Quotes That Epitomize Every Myers-Briggs Type
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a personality test designed to help people understand how they and others perceive and judge the world. It is one of the most widely used and studied psychological tools today. Once a person completes the test, they are categorized as one of 16 types, each named with four letters, such as “ESTJ” or “INFP.” Millions of people have taken the survey to find out which “type” best describes themselves.

Carl Gustav Jung, a 20th-century Swiss psychiatrist, came up with the theory of personality types in the 1920s. Isabel Briggs Myers, a student of political science, and her mother, Katharine Cook Briggs, sought to make Jung’s complex theories more accessible and useful to the public.

In the 1940s, they developed the first Myers-Briggs personality inventories, and began to test and refine them, publishing the first version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in 1962. Today, this assessment has been used as a self-reflection tool and interpersonal guide across many realms, from work and relationships to creative pursuits and more.

Drawing on Jung's work, the Myers-Briggs system proposes that the way in which people’s different worldviews guide their behavior can be systematically identified and described. The approach uses four categories:

“Favorite world,” or how one focuses their attention (introversion [I] or extroversion [E])
“Information,” or how one takes in and/or interprets information (sensing [S] or intuition [N])
“Decisions,” or how one makes decisions (thinking [T] or feeling [F])
“Structure,” or how one deals with the outside world and external input (judging [J] or perceiving [P])
Many people use psychological tests to gain a new perspective on how they and others perceive and respond to the world. This kind of self-knowledge can help us appreciate our strengths and also identify areas for possible experimentation and growth. And learning how others approach life can help us better understand their preferences and behaviors so we can forge deeper connections.

The Myers-Briggs Foundation shares several resources that explain how to take the assessment. It also states that all types are equal, pointing out that “there is no best type.” Below are 16 quotes that epitomize every Myers-Briggs type.

ISTJ
Diligence is the mother of good fortune, and idleness — its opposite — never brought a man to the goal of any of his best wishes.
Miguel de Cervantes   #

According to the Myers-Briggs Foundation, ISTJs tend to be logical, responsible, and steady-working. They value order, tradition, loyalty, and realism.

ISFJ
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.   #
Aesop

An ISFJ, at times known as “the protector,” is considerate, detail-oriented, reliable, and empathetic. They value balance and harmony in their relationships and environment.

INFJ
Know thyself.
Ancient Greek saying

INFJs are clear about their own values, organized, and passionate. They are insightful about human motivations and decisive in how to serve the common good.

INTJ
No one can lead you. You are born to be aware of yourself, to know the master in yourself.
Benjamin Creme

INTJs are said to be ambitious free-thinkers with high standards for themselves and other people. They are independent by nature and excel in seeing the big picture and executing their visions.

ISTP
A problem thoroughly understood is always fairly simple.
Charles Kettering

ISTPs are flexible and logical. They are interested in how things work, and patterns of cause and effect. They are motivated to solve problems efficiently, and value practical resolutions.

ISFP
Peace is every step: The path of mindfulness in everyday life.
Thích Nhất Hạnh

ISFPs are sensitive, free-spirited, and tuned into the present moment. They work best with organic parameters, are loyal and kind, and prefer to avoid conflicts.

INFP
The only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle.
Steve Jobs

A person with an INFP personality type is idealistic, curious, and motivated to help themselves and others live fulfilling, meaningful lives. They are fiercely loyal to their values and loved ones, and desire external experiences that align with their beliefs.

INTP
Lots of people don’t like coping with logic when it dictates hard decisions. That’s a problem with people, not logic.
Cory Doctorow

An INTP is a thinker; they value logic and focused analysis, and tend to have a quiet temperament. They are abstract and skeptical philosophers and problem-solvers.

ESTP
A man who waits to believe in action before acting is anything you like, but he’s not a man of action. It is as if a tennis player, before returning a ball, stopped to think about his views of the physical and mental advantages of tennis. You must act as you breathe.
Georges Clemenceau

ESTPs are pragmatic, high-energy, and action-oriented. They shy away from theory, learn by doing, and often excel at persuasion. They enjoy comfort, style, and connecting with others in the here and now.

ESFP
Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird.
Anthony Robbins

ESFPs are spontaneous, exuberant, and loving. They enjoy group projects, meeting and connecting with people, and trying new things. They tend to rely on common sense, inspire others to action, and excel at having fun.

ENFP
For many things we can find substitutes, but there is not now, nor will there ever be, a substitute for creative thought.
Crawford Greenewalt

A person who is an ENFP is imaginative, enthusiastic, and warm, and generally has an open mind and positive outlook. They like to give and receive affirmation. They are flexible, creative thinkers, and natural innovators.

ENTP
My mind rebels at stagnation … I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

ENTPs are quick-witted, resourceful, and outspoken. They enjoy conceptual analysis and debates, are able to come up with novel approaches and solutions to dilemmas, and are easily bored by repetitive experiences.

ESTJ
I set another goal … a reasonable, manageable goal that I could realistically achieve if I worked hard enough. I approached everything step by step.
Michael Jordan

ESTJs are frank, organized, and efficient in planning and directing projects. They value logic, expediency, realism, and productivity.

ESFJ
Love thy neighbor.
Jesus of Nazareth

An ESFJ type is often drawn to caregiving roles; they like to work with others and to help people meet their needs. They are warm, peace-building, and loyal, and they desire to be appreciated.

ENFJ
I have a dream this afternoon that the brotherhood of man will become a reality in this day. And with this faith, I will go out and carve a tunnel of hope through the mountain of despair. With this faith, I will go out with you and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows.
Martin Luther King Jr.

ENFJs are giving, inspiring, dedicated leaders. They are sociable, loyal, and sensitive to others’ needs. They can see the potential for good in everyone.

ENTJ
I learned how important it is to lead and be decisive, and to, in a way, empower other people to do their best.
Anna Wintour

A person with an ENTJ personality type has a commanding presence and easily leads. They are confident planners and problem-solvers.

About the Author
Julia Travers is a writer, artist and teacher.

As humans, we love to classify things; it’s our way of understanding the world in manageable pieces. When it comes to people, we really love to categorize individuals into personality types so that we can better understand how they tick and how to interact with them.

Hence, the Enneagram personality model, which was introduced to the modern world by philosopher and teacher George Gurdjieff in 1915. (Its roots date back even earlier, though the exact origins are disputed.)

The term "Enneagram" stems from the Greek words ennéa, meaning "nine," and grámma, meaning "written" or "drawn.” The model is based around a collection of nine different but interconnected personality types. The Enneagram theory discerns between a “healthy” and “unhealthy” version of each type, with a wide spectrum in between offering a path to self-improvement.

In modern times, the Enneagram is often used in business, leadership, and spiritual settings to help people gain a better understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses. Generally speaking, though, it is not widely accepted as an actual scientific “diagnosis.” Rather, it’s a self-help tool that can be used as a jumping-off point for exploration, inspiring us to think more deeply about ourselves and our relationships with others.

Though many different names are attributed to each of the nine personality types, for purposes of consistency, we will use the names given to each type by The Enneagram Institute: The Reformer, The Helper, The Achiever, The Individualist, The Investigator, The Loyalist, The Enthusiast, The Challenger, and The Peacemaker. Below, we’ve compiled some meaningful quotes that touch upon key traits for each type.

TYPE ONE: THE REFORMER
The most dangerous way we sabotage ourselves is by waiting for the perfect moment to begin. Nothing works perfectly the first time, or the first 50 times. Everything has a learning curve. The beginning is just that — a beginning. Surrender your desire to do it flawlessly on the first try. It's not possible. Learn to learn. Learn to fail. Learn to learn from failing. And begin today. Begin now. Stop waiting.
Vironika Tugaleva

Enneagram Type 1 is perhaps also known as “the Perfectionist.” Those who fall into this Enneagram type tend to have lofty goals and strict moral codes that help guide their decision-making and ambitions. They also often have a deep sense of moral obligation to be the best person they can be in order to serve others — For instance, examples of well-known Enneagram Type 1s include Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and Michelle Obama.

An issue many Type 1s face is being their own worst critic and constantly trying to be seen as the responsible or reliable one of a group, even as they have roiling emotions and passions they’re trying to tamp down. One important thing for Type 1s to remember, then, is that not everything has to be perfect all the time, and it’s OK to allow room for mistakes and setbacks.

TYPE TWO: THE HELPER
Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.
Albert Einstein

When it comes to Enneagram Type 2s, life begins and ends with love: love for family, for friends, and for strangers. Compassion and generosity are at the root of a Type 2’s decision-making, and help guide the relationships they build throughout their lives. A Type 2 thrives when serving others, with the tiny caveat that they oftentimes want others to acknowledge their selflessness, too.

Enneagram Type 2 individuals are warm in part because they care a lot about people, and in part because they crave the feeling of being needed; their sense of self is very much tied to others’ gratitude and approval. Famous individuals who are Enneagram Type 2s include Stevie Wonder, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Desmond Tutu.

TYPE THREE: THE ACHIEVER
Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.
Seth Godin

There is no task too large for the Enneagram Type 3. Individuals who identify most strongly with this type tend to be goal-oriented, charismatic, driven, and accomplished from an early age. They often have magnetic personalities and lean heavily on others’ perceptions of them as role models to dictate who they want to be. As a result, however, they can get lost in a blur of constant doing instead of just being.

Enneagram Type 3s are sometimes characterized as workaholics or overachievers who want to impress their peers, even at the expense of their own health and well-being. Examples of famous Type 3s include Truman Capote, Will Smith, and Ryan Seacrest, all of whom were/are known for their busy social calendars and many achievements.

TYPE FOUR: THE INDIVIDUALIST
Let everything happen to you. Beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Rainer Maria Rilke

Those who identify with Enneagram Type 4, otherwise known as "the Romantic," are creative spirits to the bone. They are highly sensitive, self-aware, and emotionally honest, sometimes to a fault — a problem some Enneagram Type 4 individuals have is wallowing in self pity or constantly feeling like an outsider looking in.

But it should be noted that Enneagram Type 4s' individuality is also their biggest asset: They love being surrounded by beautiful things, and very much prize creation over consumption. Case in point: Famous Enneagram Type 4s include Stevie Nicks, Miles Davis, Virginia Wolfe, and Frida Kahlo. Type 4s are also particularly well-equipped to handle grief, which makes sense, given how much creativity can arise from sadness.

TYPE FIVE: THE INVESTIGATOR
Do stuff. Be clenched, curious. Not waiting for inspiration’s shove or society’s kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. It’s all about paying attention. Attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. Stay eager.
Susan Sontag

Of the nine Enneagram types, those who are Type 5 are perhaps most driven by the pursuit of knowledge. Individuals who most strongly identify with this type aren’t satisfied with the status quo, and always want to know why something is the way it is, digging deep into the scaffolding of society to find answers for their many questions.

Type 5s are innovative and have the potential to be true visionaries — famous individuals include Albert Einstein, Jane Goodall, Mark Zuckerberg, and Georgia O’Keeffe. The proclivity for eccentricity runs so rampant among Type 5s, in fact, that they often reject easy answers to their queries, preferring to be challenged intellectually with more complex solutions. As a result, they are insatiably curious, and spend much of their life gathering knowledge.

TYPE SIX: THE LOYALIST
Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.
Oprah Winfrey

Enneagram Type 6 individuals are all about planning ahead, especially when it comes to social situations. Alert, perceptive, and responsible, Type 6s want to do the most to avoid being caught off-guard, and this includes surrounding themselves with loyal, loving friends and family.

Safety and security are huge motivators for those who are a Type 6, and this manifests itself in a certain kind of “hunkering down” when it comes to ideas, lifestyle choices, and beliefs. Well-known Type 6s include Spike Lee, Marilyn Monroe, Jennifer Aniston, and Mike Tyson. Type 6’s relationships very much revolve around trust and guidance, but once earned, that individual will be a loyal friend for life.

TYPE SEVEN: THE ENTHUSIAST
The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.
Eleanor Roosevelt

There is so much to love about life when you’re an Enneagram Type 7. Ruled by optimism, ideas, and spontaneity, Type 7s are very carpe diem about the brief time we all have on this earth, and they want to maximize their experiences in every sense of the word.

Type 7s are impulsive and enthusiastic, and their excitement for life is infectious. They feel most alive when they’re in pursuit of a new idea or spearheading a new project, but as a result, they often need constant mental stimulation, and the less endearing reality is that their pursuit of novelty may be an exhausting, never-ending one. Famous Type 7s include Joe Biden, Britney Spears, Robin Williams, and Amelia Earhart.

TYPE EIGHT: THE CHALLENGER
With confidence, you have won before you have started.
Marcus Garvey

If Enneagram Type 8 individuals were a horoscope sign, they would undoubtedly be Leos: confident, assertive, and fierce. Those who identify most with Type 8 are natural leaders, and are unafraid to speak their mind in defense of their beliefs. They are protective of those closest to them as well, and prize independence and endurance.

With their natural leadership skills, Enneagram Type 8s are able to influence others easily, and often choose careers as politicians, lawyers, public speakers, and other forms of changemakers. Kamala Harris, Toni Morrison, Ernest Hemingway, and Clint Eastwood are all Type 8s. One of Type 8’s weaknesses, however, is never wanting to show weakness or vulnerability, which can ultimately lead to feelings of frustration and being misunderstood.

TYPE NINE: THE PEACEMAKER
Don’t hope that events will turn out the way you want, welcome events in whichever way they happen: this is the path to peace.
Epictetus

Of all the nine Enneagram types, Type 9 individuals are perhaps the most spiritual. Driven by peace — both within themselves and with those around them — Type 9s are averse to conflict and therefore have a more go-with-the-flow attitude. This is not to say, however, that Type 9s are pushovers. They can also be very stubborn, and will push back if provoked, though oftentimes in a passive-aggressive manner.

Individuals who identify with this type make great mediators, but often have to work to prioritize their own boundaries and beliefs over stronger personality types. Famous Type 9s include Carl Jung, Audrey Hepburn, and Gloria Steinem.

About the Author
Joyce Chen is a writer, editor, and community builder based in Seattle, Washington.

One of the most influential thinkers of the modern era, Friedrich Nietzsche was a German philosopher whose work, an early example of existentialism, explored the meaning of the human experience. Nietzsche believed in the importance of individualism and self-expression; he often challenged traditional morality and societal norms, and espoused the pursuit of personal excellence.

Born in 1844, Nietzsche grew up with his mother and younger sister, after his father and younger brother died within six months of each other when Nietzsche was just 5 years old. He began composing songs at age 14 — a creative discipline that would inform his life and work — and went on to study classical philology (the study of language and literature) at Germany’s University of Bonn.

At 24 years old, without a doctorate or teaching certificate, Nietzsche was put forward to be the professor of classical philology at Switzerland’s University of Basel in Switzerland — the youngest person to ever hold the chair.

Nietzsche started publishing his influential works shortly after, including The Birth of Tragedy, Daybreak, Beyond Good and Evil, and his masterpiece, Thus Spoke Zarathustra. In his late 30s, however, his health began to decline, and in 1889, he experienced a mental health crisis that would effectively end his career. He spent the rest of his life in the care of his mother and, later, his sister, who went on to edit and publish many of the philosopher’s works after his death in 1900.

Nietzsche's work has had a profound influence on 20th-century thought, and continues to be debated and interpreted to this day. Here are 10 quotes to help distill the philosophy of Nietzsche and his visionary ideas.

What does not kill me, makes me stronger.

One of Nietzsche's more famous quotes is a confident affirmation of resilience. Facing and overcoming adversity can be a valuable learning experience. It not only makes a more capable and confident person, but will lead to one of Nietzsche's most-valued outcomes: personal growth and development.

You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.

Nietzsche often challenged the idea that there are absolute “right” and “wrong” ways to do things, notions that were tied to what he felt were outdated religious and moral ideals. Instead, in this translation from Thus Spoke Zarathustra, he emphasized the importance of personal freedom, encouraging people to explore their own ideas and paths, and to find their own way in life.

No one can construct for you the bridge upon which precisely you must cross the stream of life, no one but you yourself alone.

Again emphasizing individualism, Nietzsche tells us here that no one else can make decisions for us, solve our problems, or hand us our successes. It’s an empowering idea — reminding us not only that nothing worthwhile is easy, but that we have the power to shape our own destiny and overcome any obstacle — but it also carries the weight of responsibility.

If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.

It’s no secret that when we focus too much on negativity, it can have a profound effect on our own psyche, consuming our thoughts, emotions, and, eventually, our actions. Here, the abyss could represent any number of things that we spend too much time contemplating. It’s an insightful cautionary statement, reminding us to be mindful of where we choose to focus our attention.

Become who you are.

Nietzsche's urging to become who we are is a reminder of his signature directive: to not live an unexamined life. Less about a final destination or goal, this line evokes the courage needed to truly be ourselves. It encourages self-awareness, self-acceptance, and taking ownership of our choices to pursue our most authentic selves, even if that means taking an unconventional path.

There are no facts, only interpretations.

This quote reflects Nietzsche's skepticism about absolute truths. He believed there were only different interpretations of knowledge, shaped by our individual perspectives, experiences, and beliefs. This component of his philosophy also came to be known as “Nietzsche’s perspectivism.”

There are no beautiful surfaces without a terrible depth.

Nietzsche firmly believed in the connection between suffering and joy — that one could not truly be experienced without first knowing the other. This quote frames this philosophy poetically, and suggests that the compassion that comes from experiencing hardship allows us to connect with others on a deeper, more vulnerable level.

He who has a why in life can tolerate almost any how. ###

Having a strong sense of purpose in life can give us the strength and resilience to endure just about any obstacle that comes our way. It’s worthwhile, then, to look at our lives and define our “why” in order to stay motivated, and in turn, stay true to our own path.

Without music, life would be a mistake.

Nietzsche was musical from a young age, and often remarked on the power and importance of music. He saw it as one of the purest expressions of the inner self — something unburdened by societal expectations, and a conduit to forces greater than the human mind. Music, he strongly believed, has a profound impact on human emotions, thoughts, and experiences — so much so that life would hardly be meaningful without it.

The higher we soar, the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly.

Personal excellence was a foundational idea in Nietzsche’s work. He introduced the concept of the “übermensch,” (or “super man”) as a goal for all of humanity, and here he provides a visual of soaring high. He warns, however, that the more successful we are, the less relatable we might seem to others; we must be mindful of staying humble and empathetic to those in a different place on their own journey.

About the Author
Nicole is a writer, thrift store lover, and group-chat meme spammer based in Ontario, Canada.

When the internet was first created, it was predicted to bring people around the world closer together than ever before. But as we now know, technological innovations such as the internet have proven to be an inadequate substitution for in-person interaction, and contrary to those initial predictions, our society often seems to feel more fractured and disconnected than ever.

In fact, the U.S. surgeon general released a 2023 advisory regarding the “healing effects of social connection and community” in response to “our epidemic of loneliness and isolation.”

In many ways, it does feel as if our connections to each other are uniquely fraught. We may complain about our neighbors on Facebook groups and Nextdoor more often than we knock on their doors to offer our friendship, and generational divides have begun to seem more like chasms than gaps.

We have to remind ourselves that a strong society starts with us. If we want a solid community, we have to act accordingly. Each of us has the power to replace the suspicion, blame, and judgment we may be guilty of hurling at our (literal and figurative) neighbors with a warm remark or a helping hand, and we don’t need to wait to make those changes.

We all deserve to live in a supportive, compassionate world. Here are 12 quotes about how we can build just that.

A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.
Greek proverb #

There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.
Nelson Mandela

We must be willing, individually and as a nation, to accept whatever sacrifices may be required of us. A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded to the individual.
Albert Einstein

There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.
Meg Wheatley

What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness is cured.
Kurt Vonnegut

The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.
Coretta Scott King

The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.
John W. Gardner

Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.
Helen Keller

The first sign of corruption in a society that is still alive is that the end justifies the means.
Georges Bernanos

I know there is strength / In the differences between us / And I know there is comfort / Where we overlap.
Ani DiFranco

When we listen with less judgment, we always develop better relationships with each other. It’s not differences that divide us. It’s our judgments about each other that do. Curiosity and good listening bring us back together.
Meg Wheatley

About the Author
Brooke Robinson
Inspiring Quotes editor, bibliophile, cinephile, and curry enthusiast based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Throughout his life, Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, has been a source of inspiration and wisdom — not just for Tibetan Buddhists, but for people everywhere.

The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader and monarch of Tibet. When he was just 2 years old, in 1937, Tenzin Gyatso was found to be the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama. All the Dalai Lamas are believed to be earthly manifestations of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva embodying compassion, and the patron saint of Tibet. It’s believed the Dalai Lama is delaying their own attainment of nirvana in a constant reincarnation cycle to help ease suffering in others.

Peace and compassion are central tenets of the 14th Dalai Lama's life, and his commitment to them has made him an international icon. In 1989, he received a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to find a peaceful solution for the political unrest in Tibet. He has also earned more than 150 awards and honorary degrees for his continuing push toward nonviolence and universal compassion and understanding, and is known around the world for advocating for harmony between people and nations alike.

These 14 quotes are nuggets of wisdom the 14th Dalai Lama has imparted in an effort to fulfill his mission to end suffering. Think of them as an instruction manual for living a life of peace, happiness, and compassion.

True happiness comes from a sense of inner peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved through the cultivation of altruism, of love and compassion and elimination of ignorance, selfishness, and greed.

Reason well from the beginning and then there will never be any need to look back with confusion and doubt.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

True peace with oneself and with the world around us can only be achieved through the development of mental peace.

The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes.

There is a saying in Tibetan that “at the door of the miserable rich man sleeps the contented beggar.” The point of this saying is not that poverty is a virtue, but that happiness does not come with wealth, but from setting limits to one’s desires, and living within those limits with satisfaction.

I try to treat whoever I meet as an old friend. This gives me a genuine feeling of happiness. It is the practice of compassion.

Inner peace is the key: If you have inner peace, the external problems do not affect your deep sense of peace and tranquility.

It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come.

Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend — or a meaningful day.

Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned.

Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.

Human happiness and human satisfaction must ultimately come from within oneself. It is wrong to expect some final satisfaction to come from money or from a computer.

The root of happiness is altruism — the wish to be of service to others.

About the Author
Jennifer Billock is a writer, traveler, witch, and unapologetic Chicagoan. @jenniferbillock

Ever since the Indian monk Bodhidharma introduced Buddhism to China around the fifth or sixth century CE, establishing what eventually became known as Zen Buddhism, masters of this spiritual pursuit have delivered morsels of wisdom that are equal parts enlightening and confounding.

Zen Buddhism rejects the dualistic, black-and-white thinking of modern life and instead focuses on the self and the strength that can be found within. For thousands of years, Zen teachers, philosophers, and poets have ruminated on the meaning of Zen, and provided quotes, anecdotes, and verses dedicated to illuminating its mysteries.

These 12 quotes come from Zen masters throughout history, from Bodhidharma himself to the Japanese teachers who introduced Zen to the U.S. in the 20th century.

In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.
Shunryū Suzuki

You ought to know how to rise above the trivialities of life, in which most people are found drowning themselves.
D.T. Suzuki

A Buddha is someone who finds freedom in good fortune and bad.
Bodhidharma

Each of you is perfect the way you are … and you can use a little improvement.
Shunryū Suzuki

You must love in such a way that the person you love feels free.
Thích Nhất Hạnh

Just be true, and there are no barriers.
Huineng

A fool sees himself as another, but a wise man sees others as himself.
Dōgen Zenji

Having no destination, I am never lost.
Ikkyū

When reading, only read. When eating, only eat. When thinking, only think.
Seungsahn

Those who do not have faith in others will not be able to stand on their own.
Sheng-yen

No mud, no lotus.
Thích Nhất Hạnh

To live is enough.
Shunryū Suzuki

About the Author
Darren Orf lives in Portland, Oregon, has two cats, and writes about science, technology, nature, and history.

I've learned.... That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.
I've learned.... That when you're in love, it shows.
I've learned.... That just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day.
I've learned.... That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.
I've learned.... That being kind is more important than being right.
I've learned.... That you should never say no to a gift from a child.
I've learned.... That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.
I've learned.... That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.
I've learned.... That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.
I've learned.... That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.
I've learned.... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
I've learned.... That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.
I've learned.... That money doesn't buy class.
I've learned.... That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.
I've learned.... That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
I've learned.... That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
I've learned.... That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.
I've learned.... That love, not time, heals all wounds.
I've learned.... That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.
I've learned.... That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile..
I've learned.... That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.
I've learned.... That life is tough, but I'm tougher.
I've learned.... That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.
I've learned.... That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.
I've learned.... That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away.
I've learned.... That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.
I've learned.... That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
I've learned.... That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.
I've learned.... That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.
I've learned.... That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

Perhaps it is as much about teaching self awareness as morality. Is self awareness an instinct or perhaps even the aggregate of insitncts?

[50 Eye-Opening Questions To Ask Your Grandchildren - By Marie Holmes - 04/11/2024
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/great-questions-grandchildren_l_6616a4a8e4b02edf2008d53d
]

There’s something special about the connection between a grandparent and a grandchild. While this bond goes deeper than words, conversation is a great way to get to know your grandkid and help keep that connection strong.
[This is true of uncles, aunts, coaches, friend's parents, etc. as well. There are some things that apparently cannot be taught by parents.]

A juicy question — the kind that leads them to see something in a new light, or inspires them to tell a story — can get a conversation started, or get it rolling again if you hit a lull.

“The point of asking questions should be to get to know your grandchildren better,” DeeDee Moore, a grandmother who blogs at More Than Grand, told HuffPost. 
[According to this analysis, it is about getting yur grand children to develop communication skills, self awareness and problem solving.]

Asking kids to elaborate with follow-up questions and open-ended prompts like “What makes you say that?” are also a good way to keep kids talking.

“If you ask what their favorite color is, ask why they like it or how that color makes them feel,” Moore suggested.

Part of the joy of asking kids questions is the surprise that their answers may bring, leading your conversation to take an unexpected turn.

“When I asked my four-year-old granddaughter if she had talked to any of her friends at school today, she initially said no,” Moore recounted. “But then she explained, ‘I just meowed because I was a kitty.’ Instead of finding out more about her school day, we ended up having a conversation about how animals talk.”

Here are some questions you can use to start a conversation with a grandkid or to keep one going.

What’s something you’re really good at? “A great follow up is to ask them to teach you how to do it,” Moore added.
If you could invite anyone in the whole world to dinner, who would you invite?
If you could walk into any book or movie, which one would you choose?
If you could be any animal, which one would you be?
Would you rather be able to fly like a bird or swim like a fish?
If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be?
Would you rather be able to tell the future or read other people’s minds?
What was the last thing that happened that made you laugh?
What is something kind that someone has done for you?
What is something about you that I don’t already know?
What do you think you’ll be doing ten years from now?
Where in the world would you most like to visit?
Would you rather travel back to the past or into the future?
What is something you want to learn how to do?
What is your favorite thing about yourself?
Would you rather travel underwater or in outer space?
If your toy could talk, what would it say?
What is your favorite time of the year?
What is something about you that is unique?
What kind of mom or dad do you think you would be?
What do you think your pet is thinking right now?
What would you do with a thousand dollars?
What would you like to be famous for?
What makes somebody a good friend?
Would you rather be tiny like an insect or as tall as a giraffe?
What do you think is the best smell on earth?
What was the last dream that you remember?
When you get bored in school, what do you start thinking about?
Would you rather be the star of a movie, or the director?
What is a job that you wouldn’t want to do?
Do you think it’s ever a good idea to tell a lie?
How do you show someone that you love them?
What was your favorite part of the day?
Who is your favorite person right now?
Would you want to live forever?
What would a perfect day look like for you?
Would you rather have a pet dragon or a pet unicorn?
If you could have any kind of store, what would you want to sell?
What is the silliest thing you’ve ever done?
What do you think is the most important rule for people to follow?
Would you rather dance or paint what you are feeling?
If you had to eat the same thing for every meal, what food would you choose?
What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever tasted?
How can you tell if somebody is smart?
What is something brave that you have done?
If you wrote a book, what would the title be?
If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
What is something that used to scare you but doesn’t anymore?
How do you think the world will be different by the time you are a grown up?
What is something you’ve done that you would like to do again?
More important that the question that gets them talking is how well you listen once you get them started.

Humility is a quality that can often feel incompatible with today’s society. The news is chock-full of billionaires, celebrities, tech giants, and an assortment of other oversized egos demanding our attention and praise. We seem to be expected to also aspire to those levels of hubris and vanity, but holding ourselves in a more modest regard can be beneficial in the long run. #

That’s not to say we shouldn’t love or be confident in ourselves. Humility is often mistaken for being self-critical, but these are two different things. We can be gentle toward ourselves and proud of our accomplishments while still remaining open to the ideas that we aren’t perfect, that we don’t know everything, and that we always have room for improvement.

Another common misconception equates being humble with weakness. There’s a lot of strength to be found in humility, but it’s not the ostentatious sort of strength we may be accustomed to. Rather, it’s a quiet strength that underlies and bolsters our actions.

