Character
Anonymous on Character
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” Author unknown
Jean Paul Richter on Courage
“A timid person is frightened before a danger, a coward during the time, and a courageous person afterward.” Jean Paul Richter German author (1763 – 1825)
Albert Einstein on Success
“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” Albert Einstein
Sun Tzu on War and Wisdom
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” Sun Tzu Chinese general & military strategist (~400 BC)
Oscar Levant on Humility
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility, there are so few of us left.” Oscar Levant
Evan Esar on Character
“A signature always reveals a man’s character – and sometimes even his name.” Evan Esar American Humorist (1899 – 1995)
Socrates on Wisdom
“If a man would move the world, he must first move himself.” Socrates
Ausonius on Forgiveness
“Forgive many things in others; nothing in yourself.” Ausonius
John Calvin Coolidge on Honor
“No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.” John Calvin Coolidge
Robert Louis Stevenson on Life
“Perpetual devotion to what a man calls his business, is only to be sustained by perpetual neglect of many other things.” Robert Louis Stevenson Scottish author (1850 – 1894)
Pappilon on Character
“A temptation resisted is a true measure of character.” Pappilon
George Bernard Shaw on Shame
“The more things a man is ashamed of, the more respectable he is.” George Bernard Shaw, “Man and Superman” (1903), act I Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 – 1950)
Aldous Huxley on Improvement
“There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” Aldous Huxley
Serbian Proverb on Humility
“Be humble for you are made of earth. Be noble for you are made of stars.” Serbian proverb
Ralph Waldo Emerson on Courage and Persistence
“Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Thomas Carlyle on Conceit
“The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none.” Thomas Carlyle Scottish author, essayist, & historian (1795 – 1881)
Oscar Wilde on Wisdom
“Only the shallow know themselves.” Oscar Wilde, “Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young”, 1882 Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900)
Robert H. Schuller on Character
“Tough times never last, but tough people do.” Robert H. Schuller
Oscar Wilde on Seriousness
“Seriousness is the only refuge of the shallow.” Oscar Wilde Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900)
Epictetus on Difficulty
“The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it.” Epictetus
R. D. Hitchcock on Character and Education
“The secret of all success is to know how to deny yourself. Prove that you can control yourself, and you are an educated man; and without this all other education is good for nothing.” R. D. Hitchcock
Confucius on Wisdom
“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” Confucius
Ernest Hemingway on Character
“A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” Ernest Hemingway
Zig Ziglar on Success
“It was character that got us out of bed, commitment moved us into action, and discipline enabled us to follow through.” Zig Ziglar
Sharon Salzberg on Life and Education
“We learn and grow and are transformed not so much by what we do but by why and how we do it.” Sharon Salzberg, O Magazine, The Power of Intention, January 2004
Eleanor Roosevelt on Character
“People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.” Eleanor Roosevelt
Ralph Waldo Emerson on Greatness
“To be great is to be misunderstood.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, An Essay on Self-Reliance US essayist & poet (1803 – 1882)
Abraham Lincoln on Character
“Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” Abraham Lincoln
Greg Anderson on Character
“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” Greg Anderson
Jesse Owens on Dreams
“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.” Jesse Owens
Nicholas Chamfort on Character
“In great affairs men show themselves as they wish to be seen; in small things they show themselves as they are.” Nicholas Chamfort (1741 – 1794)
Francois de La Rochefoucauld on Faults
“We confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no large ones.” Francois de La Rochefoucauld French author & moralist (1613 – 1680)