Great quotes from great individuals from the past.

[CeliVega]

I stumbled across this, and it's too good to keep it only for myself.

Some thought-provoking quotes from great scientists, writers, actors from the past:

Some people die at 25 and aren’t buried until 75. —Benjamin Franklin

Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions. Their lives a mimicry. Their passions a quotation. — Oscar Wilde

Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying. —Arthur C. Clark

Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. -Albert Einstein

Of all sad words of mouth or pen, the saddest are these: it might have been. -John Greenleaf Willittier

I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks, but I do fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times. -Bruce Lee

And when you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. —Friedrich Nietzsche

Don't let schooling interfere with your education-Mark Twain

A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. — John F. Kennedy

It is no measure of health to be well—adjusted to a profoundly sick society. — Jiddu Krisnamurti

[Bloomsie]

I don't know who said this, but one of my favorite quotes that I often go by is:

"Actions speaks louder than words" -- Anonymous

It's a quote that stands true to individuals. Lying is too easy, but when you make the effort to do something for someone via sacrifice your time or life, then it's true.

The quotes you listed are lovely!

[CeliVega]

It's surprising how many things are easier said than done.

Actions speaks louder than words. I feel so guilty after seeing this :shy:

There's been a lot of instances in my life where I make big plans or set up great goals, and then just ignore them or gave up after sometimes.

To have the determination, the perseverance, and the discipline to actually carry out something consistently for a long time is no easy feat, so I have great respect for everyone that can actually keep up their promises to themselves and actually make a life-changing decision.

[Rosa]

Live as if you were to die tomorrow,learn as if you were to live forever.- Mahatma Gandhi

To improve is to change, to be perfect is to change often.-Winston Churchill

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies,but the silence of our friends.-Martin Luther King Jr.

[LauraM]

Some excellent and thought provoking quotes here. 

Here are some of my favorites. 

"Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over."  -- F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage.  If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy."  - Dale Carnegie

"Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you." -- Thomas Jefferson

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."  -- Aristotle

[Oogles]

"It's never too late to be what you might have been." - George Eliot

"Imagination rules the world." - Napoleon Bonaparte

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." - Oscar Wilde

These are the ones that I always remember well. I seem to remember Mark Twain has a quote about dogs but I can't remember how it goes. 

[003]

Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy, by none other than Ludwig van Beethoven! It's my favorite quote. Every time I am asked to give, this is what I give. It directly touches my soul and captures my heart.

[linguaholic]

I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks, but I do fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times. -Bruce Lee

Wow, this one is awesome. Thank you for providing those interesting quotes, CeliVega!

[mmjmaske]

Basically, just be yourself! No one else can do that for you. 

[HeyImLeeroy]

One of my favorite quotes and one I try to live by would be:

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." - Albert Einstein

Hahahah that's why I always try to simplify my explanations, even when they are about complex issues to a level where a layman with absolutely no knowledge of the topic would understand what I'm talking about once I'm done.

And here are two gems from Bruce Lee himself:

"Knowledge will give you power, but character respect."

on the differences between being educated and being a person of character, and

"Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind." - Bruce Lee

on the importance of being flexible.

Hahaha I believe Bruce Lee was not only a great martial artist but a great philosopher as well!

[Litnax]

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." - Oscar Wilde

I really love this one. I've never heard it before.

[Lasonax]

Revenge only leads to more revenge. - Scar

Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire - Oscar Schindler

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. - Ghandi

There are of course dussins and dussisn of amazing Ghandi quotes, but the above is definitely one of my favorites.

[LauraM]

I'm enjoying this thread so much.  It's quite inspiring to read all these various quotes.  Very motivating and uplifting.  I hope we can keep this thread going.

Here are a few more of my favorites:

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -- Henry Ford

"Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility."  -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"There are no shortcuts to any place worth going."  -- Beverly Sills

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." -- Winston Churchill

"It is easier to go down a hill than up, but the view is best from the top." -- Arnold Bennett

[Muthoni]

One time when I was going for an interview, I was very nervous. When I talked to my mom on the phone she quoted these words “The Worst They Can Tell You is No” I do not know who said these words originally. They changed how I look at everything today. The meaning of these words is that there is no need to be afraid when making a proposal for business or approaching someone for a relationship. The very worst they can say is no and you can move to something better.

