Life
Cullen Hightower on Mistakes
“Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else’s can shorten it.” Cullen Hightower
Leo Rosten on Happiness
“Money can’t buy happiness, but neither can poverty.” Leo Rosten US (Polish-born) author (1908 – 1997)
Thomas Szasz on Life
“The proverb warns that ‘You should not bite the hand that feeds you.’ But maybe you should, if it prevents you from feeding yourself.” Thomas Szasz
Woody Allen on Life
“You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred.” Woody Allen US movie actor, comedian, & director (1935 – )
Arthur C. Clarke on Intelligence
“It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value.” Arthur C. Clarke English physicist & science fiction author (1917 – 2008)
Michael E. Gerber on Life
“The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next. The difference between the two is the difference between living fully and just existing.” Michael E. Gerber
Jay Leno Cynical Quote
“Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime. Teach a man to create an artificial shortage of fish and he will eat steak.” Jay Leno US comedian & television host (1950 – )
Otto von Bismarck Cynical Quote
“When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn’t the slightest intention of putting it into practice.” Otto von Bismarck German Prussian politician (1815 – 1898)
E. V. Lucas on Tardiness
“I have noticed that the people who are late are often so much jollier than the people who have to wait for them.” E. V. Lucas
Mark Twain on Life
“When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.” Mark Twain US humorist, novelist, short story author (1835 – 1910)
Serbian Proverb on Humility
“Be humble for you are made of earth. Be noble for you are made of stars.” Serbian proverb
E. B. White on Planning
“I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.” E. B. White US author & humorist (1899 – 1985)
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
Helen Rowland on Life
“The follies which a man regrets most, in his life, are those which he didn’t commit when he had the opportunity.” Helen Rowland, A Guide to Men, 1922 (1876 – 1950)
Sidney J. Harris on Regret
“Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.” Sidney J. Harris
William Goldman on Life
“Life isn’t fair. It’s just fairer than death, that’s all.” William Goldman, “The Princess Bride”
Jake Roberts on Experience
“Every moment is an experience.” Jake Roberts
Annie Dillard on Life
“There is no shortage of good days. It is good lives that are hard to come by.” Annie Dillard, The Writing Life
Theodore Roosevelt on Criticism
“It’s not the critic that counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.” Theodore Roosevelt
Ian Fleming on Time
“I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them.” Ian Fleming British novelist (1908 – 1964)
Ambrose Bierce Philosophical Quote
“Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum (I think that I think, therefore I think that I am.)” Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary US author & satirist (1842 – 1914)
Mark Twain on Desire
“A human being has a natural desire to have more of a good thing than he needs.” Mark Twain, Following the Equator US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 – 1910)
Danny Kaye on Life
“Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.” Danny Kaye
Robertson Davies on Children
“A happy childhood has spoiled many a promising life.” Robertson Davies, “What’s Bred in the Bone”
Marie Curie on Science & Understanding
“Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.” Marie Skłodowska-Curie Polish chemist & physicist (1867 – 1934)
Josh Billings on Life
“Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well.” Josh Billings
Marshall McLuhan on Life
“There is absolutely no inevitability as long as there is a willingness to contemplate what is happening.” Marshall McLuhan Canadian author, educator, & philosopher (1911 – 1980)
Arthur Rubinstein on Life and Love
“I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.” Arthur Rubinstein US (Polish-born) composer & pianist (1886 – 1982)
Marie Curie on Understanding
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” Marie Skłodowska-Curie Polish chemist & physicist (1867 – 1934)
Edith Wharton on Happiness
“There are lots of ways of being miserable, but there’s only one way of being comfortable, and that is to stop running round after happiness. If you make up your mind not to be happy there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have a fairly good time.” Edith Wharton, The Last Asset, 1904 US novelist (1862 – 1937)
Annie Lennox on Kindness
“Ask yourself: Have you been kind today? Make kindness your daily modus operandi and change your world.” Annie Lennox
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)
Charles M. Crowe on Easter
“Easter tells us that life is to be interpreted not simply in terms of things but in terms of ideals.” Charles M. Crowe