With that in mind, here are 17 quotes on the benefits of humility to carry with us in our everyday lives.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.
Rick Warren

Be wise; soar not too high to fall; but stoop to rise.
Philip Massinger

We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility.
Rabindranath Tagore

Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues, hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance.
Augustine of Hippo

With pride, there are many curses. With humility, there come many blessings.
Ezra Taft Benson

Pride makes us artificial, and humility makes us real.
Thomas Merton

When the dreams you’re dreamin’ come to you / When the work you put in is realized / Let yourself feel the pride but / Always stay humble and kind.
Tim McGraw

Life is a long lesson in humility.
J.M. Barrie

We learned about gratitude and humility — that so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean … and we were taught to value everyone's contribution and treat everyone with respect. #
Michelle Obama

A great man is always willing to be little. #
Ralph Waldo Emerson

To be humble to superiors is duty; to equals, is courtesy; to inferiors, is nobleness.
Thomas More

There is no respect for others without humility in one's self.
Henri-Frédéric Amiel

Humility, I have learned, must never be confused with meekness. Humility is being open to the ideas of others.
Simone Sinek

It is no great thing to be humble when you are brought low; but to be humble when you are praised is a great and rare attainment.
Bernard of Clairvaux

Humility is attentive patience.
Simone Weil

Every person that you meet knows something you don’t; learn from them.
H. Jackson Brown Jr.

Humility is perfect quietness of heart … It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel no resentment when anything is done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me.
Andrew Murray

About the Author
Brooke Robinson
Inspiring Quotes editor, bibliophile, cinephile, and curry enthusiast based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry. Don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.
Walter Hagen

Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans.
Allen Saunders

Close your eyes and turn your face into the wind. Feel it sweep along your skin in an invisible ocean of exultation. Suddenly, you know you are alive.
Vera Nazarian

I dote on myself, there is that lot of me and all so luscious, / Each moment and whatever happens thrills me with joy, / … / A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.
Walt Whitman

Give me a quiet life, give me trees, the wind through them, give me a sea and the song it sings. Give me heartbeats shared with those I love, give me peace and a long deep sleep.
Tyler Knott Gregson

There’s no time to be bored in a world as beautiful as this.
Unknown

She often climbed up the hill and lay there alone for the mere pleasure of feeling the wind and of rubbing her cheeks in the grass. Generally at such times she did not think of anything, but lay immersed in an inarticulate well-being.
Edith Wharton

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Lao Tzu

Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast — you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.
Eddie Cantor

Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder. #
E.B. White

Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat. In our mad rush for progress and modern improvements, let’s be sure we take along with us all the old-fashioned things worthwhile.
Laura Ingalls Wilder

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.
John Lubbock

It always pays to dwell slowly on the beautiful things — the more beautiful the more slowly.
Atticus

I fall in love every day. With new songs, dogs, scents, pieces of art, illusions, five-minute conversations, a sunset in my rearview mirror, a story. A written note. A daydream. What a pleasure it is.
Victoria Erickson

The simplest things are overlooked. And yet, it is the simplest things that are the most essential.
Thomas Lloyd Qualls

About the Author
Brooke Robinson
Inspiring Quotes editor, bibliophile, cinephile, and curry enthusiast based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

When you learn, teach. When you get, give.
Maya Angelou

To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own.
Abraham Lincoln

The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.
Pablo Picasso

We must give more in order to get more. It is the generous giving of ourselves that produces the generous harvest.
Orison Swett Marden

A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.
Steve Maraboli

There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
Kahlil Gibran

There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.
John Holmes

Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.
Lao Tzu

It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.
Mother Teresa

Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Giving is the master key to success, in all applications of human life.
Bryant McGill

Giving opens the way for receiving.
Florence Scovel Shinn

No one has ever become poor by giving.
Anne Frank

About the Author
Joyce Chen is a writer, editor, and community builder based in Seattle, Washington.

Money. Everyone has to deal with it in some way, shape, or form, but not everyone has the same relationship to it. For some, it represents status, stability, and power; for others, it is a means to an end or a proxy for something else — obligation, freedom, expectation, or success. As Rebecca Johnson, a contributing editor to Vogue, once said, “Money is the opposite of the weather. Nobody talks about it, but everybody does something about it.”

Money is often tied up with the concept of wealth, though many great thinkers throughout history have made it a point to draw a distinction between being financially rich and living a happy life that is spiritually or emotionally rich. As a result, many of the best quotes about money tackle how it should be handled with caution: Accumulating money in the bank account does not guarantee a fulfilling life. On the contrary, making money without purpose can be disorienting, disillusioning, and dissatisfying.

Benjamin Franklin, whose countenance graces the $100 bill, had a lot to say about money, but one of his most memorable quotes addresses exactly this issue. “Who is rich?” he asked. “He that rejoices in his portion.” In other words, it’s not actual physical money that will bring a person joy, but gratitude itself. Below are 15 quotes that tackle the intertwined topics of money and wealth, in an attempt to understand what it truly means to be “rich.”

Only the curious have something to find. 
Sean Watkins

Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.
Epictetus

Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one.
Benjamin Franklin

Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver. It will give you the means for the satisfaction of your desires, but it will not provide you with desires. ###
Ayn Rand

You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.
Maya Angelou

Every day is a bank account, and time is our currency. No one is rich, no one is poor, we've got 24 hours each.
Christopher Rice

Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.
Warren Buffett

Money is of value for what it buys, and in love it buys time, place, intimacy, comfort, and a private corner alone.
Mae West

It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.
Seneca

Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant.
P.T. Barnum

Capital as such is not evil; it is its wrong use that is evil. Capital in some form or other will always be needed.
Mahatma Gandhi

There is a gigantic difference between earning a great deal of money and being rich.
Marlene Dietrich

Money looks better in the bank than on your feet.
Sophia Amoruso

Many folks think they aren’t good at earning money, when what they don’t know is how to use it.
Frank A. Clark, politician

It’s good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven’t lost the things that money can’t buy.
George Horace Lorimer, journalist

A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart.
Jonathan Swift

About the Author
Joyce Chen is a writer, editor, and community builder based in Seattle, Washington.

Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends. Turn the old; return to them. Things do not change; we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts.
Henry David Thoreau

It is preoccupation with possession, more than anything else, that prevents men from living freely and nobly.
Bertrand Russell

Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves.
Edwin Way Teale

We go on multiplying our conveniences only to multiply our cares. We increase our possessions only to the enlargement of our anxieties.
Anna Brackett

Owning less is better than organizing more.
Joshua Becker

If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.
William Morris

Minimalism is asking why before you buy.
Francine Jay

The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things.
Elise Boulding

Keep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest. By doing this, you can reset your life and embark on a new lifestyle.
Marie Kondo

Minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important — so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom.
Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus

Be a curator of your life. Slowly cut things out until you’re left only with what you love, with what’s necessary, with what makes you happy.
Leo Babauta

Minimalism is really about reassessment of priorities, so you can remove unnecessary things from your life; get rid of things like possessions, activities, and relationships that do not improve or bring value to your life
Jane Andrews

Buy less, choose well, make it last.
Vivienne Westwood

More was never the answer. The answer, it turned out, was always less.
Cait Flanders

About the Author
Tony is an English writer of non-fiction and fiction living on the edge of the Amazon jungle.

Romance has been a beloved literary theme for centuries. From the grand love stories of Shakespearean dramas to poignant and personal modern tales, romance has been woven into the fabric of epic adventures, historical sagas, and heartbreaking tragedies alike.

The details of these passionate entanglements — the flutter of a first glance, the ache of an unattainable love — have the power to evoke visceral reactions and emotions. These stories explore human connection, often while transcending cultural boundaries.

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A great literary romance doesn’t just leave a lasting impression of witnessing someone else’s love story; it also taps into our own desires and vulnerabilities. It delves into the complexities of human relationships: the good, the bad, and, hopefully, the ultimate triumph of the heart over differences of all kinds.

This selection of 13 of the most romantic lines in literature will surely stir your heart, each its own testament to the enduring power of love in storytelling.

He stepped down, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking.
Leo Tolstoy, “Anna Karenina”

You are every reason, every hope, and every dream I've ever had, and no matter what happens to us in the future, every day we are together is the greatest day of my life. I will always be yours.
Nicholas Sparks, “The Notebook”

I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundation [for falling in love with you] … I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.
Jane Austen, "Pride and Prejudice"

Wherever you are is my home — my only home.
Charlotte Brontë, “Jane Eyre”

For where all love is, the speaking is unnecessary. It is all. It is undying. And it is enough.
Diana Gabaldon, “Outlander”

Don’t ever think I fell for you, or fell over you. I didn’t fall in love, I rose in it.
Toni Morrison, “Jazz”

Do I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches.
William Goldman, “The Princess Bride”

Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.
Emily Brontë, “Wuthering Heights”

Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say good night till it be morrow.
William Shakespeare, “Romeo and Juliet”

I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.
Charles Dickens, “Great Expectations”

I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I’m grateful.
John Green, “The Fault in Our Stars”

I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you.
Paulo Coelho, “The Alchemist”

Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.
Louis de Bernières, “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”

About the Author
Nicole is a writer, thrift store lover, and group-chat meme spammer based in Ontario, Canada.

For once touched by love, everyone becomes a poet.
Plato

A multitude of words is no proof of a prudent mind.
Thales of Miletus

Chance favors only the prepared mind. [Work Ethic]
Louis Pasteur

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone. [Zen]
Alan Watts

The chief danger in life is that you may take too many precautions. [Be comfortable with risks. Adventures and the uinforseen are good.]
Alfred Adler

Words empowered by justice can never be silenced. [Truth]
Isabel Ibañez

Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, but it empties it of its strength.
George Seaton Bowes

For some identify happiness with virtue, some with practical wisdom, others with a kind of philosophic wisdom, others with these, or one of these, accompanied by pleasure or not without pleasure.
Aristotle

Do not let habit, born from experience, force you along this road, directing aimless eye and echoing ear and tongue; but judge by reason the much contested proof which I have spoken.
Parmenides

All is flux, nothing is stationary.
Heraclitus

He who is not satisfied with a little, is satisfied with nothing.
Epicurus

Fame and wealth without wisdom are unsafe possessions.
Democritus

Only the educated are free.
Epictetus

Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder.
Socrates

All formal dogmatic religions are fallacious and must never be accepted by self-respecting persons as final.
Hypatia of Alexandria

Everything in excess is opposed to nature.
Hippocrates

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.
Epictetus

The unexamined life is not worth living.
Socrates

The greatest reward of righteousness is peace of mind.
Epicurus

Force has no place where there is need of skill.
Herodotus

We should venture on the study of every kind of animal without distaste; for each and all will reveal to us something natural and something beautiful.
Aristotle

Everything flows, and nothing abides, everything gives way, and nothing stays fixed.
Heraclitus

Of all the means which wisdom acquires to ensure happiness throughout the whole of life, by far the most important is friendship.
Epicurus

I myself know nothing, except just a little, enough to extract an argument from another man who is wise and to receive it fairly.
Socrates

Neither family, nor privilege, nor wealth, nor anything but Love can light that beacon which a man must steer by when he sets out to live the better life.
Plato

It is difficulties that show what men are.
Epictetus

No thing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.
Epictetus

Photo credit:  UniversalImagesGroup/ Contributor/ Getty Images

About the Author
Ana Stevenson

A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.
Christopher Reeve

It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.
Vince Lombardi

You are your possibilities. If you know that, you can do anything.
Oprah Winfrey

Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.
Martin Luther King Jr.

To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.
Oscar Wilde

There are darknesses in life, and there are lights; you are one of the lights.
Bram Stoker

A hug is like a boomerang — you get it back right away.
Bil Keane

It is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change.
Queen Elizabeth II

Courage is only an accumulation of small steps.
György Konrád

Courage can be contagious, and hope can take on a life of its own.
Michelle Obama

A depressing and difficult passage has prefaced every new page I have turned in life.
Charlotte Brontë

Remember never to say that you are alone, for you are not alone.
Epictetus

Here; you've been carrying that alone for a long time. Let me carry it with you awhile.
Julie Berry

Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.
Anonymous

Sometimes the right hug from the right person at the exact right time makes all the wrong in the world disappear.
Sarah Ockler

Heavy hearts, like heavy clouds in the sky, are best relieved by the letting of a little water.
Antoine Rivarol

Never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it, till it come to have a separate and integral interest.
Henry David Thoreau

Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place.
Lance Armstrong

Sometimes it’s OK if the only thing you did today was breathe.
Yumi Sakugawa

The Sun himself is weak when he first rises, and gathers strength and courage as the day gets on.
Charles Dickens

Tough times never last, but tough people do!
Robert H. Schuller

There isn’t always an explanation for everything.
Ernest Hemingway

I have learned that there is more power in a good strong hug than in a thousand meaningful words.
Ann Hood

Confronting our feelings and giving them appropriate expression always takes strength, not weakness.
Fred Rogers

Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.
Joseph Campbell

About the Author
Nicole Villeneuve is a writer, thrift store lover, and group-chat meme spammer based in Ontario, Canada.

I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Steve Jobs

Days are expensive. When you spend a day you have one less day to spend. So make sure you spend each one wisely.
Jim Rohn

You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.
John C. Maxwell

The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.
Janet Champ and Charlotte Moore

I’m always thinking about creating … I’m grateful and I can’t wait to wake up, because there’s something new to do and try every day. Every day I find something creative to do with my life.
Miles Davis

A year from now, you will wish you had started today.
Unknown

Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow.
Robert Kiyosaki

Our goal should be to get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.
Jack Kornfield

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Think in the morning. Act in the noon. Eat in the evening. Sleep in the night.
William Blake

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.
Eleanor Roosevelt

You know what happens when you say “hello” or “good morning”? You make a connection. And isn’t that what being human is all about?
Philip Rosenthal

When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love.
Marcus Aurelius

Lose an hour in the morning, and you will spend all day looking for it.
Richard Whately

she woke up / every morning / with the option / of being anyone she wished / how beautiful it was / that she always chose / herself
Tyler Kent White

To accomplish great things we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.
Anatole France

You can’t go back and make a new start, but you can start right now and make a brand new ending.
James R. Sherman

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don’t go back to sleep.
Rumi

That is just the point: how the world, moist and bountiful, calls to each of us to make a new and serious response. That’s the big question, the one the world throws at you every morning. “Here you are, alive. Would you like to make a comment?”
Mary Oliver

About the Author
Brooke Robinson
Inspiring Quotes editor, bibliophile, cinephile, and curry enthusiast based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Dogs look up to you, cats look down on you. Give me a pig! He looks you in the eye and treats you as an equal.
Winston Churchill

There is, incidentally, no way of talking about cats that enables one to come off as a sane person.
Dan Greenburg

A horse is dangerous at both ends and uncomfortable in the middle.
Ian Fleming

I love [cats] … They are so nice and selfish. Dogs are TOO good and unselfish. They make me feel uncomfortable. But cats are gloriously human.
Lucy Maud Montgomery

Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people.
W.C. Fields

What do dogs do on their day off? They can’t lie around — that’s their job.
George Carlin

A fish tank is just interactive television for cats.
Oliver Gaspirtz

Anybody who doesn’t know what soap tastes like never washed a dog.
Franklin P. Jones

Always let your conscience be your guide.
The Blue Fairy (Evelyn Venable) in “Pinocchio,” 1940

Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it.
Rafiki (Robert Guillaume) in “The Lion King,” 1994

Love is putting someone else’s needs before yours.
Olaf (Josh Gad) in “Frozen,” 2013

When life gets you down, you know what you’ve gotta do? Just keep swimming.
Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) in “Finding Nemo,” 2003

Knowledge and wisdom is the real power.
Arthur (Rickie Sorensen) in “The Sword in the Stone,” 1963

The world keeps spinning, and the tales keep turning, and people come and people go, but they’re never forgotten.
Le Muerte (Kate del Castillo) in “The Book of Life,” 2014

Sometimes our strengths lie beneath the surface.
Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) in “Moana,” 2016

You are who you choose to be.
Hogarth Hughes (Eli Marienthal) in “The Iron Giant,” 1999

It’s easy to harden your heart. But to open it — that’s the toughest thing you can do.
Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt) in “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part,” 2019

There are those who say fate is something beyond our command, that our destiny is not our own. But I know better. Our fate lives within us; you only have to be brave enough to see it.
Princess Merida (Kelly Macdonald) in “Brave,” 2012

It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.
Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris) in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” 2001

Try to make the world a better place. Look inside yourself and recognize that change starts with you.
Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) in “Zootopia,” 2016

In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun, and SNAP! The job’s a game.
Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) in “Mary Poppins,” 1964

The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.
The Emperor (Pat Morita) in “Mulan,” 1998

Nothing is more important than family.
Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) in “Coco,” 2017

Have faith in your dreams, and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through. No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true.
Cinderella (Ilene Woods) in “Cinderella,” 1950

Just because I cannot see it, doesn’t mean I can’t believe it.
Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon) in “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” 1993

If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own backyard. Because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with.
Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) in “The Wizard of Oz,” 1939

Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind — or forgotten.
Stitch (Chris Sanders) in “Lilo & Stitch,” 2002

You must be imaginative, strong-hearted. You must try things that may not work, and you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. Your only limit is your soul … Only the fearless can be great.
Gusteau (Brad Garrett) in “Ratatouille,” 2007

Featured image credit: Entertainment Pictures/ Alamy Stock Photo

Author image
About the Author
Kristina Wright
Kristina is a coffee-fueled writer living happily ever after with her family in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia.

Most of us have those books: You know, the ones that sit on our shelves for years, staring at us, intimidating us with their page lengths and making us feel guilty because we haven’t found the time or motivation to read them yet. They’re the books that show up again and again on demanding lists of “books to read before you die.”

We know we should read these books, and we definitely will — eventually. After all, they’re featured on the aforementioned distinguished lists for good reason. The lessons and characters in these novels sometimes reach across centuries and continents to speak to our hearts and minds, to broaden our horizons, and to completely shift our perspective on the meaning of life.

But gaining the motivation to read a 500-page book can feel impossible when scrolling on our phone is more accessible and often more immediately gratifying. So don’t feel guilty if you haven’t read the books on this list — after all, the shortest (East of Eden) clocks in at a cool 600-700 pages, and a few others have an eye-popping page count of more than 1,000.

So while we certainly understand why starting any of these books may feel like a daunting task, we hope these quotes will make their respective tomes feel more accessible and maybe even inspire you to crack one of them open at long last.

Neither good nor evil can last for ever; and so it follows that as evil has lasted a long time, good must now be close at hand.  #
Miguel de Cervantes, “Don Quixote”

Considered by many to be the first modern novel, this epic follows a man who seeks to become the kind of chivalrous, romantic knight-errant he’s read about. It also somehow manages to be as funny now as it was when it was first published in the early 1600s.

Seize the moments of happiness, love and be loved! That is the only reality in the world, all else is folly.
Leo Tolstoy, “War and Peace”   #

This 1869 behemoth follows a number of Russian aristocratic families during and after Napoleon’s invasion of Russia as they go to war and attempt to find love and spiritual fulfillment.

Love loves to love love.
James Joyce, “Ulysses”

Taking place over the course of one day (June 16, 1904, to be exact), this 1922 novel uses stream of consciousness to explore the world and relationships of its three main characters: Leopold Bloom, his wife Molly, and Stephen Dedalus.

Now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.
John Steinbeck, “East of Eden”

This 1952 epic, which Steinbeck himself said contained “everything … I have been able to learn about my craft or profession in all these years,” is an allegory for the first four chapters of the Bible’s Book of Genesis.

All human wisdom is contained in these words: Wait and hope!
Alexandre Dumas, “The Count of Monte Cristo”

Inspired by the true story of François Piçaud, a man wrongly imprisoned for seven years, this classic revenge tale from the mid-1840s follows Edmond Dantès as he seeks to punish those responsible for his plight.

What loneliness is more lonely than distrust?
George Eliot, “Middlemarch”

Subtitled “A Study of Provincial Life,” George Eliot’s masterpiece was originally published in eight volumes throughout 1871 and 1872. The story weaves an intricate web of characters as it examines the complexities of social class and marriage.

I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I’ll go to it laughing.
Herman Melville, “Moby-Dick”

Readers may be turned off by the detailed descriptions of whaling, but beyond that, Melville’s 1841 novel (also known as The Whale) is an enthralling story of how unchecked obsession can blind us and result in our own destruction. #

Not being heard is no reason for silence.
Victor Hugo, “Les Misérables”

What whaling is to Moby-Dick, extensive descriptions of the Paris sewer system are to Les Misérables. But as any musical theater fan can tell you, this 1885 novel about escaped convict Jean Valjean is also a sweeping tale of injustice, heroism, and romance.

A word in earnest is as good as a speech.
Charles Dickens, “Bleak House”

Dickens was undeniably a man who enjoyed spinning a long yarn, but this 1852 novel is his longest by page count (roughly 900). Bleak House shines a light on the legal system, revealing the devastating effects and injustices of a seemingly endless lawsuit.

Try to learn to let what is unfair teach you.
David Foster Wallace, “Infinite Jest”   # Learn from the bad things that happen to you.

This 1996 book is notoriously complex, using an unusual narrative structure and roughly 200 pages of footnotes to explore the ceaseless American pursuit of entertainment and the consequences that pursuit incurs.

Nowadays almost all capable people are terribly afraid of being ridiculous, and are miserable because of it.
Fyodor Dostoevsky, “The Brothers Karamazov”

Another Russian lit classic, Dostoevsky’s gripping 1880 novel is a combination of a courtroom drama and a murder mystery that takes a look at philosophical questions concerning free will, morality, faith, and doubt.

Even in a place of sorrow, time passes. Even in a place of joy. Do not assume that either keeps life from continuing.
Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, “The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois”

Jeffers’ astonishing 2021 debut novel spans 200 years, examining feminism, family, and race as it traces the history of an African American family through historical events including the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement, up until present day.

About the Author
Brooke Robinson
Inspiring Quotes editor, bibliophile, cinephile, and curry enthusiast based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

This topic would actually come at the end of the list and might be more appropriate to high school students.

Mental models play a significant role in our cognition, reasoning, and decision-making. These internal representations of external reality help us anticipate events and shape our behavior. It is a fascinating concept:

Definition: A mental model is an internal construct that the mind uses to create “small-scale models” of reality. These models help us understand how things work, influence our actions, and guide problem-solving approaches1.
Origins: The term “mental model” was coined by Kenneth Craik in 1943. He proposed that our minds construct these models to anticipate events based on incomplete facts, past experiences, and intuitive perceptions1.
Construction: Mental models are swiftly formed, often even before interacting with a website or product. They are based on our past experiences, beliefs, and assumptions. For instance, when encountering a new situation, we draw upon mental models to navigate it effectively2.

Problem Solving: Mental models act like personal algorithms, guiding our approach to solving problems1.
Understanding Complexity: When faced with intricate situations, mental models help us focus on relevant aspects and filter out noise2.

Mental Models: Learn How to Think Better and Gain a Mental Edge (jamesclear.com)

Mental models help you understand life. For example, supply and demand is a mental model that helps you understand how the economy works. Game theory is a mental model that helps you understand how relationships and trust work. Entropy is a mental model that helps you understand how disorder and decay work.

Mental models also guide your perception and behavior. They are the thinking tools that you use to understand life, make decisions, and solve problems. Learning a new mental model gives you a new way to see the world—like Richard Feynman learning a new math technique.

To quote Charlie Munger, “80 or 90 important models will carry about 90% of the freight in making you a worldly-wise person. And, of those, only a mere handful really carry very heavy freight.”

We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.
~ Marcel Proust #

Success isn't about how your life looks to others, but how it feels to you. ???
The best way to learn is by understanding, not memorization. Use whatever you can though.

Thankfully, perseverance is a great substitute for talent. 
It's pain that changes our lives.
Steve Martin.

Don't Compare. The only person you should try to beat is who you were yesterday.

You don’t meet the people you love, you recognize them.
Anna Gavalda

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.
Anaîs Nin

It’s about teaching a culture how to treat you. Because at the end of the day, you define you.
Viola Davis

I don’t want anyone who doesn’t want me.
Oprah Winfrey

In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.
Patti Smith

I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, "If this isn't nice, I don't know what is."
Kurt Vonnegut

Every day I discover more and more beautiful things; it’s enough to drive one mad; I have such a desire to do everything, my head is bursting with it.
Claude Monet

The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.
Louisa May Alcott

Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.
Stephen Hawking

There are years that ask questions and years that answer.
Zora Neale Hurston

You must not ever stop being whimsical. And you must not, ever, give anyone else the responsibility for your life.
Mary Oliver

Whether you fear it or not, disappointment will come. The beauty is that through disappointment you can gain clarity, and with clarity comes conviction and true originality.
Conan O'Brien

Adults are always asking kids what they want to be when they grow up because they are looking for ideas.
Paula Poundstone

Even the most positive people have negative thoughts. The secret is not to feed them.
A wise man makes his own opinions. An ignorant man follows public opinion.
The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the most of what they have.
Master the day. Then do it every day.

One shouldn't just hope to be treated well. One must insist on it.
Abraham Verghese

All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware.
Martin Buber

In the end, what we regret most are the chances we never took.
Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) in "Frasier"

This is no time to be making new enemies.
attributed to Voltaire, Machiavelli, and others

A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds. Francis Bacon

Only the curious have something to find. Sean Watkins

Patience is a necessary ingredient of genius. Benjamin Dosraeli

Comfort can be dangerous. Comfort provides a floor, but also a ceiling. Trevor Noah.

You'll never find a rainbow if you are looking down. Charly Chaplin

Saying and doing small, simple expressions of gratitude every day yields big rewards. When people feel recognized as special and appreciated, they’re happier in that relationship and more motivated to make the relationship better and stronger.
Terri Orbuch, PhD

Bus stop, wet day / She's there, I say / Please share my umbrella / Bus stops, bus goes / She stays, love grows / Under my umbrella / All that summer we enjoyed it / Wind and rain and shine / That umbrella, we employed it / By August she was mine.
“Bus Stop,” The Hollies, 1966

To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose.
Marie Kondo

It is always important to know when something has reached its end. Closing circles, shutting doors, finishing chapters, it doesn’t matter what we call it; what matters is to leave in the past those moments in life that are over.
Paulo Coelho

I think it’s important to have closure in any relationship that ends — from a romantic relationship to a friendship. You should always have a sense of clarity at the end and know why it began and why it ended. You need that in your life to move cleanly into your next phase.
Jennifer Aniston

We all lose somebody we care about and want to find some comforting way of dealing with it, something that will give us a little closure, a little peace.
Mitch Albom

You don’t have to let that one thing be the thing that defines you.
Jojo Moyes

Closure isn’t closure until someone’s ready to close the door.
Jonathan Maberry

There’s a trick to the Graceful Exit. It begins with the vision to recognize when a job, a life stage, a relationship is over — and to let go. It means leaving what’s over without denying its validity or its past importance in our lives. It involves a sense of future, a belief that every exit line is an entry, that we are moving on rather than out.
Ellen Goodm

Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period.
Robert Waldinger

Judy Garland
There are about 15 years that you can be young. All the rest, you are a grown-up. I think you appreciate being a grown-up much better, if you don’t try to be that way too soon. #
I believe that if you are lonely sometimes, you should accept it, without feeling that life has treated you badly. There are lonely moments in all lives. Even when you are in a crowd, a feeling of loneliness can wash over you. Remember that other people in the same crowd may be feeling the same way.
I can live without money, but I cannot live without love.





Elvis Presley
To judge a man by his weakest link or deed is like judging the power of the ocean by one wave.
Money's meant to be spread around. The more happiness it helps create, the more it’s worth. It's worthless as old cut-up paper if it just lies in a bank and grows there without ever having been used to help a body.
Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t goin’ away.
I figure all any kid needs is hope and the feeling he or she belongs. If I could do or say anything that would give some kid that feeling, I would believe I had contributed something to the world.
Money can never buy everything your heart desires. It won't buy love, or health, or true happiness.
My momma taught me one thing right from the very beginning, and that's that everyone's got a right to his own opinion. I believe that. And I also believe that you can't make everyone like you.
I watch my audience and listen to them, and I know we are all getting something out of our system. None of us knows what it is. The important thing is that we’re getting rid of it and nobody’s getting hurt.
I've had a pretty good lesson in human nature. It’s more important to try to surround yourself with people who can give you a little happiness, because you only pass through this life once, Jack. You don’t come back for an encore.

Don’t forget, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.
H. Jackson Brown Jr.

I lost myself when I learned how to please.
Glennon Doyle

What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.
Confucius
***

The best relationships aren’t built on partners mostly telling each other what’s wrong. They’re built on partners mostly telling each other what’s right.
Dr. John Gottman and Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman

Poverty is the mother of crime - Marcus Aurelius. [Sometimes]

Ye cannot live for yourselves; a thousand fibres connect you with your fellow-men, and along those fibres, as along sympathetic threads, run your actions as causes, and return to you as effects.
Henry Melvill

There's a marked difference between acquaintances and friends. Most people really don't become friends. They become deep and serious acquaintances. But in a friendship you get to know the spirit of another person; and your values coincide.

I believe the greatest gift I can conceive of having from anyone is to be seen, heard, understood and touched by them. The greatest gift I can give is to see, hear, understand and touch another person. When this is done, I feel contact has been made.
Virginia Satir

Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them.
Robin Wall Kimmerer

A man's friendships are one of the best measures of his worth.
Charles Darwin

Align yourself with the right people, forge the right relationships and you’ll set yourself up for the long run.
Daymond John

One friend with whom you have a lot in common is better than three with whom you struggle to find things to talk about.
Mindy Kaling

As you go through life, one learns that if you don't paddle your own canoe, you don't move.
Catherine Hepburn

Don't underestimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.
Pooh, "Pooh's Little Instruction Book"

We can’t all, and some of us don’t. That’s all there is to it.
Eeyore, "Winnie-the-Pooh"

A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference.
Eeyore, "Winnie-the-Pooh"

Joan Didion Quotes :
Memory fades, memory adjusts, memory conforms to what we think we remember.

