working on seems mundane. Ask...
When one has a great deal to put into it, a day has a hundred pockets. — Friedrich Nietzsche (1875; by Friedrich Hartmann, Public Domain) It truly is amazing how much we can accomplish in one day...
It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. — Mark Twain (1907; by A.F. Bradley, Public Domain)
Noble deeds that are concealed are most esteemed. — Blaise Pascal, French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic theologian (1690; Creative Commons) What a concept. While others...
Harsh counsels have no effect; they are like hammers, which are always repulsed by the anvil. — Claude Adrien Helvétius (Image Licensed by Penn Wealth) The more fiercely someone gets in another’s...
The sweetest and most inoffensive path of life leads through the avenues of science and learning; and whoever can either remove any obstruction in this way, or open up any new prospect, ought, so...
Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. — Buddha (Image Licensed by Penn Wealth)
I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying. — Oscar Wilde (1889, by Napoleon Sarony; Public Domain) My instinct is that Wilde didn’t suffer fools gladly,...
Genius means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way. — William James (Image Licensed by Penn Wealth)
He that has light within his own clear breast may sit in the center and enjoy the bright day; but he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts, benighted, walks under the mid-day sun, himself his...