[AExAVF]

I really enjoy reading the quotes in this thread.  Not only do they leave behind important pieces of advice, but also they serve a deeper meaning to life.  The quote "The Worst They Can Tell You is No" is a double-edged blade for me.  Somehow, I interpret that quote to mean an immediate "no" right away.

Also, this quote is very much true as well:

"A lie often repeated enough becomes the truth." - Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Propaganda Minister.

Kurt Cobain's quotes about truth and reality likewise inspire me.

"I'd rather be hated for who I am, rather than loved for who I am not."

"Pretending to be someone you are not is a waste of the person you are."

[Baburra]

The quote I love the most is from aAlbert Einstein which is that imagination is more important than knowledge. I only knew of this quote just recently and it really resonated with me because I often came across very knowledgable people that I somehow still did not respect very much in terms of intellect, and only when I came across this statement did I really understand why that was..

[g2narat]

Wow! There are some really nice quotes here! Here's a few I'll add here:

Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact. - Henry James

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that - Martin Luther King Jr.

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart. - Nelson Mandela

[NATASHA]

This is a good idea and there are so many good ones. I like the first one by Benjamin Franklin.

There are so many quotes and sayings and a lot of them, well almost all of them make such absolute sense and give clarity in situations.

I often go to a coffee shop and grab a sachet of sugar which always has a meaning on it. The message it gives is not always directed towards my day but it often is and makes sense for that moment.

[zabina12]

Those are nice quotes.

I really like this "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks, but I do fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times. -Bruce Lee". It is right that focusing on one thing is better than trying to do a lot of things at the same time. It is having focus and specializing on it.

[alabala]

I'd like to reply to this thread with a quote which is a sharp and visionary idea about the economy in our society today, it comes from Bertrand Russell from "In praise of Idleness"

“Suppose that, at a given moment, a certain number of people are engaged in the manufacture of pins. They make as many pins as the world needs, working (say) eight hours a day. Someone makes an invention by which the same number of men can make twice as many pins: pins are already so cheap that hardly any more will be bought at a lower price. In a sensible world, everybody concerned in the manufacturing of pins would take to working four hours instead of eight, and everything else would go on as before. But in the actual world this would be thought demoralizing. The men still work eight hours, there are too many pins, some employers go bankrupt, and half the men previously concerned in making pins are thrown out of work. There is, in the end, just as much leisure as on the other plan, but half the men are totally idle while half are still overworked. In this way, it is insured that the unavoidable leisure shall cause misery all round instead of being a universal source of happiness. Can anything more insane be imagined?”

Please comment if you feel this is a valid point for you too

[NATASHA]

There are so many more since the last time I checked this thread. It is amazing how words and sentences have created life changing events. I Think that there are a few that I have paid close attention to and I would like to come up with some of my own. I don't think it would be the same as coming out of the mouths of those great and famous.

[everybodyknows]

It is inspiring to look at all the words of wisdom people have shared.  There is a lot of truth within them and I believe it took their intelligence to distill them down to that phrase that encompasses their thoughts so gracefully.

One of my all time favourites is: “For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.” by Carl Sagan and on a lighter note one from Woody Allen: "If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank."

[js85]

My favorite quote has always been misattributed, most commonly to Abraham Lincoln with no proof, but the point still stands and resonates with me:

"When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That is my religion."

[Juan Fuentes]

Well, my favorite quote of all time is:

"Do. Or do not. There is no try"... Yoda

It is, of course, a movie character. Yet it always comes back to me when I'm going to start doing something I'm not sure if I can manage to do. It helps me to keep positive.

[sidney]

My favorite quote is "The pen is mightier than the sword" by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. I just learned that the quote originated from his play, I never knew that. I always though that the author of the quote was unknown, until I googled it.