Life changes in the instant. The ordinary instant.

I did not always think he was right nor did he always think I was right, but we were each the person the other trusted.

A single person is missing for you, and the whole world is empty.
[Only one who has loved would understand that.]

I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see, and what it means. What I want and what I fear.

We tell ourselves stories in order to live.

I am still committed to the idea that the ability to think for one’s self depends upon one’s mastery of the language.

Benjamin Franklin compiled a list of 13 virtues that acted as guiding principles for his character and behavior.

They are:

Temperance: Eat not to dullness and drink not to elevation.
Silence: Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself. Avoid trifling conversation.
Order: Let all your things have their places. Let each part of your business have its time.
Resolution: Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve.
Frugality: Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself.
Industry: Lose no time. Be always employed in something useful. Cut off all unnecessary actions.
Sincerity: Use no hurtful deceit. Think innocently and justly; and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
Justice: Wrong none, by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
Moderation: Avoid extremes. Forebear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
Cleanliness: Tolerate no uncleanness in body, clothes or habitation.
Chastity: Rarely use venery but for health or offspring; Never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.
Tranquility: Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
Humility: Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

I love the idea of creating a list of virtues. In doing so, Benjamin Franklin laid the groundwork for a productive daily schedule that reflected his values. He also made sure his time and energy were pointed in the right direction.

Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every New Year find you a better man.

Diligence is the mother of good luck.

Love your enemies, for they tell you your faults.

He that would live in peace and at ease, must not speak all he knows or judge all he sees.

Great beauty, great strength, and great riches are really and truly of no great use; a right heart exceeds all.

He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals.

The sting of a reproach, is the truth of it.

Reading makes a full man, meditation a profound man, discourse a clear man.

Beware of little expenses: A small leak will sink a great ship.

Hide not your talents, they for use were made: What’s a sun-dial in the shade?

Do you love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.

Well done is better than well said.

Glass, china, and reputation, are easily crack’d, and never well mended.

He that lies down with Dogs, shall rise up with fleas.

Genius without education is like silver in the mine.

If man could have half his wishes, he would double his troubles.

The poor have little, beggars none, the rich too much, enough not one.

Don’t throw stones at your neighbors, if your own windows are glass.

A true friend is the best possession.

Wish not so much to live long as to live well.

Remember how cool you thought it would be to finally be an adult when you were growing up? Well, now that you're older you probably realized it's a lot different than you imagined, both in good and bad ways.
Amber Tamblyn in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Warner Bros. Pictures / Courtesy Alamy

When Redditor u/WOT247 asked "Adults of Reddit, what is something every teenager should know about 'the real world'?" people had some pretty insightful things to say. Here are some of the most noteworthy responses:

1."Nobody really knows what they're doing."
Beanie Feldstein in Booksmart

United Artists Releasing / Courtesy Alamy
2."Everything is expensive when you move out."

3."Being popular in high school means absolutely NOTHING in the real world! So don't worry about it."
Alicia Silverstone and Stacey Dash in Clueless

Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Alamy
4."Friendships take maintenance."

5."During high school, learning how to learn is more important than anything you're actually learning."
Jonathan Bennett and Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls

Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Alamy
6."Don't worry about not having the respect of people you don't respect."

7."Sometimes you'll only have yourself to rely on."
Emma Stone in Easy A

Sony Pictures Releasing / Courtesy Alamy
8."Your job sees you as replaceable. Look out for yourself and your family. Your job is not everything, but it will feel like it is. Make sure that if you don't like where you are that you change it. Don't be miserable at a job because it pays well."

9."Don't take criticism from people you wouldn't ask for advice."
Janelle Monáe in Hidden Figures

20th Century Fox / Courtesy Alamy
10."Comparison is the thief of joy."

11."People lie. Just because they're an adult doesn't mean they always tell the truth."
Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde

MGM / Courtesy Alamy
12."Life never 'settles down.' If something is important to you then you should get to it ASAP."

13."You don't become an adult just because you stopped being a teenager."
Scarlett Johansson and Thora Birch in Ghostworld

MGM / Courtesy Alamy
14."Whatever it is that you want, you have to work very very hard to get it. There is no easy way. AND save every single penny you get, you WILL have an emergency when you WILL need it."

15."You can work hard and do all the right things and it doesn't guarantee success. You can be the kindest, best person for others and they can still betray you, but that doesn't mean you should not be kind and work hard."
Emma Stone in The Help

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Courtesy Alamy
16."For better or for worse, confidence opens as many doors as competence." #

17."There is a huge chance the people you call your closest friends now, won't be in your life in the upcoming years."
The kids in the main cast of The Summer I Turned Pretty sitting on a couch

Courtesy Amazon Prime Video
18."The ones that'll hurt you most are those closest to you."

19."Learn how to manage money. Too many young people get deep into debt because they don't know how to save or how credit cards actually work. Remember that there is an order of where your money goes: Rent and bills must come first and foremost, then everything else."
A person pulling $1 out of a wallet

Boy_anupong / Getty Images
20."You are not entitled to anything. Nobody owes you anything! Work hard, save, make smart decisions, and surround yourself with like-minded people."

21."It's OK to make mistakes but learn from your mistakes and move on."
Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion

Buena Vista Pictures / Courtesy Alamy
22."People matter more than things."

23."Don't be in a hurry to grow up. Being an adult sucks."

"Comparison is the thief of Joy."  A gem of wisdom & a blinding flash of the obvious.

************
16: Wear cologne.
Why aren’t more men doing this?
The human brain remembers scent more than any other sensory experience.
Smelling good is never a bad idea.

In the West, evil is personified in the devil. In the East, it is greed, fear, hate, anger, ...

The value of money.

RULES TO TEACH YOUR SON
1. Never shake a man’s hand sitting down.
2. Don’t enter a pool by the stairs.
3. The man at the BBQ Grill is the closest thing to a king.
4. In a negotiation, never make the first offer.
5. Request the late check-out.
6. When entrusted with a secret, keep it.
7. Hold your heroes to a higher standard.
8. Return a borrowed car with a full tank of gas.
9. Play with passion or don’t play at all…
10. When shaking hands, grip firmly and look them in the eye.
11. Don’t let a wishbone grow where a backbone should be.
12. If you need music on the beach, you’re missing the point.
13. Carry two handkerchiefs. The one in your back pocket is for you. The one in your breast pocket is for her.
14. You marry the girl, you marry her family.
15. Be like a duck. Remain calm on the surface and paddle like crazy underneath.
16. Experience the serenity of traveling alone.
17. Never be afraid to ask out the best looking girl in the room.
18. Never turn down a breath mint.
19. A sport coat is worth 1000 words.
20. Try writing your own eulogy. Never stop revising.
21. Thank a veteran. Then make it up to him.
22. Eat lunch with the new kid.
23. After writing an angry email, read it carefully. Then delete it.
24. Ask your mom to play. She won’t let you win.
25. Manners maketh the man.
26. Give credit. Take the blame.
27. Stand up to Bullies. Protect those bullied.
28. Write down your dreams.
29. Take time to snuggle your pets, they love you so much and are always happy to see you.
30. Be confident and humble at the same time.
31. If ever in doubt, remember whose son you are and REFUSE to just be ordinary!
32. In all things lead by example not explanation.
33. Dress how you want to be addressed
34. BE BLESSED BY BEING A BLESSING

If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress, and tension. And if you didn't ask me, I'd still have to say it.
George Burns, comedian and actor

I look back on my life like a good day's work — it was done and I am satisfied with it … life is what we make it, always has been, always will be.
Grandma Moses, American folk artist

Happiness lies in moments, and while you have it you’re not even aware; only afterwards do you know you were happy.
Luise Rainer, actress

When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things — not the great occasions — that in retrospect give off the greatest glow of happiness.
Bob Hope, comedian and actor

Being Black in this country before 1954 was a very, very, very bad thing, a hard thing. You were proud because of having overcome that, you see, and knowing people who could overcome it, and did overcome it.
Etta Moten Barnett, actress and singer

My philosophy is to live in the now — yesterday is gone, you don’t know if there’s even going to be a tomorrow, so you might as well enjoy today.
Iris Apfel, interior designer and fashion icon

Always keep your smile. That's how I explain my long life.
Jeanne Calment, supercentenarian

One must take what comes, with laughter.
Olivia de Havilland, actress

I think half the success in life comes from first trying to find out what you really want to do. And then going ahead and doing it.
Kirk Douglas, actor #

Comprehend the changing of times—never stay stuck in the past or its difficulties.
Concepción Calvillo de Nava, centenarian #

There is always something we can be concerned about. The secret is to rise above it and do whatever we can to make the world a better place.
Dame Vera Lynn, singer and entertainer

Keep your eyes open, your emotions free. Leap into the future!
Bernard Kalb, journalist

If you try to be kind to people, you’ll be on the road to a good life.
George Dunn, WWII veteran

The secret to longevity is ice cream.
Paul Marcus, centenarian

About the Author
Tony is an English writer of non-fiction and fiction living on the edge of the Amazon jungle.

The series ran for 31 seasons, from 1968 through 2001. On the show, Rogers dispensed timeless wisdom about how to be kind to others, how to feel good about yourself, and what to do when you’re up against your worst fears.

He used everything from puppets to songs to chats with friendly neighborhood pals to teach kids about the importance of empathy and compassion, encouraging his young viewers to dream big, explore the world, and above all else, be kind. Here, we’ve rounded up 20 of Rogers’ most memorable quotes,  reminders of the good old days of turning on the TV and spending an afternoon in the neighborhood.

ON KINDNESS
All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we’re giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That’s one of the things that connects us as neighbors — in our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver.

As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has or ever will have, something inside that is unique to all time.

When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

Imagine what our real neighborhoods would be like if each of us offered, as a matter of course, just one kind word to another person.

ON LOVE
Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like “struggle.” To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.

Everyone longs to be loved. And the greatest thing we can do is to let people know that they are loved and capable of loving. #

Listening is where love begins: listening to ourselves and then to our neighbors.

I don’t think anyone can grow unless he’s loved exactly as he is now, appreciated for what he is rather than what he will be.

Mutual caring relationships require kindness and patience, tolerance, optimism, joy in the other's achievements, confidence in oneself, and the ability to give without undue thought of gain.

ON HEALING
Forgiveness is a strange thing. It can sometimes be easier to forgive our enemies than our friends. It can be hardest of all to forgive people we love. Like all of life's important coping skills, the ability to forgive and the capacity to let go of resentments most likely take root very early in our lives.

There is no normal life that is free of pain. It’s the very wrestling with our problems that can be the impetus for our growth.

When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting and less scary.

ON LIVING LIFE TO ITS FULLEST
It’s not so much what we have in this life that matters. It’s what we do with what we have.

The thing I remember best about successful people I've met all through the years is their obvious delight in what they're doing, and it seems to have very little to do with worldly success. They just love what they're doing, and they love it in front of others.

It’s good to be curious about many things.

You rarely have time for everything you want in this life, so you need to make choices. And hopefully your choices can come from a deep sense of who you are.

ON INDIVIDUALITY
If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of.

We all have different gifts, so we all have different ways of saying to the world who we are.

It’s really easy to fall into the trap of believing that what we do is more important than what we are. Of course, it’s the opposite that’s true: What we are ultimately determines what we do!

The greatest gift you ever give is your honest self.

Do not take life too seriously — you will never get out of it alive.
Elbert Hubbard

I enjoy life when things are happening. I don't care if it's good things or bad things. That means you're alive. Things are happening.
Joan Rivers

My favorite thing on this planet to do is to play games. And if you don't enjoy games, then you're really missing the point of what this life is. Honestly, it's important to not take this whole process of life on this planet too seriously.
RuPaul

Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.
George Bernard Shaw

My mama always said, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.”
Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) in “Forrest Gump”

I have a simple philosophy: Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. And scratch where it itches.
Alice Roosevelt Longworth

I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade. And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka, and have a party.
Ron White

All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then Success is sure.
Mark Twain

I'm an idealist. I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my way.
Carl Sandburg

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.
Mae West

Humility is a quality that can often feel incompatible with today’s society. The news is chock-full of billionaires, celebrities, tech giants, and an assortment of other oversized egos demanding our attention and praise. We seem to be expected to also aspire to those levels of hubris and vanity, but holding ourselves in a more modest regard can be beneficial in the long run.

That’s not to say we shouldn’t love or be confident in ourselves. Humility is often mistaken for being self-critical, but these are two different things. We can be gentle toward ourselves and proud of our accomplishments while still remaining open to the ideas that we aren’t perfect, that we don’t know everything, and that we always have room for improvement.

Another common misconception equates being humble with weakness. There’s a lot of strength to be found in humility, but it’s not the ostentatious sort of strength we may be accustomed to. Rather, it’s a quiet strength that underlies and bolsters our actions.

With that in mind, here are 17 quotes on the benefits of humility to carry with us in our everyday lives.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.
Rick Warren

Be wise; soar not too high to fall; but stoop to rise.
Philip Massinger

We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility.
Rabindranath Tagore

Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues, hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance.   #
Augustine of Hippo

With pride, there are many curses. With humility, there come many blessings.
Ezra Taft Benson

Pride makes us artificial, and humility makes us real.
Thomas Merton  

When the dreams you’re dreamin’ come to you / When the work you put in is realized / Let yourself feel the pride but / Always stay humble and kind.   
Tim McGraw

Life is a long lesson in humility.
J.M. Barrie   #

We learned about gratitude and humility — that so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean … and we were taught to value everyone's contribution and treat everyone with respect.
Michelle Obama

A great man is always willing to be little.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

To be humble to superiors is duty; to equals, is courtesy; to inferiors, is nobleness.
Thomas More

There is no respect for others without humility in one's self.
Henri-Frédéric Amiel

Humility, I have learned, must never be confused with meekness. Humility is being open to the ideas of others.
Simone Sinek    #

It is no great thing to be humble when you are brought low; but to be humble when you are praised is a great and rare attainment.
Bernard of Clairvaux

Humility is attentive patience.
Simone Weil

Every person that you meet knows something you don’t; learn from them.
H. Jackson Brown Jr.   #

Humility is perfect quietness of heart … It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel no resentment when anything is done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me.
Andrew Murray

About the Author
Brooke Robinson
Inspiring Quotes editor, bibliophile, cinephile, and curry enthusiast based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“The pen is mightier than the sword” — so wrote the novelist and playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839, coining an adage that still holds true today. The phrase speaks to the power of words, whether written or spoken, and their effectiveness as a means for bringing about social or political change.

The efficacy of words has been proven time and time again throughout history, in rousing speeches and passionate addresses that have inspired deeds both heroic and horrific. Verbal declarations have also marked pivotal moments in human history, be it walking on the moon or the testing of the first atomic bomb. Words have reinforced our optimism in times of light and have helped us comprehend the incomprehensible in times of darkness.

Here are several quotes that have inspired or accompanied truly world-changing events, from famous figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King Jr.

I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king.
Queen Elizabeth I

In 1588, with England under threat of imminent invasion by the Spanish Armada, Queen Elizabeth I rode out in silver armor and delivered a rousing speech to her troops at Tilbury. A defining moment in British history, this helped Elizabeth turn the small island nation into a major global power — which would eventually forge the biggest empire in human history, largely due to rampant colonialism.

We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Abraham Lincoln

Despite being a mere 272 words long, Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address remains one of the most important speeches in American history. Delivered in 1863 during the brutal American Civil War, it spoke to the past, present, and future of a nation not yet 100 years old. The speech has had an enduring impact not only on the U.S., but on a number of democracies around the world.

I come to ask you to help to win this fight. If we win it, this hardest of all fights, then, to be sure, in the future it is going to be made easier for women all over the world to win their fight when their time comes.
Emmeline Pankhurst

In 1913, Emmeline Pankhurst, the leader of the British suffragette movement, delivered her famous “Freedom or Death” speech in Hartford, Connecticut, stressing the need for radical action and perseverance. It was a powerful and inspiring moment in the fight for women’s right to vote, which was eventually granted in the U.S. (1920) and in Britain (1928).

We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.
Winston Churchill

With France about to fall to Nazi Germany and a potential invasion of Britain on the horizon, Winston Churchill delivered arguably the most important speech of World War II. He entered the House of Commons on June 4, 1940, and delivered a rousing address to his people, galvanizing the national will to fight on until the very end, while also capturing the attention of the U.S., which at the time was reluctant to enter the war.

If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one. Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.
J. Robert Oppenheimer

On July 16, 1945, J. Robert Oppenheimer, known as the “father of the atomic bomb,” witnessed the terrible destructive power that he and the other members of the Manhattan Project had brought into the world. After watching the world's first nuclear explosion, he quoted a verse from the ancient Hindu text “Bhagavad Gita.”

Though not his own, the words have become synonymous with the usage of nuclear weapons, which introduced a catastrophic new dimension to global conflict.

The future must see the broadening of human rights throughout the world. People who have glimpsed freedom will never be content until they have secured it for themselves.
Eleanor Roosevelt

In September 1948, Eleanor Roosevelt delivered a speech at the Sorbonne in Paris regarding a milestone document drawn up by the newly formed United Nations: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This document and the rights defined within it were controversial at the time, but Roosevelt’s passionate endorsement (she called it her “most important task” while at the U.N.) helped push through the comprehensive declaration that, for the first time, defined the fundamental human rights that merit universal protection.

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan delivered his famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin on June 12, 1987. Despite senior advisers cautioning him against using the phrase, Reagan nonetheless urged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down” the infamous Berlin Wall in what would become one of the U.S. President’s most famous speeches. Removal of the wall, which had encircled West Berlin since 1961, began in 1990.

We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
John F. Kennedy    #

The original “moonshot” effort began in earnest on September 12, 1962, when President Kennedy gave a speech at Rice University in Houston, Texas. His passionate address was designed to bolster public support for his proposal to land a man on the moon before 1970. The mission was completed ahead of schedule when, on July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the lunar surface.

Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.
Martin Luther King Jr.     #

On August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. A defining moment of the civil rights movement, it’s best remembered for the iconic refrain “I have a dream” — a part of the speech that was actually improvised.

Caught up in the spirit of the moment, King began riffing, which prompted his speechwriter, Clarence B. Jones, to tell the person next to him, “These people out there today don’t know it yet, but they’re about to go to church.”

I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela began his defense in the 1964 Rivonia Trial with a speech from the defendant’s dock that lasted three hours. As a Black man in a white man’s court — accused of sabotage, communism, and aiding foreign powers — he bravely critiqued apartheid and injustice, famously declaring his willingness to die for his cause. He was found guilty and served 27 years of his sentence before being released and elected president of South Africa.

This project is experimental and of course comes without any warranty whatsoever. However, it could start a revolution in information access.
Tim Berners-Lee

On August 6, 1991, English computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invited the public to collaborate with him on his World Wide Web project, which, at the time, was hosted on his NeXT computer. It was a truly revolutionary moment that reshaped the future of society, forever changing the way we access information, communicate with each other, and share photos of grumpy cats.

About the Author
Tony Dunnell
Tony is an English writer of non-fiction and fiction living on the edge of the Amazon jungle.

Given the deeply intricate nature of the human brain, we’re all inherently susceptible to a wide range of emotions. From euphoric bliss to heart-wrenching sadness, feelings may be brought on by specific events or creep in as if from nowhere. But whether those feelings are positive or negative, what’s important is that we seek to embrace and understand them rather than repress them.

As early modern psychology began examining the human psyche in the 19th century, theories emerged about several distinct emotional categories. One pioneer in the field, William James, believed that standard human emotions included surprise, curiosity, fear, and anger. Paul Ekman later expanded upon James’ early thoughts and introduced the concept of six basic human emotions: sadness, happiness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust.

As we learn more about the brain, recent studies suggest that there are dozens of unique classifications, implying that the array of human emotions is ever-expanding and virtually limitless.

While it may seem challenging to fully comprehend the way we feel at times, it’s important to express ourselves nonetheless: to laugh if we’re happy, cry if we’re sad, scream if we’re angry, or do whatever else feels natural to us. At the end of the day, we’re lucky to feel emotions on as deep and complex a level as we do. Here are 38 quotes that pertain to the range of human emotions.

HAPPINESS
The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.
Thích Nhất Hạnh

But also I say this: that light / is an invitation / to happiness, / and that happiness, / when it’s done right, / is a kind of holiness, / palpable and redemptive.
Mary Oliver

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
Mahatma Gandhi

One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats, and if some of these can be inexpensive and quickly procured so much the better.
Iris Murdoch

Happiness quite unshared can scarcely be called happiness — it has no taste.
Charlotte Brontë    #

Perfect happiness is a beautiful sunset, the giggle of a grandchild, the first snowfall. It's the little things that make happy moments, not the grand events. Joy comes in sips, not gulps.
Sharon Draper

SADNESS
You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness.
Jonathan Safran Foer   #

Sadness is but a wall between two gardens.
Kahlil Gibran

The good life is not one immune to sadness but one in which suffering contributes to our development.
Alain de Botton    #

Give sorrow words: the grief that does not speak / Whispers the o’er-fraught heart, and bids it break.
William Shakespeare

What brings us to tears will lead us to grace. Our pain is never wasted.
Bob Goff    #

FEAR
Don’t believe every worried thought you have. Worried thoughts are notoriously inaccurate.
Renee Jain    #

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.
Marcus Aurelius

I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.
Rosa Parks   #

Each of us must confront our own fears, must come face to face with them. How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives. To experience adventure or to be limited by the fear of it.
Judy Blume

Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.     #
Bertrand Russell

EXCITEMENT
Don't plan it all. Let life surprise you a little.
Julia Alvarez

Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough.
Emily Dickinson

If you do nothing unexpected, nothing unexpected happens.
Fay Weldon

I saw that my life was a vast glowing empty page and I could do anything I wanted.
Jack Kerouac

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
Les Brown

ANGER
Hurt gives way to bitterness, bitterness to anger. Travel too far that road and the way is lost.
Terry Brooks

You can't shake hands with a clenched fist.
Indira Gandhi

Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness.
Thích Nhất Hạnh

Let frustration fuel inspiration.
Sonia Boyce

I can become quite angry and burning in anger, but I have never been bitter. Bitterness is a corrosive, terrible acid. It just eats you and makes you sick.
Maya Angelou

REGRET
Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
Søren Kierkegaard

You must believe that your past is not your future.
Gayle Carson

There are two kinds of guilt … the kind that drowns you until you’re useless, and the kind that fires your soul to purpose.
Sabaa Tahir

We should regret our mistakes and learn from them, but never carry them forward into the future with us.
Lucy Maud Montgomery    #

SHYNESS
You got a chance to go up and say something? Don’t be shy. No matter how it comes out, just let it come out.
Fiona Apple   #

You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
Eleanor Roosevelt

If the risk is fully aligned with your purpose and mission, then it’s worth considering.
Peter Diamandis

It's not your job to be likable. It's your job to be yourself. Someone will like you anyway.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie    #

Freedom lies in being bold.  #
Robert Frost

What makes you vulnerable makes you beautiful.
Brené Brown

About the Author
Bennett Kleinman
Bennett is a staff writer at Optimism as well as a freelance comedy writer. He's based in New York City.

Memory: that slippery beast that dictates not just the moments we recall from our lives, but the very narrative we live by. Memory is the way we encode and store information about what’s happening around and to us at any given moment. It is also, importantly, how we understand who we are.

The memories we carry with us are how we learn from our mistakes, and how we hold on to our biggest joys. And the ability to store away tidbits of information about the past — our favorite songs from middle school, whether we had breakfast earlier today, or what happens when we put our hand on a hot surface — informs how we exist in the present, and how we plan for the future.

The caveat, of course, is that memories can often be unreliable and easily influenced by everything from heightened emotions to corroborations (or the lack thereof). What we remember from a moment might be different from what someone else does, which is just part of what makes the concept of memory so fascinating.

Here, we’ve rounded up 21 quotes about the mystery, complexity, and importance of how we hold onto the past.

The memory has as many moods as the temper and shifts its scenery like a diorama.
George Eliot

The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It’s the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.
Lois Lowry

You don't remember what happened. What you remember becomes what happened.
John Green

That’s what the world is, after all: an endless battle of contrasting memories.
Haruki Murakami

Memory takes a lot of poetic license. It omits some details; others are exaggerated, according to the emotional value of the articles it touches, for memory is seated predominantly in the heart.
Tennessee Williams

We didn’t realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun.
A.A. Milne

Music, at its essence, is what gives us memories. And the longer a song has existed in our lives, the more memories we have of it.
Stevie Wonder

We do not remember days, we remember moments.
Cesare Pavese

We now know that memories are not fixed or frozen, like Proust’s jars of preserves in a larder, but are transformed, disassembled, reassembled, and recategorized with every act of recollection.
Oliver Sacks

Memory is the treasury and guardian of all things.
Cicero

Without memory, each night is the first night, each morning is the first morning, each kiss and touch are the first.
Alan Lightman

Memories are like salt: the right amount brings out the flavor in food, too much ruins it.
Paolo Coehlo

One must have a good memory to be able to keep the promises one makes.
Friedrich Nietzsche

The past is always tense, the future perfect.
Zadie Smith

God gave us memories that we might have roses in December.
J.M. Barrie

Memory … is the diary that we all carry about with us.
Oscar Wilde

In memory everything seems to happen to music.
Tennessee Williams

Imaginings too easily become memories, memories imaginings.
Ian McDonald

For all of us, explicit memory makes it possible to leap across space and time and conjure up events and emotional states that have vanished into the past yet somehow continue to live in our minds.
Eric Kandel

Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.
Jane Austen

The true art of memory is the art of attention.
Samuel Johnson

About the Author
Joyce Chen is a writer, editor, and community builder based in Seattle, Washington.

Maintaining an optimistic outlook doesn’t mean fixating on the positive while turning a blind eye to the realities of life or forcefully suppressing our negative feelings. In fact, that kind of toxic positivity can harm our emotional well-being. True, healthy optimism entails acknowledging our more unpleasant and uncomfortable feelings while believing in and working toward better days ahead.

Life doesn’t always unfold smoothly, and the future, no matter how thoroughly we plan it, is always unpredictable. On those days when mustering our optimism is especially challenging, these 12 quotes can provide hope and encouragement to help guide us toward a brighter mental space.

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.
Martin Luther King Jr.

Optimism isn’t a belief that things will automatically get better; it’s a conviction that we can make things better.
Melinda French Gates

I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.
Walt Disney

One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.
Lucille Ball

In times of great stress and adversity, it’s always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.
Lee Iacocca

My optimism … does not rest on the absence of evil, but on a glad belief in the preponderance of good and a willing effort always to cooperate with the good, that it may prevail.
Helen Keller

I am very optimistic, and I always think positive, but within reason and never getting too far ahead of the game.
Luis Fonsi

Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.
Herbert Kretzmer

Toxic positivity is pressuring people to look on the bright side … Healthy support is shielding people from the dark side. You invite them to express their pain, and show them they’re not alone and won’t feel it forever.
Adam Grant

I don’t believe in ageing. I believe in forever altering one’s aspect to the sun. Hence my optimism.
Virginia Woolf

When you’ve exhausted all possibilities, remember this: You haven’t!
Robert Harold Schuller

Hope confronts. It does not ignore pain, agony, or injustice … You can’t have hope without despair, because hope is a response. Hope is the active conviction that despair will never have the last word.
Cory Booker

About the Author
Kristina Wright
Kristina is a coffee-fueled writer living happily ever after with her family in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia.

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.
Mignon McLaughlin

We have become / as one, deep rooted in the soil / of Life and tangled in the sweet growth.
J.R.R. Tolkien

However important it is that love shall precede marriage, it is far more important that it shall continue after marriage.
Samson Raphael Hirsch

Marriage is the fullness of time.
Søren Kierkegaard

So close that your hand upon my chest is mine, / so close that your eyes close with my dreams.
Pablo Neruda

To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.
Book of Common Prayer, Solemnization of Matrimony

May this marriage offer fruit and shade / like the date palm.May this marriage be full of laughter, / our every day a day in paradise. / ... / I am out of words to describe / how spirit mingles in this marriage.
Rumi

I hold this to be the highest task of a bond between two people: that each should stand guard over the solitude of the other. For, if it lies in the nature of indifference and of the crowd to recognize no solitude, then love and friendship are there for the purpose of continually providing the opportunity for solitude.
Rainer Maria Rilke

She's talkin' to me with her voice / Down so low I barely hear her / But I know what she's sayin' / I understand, because my heart and hers are the same / And in January we're gettin' married.
The Avett Brothers

Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.
Khalil Gibran

Here's the advice I give everyone about marriage — is she someone you find interesting? … Does she make you laugh? And I don’t know if you want kids, but if you do, do you think she will be a good mom? Life is long. These are the things that really matter over the long term.
Barack Obama

can i picture us in old age / conquering the worldlike we've got young blood / running in our veins
Rupi Kaur

What is called for is an ability on the part of the couple to "see" each other, to constantly apprehend the essence of the other.
David Whyte

You are a language I have learned by heart.
Dana Gioia, poet

When marrying, ask yourself this question: Do you believe that you will be able to converse well with this person into your old age? Everything else in marriage is transitory.
Friedrich Nietzsche

Happy and thrice happy are they who enjoy an uninterrupted union, and whose love, unbroken by any complaints, shall not dissolve until the last day.
Horace

To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow — this is a human offering that can border on miraculous.
Elizabeth Gilbert

What greater thing is there for two human souls, than to feel that they are joined for life — to strength each other in all labor, to rest on each other in all sorrow.
George Eliot

Will you still need me, will you still feed me / When I'm 64?
The Beatles

There is no more lovely, friendly, and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage.
Martin Luther

A happy marriage is a long conversation which always seems too short.
André Maurois

The secret of a happy marriage is finding the right person. You know they're right if you love to be with them all the time.
Julia Child

What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are but how you deal with incompatibility.
Leo Tolstoy

Marriage is a risk; I think it’s a great and glorious risk, as long as you embark on the adventure in the same spirit.
Cate Blanchett

Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point.
C.S. Lewis ##

In his 1942 novel, “The Screwtape Letters,” author C.S. Lewis makes an important observation on the nature of courage. He argues that all spiritual virtues — such as love, hope, faith, patience, and mercy — have little meaning if they disappear in the face of danger or persecution. It is easy to be kind, forgiving, or strong when times are good, but retaining those qualities during times of adversity requires great courage.

Friendship is the greatest of worldly goods. Certainly to me it is the chief happiness of life. If I had to give a piece of advice to a young man about a place to live, I think I should say, “sacrifice almost everything to live where you can be near your friends.”

You can't get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.

For me, reason is the natural organ of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning. Imagination, producing new metaphors or revivifying old, is not the cause of truth, but its condition.

Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.

The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them … For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never visited.

We have trained [people] to think of the Future as a promised land which favoured heroes attain — not as something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.

I do not think the forest would be so bright, nor the water so warm, nor love so sweet, if there were no danger in the lakes.

We all want progress. But … if you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.

No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.

In reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself. Like a night sky in the Greek poem, I see with a myriad eyes, but it is still I who see.

When I was ten I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.

You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you.

The value of the myth is that it takes all the things we know and restores to them the rich significance which has been hidden by the “veil of familiarity.”

A children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children’s story. The good ones last. A waltz which you can like only when you are waltzing is a bad waltz.

The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts.

The typical expression of opening Friendship would be something like, “What? You too? I thought I was the only one.”

I wrote the books I should have liked to read if only I could have got them. That's always been my reason for writing. People won't write the books I want, so I have to do it for myself.

Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else.
Charles Dickens

When Charles Dickens was 12 years old, he went to work in a shoe polish factory while his father was relegated to debtor’s prison. The experience stirred his lifelong zeal to expose the social and economic plights of the lower class in 19th-century London. Read more…

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
Albert Einstein

Born in Germany in 1879, physicist Albert Einstein was a curious, independent thinker from an early age. Read more…

The older I get, the more I want to be authentically myself.
Julianne Moore

Best known for her roles in films such as “Still Alice” and “Boogie Nights,” Academy Award-winning actress Julianne Moore has also authored bestselling children’s books about self-acceptance. Read more…

What is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?
Albert Camus

In French philosopher Albert Camus’s lyrical essay “The Desert,” written in 1938, he discusses what makes people happy. Read more…

What a lovely surprise to finally discover how unlonely being alone can be.
Ellen Burstyn

Ellen Burstyn is an American actor known for her charm and versatility; she has appeared in dozens of films, including "Requiem for a Dream," "The Exorcist," and "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore." Read more…

The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.
Eckhart Tolle

Spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle is best known for his teachings on mindfulness, consciousness, and the nature of the self. His work emphasizes the importance of living in the present moment. Read more…

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned in life: It goes on.
Robert Frost

On his 80th birthday, Robert Frost was asked, “In all your years and all your travels, what do you think is the most important thing you’ve learned about life?” Read more…

You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.
Maya Angelou

Life is filled with circumstances beyond our control. But while we can’t always prevent what happens to us, we do have power over how we respond to those events, including the especially challenging or difficult ones. Read more…

The only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone.
Mitch Albom

The complexity and impermanence of human life are common themes in writer Mitch Albom’s work. In Albom’s novel “The Five People We Meet In Heaven,” the protagonist Eddie feels unsatisfied. Read more…

It is so easy to give, so exquisitely rewarding.
John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck was a master of the moral philosophizing that defined his work. In this line from his travel journal “The Log From the Sea of Cortez,” he illustrated the simple joy of giving to others — whether it be time, or gifts, to friends, family, or charity. Read more…

"Enough" is a feast.
Buddhist proverb

This Buddhist proverb emphasizes the idea that contentment and satisfaction come from appreciating what we already have, and not always seeking more. Read more…

You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Today, we think of Eleanor Roosevelt as a strong and fearless role model. The longest-serving First Lady of the United States, she transformed the role, taking on more leadership and political responsibility than any before her. Read more…

Deserve your dream.
Octavio Paz

Octavio Paz, one of the most influential poets in the world, came from humble beginnings. He began publishing his work as a teenager and released his first poetry collection before the age of 20. Read more…

Mistakes are almost always of a sacred nature.
Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí never lacked self-confidence. His flamboyant style and eccentricities were fundamental to his public persona, and he often declared himself the greatest artist of modern times. Read more…

Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.
Fred Rogers

Mister Rogers’ wisdom always felt like a comforting, validating hug. In this quote — similar to the familiar phrase “when one door closes, another opens” — he ruminates on beginnings and endings. Read more…

Not what we have but what we enjoy constitutes our abundance.
Jean Antoine Petit-Senn

Satirist and poet Jean Antoine Petit-Senn lived in Geneva during the 1800s and spent his days writing sharp satirical commentary. Read more…

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
Steve Jobs

In June 2005, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs gave the commencement speech at Stanford University. As he spoke about his own remarkable success, he also contemplated mortality. Read more…

Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.
Marie Curie

Marie Curie is best known for her scientific breakthroughs in radiation and radioactivity, which won her two Nobel Prizes. Read more…

You don't luck into integrity. You work at it.
Betty White

According to a poll conducted in 2011, Betty White was America’s most trusted celebrity. Perhaps this comes as no surprise: The beloved actress-comedienne never let success go to her head. Read more…

Never apologize for showing feeling, my friend.
Benjamin Disraeli

Benjamin Disraeli was a towering figure of British politics during the second half of the 19th century. He served twice as prime minister of the United Kingdom, formed a close working relationship with Queen Victoria, and became a powerful voice on the global political scene. Read more…

What counts is not the things that happen, but what we do with them.
Annie Ernaux

Annie Ernaux won the 2022 Nobel Prize in literature for the “courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements, and collective restraints of personal memory.” Read more…

I have stood on a mountain of no's for one yes.
B. Smith

It might be difficult to imagine the charming Barbara Elaine Smith, known professionally as B. Smith, facing rejection. But any path as ambitious as hers is bound to encounter a lot of “no’s” on the way to the top. Read more…

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
William James

A brother to author Henry James, William James was a philosopher and psychologist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He explored many different ideas in his writings and teachings but often returned to the concept of free will. Read more…

About the Author
Brooke Robinson
Inspiring Quotes editor, bibliophile, cinephile, and curry enthusiast based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Another core principle of Buddhism is living in nonviolent and compassionate coexistence with all beings. Like much of Buddha’s wisdom, these core values transcend religious boundaries; their insight can apply to anyone looking for a more grounded and fulfilling life.

This selection of quotes highlights some of the core tenets of Buddhism, which may be viewed not as strict rules, but rather as universal guidelines for finding inner peace, reducing unhealthy attachments, and fostering a more harmonious existence, regardless of our spiritual beliefs.

Conquer anger with love, evil with good, meanness with generosity, and lies with truth.
Gautama Buddha

The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.
Thích Nhất Hạnh

Let your body relax and your heart soften. Open to whatever you experience without fighting. Let go of the battle. Breathe quietly and let it be.
Jack Kornfield

If the mind can stay with itself and not go out looking for things to criticize or latch onto, it can maintain a natural form of stillness.
Upasika Kee Nanayon

Please guide all beings from this swamp of cyclic existence!
Padmasambhava

Intention is the core of all conscious life. It is our intentions that … help others, our intentions that lead us away from the delusions of individuality toward the immutable verities of enlightened awareness. Conscious intention colors and moves everything.
Hsing Yun

To be attached to one’s own happiness is a barrier to the true and perfect path. To cherish others is the source of every admirable quality known.
Tsongkhapa

See everyone as a Buddha. This purifies the mind of ignorance and arrogance.
Master Baek

The essence of our experience is change. Change is incessant. Moment by moment life flows by and it is never the same. Perpetual alteration is the essence of the perpetual universe.##
Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

Wisdom is born of meditation; without meditation wisdom is lost.
Gautama Buddha

Mindfulness is a mental activity that in due course eliminates all suffering.
Ayya Khema

When we fall on the ground it hurts us, but we also need to rely on the ground to get back up.
Kathleen McDonald

Wisdom does not mean knowledge but experiential understanding. Wisdom helps you to change radically your habits and perceptions, as you discover the constantly changing, interconnected nature of the whole of existence.
Martine Batchelor

We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize.
Thích Nhất Hạnh

All material form should be seen as it actually is with proper wisdom thus: “This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.”
Gautama Buddha

About the Author
Nicole Villeneuve is a writer, thrift store lover, and group-chat meme spammer based in Ontario, Canada.

Leonardo da Vinci is among the most talented and insightful individuals to ever share our planet. His indelible legacy as a masterful painter persists to this day, as works such as the “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper” can attest.

In addition to being a prolific Renaissance artist, Leonardo was also a brilliant theorist. His views on the human condition were ahead of their time and remain as relevant today as they were more than 500 years ago.
Leonardo kept an extensive series of notebooks and journals to chronicle his thoughts on topics such as painting, anatomy, botany, and paleontology, to name just a few. These original sources provide us with an invaluable direct look into the mind of this great polymath, whose brilliant philosophical observations have inspired countless others over the centuries.

In honor of this incredible artist and thinker, here are 12 quotes that illustrate Leonardo da Vinci’s thoughts on life and that can be used as guiding principles on our own personal journeys.

Poor is the pupil that does not surpass his master.

Leonardo preached the importance of continually seeking out knowledge. According to his philosophy, an effective education involves taking the basics one learns as a student and using them to expand the mind even further.

Experience never errs; it is only your judgments that err by promising themselves effects such as are not caused by your experiments.

Ever the practical theorist, Leonardo believed trial and error to be the foundation of truth. In turn, he thought all fallacies arise from untested personal beliefs.

It is easier to contend with evil at the first than at the last. #

It’s best to tackle the roots of evil when they first present themselves Leonardo posited. Waiting too long allows those bad influences to grow stronger and potentially become unmanageable.

Whoever in discussion adduces authority uses not intellect but rather memory.

Leonardo believed all men are equal and that those who claim to have power tend to rely on perception rather than fact to maintain their control.

The knowledge of past times and of the places on the earth is both an ornament and nutriment to the human mind.

It’s important to remember the past, according to Leonardo, as those who choose to ignore history are doomed to repeat prior mistakes.

We ought not to desire the impossible. #

When setting personal goals, Leonardo believed in the importance of remaining grounded and seeking out realistically achievable end results.

The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.

According to Leonardo, our own beliefs are often responsible for guiding us down the wrong path. The great thinker thought important decisions should be based on scientific methods rather than on gut feelings.

As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death. #

Leonardo believed that in order to leave this Earth feeling content, we must consciously live fulfilling lives while we’re here.

Necessity is the mistress and guide of nature.

Leonardo claimed that evolution arises out of necessity. It’s need, rather than want, that makes the world grow stronger and develop more fully.

To lie is so vile, that even if it were in speaking well of godly things it would take off something from God’s grace; and Truth is so excellent, that if it praises but small things they become noble.

To Leonardo (and surely to many of us), lying is a wholly reprehensible action, considering the destruction and chaos it’s sure to bring about . Telling the truth, on the other hand, can highlight the value and virtue of even the littlest things.

Avoid studies of which the result dies with the worker.

It’s imperative to leave behind a worthy legacy, per Leonardo. We should do what we can to ensure our work doesn’t die with us and that our pursuits continue to inspire others after we’re gone.

Just as iron rusts unless it is used, and water putrifies or, in cold, turns to ice, so our intellect spoils unless it is kept in use. # [Use it or lose it]

Leonardo was a huge proponent of staying eternally curious and constantly exercising one’s mind so it doesn’t become stale with disuse. As it happens, we’re big proponents of that as well. 

About the Author
Bennett is a staff writer at Optimism as well as a freelance comedy writer. He's based in New York City.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Lao Tzu

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

There are always flowers for those who want to see them.
Henri Matisse # [There is always beauty if you want to see it.]

You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Well-behaved women seldom make history.
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. #
Wayne Gretzky

The time is always ripe to do right.
Martin Luther King Jr.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
W.E. Hickson

Whatever you are, try to be a good one.
William Makepeace Thackeray

That which does not kill us makes us stronger.
Friedrich Nietzsche

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.
Helen Keller

You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.
Maya Angelou

Action is the antidote to despair. #
Joan Baez

Speak your mind — even if your voice shakes.
Maggie Kuhn

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain. #
Dolly Parton

The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity. #
Amelia Earhart

Fear is stupid. So are regrets. #
Marilyn Monroe

Every moment is a fresh beginning.
T.S. Eliot

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
Steve Jobs

Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration.
Thomas Edison

About the Author
Paola Bennet is a writer based in Brooklyn, NY. She writes a fortnightly newsletter that treasures the mundane, called Small Histories. Find her on Instagram @paolafbennet.

Considered one of the best writers of the Victorian era, Charles Dickens was lauded for his insightful, honest, and often humorous stories about the underprivileged members of British society. He is often credited with drawing attention to the plights of the common people with his writing, and for helping to bring about social change.

Though he was a prolific writer, composing short stories, nonfiction, and stage plays, he is best known for his longer stories, including Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, and Great Expectations, which were originally published in serial installments in weekly and monthly magazines. Only later were the stories reprinted in the bound forms we’re familiar with today, read over and over for their wisdom and wit. Here, we’ve collected 11 classic lines penned by Dickens, as familiar as old friends.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...
“A Tale of Two Cities”

These famous opening words set the stage for a novel full of contradictions, a story that continuously compares the cities of London and Paris during the French Revolution. The phrase still rings true today as we look around and see a world that’s both deeply troubled and astoundingly compassionate. It can be difficult to hold both realities in our minds. Dickens captured it on the page with one line.

I have been bent and broken, but — I hope — into a better shape.
“Great Expectations”

The character of Estella is introduced to readers at the beginning of the story as cold and insulting. Though our main character, Pip, pines for her, she cares little for him. It is not until the end of the novel, when Estella speaks this line, that we see how her own trials have changed her over the course of the story. Just as Pip has learned to be honest and hardworking, Estella has learned humility through suffering.

Trifles make the sum of life.
“David Copperfield”

This novel, which is considered to be at least partly autobiographical, weaves the facts of Dickens’ own life with fiction to tell the story of a young man who loves and loses and learns to love again. Through it all we see how the small, day-to-day decisions we make end up defining our lives as a whole. Even the great turning points of life are reached through incremental steps and solidified by minutiae.

Please, sir, I want some more.
“Oliver Twist”

In this scene, which takes place early in the book, young Oliver is a resident at the parish workhouse for boys. After being served a meager portion of gruel for his supper, then waiting while a long prayer is said over the food, Oliver finishes his dinner in a few bites. Desperate with hunger, he approaches the master of the house and asks for seconds. The next day, a flyer is posted offering five pounds to anyone who will take the greedy child off their hands — and so the adventure of his life begins.

No one is useless in this world... who lightens the burden of it for any one else. #
“Our Mutual Friend”

Our Mutual Friend is considered by some modern critics to be one of Dickens’ greatest works, but when it was published serially over many months in 1864 and 1865, it did not sell well. Dickens himself was quite ill during this time, and the book would end up being his last completed work. This line, which is spoken in the book to comfort a character who is feeling useless, may also be a subtle nod to the people in Dickens’ life during this difficult time.

It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor. #
“A Christmas Carol”

This reflection comes as grumpy old Scrooge, under the wing of the Ghost of Christmas Present, is given a peek at his nephew’s Christmas celebration. The younger man’s laughter sets the other party guests to chuckling, and Scrooge begins to understand that he too might have enjoyed such happiness, if only he had accepted the invitation from his nephew to join the party.

We need never be ashamed of our tears.
“Great Expectations”

This line, from chapter 19 of the book, comes as Pip is finally leaving London with the hope of becoming a proper gentleman. When he sees his friends Joe and Biddy and is overcome with nostalgia, he begins to weep. He goes on to say: “I was better after I had cried, than before — more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.” It’s a sentiment that rings true even after 160 years.

Family not only need to consist of merely those whom we share blood, but also for those whom we’d give blood. #
“Nicholas Nickleby”

The third novel by Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby tells the story of a young man who takes a job at a boy’s boarding school where the pupils are terribly abused. Disgusted with the treatment of the young men, Nickleby gives the headmaster a beating and frees one of the pupils, Smike. The two travel to London and join a touring stage company. The bond between the two friends becomes as strong as the bond between brothers, illustrating how the closest friends can often feel more like family.

It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.
“A Tale of Two Cities”

This passage is pulled from the final chapter of the book and is said by the character Sydney Carton as he [SPOILER] makes his way to the guillotine in place of his doppelganger. His sacrifice is generally seen as selfless, but some argue that this line indicates a degree of self-aggrandizing, a way for Carton to finally do something noble and exit the world on a high note.

Fan the sinking flame of hilarity with the wing of friendship; and pass the rosy wine.
“The Old Curiosity Shop”

One of Dickens’s lesser-known works, The Old Curiosity Shop was a huge success when it was first serialized. Though this line is often quoted in celebration, it takes on a more sinister tone when considered in context. Spoken by the character of Richard Swiveller, the main character’s scheming, debt-ridden lawyer, it begs the question of who we trust and why.

Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.
“David Copperfield”

This line, which is the very first of the book, launches us into the story with hardly any context. The speaker could be male or female, young or old, rich or poor, which is precisely why the sentiment is so universal. At times we all feel the hero of our own stories, while at other times we believe ourselves obscured by more dominating characters. It is a rare sentence that so accurately captures what it is to be human.

Author image
April Dávila is a lover of words. Her debut novel "142 Ostriches" was released in 2020.

Good writing has the power to leave us speechless. Sometimes all it takes is a single line, a memorable maneuvering of a few words, and they’re etched into our consciousness forever. These words have the ability to inspire and enlighten, but the best ones also tend to evoke a deep connection, making particularly effective pieces of literature feel like lifelong friends.

Often, these powerful one-liners act as a window into the human experience that causes us to reflect on self-discovery, freedom, love, and loss. The complexity of human life is not easily captured or conveyed, but these quotes by authors from different genres and eras showcase their awe-inspiring abilities to convey raw emotions, elicit deep empathy, and truly stir the soul.

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.
F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Great Gatsby”

I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart: I am, I am, I am.
Sylvia Plath, “The Bell Jar”

The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.
Ernest Hemingway, “A Farewell to Arms”

When someone you love dies, and you’re not expecting it, you don’t lose her all at once; you lose her in pieces over a long time — the way the mail stops coming, and her scent fades from the pillows and even from the clothes in her closet and drawers.
John Irving, “A Prayer for Owen Meany”

There are years that ask questions and years that answer.
Zora Neale Hurston, “Their Eyes Were Watching God”

If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel's heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence.
George Eliot, “Middlemarch”

Choose a place where you won't do harm — yes, choose a place where you won't do very much harm, and stand in it for all you are worth, facing the sunshine.
E.M. Forster, “A Room With a View”

Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.
Ralph Ellison, “Invisible Man”

Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt, that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.
Virginia Woolf, “A Room of One’s Own”

Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.
Kurt Vonnegut, “Slaughterhouse-Five"

And know that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.
John Steinbeck, “East of Eden”

About the Author
Nicole Villeneuve is a writer, thrift store lover, and group-chat meme spammer based in Ontario, Canada.

When we need it most, it’s the hardest to find. Hold on to too much of it, and we risk falling prey to naivete. But carry too little, and we can become our own worst enemies, shielding our hearts from new possibilities. What is this paradoxical, ever-abundant and simultaneously scarce phenomena? Hope.

Indeed, hope can be one of our most powerful driving forces and our biggest downfall. It can serve as a catalyst for great prosperity or as rose-colored glasses that shield us from life’s inevitabilities. To put a not-so-simple concept simply, hope is the lifeblood of humanity. To hope is to look forward into the unknown and believe that positive things await, despite a lack of concrete evidence.

In its best form, hope is a potent elixir, easing our present ailments and giving us strength to face the future. So whether we’re feeling full of hope or notably devoid of it, these quotes about hopefulness serve to remind us just how important it is to hold on to — or find — this optimistic conviction.

When there is no hope, it is incumbent on us to invent it.
Albert Camus

Hope in the shadow of fear is the world’s most powerful motivator.
Neal Shusterman

“Hope” is the thing with feathers / That perches in the soul, / And sings the tune without the words, / And never stops at all.
Emily Dickinson

We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.
Martin Luther King Jr.

The longest way must have its close, — the gloomiest night will wear on to a morning.
Harriet Beecher Stowe

Hang on to your hopes, my friend / That’s an easy thing to say / But if your hope should pass away / Simply pretend / That you can build them again.
Paul Simon

Hope is the only bee that makes honey without flowers.
Robert G. Ingersoll

Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I cannot reach them: but I can look up, and see their beauty; believe in them, and try to follow where they lead; remember that frost comes latest to those that bloom the highest.
Louisa May Alcott

If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child, / Listen to the DON’TS / Listen to the SHOULDN’TS / The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TS / Listen to the NEVER HAVES / Then listen close to me — / Anything can happen, child, / ANYTHING can be.
Shel Silverstein

If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment.
Henry David Thoreau

Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there’s no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic.
Laini Taylor

Don’t ever underestimate the impact you can have, because history has shown us that courage can be contagious, and hope can take on a life of its own.
Michelle Obama

Such is the force of this beautiful and wilful conviction, it carries itself in the face of all opposition. I am never discouraged by absence of good. I never can be argued into hopelessness.
Helen Keller

Just like moons and like suns, / With the certainty of tides, / Just like hopes springing high, / Still I’ll rise.
Maya Angelou

’Tis not in the high stars alone, / Nor in the cup of budding flowers, / Nor in the redbreast’s mellow tone, / Nor in the bow that smiles in showers, / But in the mud and scum of things / There alway, alway something sings.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

In three words, I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on.
Robert Frost

Hope, or an expectation of future good, is of so extensive an influence, that whether true or false, well or ill founded, it is one of the principal springs that keep mankind in motion.
Andrew Fuller

When day comes, we step out of the shade aflame and unafraid. The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.
Amanda Gorman

About the Author
Melanie Davis-McAfee is a freelance writer, musician, and devoted cat mom of three living in southwest Kentucky.

In the 2023 Oscar-nominated film The Holdovers, history teacher Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) gifts copies of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations to multiple people, saying, “For my money, it’s like the Bible, the Quran, and the Bhagavad Gita all rolled up into one.”

Unlike those religious texts, however, Meditations began its life as the personal diary of a Roman emperor and philosopher. It was also likely never intended to be published. Written during Marcus Aurelius’ rule from 161 to 180 CE, these introspective notes were meant to help Aurelius reflect on his Stoic philosophy and propel him along his personal journey of self-improvement.

The writings, ranging in length from one sentence to extended paragraphs, are divided into 12 books that trace the various periods of the author’s life as he endeavors to make sense of himself and his place in the universe. To this day, Marcus Aurelius’ musings remain almost eerily relevant.

Although we may not be Roman emperors, we continually strive to become better versions of ourselves just as Marcus Aurelius did nearly 2,000 years ago, and that’s where his musings can come in handy. Here are 15 timeless quotes from Meditations that can help all of us find our place in the world.

The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts.

Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.

When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love.

You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

Here is a rule to remember in future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not, “This is a misfortune,” but “To bear this worthily is good fortune.”

Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.

If you can, show them the better way. If you cannot, remember that this is why you have the gift of kindness.

There is a limit circumscribed to your time — if you do not use it to clear away your clouds, it will be gone, and you will be gone, and the opportunity will not return.

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?

The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.

If you are distressed by anything, the pain is not due to the thing itself but to your own estimate of it; and this you have power to revoke at any moment. ##

Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.

Watch the stars in their courses as one that runneth about with them therein; and think constantly upon the reciprocal changes of the elements, for thoughts on these things cleanse away the mire of our earthly life.

It can ruin your life only if it ruins your character. Otherwise it cannot harm you — inside or out.

Accept humbly: let go easily.

About the Author
Brooke Robinson
Inspiring Quotes editor, bibliophile, cinephile, and curry enthusiast based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Abraham Lincoln was born into poverty in 1809, in a humble log cabin in Kentucky. Self-educated, he rose up to become a lawyer, then a politician, and then, ultimately, the 16th President of the United States. He held the nation’s highest office from 1861 until his assassination in 1865, during which time he led the country through the American Civil War and brought about the abolition of slavery.

Among Lincoln’s many talents as a leader was his ability to write speeches of the highest order — perhaps none more eloquent or more famous than his first inaugural address, in which he talked of “the mystic chords of memory” and “the better angels of our nature.” Beyond his formal addresses, the President was also known for his sense of humor and love of jokes, which he scattered around liberally when the setting allowed.

Despite his ability with the pen, Lincoln wasn’t what most would consider a natural orator. His voice, according to many accounts, was high-pitched and reedy; some even called it shrill. His accent was a blend of Indiana and Kentucky, which wasn’t always appealing to audiences in Boston or New York.

But what Lincoln lacked in appearance and delivery, he more than made up for with the sheer strength of his words and ideas — as evidenced by his most insightful and memorable quotes.

In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong.

No man is good enough to govern another man, without that other's consent.

The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present …  As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew.

A man watches his pear-tree day after day, impatient for the ripening of the fruit. Let him attempt to force the process, and he may spoil both fruit and tree. But let him patiently wait, and the ripe pear at length falls into his lap.

I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views.

As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy.

Think you these places would satisfy an Alexander, a Caesar, or a Napoleon? Never! Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored.

Adhere to your purpose and you will soon feel as well as you ever did. On the contrary, if you falter, and give up, you will lose the power of keeping any resolution, and will regret it all your life.

The struggle of today, is not altogether for today — it is for a vast future also. #

When we were the political slaves of King George, and wanted to be free, we called the maxim that “all men are created equal” a self-evident truth; but now when we have grown fat, and have lost all dread of being slaves ourselves, we have become so greedy to be masters that we call the same maxim “a self-evident lie.”

When the white man governs himself, that is self-government; but when he governs himself, and also governs another man, that is more than self-government — that is despotism.

Bad promises are better broken than kept.

Let us neither express nor cherish any hard feelings toward any citizen who by his vote has differed with us. Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell together in the bonds of fraternal feeling.

The true rule, in determining to embrace or reject anything, is not whether it have any evil in it, but whether it have more of evil than of good.

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds.

Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today. #

About the Author
Tony is an English writer of non-fiction and fiction living on the edge of the Amazon jungle.

Aristotle posited that three factors contribute to human goodness: nature, habit, and reason.

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

The roots of many modern disciplines can be traced back more than 2,000 years to the profound contributions of Aristotle, a brilliant thinker whose impact on human knowledge in science, politics, philosophy, and more remains indelible.

Aristotle was born in northern Greece in 384 BCE to parents who came from traditional medical backgrounds and who encouraged his intellectual pursuits. At roughly age 17, the future philosopher embarked on a 20-year career as a student of — and eventually a teacher alongside — Plato, in the vibrant learning center of Athens.

His mentorship under Plato shaped his philosophical foundation, but Aristotle's intellectual pursuits extended far beyond philosophy. He evolved into a polymath, branching out into a wide spectrum of disciplines, including science, politics, the arts, and even metaphysics. After leaving Athens for a number of years (during which time he married his wife Pythias), Aristotle was summoned to Macedonia in 342 BCE by King Philip II, who requested his expertise in educating his son — the future Alexander the Great.

In 335 BCE, Aristotle opened his own school in the Lyceum. His singular approach to knowledge, characterized by his insatiable curiosity and an unwavering commitment to understanding the underlying principles of the world, were dispersed throughout his approximately 200 works, of which only 31 survive.

Aristotle wasn’t content with merely absorbing information; rather, he analyzed and sought to unravel the “why” behind everything. This led to one of his most notable roles, as a pioneer of the scientific method. He championed empirical observations and endeavored to make sense of the world based on tangible evidence. His contributions to this field fundamentally influenced the scientific methods we still use to this day.

Beyond his scientific endeavors, Aristotle also displayed a keen interest in politics, ethics, and the complexities of society. The Greek great’s intellectual curiosity and desire to explore, explain, and enhance the world have left a lasting legacy, and his body of work serves as a timeless source of wisdom and insight. Here are some of Aristotle's most poignant quotes that exemplify the way he saw the world.

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.

Aristotle had a sincere appreciation for and curiosity about the world around him, and he spent a significant amount of time studying and classifying animals. Aside from valuing and respecting the inherent beauty and complexity found in every facet of nature, Aristotle also encouraged others to study and understand the natural world, a constant source of marvel, inspiration, and information all its own.

The roots of education … are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.

The process of learning can be challenging, often demanding much of us and involving hard work and perseverance. But the rewards of education, as lifelong student Aristotle knew, are immensely valuable and gratifying. Like the reaping of a harvest after sowing, the long-term benefits and fulfillment that come from the effort and dedication put into education are well worth all the hard work.

Piety requires us to honor truth above our friends.

Aristotle believed it was critically important to stay true to one's principles and moral values above all else. The concept of piety, often associated with religious duty, highlights the ethical responsibility to prioritize what is right and just over loyalty to our friends. Although Aristotle rejected traditional religion, here the word is used to emphasize the significance of maintaining one's moral compass even if it means disagreeing with our loved ones.

Our characters are the result of our conduct.

A recurring idea in Aristotle’s work is the role of our habitual behaviors in defining our personal constitutions. It reflects a central theme of his ethical philosophy, which suggests that consistently practicing virtuous conduct leads to the development of virtuous character. It serves as a guiding principle throughout his exploration of ethics and the pursuit of a well-lived, righteous life.

Happiness then is the best, noblest, and most pleasant thing in the world.

“Eudaimonia” is a central concept in Aristotle's ethical philosophy. Though it’s often translated to mean “happiness,” the concept encompasses a more enduring state of well-being than mere momentary pleasure. This profound type of human flourishing, he believed, was the result of living a life of upstanding actions and moral excellence — and he stated it to be the ultimate goal of human life.

One swallow does not make a summer, nor does one day; and so too one day, or a short time, does not make a man blessed and happy.

Similar to his belief that our habits help define our character, Aristotle stressed the importance of consistency in achieving true happiness. Fleeting periods of joy or success don’t determine one's overall well-being; instead, lasting happiness results from sustained virtuous conduct and a life lived according to high moral standards.

Any one can get angry — that is easy … but to do this to the right person, to the right extent, at the right time, with the right motive, and in the right way, that is not for every one, nor is it easy.

Aristotle understood the complexity — and the power — of anger. The often-volatile emotion wields the potential for both destructive and constructive change. To effectively harness its force, balance is crucial. Through the cultivation of mindfulness, compassion, and wisdom, we have the capacity to channel anger in a positively transformative manner.

A whole is that which has beginning, middle, and end.

Aristotle’s Poetics is a seminal work of literary theory in which the philosopher discusses narrative structure, plot, the role of character development, the use of language and style, catharsis, and more. This quote reflects his idea that in order for something to be considered a complete and meaningful work, it should have a clear and coherent structure, with distinct phases — including a beginning, middle, and end. The insights in Poetics have had an enduring influence on literature, drama, and the arts.

Hope is the dream of a waking man.

Aristotle prominently highlighted human aspirations and the pursuit of a fulfilling life. Here, he characterizes hope as a driving force,  underscoring its power as a motivating vision and a conscious dream to work toward in the waking world, rather than merely a chimerical wish or unspoken desire.

Much more practical are those mental activities and reflections which have their goal in themselves and take place for their own sake.

Intellectual pursuits contain their own intrinsic values. Aristotle was highly motivated by the quest for knowledge and understanding, and these things alone, without external incentives, are inherently meaningful and purposeful. This quote also aligns with Aristotle’s belief that finding joy and well-being in life are goals that depend on ourselves and our own pursuit of happiness.

Aristotle was not just a great philosopher; the ancient Greek scholar also wrote about poetry, drama, comedy, biology, physics, politics, and music. His thirst for understanding the world seemed boundless.

When his works were studied in the Middle Ages, he became known as not just a philosopher but “The Philosopher.” In the poet Dante’s 1472 epic poem Divine Comedy, Aristotle is called “the master of those who know.”

Living in the fourth century B.C., Aristotle was the student of the renowned philosopher Plato and in turn became the tutor of Alexander the Great, then the prince of Macedonia. While serving at the royal courts, Aristotle became deeply concerned with how people might achieve eudaimonia, a Greek word meaning to flourish as a human being. To Aristotle’s mind, thriving in life was all a matter of character and virtue.

Aristotle believed that humans could learn to be virtuous by making a habit of moral acts — in other words, if you practiced acting like a good person, you would eventually become good.

“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them,” he wrote in Nicomachean Ethics, one of his most influential works. “Men become builders by building and lyre players by playing the lyre; so too we become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.”

Aristotle saw virtue as a balance between two extremes. The brave person, for instance, was one who avoided acting like a coward (considered a vice) but was also not rash or foolhardy (a vice on the other end of the spectrum). He believed moderation brought out the best in all people and made human society harmonious.

In his ethical works, Aristotle discussed the chief virtues a good and moral person should strive to possess as character traits. Here are Aristotle’s thoughts on 11 of the most important virtues.

COURAGE
Courage involves pain, and is justly praised; for it is harder to face what is painful than to abstain from what is pleasant.

TEMPERANCE
By abstaining from pleasures we become temperate, and it is when we have become so that we are most able to abstain from them.

LIBERALITY (GENEROSITY)
Of all those who are called virtuous the liberal are probably the best liked, because they are helpful; and their help consists in giving.

TRUTHFULNESS
Falsehood is in itself bad and reprehensible, while the truth is a fine and praiseworthy thing.

FRIENDLINESS
The best friend is he that, when he wishes a person's good, wishes it for that person's own sake.

JUSTICE
Justice is often regarded as the sovereign virtue, and ‘neither evening nor morning star is such a wonder.'

MAGNANIMITY
It is proper to a magnanimous person not to nurse memories, especially not of evils, but to overlook them.

RIGHTEOUSNESS
The man who gets angry at the right things and with the right people, and also in the right way and at the right time and for the right length of time, is commended; so this person will be patient … because a patient person tends to be unperturbed and not carried away by feelings.

MAGNIFICENCE
The magnificent man is like an artist; for he can see what is fitting and spend large sums tastefully.

AMBITION
We blame both the ambitious man as aiming at honour more than is right and from wrong sources, and the unambitious man as not willing to be honoured even for noble reasons.

WIT
Wit is cultured insolence.

About the Author
Ben Gazur

The ultimate test of leadership is not the polls you take, but the risks you take … The greatest defeat of all would be to live without courage, for that would hardly be living at all.
Gerald Ford

America demands and deserves big things from us, and nothing big ever came from being small.
Bill Clinton

The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one who gets the people to do the greatest things.
Ronald Reagan

A self-respecting man must insist on his rights; otherwise he neither deserves nor receives the respect of others.
Theodore Roosevelt

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.
Barack Obama

A good leader can’t get too far ahead of his followers.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Two commanders on the same field are always one too many.
Ulysses S. Grant

Our real luck lies within ourselves. It is a question of character. It depends on whether we follow the inward light of conscience. Such men rise above the realm of temporary circumstance. They are great even in defeat.
Calvin Coolidge

For courage, not complacency, is our need today. Leadership, not salesmanship. And the only valid test of leadership is the ability to lead and lead vigorously.
John F. Kennedy

The job of getting people really wanting to do something is the essence of leadership. And one of the things a leader needs occasionally is the inspiration he gets from the people he leads.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Leadership to me means duty, honor, country. It means character, and it means listening from time to time.
George W. Bush

We have to inspire our children and grandchildren to take on challenges and risks that at first may seem to be overwhelming or even impossible. They need to understand that the only failure is not trying.
Jimmy Carter

Do you covet honor? You will never get it by serving yourself. Do you covet distinction? You will get it only as the servant of mankind … You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.
Woodrow Wilson

These don't seem as easy to interpret in terms of biology. 

“Love is a serious mental disease.” 

“When the mind is thinking it is talking to itself.” 

“Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion and knowledge.” 

“Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.” 

“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.” 

“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.” 

“Man-a being in search of meaning.” 

“Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of lover, everyone becomes a poet.” 

“There are two things a person should never be angry at: What they can help, and what they cannot.” 

“People are like dirt. They can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die.” 

A Unique Army Creed That Helps You Put A Chaotic World Into Order
Sua Sponte: fixing things around you by your own accord
https://medium.com/mind-cafe/a-unique-army-creed-that-helps-you-put-a-chaotic-world-into-order-842b9622e33

Admiral William McRaven shared some life lessons he’s learned over his military career. One of which is enshrined in the Army Ranger’s motto: Sua Sponte. Its Latin translation is “of your own accord.” #

McRaven says it means to do what needs to be done without waiting to be told. 


***

If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters.
Colin Powell

Humans are creatures of habit. If you quit when things get tough, it gets that much easier to quit the next time. On the other hand, if you force yourself to push through it, the grit begins to grow in you.
Travis Bradberry, author

We can use decision-making to choose the habits that we want to form, use willpower to get the habit started, then — and this is the best part — we can allow the extraordinary power of habit to take over.
Gretchen Rubin, author

'Tis easier to prevent bad habits than to break them.
Benjamin Franklin

Good habits can be developed through repetition. By incorporating behaviors, tasks, and attitude to the regular routines, they usually become a habit, thus becoming natural and virtually effortless.
Kellie Sullivan, author

It takes time and patience, but if you develop the habit of using forceful, positive Self-Talk rebuttals to your negative Mind Chatter you will soon see a shift in your Mind Chatter, how you feel, and what you do.
Mark Snyder, author

You shouldn't be challenging yourself to change a habit for just a short period of time. The point of habits is to change behavior over the long term.
Richard D. Rawlings, author

Sow an act and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny.
Charles Reade, novelist

Success leads to success. But here’s something that may surprise you. The size of the success doesn’t seem to matter very much. When you feel successful at something, even if it’s tiny, your confidence grows quickly, and your motivation increases to do that habit again.
BJ Fogg, behavior scientist

Do not count the number of times you failed and believe it is impossible to eliminate bad habits. It is possible to change bad habits into positive ones and live a more productive life.
Henry A. Dabo, author

In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It’s not what we do that shapes our identity, but what we do consistently.
Tony Robbins, author and speaker

According to Chinese folklore, the Jade Emperor, who ruled the heavens and earth, created the Chinese zodiac by assigning 12 animals to represent different years in the Chinese calendar. Among those animals was the Dragon, which the Emperor placed fifth in the 12-year cycle.

The Dragon is the only mythological creature in the Chinese zodiac. The official color of the Dragon has varied depending on the ruling dynasty of the time, but the Dragon has always symbolized the emperor of China and is considered a lucky year in which to be born.

People born in the Year of the Dragon are typically considered to have an abundance of charisma, confidence, power, and intelligence. They may also be a bit perfectionistic, holding themselves (and others) to high standards. Celebrities born in the Year of the Dragon include Bruce Lee, John Lennon, and Rihanna.

In the past century, “Dragon years” have fallen in 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, and 2024. According to the Chinese elemental theory, each animalic zodiac sign is also linked to one of the five main elements: metal, wood, water, fire, or earth. Each of the elemental Dragons appears in the Chinese zodiac every 60 years and is associated with its own character traits. For instance, “Wood Dragons” born in 2024 may grow up to be ambitious and driven, yet humble.

Here are 11 quotes that provide more insight into what it means to be born in the Year of the Dragon, as well as some tidbits of advice for living in the way of the Dragon.

The Dragon represents individuals who are always full of life and enthusiasm, with a reputation for being fun-loving and innovative.
Vivienne Tam

Listen closely as the wind is / blowing. There is something / different in the air. / A cold wind that’s changing / everything. / Far ahead beyond the new horizon, there are dreams you can’t imagine. / It starts with the Year of the Dragon.
Trish Thuy Trang

Shrewd and enthusiastic, the Dragon is the sign with the greatest power and the most powerful influence … Unlike the frightening Dragon of Western mythology, Chinese Dragons are benevolent creatures that live in the heavens and amongst the wind, mist, rain, thunder, and lightning.
Shelly Wu

Clouds separating / Sun and the moon witnessing / The earth is speculating / The Dragon is coming.
Zeynep Premdassi

You’re a Dragon, and of all the signs only a Dragon can tame the fates. Only a Dragon can wear the horns of destiny, duty, and power.
Lisa See

It is difficult to predict the behavior of someone born in the year of the Dragon. Acquaintances can never guess what you are about to do or what you think. Many people are attracted to your charismatic character. You are quiet, serious, and dignified in everything you do.
Man-Ho Kwok

When the Dragon acts in accord with the Way nothing can withstand him. When the Dragon is in conflict with the Way disaster swiftly follows.
Nigel Suckling

In the Year of the Dragon, a little boldness will go a long way — especially if you time it right.
Jill Dearman

In Chinese culture, the Dragon holds a significant place as an auspicious and extraordinary creature, unparalleled in talent and excellence. It symbolizes power, nobility, honor, luck, and success.
Cynthia Li

Whether you like it or not, you are a child of fire. You / descend from the Dragon.
C. Dale Young

I am an unquenchable fire, / the center of all energy, / the stout heroic heart. / I am truth and light, / I hold power and glory in my sway. / My presence / disperses dark clouds. / I have been chosen / to tame the Fates. / I AM THE DRAGON.
Theodora Lau

About the Author
Kristina is a coffee-fueled writer living happily ever after with her family in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia.

A little bit of unexpected kindness can go a long way amid the bustle of a busy day or the stress of a difficult time. Odds are, we’ve all been the recipient of at least one random act of kindness, whether from a close friend or a complete stranger.

Our gratitude for those kindnesses might prompt us to pass it on, in one way or another. For example, in 2020, more than 900 cars at a Minnesota drive-thru took part in what’s referred to as a pay-it-forward chain, in which each customer pays for the order of the car behind them. Studies have shown that even children as young as 4 years old get the urge to pass on the kindnesses they’re shown.

One may wonder why we don’t just directly repay the person who initially showed us generosity. It’s totally reasonable and warranted to show our gratitude to that person, but science shows that paying it forward can cause a ripple effect of positive actions.

For one, it’s likely that paying it forward will inspire the people we help to help others in turn — making a bigger impact than a pair of favorable actions between two people. It also helps strengthen our ties to other people, decreasing our risks of anxiety and depression. The bottom line here is that being kind to others is good for our own well-being and the well-being of those around us.

To inspire you, we’ve gathered 11 quotes about the value of paying forward the goodwill shown to us. You never know the positive impact your choices may have on someone else’s life!

I have a theory about the assists we get in life. Only rarely can we repay those people who helped us, but we can pass that help along to others.
Lucille Ball

Have you had a kindness shown? / Pass it on; / 'Twas not given for thee alone, / Pass it on.
Henry Burton

Try to be kind, because there is such a lack of kindness everywhere, and if you could generate just a little, it would mean everything to someone else. You may never know how much it would help … Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways it can change someone else’s life forever.
Margaret Cho

It’s important in this world we’re living in now, to give back. We can’t forget about the people who live in it. How can we make it a better world?
Paula Patton

Learning to pay it forward can add a tremendous sense of meaning and dignity to our lives. Simply put, it feels good to give to others, whether we get back or not.
Greg Epstein

Here’s what I want you to do. Do a very big favor for three people … And when they try to pay you back, tell them instead to pay it forward. Give your time, if you have to, or your compassion.
Catherine Ryan Hyde

I always liked telling my students: “Go out and do for others what somebody did for you.”
Randy Pausch

We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses there is at least one which makes the heart run over.
Ray Bradbury

Every small, unselfish action nudges the world into a better path. An accumulation of small acts can change the world.
Robin Hobb

Friendships … are built of a thousand small kindnesses … swapped back and forth and over again.
Michelle Obama

One can never pay in gratitude, one can only pay “in kind” somewhere else in life.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh

About the Author
Paola Bennet is a writer based in Brooklyn, NY. She writes a fortnightly newsletter that treasures the mundane, called Small Histories. Find her on Instagram @paolafbennet.

The book is divided into chapters with each title representing one of the following twelve specific rules for life as explained through an essay.

"Stand up straight with your shoulders back."
"Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping."
"Make friends with people who want the best for you."
"Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today."
"Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them."
"Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world."
"Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient)."
"Tell the truth – or, at least, don't lie."
"Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don't."
“Be precise in your speech.”
"Do not bother children when they are skateboarding."
"Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street."

Sermon on the Mount

People who live rightously.
How to do right?
Torah - 613 laws. Teachings - First 5 books of the Bible. Need to be meditated on.
Followed by the Prophets. They had failed, but God was going to fix it.
The Sermon on the Mount was the story of how to interpret the laws of the Torah, how to be rightous.
He gave 6 case studies of how to be rightous.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: To be “poor in spirit” means to be humble and teachable. Jesus encourages us to acknowledge our need for Him and approach life with humility. In doing so, we can receive the blessings of the kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are they that mourn: Life brings challenges and trials. When we face loss or difficulties, we can find comfort in knowing that God will send His Holy Spirit to console us. Our mourning can lead to blessings as we endure and seek solace.

Blessed are the meek: Meekness involves gentleness, kindness, patience, and tolerance. Jesus exemplified meekness by submitting to God’s will, even in moments of extreme agony. By cultivating meekness, we can inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness: Seeking knowledge and striving to follow God’s teachings bring us closer to Him. The more we hunger for righteousness, the more He will bless us with understanding and fulfillment.

Blessed are the merciful: Jesus demonstrated forgiveness and mercy, even while suffering on the cross. As recipients of God’s mercy, we are called to show mercy to others. Compassion and forgiveness lead to blessings.

Blessed are the pure in heart: A pure heart allows us to see God. When our motives and actions align with godliness, we become receptive to divine revelation. Striving for purity of heart opens the way to a deeper connection with God.

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.
James Oppenheim

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
Mahatma Gandhi

Make up your minds that happiness depends on being free, and freedom depends on being courageous.
Pericles

Happiness is not a goal, it is a by-product. Paradoxically, the one sure way not to be happy is deliberately to map out a way of life in which one would please oneself completely and exclusively.
Eleanor Roosevelt

I don’t want a job. I have eight acres of fields outside the city wall, enough for vegetables and grain. I also have an acre and a half of farmland nearby, which gives me enough silk and hemp. Strumming my zithers is enough to give me pleasure, studying Tao with you is enough to make me happy. I don’t want a job.
Yan Hui

Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions.
Dalai Lama

We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.
Frederick Koenig

Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you’ve got to make yourself.
Alice Walker

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.
Thích Nhất Hạnh

Happiness depends upon ourselves.
Aristotle

Those who are not looking for happiness are the most likely to find it, because those who are searching forget that the surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others.
Martin Luther King Jr.

Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.

Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get.
W. P. Kinsella

The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.
Marcus Aurelius

The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.
Thích Nhất Hạnh

All happiness depends on courage and work.
Honoré de Balzac

True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future.
Seneca

Happiness in this world, when it comes, comes incidentally. Make it the object of pursuit, and it leads us a wild-goose chase, and is never attained. Follow some other object, and very possibly we may find that we have caught happiness without dreaming of it.
Nathaniel Hawthorne

Happiness is something that multiplies when it is divided.
Paulo Coelho

Genuine happiness can only be achieved when we transform our way of life from the unthinking pursuit of pleasure to one committed to enriching our inner lives, when we focus on 'being more' rather than simply having more.
Daisaku Ikeda

Happiness consists more in small conveniences or pleasures that occur every day, than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom to a man in the course of his life.
Benjamin Franklin

Happiness exists on earth, and it is won through prudent exercise of reason, knowledge of the harmony of the universe, and constant practice of generosity.
José Martí

Of all the means to insure happiness throughout the whole life, by far the most important is the acquisition of friends.
Epicurus

The only way to be truly happy is to make others happy.
William Carlos Williams

Many people think excitement is happiness ... But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace.
Thích Nhất Hạnh

A man who chases two rabbits, catches neither. Confucious.

Advice from An Old Farmer:
Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.
Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
Words that soak into your ears are whispered… not yelled.
Meanness doesn’t just happen overnight.
Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.
Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
It doesn’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.
You cannot unsay a cruel word.
Every path has a few puddles.
When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
The best sermons are lived, not preached.
Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.
Don’t judge folks by their relatives.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Live a good, honorable life… then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.
Don't interfere with somethin’ that ain’t bothering you none.
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.
If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.
Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with watches you from the mirror every mornin’.
Always drink upstream from the herd.
Good judgment comes from experience and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.
If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around..
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.
Most times, it just gets down to common sense.

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
Thomas Jefferson

The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.
Confucius

Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.
Stephen King

Whenever I feel bad, I use that feeling to motivate me to work harder. I only allow myself one day to feel sorry for myself. When I’m not feeling my best, I ask myself, “What are you gonna do about it?” I use the negativity to fuel the transformation into a better me.
Beyoncé Knowles

The future depends on what you do today.
Mahatma Gandhi

Success isn’t about how much money you make; it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.
Michelle Obama

Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.
Robert Louis Stevenson

Whatever you do, do it with all your might. Work at it, early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour that which can be done just as well now.
Margaret Fuller

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.
Martin Luther King Jr.

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.
Unknown (often attributed to Mark Twain or Agatha Christie)

It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.
Bruce Lee

Dreams are lovely but they are just dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral, pretty. But dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It’s hard work that makes things happen. It’s hard work that creates change.
Shonda Rhimes

Do not whine … do not complain. Work harder. Spend more time alone.
Joan Didion

You’re going to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.
George Lorimer

When someone tells me “no,” it doesn’t mean I can’t do it, it simply means I can’t do it with them.
Karen E. Quinones Miller

Never allow a person to say no who doesn’t have the power to say yes.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.
Yoda

After becoming deaf and blind at age two, Helen Keller faced her challenges with a singular optimism and strength. She became a trailblazing advocate for disability rights, and the first person who was deaf and blind to earn a college degree in the United States. She graduated in 1904, at a time when women were significantly outnumbered by men in higher education, special education was in its infancy, and the disability rights movement was just beginning to pick up steam.

Keller’s mastery of multiple forms of communication, and lifelong activism on behalf of people with disabilities, women, Black people, and other socially sidelined groups, brought her international celebrity. She lectured throughout the U.S. and abroad, and authored 14 books, including a famous memoir published in 1905, The Story of My Life, which was translated into 50 languages and remains in print.

13 Quotes on the Power of Positive Thinking 

While Keller embraced the limelight, she did so in order to campaign for fair treatment and equal rights for everyone, regardless of gender, race, or disability. She supported the growth of several major U.S. institutions, including Helen Keller International, the ACLU, and the NAACP. She believed true happiness came from helping and working in partnership with others, aligning oneself with a higher purpose, and from within oneself.

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us,” she wrote in 1929. Helen Keller was a passionate proponent of hope and courage in the face of adversity, and her words continue to inspire. Here are 10 of her most well-known and poignant statements.

A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.

Keller was born in 1880 in Alabama. When she was two years old, she became deaf and blind due to a fever. Her early childhood was reportedly filled with tantrums and disruptive behaviors. But when Keller was seven years old, her parents hired Anne Sullivan, a recent graduate from the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston, Massachusetts, to work with their daughter. Sullivan’s arrival and her persistent and creative instruction were a turning point in Keller’s life.

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope.

After initial struggles, a breakthrough occurred when Sullivan repeatedly ran water over one of Keller’s palms while finger spelling the word “water” into the other. After many tries, Keller was able to connect the tactile experience of flowing water with the letter signals.

After comprehending the sign for water, she was able to learn 30 more signs that same day. Working with Sullivan stoked her ambitions to pursue an education and learn to speak. Keller was eventually able to communicate through finger spelling, typing, Braille, touch-lip reading, and speech.

I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.

The friendship that developed between Keller and her mentor, Sullivan, spanned decades, and the pair lived together during different periods of their lives. Like Keller, Sullivan was a member of the disability community — she had vision impairments that increased as she aged.

One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.

During her teenage years and young adulthood, Keller painstakingly learned to speak in a way that could be understood by people who could hear. She went to multiple schools for people who were deaf and a preparatory school for women before setting her sights on a new goal: attending college.

Meanwhile, Keller’s advancements became publicly known and drew the attention of influential people including Mark Twain, Alexander Graham Bell, and Henry H. Rogers, an oil magnate who offered to pay Keller’s tuition for Radcliffe College. In 1899, when she passed her entrance exams, only 36% of college students were women.

Sullivan accompanied Keller at Radcliffe, interpreting in classes, until Keller graduated cum laude in 1904 at age 24. She was the first individual who was blind and deaf to earn a higher education degree in the U.S. Her autobiography, The Story of My Life, was published a year later in 1905 and was widely read.

Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.

After graduation, Keller set out to share what she had learned and to advocate for people with disabilities. From universities to the halls of Congress, she lectured and testified on her experiences in support of blind and deaf communities. She is considered an early pioneer of the disability rights movement, which began to pick up steam in the early 1900s.

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.

Keller participated in numerous social movements of her era, including women's suffrage. In 1915, she cofounded Helen Keller International to address blindness and malnutrition around the world. She also helped found the ACLU and was an active member in the American Federation for the Blind, the Socialist Party, and other organizations. Despite being raised in the post-Reconstruction era South, she supported the recently founded NAACP advocating for civil rights for Black people.

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
Helen Keller

Keller was an intrepid world traveler and activist. In 1946, she became the counselor of international relations for the American Foundation for Overseas Blind. During the next 11 years, she spread her message across five continents and 35 countries. For her efforts, Keller was awarded several honorary degrees and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her autobiography inspired the 1957 television drama The Miracle Worker, as well as a Broadway play and film of the same title.

No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted island, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.

Despite facing many challenges, Keller lived a life full of meaning and happiness before her death in 1968 at age 87. Sullivan died in 1936 at the age of 70, after becoming nearly blind. She spent much of her life by Keller’s side. Beginning with a single hand sign, the impact of these two women’s accomplishments rippled throughout the global disability rights community, and beyond. Through the words Keller worked so hard to impart, their story endures today as a beacon of hope and possibility.

Outer beauty attracts, but inner beauty captivates.
Kate Angell

You are beautiful no matter what they say / Words can’t bring you down, oh no / You are beautiful in every single way.
Christina Aguilera

When you’re tempted to get down on yourself because of the way you look on the outside, remember that your true beauty comes from who you are on the inside.
Mandy Hale

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Exterior beauty without the depth of a kind soul is merely decoration.
Unknown

That’s always seemed so ridiculous to me, that people want to be around someone because they’re pretty. It’s like picking your breakfast cereals based on color instead of taste.
John Green

If you retain nothing else, always remember the most important Rule of Beauty. “Who cares?”
Tina Fey

True beauty is not related to what color your hair is or what color your eyes are. True beauty is about who you are as a human being, your principles, your moral compass.
Ellen DeGeneres

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth.
1 Peter 3:3-4

True beauty is about celebrating authenticity.
Pamela Anderson

A thing of beauty is a joy forever: / Its loveliness increases; it will never / Pass into nothingness.
John Keats

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen nor even touched, but just felt in the heart.
Helen Keller

My number one beauty tip is happiness.
Bobbi Brown

A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.
Roald Dahl

Author Brooke Robinson

Kung-fu-tsu, better known to the Western world as Confucius, was a philosopher, sage, and teacher whose wisdom has shaped Chinese thought for over 2,000 years. Born into a China that was a mosaic of small and often warring states, Confucius developed a philosophy that sought to bring peace and prosperity to all people.

Confucianism was deeply rooted in ethics, virtue, and correct behavior. It taught that each person could contribute to universal harmony if they practiced self-discipline, cultivated their characters, and performed the roles that had been allotted to them. Not everyone could be born a king or lord, but being a good parent or dutiful child could be just as nourishing to the soul and important to a peaceful existence.

To Confucius, happiness came not through gluttony and self-indulgence, but through frugality and duty to others. He believed fulfilling the needs of others could also fill oneself with serenity and gratitude. Forgoing one’s duty to serve, on the other hand, could have wider damaging effects: A ruler who ignored the needs of their subjects might unbalance the cosmos and suffer a reign beset with natural disasters.

Confucius set out four simple virtues that he believed were enough to keep the world in its proper order: benevolence, moral wisdom, righteousness, and observance of traditional rituals. According to Confucianism, ritual brings together a community in peace and helps to cultivate “ren,” a Chinese word meaning humanity, goodness, and love. Confucius taught that once we understand our shared humanity, we open ourselves up to feelings of altruism, respect for one another, and even friendship.

In Confucius’ idea of the ideal state, the rulers were kind, religion was properly celebrated, and the wise were treasured. Despite living in difficult times and often in exile, Confucius spent his life seeking to help others achieve this.

After Confucius’ death in 479 BCE, his disciples spread around the country to advise Chinese rulers in his worldview and political theories. In time, Confucianism became the dominant philosophy in China and other parts of eastern Asia, and remained so for centuries. Confucius’ sayings have endured to this day (and many others have been falsely attributed to the sage). Here are 10 quotes from the extraordinary life of Confucius that exemplify his teachings.

The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.

Confucius was born in 551 BCE in the state of Lu (modern Shandong province). His father, Kong He, was commander of the army garrison and died when Confucius was only three years old. Filial piety, the respect for your parents, would become a central tenet of Confucianism. “When your father is alive, observe his will. When your father is dead observe his former actions,” Confucius said. He believed a loving and respectful family unit was vital to a well-functioning society.

Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.

Confucius was sent to school to learn the ways of the gentleman. His studies included the Six Arts of classical China: music, archery, religious rites, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics. One who mastered these was thought to have everything an honorable person required. Confucius learned to love knowledge, and thought an education could improve a person’s character as well as their mind. He believed learning should be done “for the sake of the self,” and could be a process that lasted a lifetime. “To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is dangerous,” he said.

If you see what is right and fail to act on it, you lack courage.

Confucius lived in Lu, a state controlled by a family of dukes at a time when rival families were squabbling for power. Many common people suffered as the great lords fought. By 501 BCE, Confucius’ wisdom was recognized and he was given a small town to govern. He thought that just as a family should respect a patriarch, so should a state have one respected ruler. With no army of his own, he used words and persuasion to disarm the feuding powers of Lu.

The man of virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.

Confucius gathered many followers and disciples thanks to his profound wisdom. He sent those he taught to convince important people in the ways of peace and common humanity. His disciple Zhong You was appointed as chief magistrate in the city of Pu (near modern-day Changyuan), and another disciple, Ran Qiu, advised members of the Lu court.

When the archer misses the center of the target, he turns round and seeks for the cause of his failure in himself.

Confucius’ ideas of reform were not met with universal approval in China. His attempts to return rulers to their traditional piety and frugality would have hampered their lavish lifestyles. Other dukes worried that the Duke of Lu would become too powerful with the philosopher by his side, advising him as governor. When Confucius disapproved of the way his lord was behaving, he went into self-exile from Lu. He did not blame others for his distress but turned it into an opportunity for personal growth. He realized that by visiting other Chinese states he could refine his teachings.

Within the four seas, all men are brothers.

Examining how other lords ruled and other people lived only increased Confucius’ belief in the unity of humanity. “By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart,” he said. Confucius believed we could educate ourselves to come together.

When you meet someone better than yourself, turn your thoughts to becoming his equal. When you meet someone not as good as you are, look within and examine your own self.

While in exile, Confucius was always on the move, yet he still found time to learn and to teach. He believed a person was only truly themselves when they were with others: A sage sitting alone in the mountains may be wise but can only be a teacher if they have students. Confucius believed that what is good for society is good for the individual, because each person we meet can have something to teach us.

What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.

One of Confucius’ most famous sayings has been echoed through the ages, often referred to as the “Golden Rule,” and phrased in English as “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The basic principle of treating others the way we wish to be treated is found across the world’s religions, cultures, and ethical theories today, and the idea was central to Confucius’ teachings. When asked whether there was one word that could guide a person through life, Confucius replied, “reciprocity.”

At 15 I set my heart on learning, at 30 I knew where I stood, at 40 I had no more doubts, at 50 I knew the will of Heaven, at 60 my ears were attuned, and at 70 I followed my heart’s desire without crossing the line.

Confucius observed that new insights and understanding can be achieved at each stage of life. Looking back on his own experience, he reflected that every new chapter brings a new role to play, and a new chance to grow.

If I hear the Way of truth in the morning, I am content even to die in that evening.

Confucius finally returned to his home in Lu at age 68. He never had been able to put his plans for the perfect state into practice, but he spent his final years with his closest disciples, continuing to teach and advise. After his death at age 72, Confucius’ followers spread his philosophy across China. Confucius’ ideals — such as “Jen,” compassion, and “Yi,” justice — became the foundation of Chinese education. Today he is still offered reverence, as generations of people heed his words and wisdom in a world Confucius could not have imagined.

Ben Gazur is a freelance writer, historian, and folklorist.

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."
"They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom."
"What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others."
"In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of."
"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop."
"When anger rises, think of the consequences."
"When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals; adjust the action steps."
"Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage."
"To be able under all circumstances to practice five things constitutes perfect virtue; these five things are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness."
"To see what is right, and not to do it, is want of courage or of principle."
"Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue."
"Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."
"Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation, there is sure to be failure."
"Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire."
"Men's natures are alike, it is their habits that carry them far apart."
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance."
"Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles."
"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."
"Respect yourself and others will respect you."
"Silence is a true friend who never betrays."
"The superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come. When in a state of security he does not forget the possibility of ruin. When all is orderly, he does not forget that disorder may come. Thus his person is not endangered, and his States and all their clans are preserved."
"The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence."
"Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without."
"Study the past if you would define the future."
"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart."
"Wisdom, compassion, and courage are the three universally recognized moral qualities of men."
"Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses."
"Have no friends not equal to yourself."
"He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it."
"He who learns but does not think is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger."
"He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good."
"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."
"A superior man is modest in his speech but exceeds in his actions."
"Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes."
"The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large."
"The superior man understands what is right; the inferior man understands what will sell."
"By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart."
"He who will not economize will have to agonize."
"When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves."
"He with whom neither slander that gradually soaks into the mind, nor statements that startle like a wound in the flesh, are successful may be called intelligent indeed."
"If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself."
"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."
"If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear?"
"Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star."
"It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve, and bad things are very easy to get."
"Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?"

Heroes have made poets, and poets heroes.

All see, and most admire, the glare which hovers round the external trappings of elevated office. To me there is nothing in it, beyond the lustre which may be reflected from its connection with a power of promoting human felicity.

It is infinitely better to have a few good men than many indifferent ones.

A slender acquaintance with the world must convince every man, that actions, not words, are the true criterion of the attachment of his friends.

I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is the best policy.

It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.

For the sake of humanity it is devoutly to be wished, that the manly employment of agriculture and the humanizing benefits of commerce, would supersede the waste of war and the rage of conquest.

Happiness depends more upon the internal frame of a person's own mind than on the externals in the world.

We are either a united people, or we are not. If the former, let us, in all matters of general concern act as a Nation… If we are not, let us no longer act a farce by pretending to it.

Remember that it is the actions, and not the commission, that make the officer, and that there is more expected from him, than the title.

Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.

If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War.

I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong.

Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all.

For once touched by love, everyone becomes a poet.
Plato

All is flux, nothing is stationary.
Heraclitus

Everything flows, and nothing abides, everything gives way, and nothing stays fixed.
Heraclitus

He who is not satisfied with a little, is satisfied with nothing.
Epicurus

Fame and wealth without wisdom are unsafe possessions.
Democritus

Only the educated are free.
Epictetus

Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder.
Socrates

Everything in excess is opposed to nature.
Hippocrates

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.
Epictetus

The unexamined life is not worth living.
Socrates

The greatest reward of righteousness is peace of mind.
Epicurus

Of all the means which wisdom acquires to ensure happiness throughout the whole of life, by far the most important is friendship.
Epicurus

Force has no place where there is need of skill.
Herodotus

I myself know nothing, except just a little, enough to extract an argument from another man who is wise and to receive it fairly.
Socrates

Neither family, nor privilege, nor wealth, nor anything but Love can light that beacon which a man must steer by when he sets out to live the better life.
Plato

It is difficulties that show what men are.
Epictetus

No thing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.
Epictetus

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the creator of the 'Peanuts' comic strip.
You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just ponder on them. Just read it straight through, and you'll get the point.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.
How did you do?
The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.
These are no second-rate achievers.
They are the best in their fields.
But the applause dies.
Awards tarnish ...
Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.
Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
Easier?
The lesson:
The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money ... or the most awards. They simply are the ones who care the most.

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

Perfect as is the wing of a bird, it never could raise the bird up without resting on air. Facts are the air of a scientist. Without them you never can fly.
Ivan Pavlov

Where love rules, there is no will to power; and where power predominates, there love is lacking. The one is the shadow of the other.
Carl Jung

The voice of the intellect is a soft one, but it does not rest until it has gained a hearing. Ultimately, after endlessly repeated rebuffs, it succeeds.
Sigmund Freud

Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society… But for me, education means making creators… You have to make inventors, innovators, not conformists.
Jean Piaget

Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.
B.F. Skinner

I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.
Abraham Maslow

Through others, we become ourselves.
Lev Vygotsky

I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time.
Anna Freud

No one needs to paint himself into a corner; no one needs to be completely hemmed in by circumstances; no one needs to be the victim of his biography.
George Kelly

Immature love says: “I love you because I need you.” Mature love says: “I need you because I love you.”
Erich Fromm

One of the many interesting and surprising experiences of the beginner in child analysis is to find in even very young children a capacity for insight which is often far greater than that of adults.
Melanie Klein

The essence of creativity is figuring out how to use what you already know in order to go beyond what you already think.
Jerome Bruner

People are just as wonderful as sunsets if I can let them be… When I look at a sunset, I don’t find myself saying, “Soften the orange a bit on the right-hand corner.” I don’t try to control a sunset. I watch with awe as it unfolds.
Carl Rogers

When people focus on not seeing color, they may also fail to see discrimination.
Jennifer L. Eberhardt

It may be that we are puppets — puppets controlled by the strings of society. But at least we are puppets with perception, with awareness. And perhaps our awareness is the first step to our liberation.
Stanley Milgram

Self-belief does not necessarily ensure success, but self-disbelief assuredly spawns failure.
Albert Bandura

In each of us are places where we have never gone. Only by pressing the limits do you ever find them.
Joyce Brothers

Author Tony Dunnell

Anything can happen, child, / ANYTHING can be.
Shel Silverstein, “Where the Sidewalk Ends”

You must never feel badly about making mistakes … as long as you take the trouble to learn from them. For you often learn more by being wrong for the right reasons than you do by being right for the wrong reasons.
Norton Juster, “The Phantom Tollbooth”

You have been my friend … That in itself is a tremendous thing.
E.B. White, “Charlotte’s Web”

Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.
Lucy Maud Montgomery, “Anne of Green Gables”

At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done — then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago.
Frances Hodgson Burnett, “The Secret Garden”

All shall be done … But it may be harder than you think.
C.S. Lewis, “The Chronicles of Narnia”

Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it. Be outrageous.
Roald Dahl, “Matilda”

I could tell you my adventures — beginning from this morning … but it’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.
Lewis Carroll, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”

One day you’ll see how hard it was and how brave you were.
Charlie Mackesy, “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”

I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.
Louisa May Alcott, “Little Women”

One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, “The Little Prince”

Life’s got to be lived, no matter how long or short … You got to take what comes.
Natalie Babbitt, “Tuck Everlasting”

Maybe if you aren’t unhappy sometimes you don’t know how to be happy.
Madeleine L’Engle, “A Wrinkle in Time”

Would you like an adventure now … or would you like to have your tea first?
J.M. Barrie, “Peter Pan”

Author Kristina Wright

Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment; cleverness is mere opinion, bewilderment intuition.
Rumi

The highest endeavor of the mind, and the highest virtue, is to understand things by the intuitive kind of knowledge.
Baruch Spinoza

Logic, which alone can give certainty, is the instrument of demonstration; intuition is the instrument of invention.
Henri Poincaré

All human knowledge begins with intuitions, proceeds from thence to concepts, and ends with ideas.
Immanuel Kant

Intuition comes very close to clairvoyance; it appears to be the extrasensory perception of reality.
Alexis Carrel

The activity of the intuition consists in making spontaneous judgments which are not the result of conscious trains of reasoning. These judgments are often but by no means invariably correct.
Alan Turing

All great achievements of science must start from intuitive knowledge. I believe in intuition and inspiration… At times I feel certain I am right while not knowing the reason.
Albert Einstein

Women observe subconsciously a thousand little details without knowing that they are doing so. Their subconscious mind adds these little things together — and they call the result intuition.
Agatha Christie

A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.
Frank Capra

You must train your intuition — you must trust the small voice inside you which tells you exactly what to say, what to decide.
Ingrid Bergman

Intuition is the key to everything, in painting, filmmaking, business — everything. I think you could have an intellectual ability, but if you can sharpen your intuition, which they say is emotion and intellect joining together, then a knowingness occurs.
David Lynch

Intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect.
Steve Jobs

Intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life.
Paulo Coelho

For the most important decisions in your life, trust your intuition, and then work with everything you have to prove it right.
Tim Cook

You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition… What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover will be yourself.
Alan Alda

Intuition is the wisdom formed by feeling and instinct — a gift of knowing without reasoning.
Angela Ahrendts

I've trusted the still, small voice of intuition my entire life. And the only time I've made mistakes is when I didn't listen.
Oprah Winfrey

I feel there are two people inside me — me and my intuition. If I go against her, she'll screw me every time, and if I follow her, we get along quite nicely.
Kim Basinger

The more you trust your intuition, the more empowered you become, the stronger you become, and the happier you become.
Gisele Bündchen

When you have the intuition that there is something which is there, but out of the reach of your physical world, art and religion are the only means to get to it.
Guillermo del Toro

Practice listening to your intuition, your inner voice; ask questions; be curious; see what you see; hear what you hear; and then act upon what you know to be true. These intuitive powers were given to your soul at birth.
Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Some philosophical theories are so powerful, they shape the way we think and act without us even noticing. Yet understanding the different philosophies can be daunting. Over the past two millennia, there have been dozens of movements, doctrines, and various “isms,” often described in dense and complex academic texts. Here, we’ve broken down six major Western philosophical ideas that still resonate today, from Nietzsche’s nihilism to Platonic metaphysics.

NIETZSCHE'S NIHILISM AND ÜBERMENSCH
One of the most misunderstood and misappropriated philosophers, Friedrich Nietszche is most often associated with nihilism — essentially, the rejection of societal values and the belief that life is meaningless. Yet in reality, Nietzsche’s work comes from a place of optimism: The philosopher found himself staring into the headlights of a social crisis, and wanted to find a way to help humanity through it.

In his 1882 book The Gay Science, Nietzsche famously wrote that “God is dead.” But the philosopher wasn’t advocating for atheism; he was pointing out that Christianity had lost much of its power in Europe. By the late 19th century, science and scholarship had chipped away at people’s faith. Nietzsche saw two possible outcomes: Either people would despair into nihilism and drift away from any moral principles, or they would try to find new “religious” convictions elsewhere, namely in mass political movements such as communism or fascism.

Nietszche shuddered at the thought of the second option, which would later become frighteningly real in his home country of Germany. He argued that people had no choice but to forge ahead through nihilism instead. But rather than embrace a meaningless life — and fall into corrosive despair — he offered a solution: the Übermensch, or “superman,” a concept he championed in his 1883 book Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

In Nietszche’s philosophy, the Übermensch is a person who rises above the conventional notions of morality and creates new values that embrace the beauty and suffering of existence. “Our way is upward, from the species across to the super-species,” he wrote, maintaining that this new moral code could guide people to a higher purpose.

Nietszche felt the ideal human was within reach of any person who worked for and achieved self-mastery. He was also no fan of Christianity, and believed people could only reach their full potential as individuals after eschewing the conventional herd morality of religion. He wondered, "Is man one of God's blunders? Or is God one of man's blunders?”

Though it’s often misunderstood, Nietszche’s philosophy was hardly just the stuff of gloom and doom, and indeed aimed to be life-affirming. In fact, alternate translations of his book The Gay Science call it The Joyful Wisdom.

SARTRE’S EXISTENTIALISM
French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s declaration that “existence precedes essence” forms the very starting point of existentialism. This complex philosophy suggests that our values, identity, and purpose on Earth are not inherent or predetermined by some cosmic blueprint, but rather created by ourselves via the choices we make through our own free will.

Sartre argued that “man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.” As he put it, "There is no traced-out path to lead man to his salvation; he must constantly invent his own path.”

This belief in self-determination was furthered by Sartre's contemporaries Simone de Beauvoir and Albert Camus, who were frequently known to meet in Parisian cafés throughout the mid-20th century. Camus delved deeper into the concept of absurdity, believing it was inherently absurd to search for meaning in a meaningless world; de Beauvoir, meanwhile, penned the The Second Sex, a seminal work of feminist literature that exposed society’s history of gender inequality.

Though existentialist philosophy has taken many different forms through the years, at its core it tackles one difficult and fundamental question: What is the meaning of life? This school of thought doesn’t answer the question, but asks us to consider it, by exploring the purpose and value of human existence. The existentialists argue it is up to each of us to define ourselves and find our own individual meaning. As Sartre wrote, “Life is nothing until it is lived… the value of it is nothing else but the sense that you choose."

ROUSSEAU’S GENERAL WILL
An influential figure of Europe’s Enlightenment era, Jean Jacques Rousseau never viewed himself as a mere philosopher; he was also a musician, playwright, and composer. But his political philosophy of the “general will” — a collective will that aims at the common good — had a more lasting influence than any aria, shaping governments across the world.

In the 1760s, Rousseau was in his 50s and monarchs were still ruling Europe. But the Genevan thinker believed that kings and queens had no divine right to legislate the masses. He outlined these beliefs in his 1762 book The Social Contract, which envisioned a world governed by free and equal people. "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains," Rousseau wrote. When the book was promptly banned in France, it proved the philosopher’s central thesis: Individual freedom was easily hampered by the authority of the state.

In The Social Contract, Rousseau spent a lot of time exploring the contradictions of freedom. Society was expanding at the time, and people were growing more dependent on others for survival. A strong state was necessary to help ensure equality and justice — but how could you build strong political institutions, endowed with the power and authority needed to maintain order, while still protecting individual freedoms?

Rousseau’s solution was his theory of “general will.” He believed that under a monarchy or dictatorship, laws routinely impinged on freedoms because the rulers knew or cared little about what was best for the common people. He argued that in order to protect the freedoms of the public, laws had to be determined by the collective will (or general will) of the citizenry, based on the common good. And the best tool to interpret the general will was democracy — a state governed by the people.

Rousseau believed that a democratic system was the only way to serve the collective will, but he admitted that this form of government was difficult to pull off in practicality. He quipped, "If there were a nation of Gods, it would govern itself democratically. A government so perfect is not suited to men." Nonetheless, his political theory is credited with sparking the French Revolution and possibly inspiring the Founding Fathers of the United States. Today, many of society’s political issues continue to revolve around the fundamental tension Rousseau identified: How best to balance personal freedoms with state power?

SCHOPENHAUER’S THEORY OF AESTHETICS
German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer was a famous curmudgeon, a wild-haired pessimist who notably helped introduce Western intellectuals to Indian philosophy in the 19th century. His writings, however, would forever change the way we think about art.  

Before Schopenhauer, most artwork — from music to painting to dance — was considered a frivolous diversion, akin to a decorative craft, rather than an expression of creative genius or a person’s innermost feelings. Schopenhauer helped change those attitudes with his theory about the human will. The essence of his philosophy is that we are held captive by our wills — our strivings, desires, and urges — and are thus doomed to suffer. He observed, "A man can surely do what he wills to do, but cannot determine what he wills.”

One way to escape this suffering, Schopenhauer argued, was through aesthetic experiences. He believed art can function as a quasi-religious experience, freeing us from the suffering of our own desires and serving as a source of inspiration. In his essay On the Suffering of the World, Schopenhauer wrote, "The true work of art leads us from that which exists only once and never again, i.e. the individual, to that which exists perpetually and time and time again in innumerable manifestations, the pure form or Idea."

Schopenhauer argued that great art was the product not of mere craftsmen, but of genius. Naturally, a lot of artists were fans of Schopenhauer’s thoughts on aesthetics. Composer Richard Wagner, novelist Leo Tolstoy, and reams of other creatives trumpeted his work, which elevated art to a higher plane. Tolstoy himself stated, "Art lifts man from his personal life into the universal life."

Thanks to Schopenhauer’s theories, artists and artwork started being lauded as vital and necessary to the health of society. A canon of famous masterpieces was created, as people viewed creators with a growing God-like reverence. This attitude toward art helped define the 19th-century Romanticism movement, and it still persists today.

DESCARTES’ DUALISM AND RATIONALISM
“I think, therefore I am.” More than a catchy quote, the famous declaration by the French philosopher René Descartes continues to shape the way we think about knowledge. And it all started in the 17th century with Descartes’ method of “radical doubt,” which he saw as the only way to be certain that the things we think we know are in fact undeniable truths.

At the time, it was a common belief that we acquire knowledge through senses such as touch and sight. The skeptical Descartes, however, pointed out the senses could be deceiving. (A person, after all, could be hallucinating or dreaming.) That begged the question: If the senses aren’t trustworthy, what’s stopping us from doubting everything, including our own existence? Descartes eventually concluded, “Cogito, ergo sum” — “I think, therefore I am.” The fact that you can doubt your own existence, the philosopher said, is proof that you exist.

Descartes argued that the conscious mind is not part of the senses, or the physical world at all, but that the mind and body are distinct and separate entities. He said, "When I was examining what I was, I realized that I could pretend that I had no body… but I could not pretend in the same way that I did not exist." This theory, dubbed Cartesian dualism, was widely adopted by thinkers across the West.

To Descartes, trusting the mind was of the utmost importance, as the philosopher valued human logic and reason above all else. One of the founders of modern rationalism, he believed knowledge could only be attained by individual reason (versus, say, faith or experience), and that answers to the most perplexing questions could be found simply by exercising doubt and critical thought. His idea that beliefs must be methodically tested by logic and skepticism led to a flourishing of scientific thought, laying the groundwork for Enlightenment thinking and debate throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.

PLATO’S THEORY OF FORMS
It’s easy to close our eyes and imagine a perfect circle, but if we open our eyes and try to draw one, it’s a very different story. That’s Plato’s metaphysics in a nutshell: While most of us can conceive of a perfect circle, none of us can recreate one.

The ancient Greek philosopher posited that every object on Earth is imperfect (like the circle we draw) but possesses an ideal “form” or “essence” (like the perfect circle in our mind). While forms are unchangeable, pure, and ideal, the objects on Earth are mere “shadows” — or blemished imitations — of those forms.

While it may sound overly abstract, Plato’s Theory of Forms proved to be a useful way to think about the world. Recognizing a thing’s ideal form can help us understand how it falls short in reality, and thus what needs to be changed or improved. In other words, the ideal can serve as a goal to better both society and ourselves. As Plato said, “For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories.”

For example, replace the idea of the perfect circle with the perfect justice system. Many people believe that a truly fair, ideal system of justice exists, but that the current system falls short of that vision. Our belief that a standard, fixed, and ideal justice system is out there as a goal to aim toward is fundamentally Platonic.

Though essentialism — the belief that all things possess inherent, discoverable qualities — has long been controversial, Plato’s Theory of Forms helped shape Western philosophy. His work influenced the theories of many thinkers over the following centuries who built on, or challenged, Plato’s ideas, forming schools of thought that continue to impact how we understand the nature of our reality, and our own existence in the world.

CHILDHOOD
Children see magic because they look for it.
Christopher Moore

TEENS
on a succession of masks in the hope of finding the one which suits them — the one, in fact, which is not a mask.
W.H. Auden

20S
Happiness comes out of being willing to do your work in your 20s to find out who you are, what you love.
Candace Bushnell, author

30S
Thirty was so strange for me. There was no turning back. I’ve really had to come to terms with the fact that I’m a walking and talking adult.
Matt Dillon

40S
It was only in my 40s that I really began to feel young. By then I was ready for it.
Henry Miller

50S
The process of maturing is an art to be learned, an effort to be sustained. By the age of 50 you have made yourself what you are, and if it is good, it is better than your youth.
Marya Mannes, author

60S
When you’re 16, 30 seems ancient. When you’re 30, 45 seems ancient. When you’re 45, 60 seems ancient. When you’re 60, nothing seems ancient.
Helen Mirren

70S
I mean, you must take living so seriously that even at 70, for example, you’ll plant olive trees —
and not for your children, either,
but because although you fear death you don’t believe it,
because living, I mean, weighs heavier.
Nâzim Hikmet, poet

80S
The advantage of being 80 years old is that one has many people to love.
Jean Renoir, filmmaker

90S
If you are still functioning and not in pain, gratitude should be the name of the game.
Betty White

100 AND BEYOND
May you live to be a hundred years. With one extra year to repent.

You must be very polite with yourself when you are learning something new.
Elizabeth Gilbert

Those parts of yourself that you desperately want to hide and destroy will gain power over you. The best thing to do is face and own them, because they are forever a part of you.
Janet Mock

I have never felt that anything really mattered but the satisfaction of knowing that you stood for the things in which you believed and had done the very best you could.
Eleanor Roosevelt

It’s like a mother: When the baby is crying, she picks up the baby and she holds the baby tenderly in her arms. Your pain, your anxiety is your baby. You have to take care of it. You have to go back to yourself, recognize the suffering in you, embrace the suffering, and you get relief.
Thích Nhất Hạnh

Don’t sabotage yourself. There are enough people out there who’ll do it for you.
Adam Gnade

You don’t have to be good at everything in your life but it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy new experiences even if you are not good at them.
Steven Aitchison

You can’t build joy on a feeling of self-loathing.
Ram Dass

Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.
Lucille Ball

Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.
Louise Hay

Talk to yourself as you would someone you love.
Brené Brown

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be.

What have you failed at? What did you learn from it? Did you go on?

Reason well from the beginning and then there will never be any need to look back with confusion and doubt.

Twenty years after my own graduation, I have come gradually to understand that the liberal arts cliché about teaching you how to think is actually shorthand for a much deeper, more serious idea: learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience. Because if you cannot exercise this kind of choice in adult life, you will be totally hosed.

you can't do it alone. As you navigate through the rest of your life, be open to collaboration. Other people and other people's ideas are often better than your own. Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life. 

You discovered a talent, recognized your ambition and developed a passion. When you feel that you can’t fight it, you just go with it. When it comes to the arts, passion should always trump common sense. You aren’t just following dreams, you’re reaching for your destiny. You’re a dancer, a singer, a choreographer, a musician, a filmmaker, a writer, a photographer, a director, a producer, an actor, an artist. Yeah, you’re fucked!
Robert De Niro

From a mother’s nurturing love for her child to the companionship between best friends to the enduring bond of a longtime couple, love is a complex emotion that can be experienced and expressed in innumerable ways. While there’s no universally agreed-upon classification of love “types,” it’s a topic that philosophers, poets, and scholars have contemplated for more than two millennia.

Throughout history, various frameworks and theories have been proposed to distinguish between the different manifestations of love and their distinctive attributes. The ancient Greeks notably recognized several varieties of love, many of which you can read about below. Those categories have persisted for hundreds of years, although they’ve been adapted and reinterpreted to align with evolving philosophies about relationships.

As William Shakespeare’s star-crossed Juliet said, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” And so it is with love. Whatever we call it or whatever words we use to describe it, love is love. Here are some illuminating quotes to remind us that love, in all its myriad forms, remains a timeless and essential emotion that unites us all.

EROS (ROMANTIC LOVE)
Named for the Greek god of love, eros represents the most passionate form of love. The words “erotic” and “erogenous” are derived from eros, so as you might guess, this kind of love also extends to physical intimacy.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. / I love thee to the depth and breadth and height / My soul can reach.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, / in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
Pablo Neruda

STORGE (FAMILIAL LOVE)
Storge is the affection felt between family members, particularly by parents for their children and vice versa. This type of familiar love occurs naturally and spontaneously.

I sustain myself with the love of family.
Maya Angelou

Parents were the only ones obligated to love you; from the rest of the world you had to earn it.
Ann Brashares

PHILIA (BROTHERLY LOVE)
Philia is the affectionate love experienced between friends. Plato philosophized that physical attraction wasn’t a necessary element for experiencing love, which is why platonic relationships are named for him. Though they have often gotten short shrift compared to romantic love, friendships are essential to our well-being.

If we would build on a sure foundation in friendship, we must love friends for their sake rather than for our own.
Charlotte Brontë

There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.
Thomas Aquinas

AGAPE (UNCONDITIONAL LOVE)
Agape is the type of selfless, altruistic love that inspires compassion and generosity. In Christian scripture, it is the highest form of love — transcendent and spiritual, marked by charity toward others and a love for the divine.

Unconditional love is an illogical notion, but such a great and powerful one.
A.J. Jacobs

The ultimate lesson is learning how to love and be loved unconditionally.
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

PHILAUTIA (SELF-LOVE)
Philautia is the love of self, the type of love related to our self-esteem and self-confidence, which can ultimately lead to healthier relationships with others. The ancient Greeks recognized that philautia can also have a darker side when it manifests as narcissism.

How you love yourself is / how you teach others / to love you.
Rupi Kaur

Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.
Lucille Ball

PRAGMA (ENDURING LOVE)
As the word suggests, pragma is a pragmatic, or practical, love based on a sense of duty, commitment, and shared goals. This is the type of love found in marriages and life partnerships that have matured and developed over a long period of time.

Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

What greater thing is there for two human souls, than to feel that they are joined for life — to strengthen each other in all labour, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each other in silent unspeakable memories at the moment of the last parting?
George Eliot

About the Author
Kristina is a coffee-fueled writer living happily ever after with her family in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia.

Picture it: You’ve reached the pinnacle of your career and are leading a ferociously hungry group of elite athletes to do the same, with millions of people watching you. Millions more will continue to talk about the strengths and weaknesses of your performance for years to come. Millions of dollars and an eternal legacy are on the line for everyone involved.

For most of us, this pressure may be too much to bear. But for football coaches who lead their team to the Super Bowl, it’s just part of the job.

Super Bowl coaches know a thing or two about how to excel under pressure — and how to guide others in the same endeavor. And since we’ll rarely, if ever, find ourselves on the receiving end of a rousing locker room pep talk, we’ve gathered some of the most motivational and inspiring quotes from Super Bowl-winning coaches to make you feel energized and ready to tackle the fields of life, love, work, or whatever other goals await you in your personal end zone.

I’ve always believed that luck is when preparation meets opportunity.
Tom Coughlin
Tom Coughlin led the New York Giants to victory against the New England Patriots in 2008 and 2012.

One of the reasons I’ve been able to keep level through the good times and the bad times [is] knowing that, hey, tough times don’t last, tough people do, and you just gotta keep on persevering and working. If you do that, good things usually happen.
Mike Shanahan
Mike Shanahan led the Denver Broncos to consecutive Super Bowl victories in 1998 and 1999.

The culture precedes positive results. It doesn’t get tacked on as an afterthought on your way to the victory stand. Champions behave like champions before they’re champions; they have a winning standard of performance before they are winners.
Bill Walsh
Bill Walsh won three Super Bowl titles with the San Francisco 49ers in 1982, 1985, and 1989.

I can’t tell you how much you can gain, progress you can make by working together as a team by helping one another. You can get much more done that way.
Chuck Noll
Chuck Noll, longtime Pittsburgh Steelers coach, led his team to Super Bowl victories in 1975, 1976, 1979, and 1980.

I trust my players, I trust the coaches, and I trust my instincts. I trust everything that I’m doing, and I want to maintain that aggressiveness.
Doug Pederson
Doug Pedersen achieved his first Super Bowl coaching win with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018.

If you made a triangle, you put confidence in one corner. That’s where it starts. Then we’ve got to develop the trust in ourselves and those around us so that we can focus, which is really at the top of the triangle in my mind.
Pete Carroll
Pete Carroll led the Seattle Seahawks to their first Super Bowl victory in 2014 using this triangle method of player- and team-building.

Sometimes in life, maybe some of the best things happen to you after you have been kind of crushed.
Joe Gibbs
Joe Gibbs served as the Washington Commanders’ coach from 1981 to 1992 and again from 2004 to 2007, during which the team won three Super Bowls in 1983, 1988, and 1992.

There’s a level of expectation — all it is is your best. You ain’t got to be the guy you replace. [It’s] your best and nothing less.
Bruce Arians
Bruce “No Risk It, No Biscuit” Arians became the oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl after leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory in 2021.

There was a real love for each other, and those things, you know, they carry you through. You know, love is the only thing that’s really stronger than that fear that we talk about all the time.
Sean McVay
In this quote, Sean McVay, the youngest NFL head coach in modern history, speaks on leading the Los Angeles Rams to their first Super Bowl win since 2000 in 2022.

I never really dreamed. I wasn’t a dreamer. Dreaming is hoping. I believed. I really believed.
Jimmy Johnson
Jimmy Johnson led the Dallas Cowboys to two consecutive Super Bowl wins in 1993 and 1994.

It’s not about the destination; it’s about the journey.
Bill Cowher
Bill Cowher led the Pittsburgh Steelers to their first Super Bowl win in more than two decades in 2006.

It always gets down to winning and being successful, and that’s all we care about week in and week out, regardless of what’s going on. Another disappointment yesterday, but another opportunity this week.
Gary Kubiak
Gary Kubiak won his first Super Bowl as head coach with the Denver Broncos in 2016.

Things will go wrong at times. You can’t always control circumstances. However, you can always control your attitude.
Tony Dungy
As leader of the Indianapolis Colts in 2007, Tony Dungy became the first Black head coach to win the Super Bowl.

To the winner, there is 100% laughter; there is 100% fun; there is 100% elation. To the loser, no reason, really, is adequate enough for having lost. The only thing left is determination and resolution.
Vince Lombardi
Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers won the first two Super Bowls ever played in 1967 and 1968.

About the Author
Melanie Davis-McAfee

In the TV drama The West Wing, Leo McGarry (John Spencer) tells a story to a struggling Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford): A man falls in a hole and calls out to multiple people up above for help. The passersby briefly offer some unhelpful solutions and move along.

Then the man’s friend walks by, McGarry says, “and the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, ‘Are you stupid? Now we're both down here.’ The friend says, ‘Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out.’” It’s a touching moment, and it drives home the fact that community is crucial in tough times.

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When we’re going through something difficult — whether it’s something personal, such as divorce or the loss of a loved one, or collective, such as a natural disaster — our first instinct might be to shut down or withdraw. In fact, a 2021 study showed that stress can cause us to minimize our social interactions.

But finding community in those moments can actually do us a world of good: Additional research suggests that social support makes us more resilient to stress and trauma. In other words, being part of a supportive community can be life-changing, both for those giving the help and those receiving it.

If you’re feeling lonely or you’re hoping to rally some like-minded people to support you through your struggles, we hope these quotes help you muster the strength to reach out.

Maybe it isn’t that we’re supposed to find the pieces and put them back together. Maybe we’re the pieces … Maybe what we’re supposed to do is come together. That’s how we stop the breaking.
David Levithan and Rachel Cohn

There are few things more powerful than people united. What they unite over is not what matters … The most important aspect is remembering our existing connection, and, through that, allowing ourselves to feel at peace.
Vironika Tugaleva

We learn to live, we learn to give each other / What we need to survive together alive.
Paul McCartney

Individual commitment to a group effort is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work. The success of the individual is completely subjected to the satisfaction that he receives in being part of the successful whole.
Vince Lombardi

We cannot be separated in interest or divided in purpose. We stand together until the end.
Woodrow Wilson

If there is a load you have to bear / That you can't carry / I'm right up the road / I'll share your load / If you just call me.
Bill Withers

The commitments we make to each other … do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us.
Barack Obama

We are each other's / Harvest: / We are each other's / Business / We are each other's / Magnitude and bond.
Gwendolyn Brooks

Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.
bell hooks

People who are hurting … [need] patient, loving witnesses. People to sit quietly and hold space for us. People to stand in helpful vigil to our pain.
Glennon Doyle

We are not always aware of the help we may give by accepting aid, that in this way we may establish a foothold for contact.
Erving Goffman

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.
Helen Keller

About the Author
Paola Bennet

In 1445, Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type, individual letters that could be moved around a printing press to change what words were transferred to the blank page. Empowered by this revolutionary technology, he printed the very first book ever published: the Bible.

Before the printing press, monks painstakingly hand-copied every edition of the Bible, often taking three years or more to complete the task. Gutenberg could produce 180 copies of the book in the same amount of time.

After Arabic movable type was produced, the first printed edition of the Quran rolled off the presses in Venice, Italy, and was exported to the Ottoman Empire in 1538. By the early 1800s, Hindu scripts were likewise being mass-produced. As religions the world over embraced Gutenberg’s invention, sacred books became more available, and less expensive, than ever before.

For centuries, religious texts were often the only books in a household. Children learned to read by tracing their fingers down the pages, and in the evenings families would convene to hear stories of faith, love, and devotion.

Collected here from a variety of religious texts are words of deep wisdom from cultures around the world, made ubiquitously available online through technology that Gutenberg never could have dreamed possible.

How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!
The Bible, Proverbs 16:16

Do what is beautiful. God loves those who do what is beautiful.
Quran, 2:195

When there is harmony between the mind, heart, and resolution, then nothing is impossible.
Rig Veda

There is no birth or death, no ebbing or arising. Neither is there present existence and subsequent extinction, substantial reality or fictitious imagination, same or different.
Lotus Sutra, 16:1.10

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
The Bible, James 3:13

The wise who knows the Self as bodiless within the bodies, as unchanging among changing things, as great and omnipresent, does never grieve.
Katha Upanishad

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.
Tao Te Ching

God does not burden any soul beyond its capacity.
Quran, 2:286

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
The Bible, Proverbs 11:2

Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.
Tao Te Ching

So verily, with the hardship, there is relief. Verily, with the hardship, there is relief.
Quran, 94:5-6

The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.
The Bible, Proverbs 19:8

A person can achieve everything by being simple and humble.
Rig Veda

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Tao Te Ching

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
The Bible, James 3:13

And God would not punish them while they seek forgiveness.
Quran, 8:33

Just as the past is a projection, so are the future and the present.
Lankavatara Sutra

The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
The Bible, Proverbs 4:7

Work for work’s sake, not for yourself. Act but do not be attached to your actions. Be in the world, but not of it.
Bhagavad Gita

The person who is always involved in good deeds experiences incessant Divine happiness.
Rig Veda

About the Author
April Dávila
April Dávila is a lover of words. Her debut novel "142 Ostriches" was released in 2020.

People-pleasing is a habit that can sneak up on us. We may start out with good intentions, pitching in when someone needs help or trying to mediate an argument. But when we find ourselves feeling unable to say “no” or suppressing our gut feelings to keep the peace, we’ve crossed over into the type of people-pleasing that can prevent us from living authentically.

It’s perfectly normal to want the approval of the people around us. And if we’ve become accustomed to yielding to others’ expectations, it can feel impossible to start unraveling that pattern. Building a foundation of self-confidence is a crucial first step; this is what will allow us to live according to our own beliefs, even when those around us want us to do otherwise.

If you’ve found yourself feeling more doormat-esque than you’d prefer, here are 12 quotes to help you start seeking more approval from the most important source: yourself.

Do your thing and don’t care if they like it.
Tina Fey

You will never gain anyone's approval by begging for it. When you stand confident in your own worth, respect follows.
Mandy Hale

If you try to please all, you please none.
Aesop

I surrendered myself to the cages of others' expectations, cultural mandates, and institutional allegiances … I buried who I was in order to become what I should be. I lost myself when I learned how to please.
Glennon Doyle

If I approve of myself, that’s all I need. That confidence really reverberates.
JoJo

Listen to your instincts. Don't be a people-pleaser.
Drew Barrymore

If you do not take control over your time and your life, other people will gobble it up. If you don’t prioritize yourself, you constantly start falling lower and lower on your list.
Michelle Obama

Confidence is not “They will like me.” Confidence instead is “I’ll be fine if they don’t.”
Christina Grimmie

I'm done living for other people. I'm done being a people-pleaser. I'm done thinking about what people think about me.
Shailene Woodley

Each time you set a healthy boundary, you say yes to more freedom.
Nancy Levin

Power for me is “no.” No is very powerful. Because if you’re always available — and this goes for relationships, too — just keep saying no. That’s when you know your worth, when you know your value.
Taraji P. Henson

We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves.
Malcolm X

About the Author
Paola Bennet is a writer based in Brooklyn, NY. She writes a fortnightly newsletter that treasures the mundane, called Small Histories. Find her on Instagram @paolafbennet.

15 Empathy Quotes to Inspire Kindness

Empathy is a human quality that makes us better partners, relatives, colleagues, and friends. Defined loosely as the ability to understand and share in someone else’s feelings, empathy is one way we can connect with others, particularly those who have different identities or circumstances than us.

Empathy can be cultivated and exercised in a number of ways, perhaps most simply by holding space, listening, and extending grace toward others. Tuning in to people’s emotions helps us understand them more clearly, which strengthens and deepens our relationships. Not only that, but empathy helps us get to know ourselves better as well. By putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes and imagining how they must feel , we are given the opportunity to view life from a different angle, and to expand our capacity to hold other people’s struggles alongside our own.

Below, we’ve rounded up 15 quotes that speak to the importance and beauty of empathy in making us more compassionate, whole-hearted human beings.

The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy; we can all sense a mysterious connection to each other.
Meryl Streep

Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?
Henry David Thoreau

An exchange of empathy provides an entry point for a lot of people to see what healing feels like.
Tarana Burke, activist

Empathy begins with understanding life from another person’s perspective. Nobody has an objective experience of reality. It’s all through our own individual prisms.
Sterling K. Brown, actor

Empathy comes from the Greek “empatheia” — “em” (into) and “pathos” (feeling) — a penetration, a kind of travel. It suggests you enter another person’s pain as you’d enter another country…
Leslie Jamison, novelist

Whenever you feel like criticizing any one… just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.
F. Scott Fitzgerald

I think we all have empathy. We may not have enough courage to display it.
Maya Angelou

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor

This capacity for empathy leads to a genuine encounter — we have to progress toward this culture of encounter — in which heart speaks to heart.
Pope Francis

Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquility and happiness we all seek.
Dalai Lama

No one reaches out to you for compassion or empathy so you can teach them how to behave better. They reach out to us because they believe in our capacity to know our darkness well enough to sit in the dark with them.
Brené Brown

All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.
Tahereh Mafi, author

Judge tenderly, if you must. There is usually a side you have not heard, a story you know nothing about, and a battle waged that you do not have to fight.
Traci Lea Larussa, writer and illustrator

I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I myself become the wounded person.
Walt Whitman

Learning to stand in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes, that’s how peace begins. And it’s up to you to make that happen. Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world.
Barack Obama

About the Author
Joyce Chen is a writer, editor, and community builder based in Seattle, Washington.

Hendrick's main idea in "The Big Leap" is that the majority of us have an "upper limit problem" that keeps us from experiencing as much love, success and abundance as we could experience without it. 

You can think of this upper limit as an internal setting, like a thermostat... every time you go above a certain level of love/success/abundance, you'll subconsciously do something to bring yourself back down to your usual level. 

If this is true, it means that we can't achieve higher levels of success until we break through our upper limit settings! 

Hendricks goes on to say that most successful people are stuck in their "Zone of Excellence", where they're doing things that they're good at but don't really lead to fulfillment and higher levels of success. 

The goal for these people is to break free from the "Zone of Excellence" into the "Zone of Genius"! 

This last zone is where you get to experience massive amounts of love, abundance and success, as you're focusing on activities and work that you truly enjoy and that also improve the lives of others around you. 
Hendricks offers 4 questions to help you discover your "Zone of Genius"... let's go through them now. 

->> Genius Question #1: What do I love to do?
This is a pretty easy question to start with... just think of current activities that you really enjoy or certain aspects of work that you really enjoy. 

Start with general ideas, and we'll whittle them down with the following questions...

->> Genius Question #2: What work do I do that doesn't seem like work?

This is pretty similar to the first question but has a slightly different angle to it.

As you go about your day, it's probably fairly easy to identify certain things that you really don't enjoy doing... things that tend to irritate you for taking up your time.

On the flip side, there are probably a few things that you enjoy doing to the extent that they don't actually feel like work. 

Start identifying what those things are...

->> Genius Question #3: In my work, what produces the highest ratio of abundance and satisfaction to amount of time spent?

I really like this question, because the word "leverage" pops into my mind.

If you can start to identify activities and types of work that you really enjoy AND that also yield large amounts of results, then we're moving in the right direction! 

->> Genius Question #4: What is my unique ability?

This question is a little harder to pin down than those first three, at least in my opinion. 

When you start to think about what you really enjoy doing AND what you're uniquely good at, try not to overthink it. 

Your unique ability doesn't have to be unique to just you... in other words, other people can have the same unique ability as you have. 

Hendricks describes the process of discovering your unique ability by using the Russian nesting dolls as a metaphor (you know, those dolls that have several smaller dolls inside them... I loved those when I was a kid!). 

So, if you start to think about certain aspects of your day-to-day work that you really enjoy and are good at, try to go a little deeper to figure out what activities are actually giving you the most enjoyment and fulfillment. 

Hendricks offers three more fill-in-the-blank ideas to help  you dive a bit deeper:

I'm at my best when I'm ____________
When I'm at my best, the exact thing I'm doing is ____________
When I'm doing that, the thing I love most about it is ____________

Our lives take shape according to how we interact with other people, from our family and friends to co-workers and even strangers. By building a mutual channel of kindness and support, we can make a difference and develop fulfilling relationships that not only enrich our existence but also help to sustain it. In fact, according to one 85-year Harvard study, positive relationships are the biggest key to a happy life. And other research indicates that strong social support may even help us live longer. Sometimes, though, we may feel like we’re giving someone or something — a friendship, a job, a project — a lot of our time or energy without getting the same back. In those situations, how can we start to rebalance the scales?

First and foremost, we need to find the courage to ask for what we feel is lacking — whether it’s a raise at work or more consistent communication with a loved one. After all, we each deserve to be heard and seen. It may also help to build our own confidence: Looking inward and being able to validate ourselves, rather than looking to other people for their opinions, means we’ll always have a solid foundation. With that in mind, here are 13 quotes about self-belief and speaking up to remind you that you’re always enough — whether other people see it or not.

Don’t forget, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.
H. Jackson Brown Jr.

I will go on adventuring, changing, opening my mind and my eyes, refusing to be stamped and stereotyped. The thing is to free one's self: to let it find its dimensions, not be impeded.
Virginia Woolf

I lost myself when I learned how to please.
Glennon Doyle

What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.
Confucius

You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.
Maya Angelou

Sometimes you don't see the millions of people who accept you for what you are. All you notice is the person who doesn't.
Jodi Picoult

Knowing how to be solitary is central to the art of loving. When we can be alone, we can be with others without using them as a means of escape.
bell hooks

Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion.
Henry David Thoreau

When we don't ask for what we want and need, we discount ourselves.
Melody Beattie

You have no control over other people's taste, so focus on staying true to your own.
Tim Gunn

Confidence is not, “They will like me.” Confidence instead is, “I’ll be fine if they don’t.”
Christina Grimmie

And you will find you have fallen in love with your own vision, which you may never have realized you had. And you will lose some friends and lovers, and realize you don't miss them. And new ones will find you and cherish you.
Audre Lorde

You are a very special person. There is only one like you in the whole world. There’s never been anyone exactly like you before, and there never will be again.
Fred Rogers

About the Author
Paola Bennet is a writer based in Brooklyn, NY. She writes a fortnightly newsletter that treasures the mundane, called Small Histories. Find her on Instagram @paolafbennet.

If the only thing you know about Bob Ross is his signature permed hair and the phrase “happy little trees,” you’re not alone. The TV personality, best known for his 1980s PBS series The Joy of Painting, didn’t sit for many interviews, though his soothing voice and casual life wisdom have stood the test of time.

Born Robert Norman Ross in 1942, Ross first encountered painting when he was serving in the United States Air Force. While based in Alaska, he would squirrel away pockets of time to paint after attending a class at the Anchorage USO club. He took particular interest in German painter Bill Alexander, the host of The Magic of Oil Painting, who used a technique called “wet-on-wet.” This technique allowed an artist to complete a painting in 30 minutes or less.

Ross studied with Alexander in Florida after he retired from the Air Force in 1981, and soon began dreaming up the creation of his own company, Bob Ross Inc. It took off with the premiere of The Joy of Painting in 1983. Each half-hour episode featured Ross instructing viewers on a different scenic painting, often depicting snow, mountains, and yes, happy little trees.

Curiously, none of Ross’s paintings ever included humans; even cabins he painted into the scenery didn’t have any smoke coming out of the chimneys. In all, the series ran for 11 years, with the final episode airing about a year before Ross’ death in July 1995.

Ross’ legacy as a gentle lover of art and nature has found new life in recent years. His likeness has been spotted on TV shows like Family Guy, The Simpsons, and The Boondocks, and videos of his show have garnered huge followings on Twitch, where users have found a relaxation benefit (not unlike ASMR) to his calm voice and simple words.

Here are 25 quotes that encapsulate Ross’ gentle spirit, and his belief that you “can make this world as happy as [you] want it.”

We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents.

There’s nothing wrong with having a tree as a friend.

I can’t think of anything more rewarding than being able to express yourself to others through painting. Exercising the imagination, experimenting with talents, being creative; these things, to me, are truly the windows to your soul.

Talent is a pursued interest. Anything you’re willing to practice, you can do.

The secret to doing anything is believing that you can do it. Anything that you believe you can do strong enough, you can do. Anything. As long as you believe.

Now then, let’s come right down in here and put some nice, big, strong arms on these trees. Tree needs an arm too. It’ll hold up the weight of the forest. Little bird has to have a place to sit. There he goes.

There’s nothing in the world that breeds success like success.

I guess I’m a little weird. I like to talk to trees and animals. That’s okay though; I have more fun than most people.

You, too, can paint almighty pictures.

Find freedom on this canvas.

We artists are a different breed of people. We’re a happy bunch.

Every day is a good day when you paint.

They say everything looks better with odd numbers of things. But sometimes I put even numbers — just to upset the critics.

Water’s like me. It’s lazy. Boy, it always looks for the easiest way to do things.

In painting, you have unlimited power. You have the ability to move mountains. You can bend rivers. But when I get home, the only thing I have power over is the garbage.

Be so very light. Be a gentle whisper.

If we’re going to have animals around, we all have to be concerned about them and take care of them.

Go out on a limb — that’s where the fruit is.

Let's build us a happy, little cloud that floats around the sky.

No pressure. Just relax and watch it happen.

It’s so important to do something every day that will make you happy.

Just let go — and fall like a little waterfall.

You have to allow the paint to break to make it beautiful.

However you think it should be, that’s exactly how it should be.

We don’t really know where this goes — and I’m not sure we really care.

About the Author
Joyce Chen is a writer, editor, and community builder based in Seattle, Washington.

Perception influences how we move through the world and how we engage with others. Education, experience, family, and community all help us develop our core beliefs — but perception is not the same as reality. Our perception can be skewed by everything from our physical abilities to our social identities. Knowing that, it is important to consider different perspectives, even when they contain ideas that conflict with our own interpretation of the world.

Science fiction author Philip K. Dick posited, “Maybe each human being lives in a unique world, a private world, a world different from those inhabited and experienced by all other humans… If reality differs from person to person, can we speak of reality singular, or shouldn’t we be talking about plural realities?” In those moments when we’re confronted with a different perspective, one that conflicts with our own understanding of reality, we can be quick to dismiss it because it challenges our long-held beliefs — or we can reexamine the conventional wisdom we have accepted as fundamental truth and make room for a new perspective.

Here are 14 intriguing quotes — from world leaders, leading scientists, gifted artists, and other experts — that encourage us to challenge our perception of the world.

Everything you see or hear or experience in any way at all is specific to you.
Douglas Adams, author

Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it.
André Gide, French author

You can’t depend on your judgment when your imagination is out of focus.
Mark Twain

You can change in an instant. You can change your mind. You can change your timing. You can change your approach. You can change your words.
Karen Maezen Miller, Zen teacher

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
Kahlil Gibran, writer

If you’re alive, you’re a creative person.
Elizabeth Gilbert, writer

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Will Durant, historian and philosopher

Turn off your logical brain that says 1 + 1 = 2. Open up your mind to the possibility that 1 + 1 can equal 48, a Mercedes-Benz, an apple pie, a blue horse.
Natalie Goldberg, writer

As soon as you stop wanting something, you get it.
Andy Warhol, artist

You often meet your fate on the road you take to avoid it.
Goldie Hawn, actress

I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.
Albert Einstein

Accept — then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. Make it your friend and ally, not your enemy. This will miraculously transform your whole life.
Eckhart Tolle, spiritual teacher

What people in the world think of you is really none of your business.
Martha Graham, dancer/choreographer

If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not making decisions.
Catherine Cook, entrepreneur

About the Author
Kristina is a coffee-fueled writer living happily ever after with her family in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia.

Habit is necessary; it is the habit of having habits, of turning a trail into a rut, that must be incessantly fought against if one is to remain alive.
Edith Wharton

Stuckness shouldn’t be avoided. It’s the psychic predecessor of all real understanding.
Robert M. Pirsig

I am the master of my fate: / I am the captain of my soul.
William Ernest Henley

Dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It’s hard work that makes things happen. It’s hard work that creates change. #
Shonda Rhimes

True life is lived when tiny changes occur.
Leo Tolstoy

People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.
Paulo Coelho

“We’ve always done it this way” is not a good enough reason to keep doing it if it isn’t working. When an otherwise smart habit or ritual loses its potency and you continue doing it, you’re in a rut.
Twyla Tharp

Things may get a little odd at times, but they work out. You don’t have to try very hard to make them work out; you just let them.
Benjamin Hoff

Whatever you want to accomplish, stop overthinking it. You don’t need to have it all together. You just need to get on with it. You change your life by doing, not by thinking about doing.
Gary John Bishop

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Samuel Beckett

We imagine that when we are thrown out of our usual ruts all is lost, but it is only then that what is new and good begins.
Leo Tolstoy

About the Author
Kristina is a coffee-fueled writer living happily ever after with her family in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia.

Stress is an unavoidable part of the human experience, but learning how to manage our stress can ensure that we don’t get swept away in a current of anxiety on a regular basis.

In medical circles, stress has been linked to negative physical conditions such as high blood pressure, increased heart rate, and high blood sugar levels, as well as mental health issues such as anger, depression, and anxiety. In short, managing our stress is the sort of critical life skill that only gets more necessary over time.

Stress can feel overwhelming when you’re in the thick of it, trying to juggle too many things at work or attempting to care for others while disregarding your own needs. That's why it's so important to be reminded that this too shall pass, and that your worries are temporary, and your own resilience and fortitude will outlast them.

In fact, one major way to combat stress is to choose not to engage with it. As motivational speaker Mark Black said, “Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax.” Here, we’ve rounded up 15 other quotes that may be helpful to refer to in times of tension and strain, offering up reassurances that no matter how stressful a moment is, the next may just bring calm and certitude.

Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.
Anne Lamott

The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.
Stephen Covey

Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but from wanting to control it.
Kahlil Gibran

When one door closes, another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.
Alexander Graham Bell

A good way to overcome stress is to help others out of theirs.
Dada Vaswani

Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.
Mary Oliver

All the suffering, stress, and addiction comes from not realizing you already are what you are looking for.
Jon Kabat-Zinn

Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.
Oprah Winfrey

Rule number one is, don’t sweat the small stuff. Rule number two is, it’s all small stuff.
Robert Eliot

I think that we have to realize that times of stress are also times that are signals for growth, and if we use adversity properly, we can grow through adversity.
Abraham J. Twerski

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.
Albert Einstein

These mountains that you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb.
Najwa Zebian

Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness. Not through insensibility but through greatness of mind.
Aristotle

Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.
Thích Nhất Hạnh

If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.
Amit Ray

About the Author
Joyce Chen is a writer, editor, and community builder based in Seattle, Washington.

The seismic shift caused by a separation or divorce can be incredibly challenging, both in our day-to-day lives and for our big-picture plans and goals. For some people, the end of a long-term commitment can be as traumatic as a death, so it’s important to allow ourselves the time and grace we need to grieve the loss of the future we’d planned, to understand and process our emotions, and to reframe our lives moving forward.

It can be especially tricky to make the leap from being part of a couple to being single when it feels as though everyone around us is paired off and thriving. It’s important to remind ourselves that, no matter how hard it might be in the moment, the end of a romantic relationship can mark the beginning of a new and exciting chapter in our lives.

Still, pivoting to an unfamiliar and unexpected stage can bring on a roller coaster of emotions. We may experience intense shock and grief over our loss, or anger and fear at having to start over and face the unknown — all alongside feelings of hope and even joy at the possibilities that have opened up for us.

If you’re ready to move forward after a separation or divorce, these 17 insightful quotes can help you gain some refreshing perspective on your tangled feelings and your new life.

When one of you wanted one life, and the other wanted something completely different, there was a technical term for that: irreconcilable.
Anna Quindlen

Laying blame is so easy. I don’t have time for hate or negativity in my life. There’s no room for it.
Reese Witherspoon

It’s hard to admit that a marriage might be over when the love is still there. People are led to believe that a marriage ends only when the love has been lost. When anger replaces happiness. When contempt replaces bliss. But … we’re just not the same people we used to be.
Colleen Hoover

No matter how painful, divorce, like all endings, opens the door to new beginnings.
Jonathan Lockwood Huie

You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.
Maya Angelou

All divorce does is divert you, taking you away from everything you thought you knew and everything you thought you wanted and steering you into all kinds of other stuff.
Mitch Albom

There ain’t no way you can hold on to something that wants to go, you understand? You can only love what you got while you got it.
Kate DiCamillo

I do not believe that there were more happy marriages before divorce became socially acceptable, that people tried harder, got through their rough times, and were better off. I believe that more people suffered.
Ann Patchett

Moving on isn’t always about speeding enthusiastically forward so much as it’s about having one foot on the gas and the other on the brakes — releasing and accelerating in turn.
Heidi Priebe

Heartbreak is loss. Divorce is a piece of paper.
Taylor Jenkins Reid

Taking a thing apart is always faster than putting something together. This is true of everything except marriage.
Joe Hill

Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.
Toni Morrison

I’m movin’ on / At last I can see / Life has been patiently waiting for me / And I know / There’s no guarantees, but I’m not alone.
Rascal Flatts

Divorce isn’t such a tragedy. A tragedy’s staying in an unhappy marriage, teaching your children the wrong things about love. Nobody ever died of divorce.
Jennifer Weiner

All discarded lovers should be given a second chance, but with somebody else.
Mae West

Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.
Ann Landers

There are some trajectories you cannot change, no matter what you do.
Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

About the Author
Kristina is a coffee-fueled writer living happily ever after with her family in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia.

What is happiness? It’s a subject that has intrigued humans for millennia. Ask a dozen people what makes them happy and you’re likely to get a dozen different answers. Yet elusive as it may be, happiness is so important to life that Thomas Jefferson even incorporated it into the U.S. Declaration of Independence, naming the “pursuit of happiness” an “unalienable right” along with life and liberty.  

What it takes to create a happy life isn’t just a philosophical question, though. It’s one behavioral scientists are equally interested in exploring. “Positive psychology” is a relatively recent field of study focused on understanding the positive emotions and healthy character traits necessary for humans to flourish, and some universities now offer courses in the science of happiness.

Of course, you don’t need to be a scholar to consider what happiness means to you. The quotes below offer an abundance of advice and insight about cultivating joy, and living a happy and meaningful life.

Things look different when seen in a different light. So look at them in the light of happiness. Don’t confuse good and bad.
Baltasar Gracián, writer and philosopher (source: “The Art of Worldly Wisdom”)

I never will believe that our youngest days are our happiest. What a miserable augury for the progress of the race and the destination of the individual, if the more matured and enlightened state is the less happy one!
George Eliot, author

Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it.
Elizabeth Gilbert

Be happy for this moment — it is all life is.
Omar Khayyam, Islamic scholar

There are only two roads that lead to something like human happiness. They are marked by the words: love and achievement.
Theodor Reik, psychoanalyst

I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be.
Joseph Campbell, author

I shall take the heart… for brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world.
L. Frank Baum

Enjoy life. Accentuate the positive, not the negative. It sounds so trite, but a lot of people will pick out something to complain about, rather than say, “Hey, that was great!” It’s not hard to find great stuff if you look.
Betty White

The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.
Thích Nhất Hạnh

Happiness is not an end — it is only a means, and adjunct, a consequence.
Dinah Craik

Whatever creates or increases happiness or some part of happiness, we ought to do; whatever destroys or hampers happiness, or gives rise to its opposite, we ought not to do.
Aristotle

Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.
Anne Frank

But also I say this: that light / is an invitation / to happiness, / and that happiness, / when it’s done right, / is a kind of holiness, / palpable and redemptive.
Mary Oliver, poet

Reason, Observation, and Experience — the Holy Trinity of Science — have taught us that happiness is the only good; that the time to be happy is now, and the way to be happy is to make others so.
Robert Green Ingersoll, writer and orator

There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.
George Sand, author

Here’s a little song I wrote / You might want to sing it note for note / Don’t worry, be happy
Bobby McFerrin

One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats, and if some of these can be inexpensive and quickly procured so much the better.
Iris Murdoch, author

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
Mahatma Gandhi

I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do.
Roger Ebert

The bottom line is that becoming happy is up to you. No one else can make you happy. And true happiness can never be built at the expense of others.
Tina Turner

About the Author
Kristina is a coffee-fueled writer living happily ever after with her family in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia.

The human urge to categorize and classify directly contradicts our inherently complex and nuanced nature, but that doesn’t stop us from trying anyway. When it comes to the concept of identity, we tend to assign singular, clear-cut labels — when in reality, we all “contain multitudes,” as the saying goes. Our environment, race, class, ability, gender, sexuality, and religion all play a role in creating our unique “portfolio.”

Columbia Law School professor and civil rights advocate Kimberlé Crenshaw was the first to coin a term for this overarching sense of personal identity in a 1989 issue of the University of Chicago Legal Forum. In a paper titled “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory, and Antiracist Politics,” Crenshaw introduced the concept of “intersectionality.”

Intersectionality has since come to be defined as “the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.” But due to intersectionality’s innately intermingled nature, it can be difficult to fully grasp the meaning of the term — and why its acknowledgment is crucial for developing a truly equitable society.

We’ve gathered quotes from scholars, activists, and authors that not only define and exemplify intersectionality, but also argue for its critical benefits in today’s world.

[Intersectionality is] basically a lens, a prism, for seeing the way in which various forms of inequality often operate together and exacerbate each other. We tend to talk about race inequality as separate from inequality based on gender, class, sexuality, or immigrant status. What’s often missing is how some people are subject to all of these, and the experience is not just the sum of its parts.
Kimberlé Crenshaw

Movements and communities involve people, people are complex and it’s not a complexity that needs to be apologized, hidden, or ashamed about. It’s a complexity that we have the responsibility to address and understand; I think it’s critical that intersectionality is utilized to preserve the health of any community and society.
Sandy Ho

We should be judging the effectiveness and value of any of our solutions by how well they’d work for people with the least institutional power.
Zoë Quinn

One of the lessons I take from intersectionality is the multiple and discontinuous ways that gender, race, sexuality, ability, nationality, etc., are fundamentally inter-constituted. They aren’t separate systems that cross at a particular place or in particular people.
Ashley Bohrer

The reality [is] that you have people like myself, who are Black, disabled, and women, and so many other things. And when you live at the intersections of all three of those, then you can’t split your political and social dynamics between these different groups. It doesn’t produce real results.
Keri Gray

We all sit at the intersection of multiple identities and multiple systems of power, and that fact has real implications for our everyday experiences and well-being.
Dr. Skyler Jackson

Intersectionality means the same for all of us: changing the way we’ve been addressing discrimination and inequalities to make it more inclusive and effective. Instead of treating symptoms, we need to tackle the root causes of inequalities … Fighting on one front at the expense of another will lead to a decrease of rights for both in the long run.
Emilia Roig

You gotta dig a little on the ground you think you’re standing on so you can actually see that much of what you take for granted in society is actually layers upon layers of inequalities that have allowed for a baseline that’s fundamentally unequal.
Kimberlé Crenshaw

Intersectionality is super important, because … if you get your own freedom or liberation, that’s cool. But if somebody else is still struggling and being held captive or being oppressed in certain ways, do you really have liberation? Is that really what liberation is?
Mahkyra Gaines

About the Author
M. Davis-McAfee is a freelance writer, musician, and devoted cat mom of three living in southwest Kentucky.

Our fears can be divided into two categories: innate and learned. Innate fear requires no prior life experience, though there’s some debate as to which fears are truly instinctive. Some studies suggest that we are born with only two innate fears, the fear of falling and the fear of loud sounds, while others suggest we might also be born with an innate fear of creatures such as spiders and snakes.

Learned fears are those fears we obtain through directly experiencing a threat or through social means, such as verbal warnings or observing others. We don’t have an innate fear of dogs, but if a child is bitten by a dog, they may carry that learned fear for years if not forever. And while most of us have never had a fearful encounter with a shark — and possibly haven’t even seen one — we often grow up thinking that sharks are dangerous because that’s what people say, or because we watched Jaws.

Fear itself, whether innate or learned, is not necessarily a bad thing. Fear is a survival mechanism and has helped keep humans safe since we first walked the Earth. It is part of our evolution: Fight-or-flight is better than doing nothing — and far better than paralysis — in a dangerous situation.

At the same time, however, fear can hold us back or stop us from achieving our goals. Sometimes, it’s a barrier to happiness. When that happens, we must try to overcome our fears and find courage. It may not be easy, but help is on hand: Over the centuries, many famous figures have given us their sage advice about how to conquer the fears that stand in our way.

Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.
Bertrand Russell

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.
Marcus Aurelius

Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.
William Shakespeare

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

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear — not absence of fear. Except a creature be part coward it is not a compliment to say it is brave; it is merely a loose misapplication of the word.
Mark Twain

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

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 Curie

I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.
Rosa Parks

Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.
Babe Ruth

Expose yourself to your deepest fear. After that, fear has no power, and fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.
Jim Morrison

Don’t fear failure. Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts, it is glorious even to fail.
Bruce Lee

Each of us must confront our own fears, must come face to face with them. How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives. To experience adventure or to be limited by the fear of it.
Judy Blume

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
Nelson Mandela

What we need to do is say, “What’s the smallest, tiniest thing that I can master and what’s the scariest thing I can do in front of the smallest number of people that can teach me how to dance with the fear?” Once we get good at that, we just realize that it’s not fatal.
Seth Godin

Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign. Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. Remember our rule of thumb: The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.
Steven Pressfield

The scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, things can only get better.
Stephen King

About the Author
Tony is an English writer of non-fiction and fiction living on the edge of the Amazon jungle.

Oprah Winfrey is, for many people, a beacon of inspiration and hope; she’s a media mogul with a storied past and a spirit of generosity and wonder that is nothing short of infectious. Winfrey’s drive and strength allowed her to overcome an incredibly difficult youth, and her characteristic empathy and message of empowerment have made her a role model throughout her remarkable rise to fame.

Growing up, Winfrey had an unstable home life, enduring abuse from a young age and living in extreme poverty for much of her childhood. She was raised by her grandmother, Hattie Mae Lee, who taught her how to read and write, skills that would help catapult her toward success.

Winfrey has recalled setting her sights high from an early age: “I remember a specific moment, watching my grandmother hang the clothes on the line, and her saying to me, ‘You are going to have to learn to do this,’ and me being in that space of awareness and knowing that my life would not be the same as my grandmother’s life.”

Since then, Winfrey has worked hard to create a life for herself that might have been unimaginable to her grandmother: She hosted the hit daytime talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show for 25 years, launched her own production company (Harpo Productions) in 1986, founded a school for underprivileged girls in South Africa in 2007, created a whole new television channel (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network) in 2011, and she's published multiple books. She was also the only Black billionaire for a time, and she's donated millions of dollars to charitable causes around the globe.

Through it all, Winfrey has managed to stay focused on the humanity driving her efforts, and draws strength from the challenges she’s had to overcome. Here, we highlight 18 motivational quotes from Lady O herself, in hopes that they will inspire you to similarly tackle life’s obstacles with grace, wit, and humor.

Know what sparks the light in you. Then use that light to illuminate the world.

No gesture is too small when done with gratitude.

The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but on significance — and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.

Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.

Follow your passion. It will lead you to your purpose.

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.

Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.

Often we don’t even realize who we’re meant to be because we’re so busy trying to live out someone else’s ideas. But other people and their opinions hold no power in defining our destiny.

Understand that the right to choose your own path is a sacred privilege. Use it. Dwell in possibility.

What material success does is provide you with the ability to concentrate on other things that really matter. And that is being able to make a difference, not only in your own life but in other people's lives.

Every time you state what you want or believe, you're the first to hear it. It's a message to both you and others about what you think is possible. Don't put a ceiling on yourself.

Wherever you are in your journey, I hope you, too, will keep encountering challenges. It is a blessing to be able to survive them, to be able to keep putting one foot in front of the other — to be in a position to make the climb up life’s mountain, knowing that the summit still lies ahead. And every experience is a valuable teacher.

The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.

Whatever our dreams, ideas, or projects, we plant a seed, nurture it — and then reap the fruits of our labors.

Your calling isn’t something that somebody can tell you about. It’s what you feel. It is the thing that gives you juice. The thing that you are supposed to do. And nobody can tell you what that is. You know it inside yourself.

Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.

The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you're willing to work.

Your life is big. Keep reaching.

About the Author
Joyce Chen is a writer, editor, and community builder based in Seattle, Washington.

You know what they say: Hindsight is 20/20. In other words, we tend to look back on things that have happened with far more clarity than we had in the moment.

Hindsight is what we call “learned wisdom” — a mechanism that allows us to glean lessons from just about anything we’ve experienced, whether good or bad. It’s what gives us perspective after a breakup or understanding in the aftermath of a career change. It’s how we begin to piece together a narrative that makes sense of our current situation.

If we’re not careful, though, hindsight can also become a roadblock in our lives going forward. For instance, we might be warier of new acquaintances as a result of falling out with a friend. This sort of hindsight-based distortion can hinder our willingness to remain open to possibilities.

So how do we strike a balance between learning from our past and not allowing our negative experiences too much power? These 13 quotes offer some wisdom on the double-edged sword of hindsight and how best to wield it as we continue navigating the ups and downs of learning and living.

Hindsight is wonderful. It’s always very easy to second-guess after the fact.
Helen Reddy

If we were able to live at the level of the soul all the time, there would be no need for hindsight to appreciate the great truths of life.
Deepak Chopra

The real trick in life is to turn hindsight into foresight that reveals insight.
Robin Sharma

Hindsight is illuminating but not always what we want to see.
Kylie Minogue

When I was younger, I made some decisions that I shouldn’t have. And, in hindsight, I’ve almost always been wrong when I haven’t listened to myself.
Daniel Day-Lewis

Art is made in hindsight.
Virgil Abloh

History changes with each tiny event, shaping an outcome that we can only fully grasp in hindsight. And that view changes as we move farther downstream.
Lynn E. Noel

I think it is only in hindsight that you can determine whether something is a mistake or not.
Scott D. Anthony

The historian is a prophet facing backwards.
Friedrich von Schlegel

Hindsight, usually looked down upon, is probably as valuable as foresight, since it does include a few facts.
Grace Paley

But then, I suppose, when with the benefit of hindsight one begins to search one’s past for such “turning points,” one is apt to start seeing them everywhere.
Kazuo Ishiguro

It has been a mistake living my life in the past. One cannot ride a horse backwards and still hold its reins.
Richard Paul Evans

It's so difficult, isn't it? To see what's going on when you're in the absolute middle of something? It's only with hindsight we can see things for what they are.
S.J. Watson

About the Author
Joyce Chen is a writer, editor, and community builder based in Seattle, Washington.

I asked a friend who has crossed 70 & is heading towards 80 what sort of changes he is feeling in himself?  He sent me the following:
1.  After loving my parents, my siblings, my spouse, my children and my friends, I have now started loving myself.
2.  I have realized that I am not “Atlas”. The world does not rest on my shoulders.
3.  I have stopped bargaining with vegetable & fruit vendors. A few pennies more is not going to break me, but it might help the poor fellow save for his daughter’s school fees.
4.  I leave my waitress a big tip. The extra money might bring a smile to her face. She is toiling much harder for a living than I am.
5.  I stopped telling the elderly that they've already told that story many times. The story makes them walk down memory lane & relive their past.
6.  I have learned not to correct people even when I know they are wrong. The onus of making everyone perfect is not on me. Peace is more precious than perfection.
7.  I give compliments freely & generously. Compliments are a mood enhancer not only for the recipient, but also for me.  And a small tip for the recipient of a compliment, never, NEVER turn it down, just say "Thank You.”
8.  I have learned not to bother about a crease or a spot on my shirt. Personality speaks louder than appearances.
9.  I walk away from people who don't value me. They might not know my worth, but I do.
10.  I remain cool when someone plays dirty to outrun me in the rat race. I am not a rat & neither am I in any race.
11.  I am learning not to be embarrassed by my emotions. It’s my emotions that make me human.
12.  I have learned that it's better to drop the ego than to break a relationship. My ego will keep me aloof, whereas with relationships, I will never be alone.
13.  I have learned to live each day as if it's the last. After all, it might be the last.
14.  I am doing what makes me happy. I am responsible for my happiness, and I owe it to myself. Happiness is a choice. You can be happy at any time, just choose to be!

Every one of us, inevitably, encounters the occasional downswing in life. Sadness can manifest so differently for each of us — sometimes we want to get through it quickly, by pushing the feelings down, while other times we may not even see a way out. So how do we move through the gray-skied moments in life without ignoring the emotion behind them?

While it might be uncomfortable in the moment, sadness isn’t altogether a bad thing. It’s normal — part of the human experience, really — to feel low or melancholy for a while. With time and practice, we can start to accept these moments as they come, and as what they are: temporary, and in some ways, necessary.

Not only can darker times help highlight the sweeter moments that follow, they are also a crucial part of self-growth. Letting ourselves feel sorrow helps us examine and understand the source of the pain, so we can come out the other side of sadness stronger, more self-aware, and better prepared to face whatever comes next.

Here, we’ve gathered wisdom from writers, leaders, and creators to help you move through sadness without judging yourself — and to remind you that this, too, will eventually recede.

If it's a broken part, replace it / If it's a broken arm, then brace it / If it's a broken heart, then face it
Jason Mraz

Don't be ashamed to weep; 'tis right to grieve. Tears are only water, and flowers, trees, and fruit cannot grow without water. But there must be sunlight also. A wounded heart will heal in time.
Brian Jacques

You are allowed to feel messed up inside and out. It doesn’t mean you’re defective — it just means you’re human.
David Mitchell

Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.
Vicki Harrison

To weep is to make less the depth of grief.
William Shakespeare

Someone I loved once / gave me a box full of darkness. / It took me years to understand that / this, too, was a gift.
Mary Oliver

Sadness is more or less like a head cold — with patience, it passes.
Barbara Kingsolver

Sadness is but a wall between two gardens.
Khalil Gibran

It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.
Lena Horne

There is no despair so absolute as that which comes with the first moments of our first great sorrow, when we have not yet known what it is to have suffered and be healed, to have despaired and have recovered hope.
George Eliot

There you go … let it all slide out. Unhappiness can't stick in a person's soul when it's slick with tears.
Shannon Hale

You can't keep the birds of sadness from flying over your head, but you can keep them from nesting in your hair.
Sharon Creech

Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer.
Denis Waitley

The place which may seem like the end may also be the beginning.
Ivy Baker Priest

Night has always pushed up day / You must know life to see decay / But I won't rot / Not this mind and not this heart, I won't rot
Marcus Mumford

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tunes without the words - and never stops at all.
Emily Dickinson

About the Author
Paola Bennet is a writer based in Brooklyn, NY. She writes a fortnightly newsletter that treasures the mundane, called Small Histories. Find her on Instagram @paolafbennet.

“Passion” is a word that often comes up when discussing our life’s meaning. It’s the driving force that fuels much of our creativity, determination, and fulfillment.

Whether it pertains to love, our hobbies, or our careers, finding our passion — that intangible thing that lights us up — can truly make all the difference. It can transform ordinary moments of romance into breathless memories, or it can motivate us to hone our skills and unlock our full potential.

The relentless drive required to overcome challenges and transform dreams into reality is often powered by passion — it’s the antidote to a mundane life, a path to purpose.

In short, passion is many things, but ultimately, it’s the secret ingredient that elevates the human experience. This selection of quotes about passion serves as a reminder to stop and consider what it is that stokes our internal fire — and how we can include more of that in our lives.

Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Passion acts like a magnet that attracts us to its source. We are drawn to people who radiate with passion, who live with passion, who breathe with passion … The more you discover and express your passion for life, the more irresistible you will become to others.
Barbara de Angelis

[I] wish you to know with what a sudden mastery you kindled me, heap of ashes that I am, into fire.
Charles Dickens

I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.
Albert Einstein

The saddest people I've ever met in life are the ones who don't care deeply about anything at all. Passion and satisfaction go hand in hand, and without them, any happiness is only temporary, because there's nothing to make it last.
Nicholas Sparks

A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.
John C. Maxwell

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.
Steve Jobs

If you really want to fly, harness your power to your passion. Honor your calling. Everybody has one. Trust your heart, and success will come to you.
Oprah Winfrey

It is a fact often observed, that men have written good verses under the inspiration of passion, who cannot write well under any other circumstances.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Passion begins where your bodies unite and ends where your souls dance. When your spirits can join together at the same time … There will be nothing left between you that is not love.
Barbara De Angelis

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.
Maya Angelou

As one must die, I would rather die of passion than boredom!
Émila Zola

Passion is the source of our finest moments: the joy of love, the clarity of hatred, and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion, maybe we’d know some kind of peace. But we would be hollow: empty rooms, shuttered and dank. Without passion, we’d be truly dead.
Angelus (David Boreanaz) in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”

Those who have had great passions are happy all their lives and would be unhappy to have been cured of them.
François de La Rochefoucauld

Nicole Villeneuve
Nicole is a writer, thrift store lover, and group-chat meme spammer based in Ontario, Canada.

Unforgettable Quotes From Award Show Acceptance Speeches

The acceptance speeches are often the highlight of any televised award ceremony. After a name is called, the winner has just a short amount of time to thank everyone they want to thank, and, potentially, to say something impactful. Adrenaline is often running high, and the outcome can be emotional, inspiring, funny, and more often than not, a little bit awkward.

Ever since the first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929 (which was held at a private banquet and was not broadcast), speeches have been a major part of the evening. Many actors have used the time to make statements about politics or current issues, while others have gone off the cuff and simply reveled in the moment. Some have kept it short and sweet, such as Patty Duke’s two-word “Thank you” in 1963 when, looking overwhelmed, she accepted the Best Supporting Actress trophy for The Miracle Worker. Others, however, have ignored the timed speech slot: In 1943, actress Greer Garson set a world record for the longest Oscars speech when she accepted her Best Actress award for Mrs. Miniver and spoke for almost six minutes.

From the Oscars to the Golden Globes to the Emmys and more, here are some quick quips and heartfelt outpourings that have made for some of the most unforgettable moments in award show history.

I want any kid who is watching to know that your biggest obstacle may turn into your purpose.
Ari’el Stachel accepting the Tony Award for Featured Actor in a Musical for “The Band’s Visit,” 2018

If you have a dream, fight for it. It's not about how many times you get rejected or thought you’ve fallen down or you're beaten up. It's about how many times you stand up and are brave and you keep on going.
Lady Gaga accepting the Oscar for Best Original Song for “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born,” 2019

This moment is so much bigger than me … It's for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened. Thank you.
Halle Berry accepting the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for “Monster’s Ball,” 2001

Never once in my life did my parents ever say, “What you're doing is a waste of time.” Never. I know there are kids out there that don't have that support system, so if you're out there and you're listening, listen to me: If you want to be creative, get out there and do it; it's not a waste of time. Do it.
Michael Giacchino accepting the Oscar for Best Original Score for “Up,” 2010

Why don't you sit, 'cause I may never be here again.
Julia Roberts accepting the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for “Erin Brockovich,” 2001

Thanks so much. Thank you so much. Um, I've got to go. Bye.
Merritt Wever accepting the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for “Nurse Jackie,” 2013

My LGBTQIA family. I see each and every one of you. The things that make us different, those are our superpowers … The world would not be as beautiful as it is if we weren’t in it.
Lena Waithe accepting the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for “Master of None,” 2017

This show is proof that history remembers. We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger. We rise and fall and light from dying embers. Remembrances that hope and love live longer. And love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed or swept aside.
Lin-Manuel Miranda accepting the Tony Award for Best Original Score for “Hamilton,” 2016

It’s important to me to show images to my children that reflect their beauty so they can grow up in a world where they look in the mirror … and see themselves, and have no doubt that they’re beautiful, intelligent, and capable.
Beyoncé accepting the Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album for “Lemonade,” 2017

I don’t know whether to be happy or ashamed because I thought we made a comedy.
Jack Nicholson accepting the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for “About Schmidt,” 2003

I want all the girls watching here and now, to know that a new day is on the horizon! And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say “Me too” again.
Oprah Winfrey receiving the Cecil B. deMille Award at the Golden Globes, 2018

About the Author
Nicole Villeneuve is a writer, thrift store lover, and group-chat meme spammer based in Ontario, Canada.

Who said, "The older I get, the greater power I seem to have to help the world"?

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.

Richard Bach
Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.

Henry David Thoreau
Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.

Miyamoto Musashi
Never be so focused on what you’re looking for that you overlook the thing you actually find.

Ann Patchett
The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been.

Madeleine L'Engle
I change myself, I change the world.

Gloria Anzaldúa
Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.

Bertrand Russell
Maybe who we are isn't so much about what we do, but rather what we're capable of when we least expect it.

Jodi Picoult
The best way to lift one's self up is to help someone else.

Booker T. Washington
Love yourself first and everything else falls into line.

Lucille Ball
Life engenders life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich.

It can come on slowly, building up like smoke in a kitchen, or all at once, like a kettle screaming. However it reaches us, anger is an inevitable part of life. Most of us are probably familiar with concepts like “anger management” and “road rage,” and we’ve likely seen images of red-faced cartoon characters with steam coming out of their ears.

Despite its negative reputation, anger can be a helpful emotion. It may act as an alert when our boundaries have been crossed, when we’ve been hurt by someone, or when we’ve just flat-out had enough. If we continually repress our anger, it may crystallize into resentment.

That said, it’s important for us to release our anger in healthy ways, rather than to lash out and let it control us. Studies have shown that excessive anger can make us more impulsive, negatively impact our memory, and even render us more vulnerable to chronic illness. Instead of “venting” our anger through aggression — such as yelling or breaking things — it’s better, scientifically speaking, to give ourselves space through something such as meditation, journaling, or yoga. If we sit with our anger and hone in on its source, we’ll likely be able to manage it more easily and effectively.

And for those of us who are unsure where to start, these quotes can help us approach and channel our anger differently.

Anger is just anger. It isn’t good. It isn’t bad. It just is. What you do with it is what matters … You can use it to build or to destroy. You just have to make the choice.
Jim Butcher

Anger is a valid emotion. It's only bad when it takes control and makes you do things you don't want to do.
Ellen Hopkins

Your anger is like a flower. In the beginning you may not understand the nature of your anger, or why it has come up. But if you know how to embrace it with the energy of mindfulness, it will begin to open.
Thích Nhất Hạnh

If we can stay with the anger long enough, we will see it change into something else — hurt, sadness, some other feeling — or even dissolve. What had seemed so solid breaks down, is transformed. The key lies in staying with the experience through all its changes.
Tara Bennett-Goleman

You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer; it eats upon the host … So use that anger. You write it. You paint it. You dance it. You march it. You vote it. You do everything about it You talk it. Never stop talking it.
Maya Angelou

Expressing anger is necessary.
Jenny Holzer

It is wise to direct your anger towards problems — not people; to focus your energies on answers — not excuses.
William Arthur Ward

When angry, count four; when very angry, swear.
Mark Twain

The thing to do is to grab the broom of anger and drive off the beast of fear.
Zora Neale Hurston

When anger spreads in your breast, guard against an idly barking tongue.
Sappho

Where there is anger, there is always pain underneath.
Eckhart Tolle

My anger is trying to tell me something. Anger always carries information, but its message is seldom immediately clear. Befriending anger includes finding ways to retrieve this message.
Evelyn Eaton Whitehead and James D. Whitehead

Anger is like / A full-hot horse, who being allow’d his way, / Self-mettle tires him.
William Shakespeare

About the Author
Paola Bennet is a writer based in Brooklyn, NY. She writes a fortnightly newsletter that treasures the mundane, called Small Histories. Find her on Instagram @paolafbennet.

On April 15, 1947, spectators at Ebbets Field — then home to the Brooklyn Dodgers — witnessed history in the making. Among the ranks of the Dodgers was a 28-year-old rookie named Jackie Robinson, the first Black baseball player to play in the American major leagues.

When Robinson stepped out onto Ebbets Field that day, he broke baseball’s “color line,” the long-existing but unofficial form of racial segregation that excluded players of Black African descent from Major League Baseball and its affiliated minor leagues. It was a historic day, but Robinson wasn’t there just to break racial barriers — he was there to win.

That same year, Robinson led the league in stolen bases and was named Rookie of the Year. Just two years later, he was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player. He went on to lead the Dodgers to six league championships and one World Series victory. As legendary manager Leo Durocher once said, “This guy didn’t just come to play. This guy comes to beat you.”

However, Robinson was up against more than just the opposing team. He had to overcome racist abuse from opposing players, spectators and, initially, from his own teammates.

Robinson’s experience with discrimination — combined with his resolute nature and rising status in baseball — drove him to become an important voice in the civil rights movement. He made appearances with Martin Luther King Jr., and politician and civil rights activist John Lewis said Robinson “gave the Black community a sense of hope, a sense of pride.”

Jackie Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962 and, after his death in 1972, was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He also left us with many wise and inspiring quotes, whether talking about baseball, personal integrity, or the ongoing pursuit of a free and just society.

A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.

I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me … All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.

In order for America to be 100% strong — economically, defensively, and morally — we cannot afford the waste of having second- and third-class citizens.

Plenty of times I wanted to haul off when somebody insulted me for the color of my skin, but I had to hold to myself. I knew I was kind of an experiment. The whole thing was bigger than me.

When I am playing baseball, I give it all that I have on the ball field. When the ball game is over, I certainly don’t take it home. My little girl who is sitting out there wouldn’t know the difference between a third strike and a foul ball.

I believe in the goodness of a free society. And I believe that society can remain good only as long as we are willing to fight for it — and to fight against whatever imperfections may exist.

The most luxurious possession, the richest treasure anybody has, is his personal dignity.

If I had to choose between baseball's Hall of Fame and first-class citizenship, I would say first-class citizenship to all of my people.

I’m grateful for all the breaks and honors and opportunities I’ve had, but I always believe I won’t have it made until the humblest Black kid in the most remote backwoods of America has it made.

It kills me to lose. If I'm a troublemaker, and I don't think that my temper makes me one, then it's because I can't stand losing. That's the way I am about winning. All I ever wanted to do was finish first.

Many people resented my impatience and honesty, but I never cared about acceptance as much as I cared about respect.

The way I figured it, I was even with baseball and baseball was even with me. The game had done much for me, and I had done much for it.

There's not an American in this country free until every one of us is free.

I do believe that what I was able to attain came to be because we put behind us ( no matter how slowly) the dogmas of the past to discover the truth of today, and perhaps the greatness of tomorrow.

About the Author
Tony is an English writer of non-fiction and fiction living on the edge of the Amazon jungle.

Optimism is the commitment to an attitude of hopefulness and a belief in the potential of positive outcomes, whether brought about naturally or through effort and determination. We’ve all been encouraged to be optimistic and to “look on the bright side” during hard times — and for good reason.

Research shows that people with an optimistic outlook on life are more resilient to stress and are able to develop better coping strategies compared to those with a more negative perspective. However, in a world that can often feel  uncertain, scary, and overwhelming, it can be difficult to focus on (or even find) the bright side.

Maintaining an optimistic outlook doesn’t mean fixating on the positive while turning a blind eye to the realities of life or forcefully suppressing our negative feelings. In fact, that kind of toxic positivity can harm our emotional well-being. True, healthy optimism entails acknowledging our more unpleasant and uncomfortable feelings while believing in and working toward better days ahead.

Life doesn’t always unfold smoothly, and the future, no matter how thoroughly we plan it, is always unpredictable. On those days when mustering our optimism is especially challenging, these 12 quotes can provide hope and encouragement to help guide us toward a brighter mental space.

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.
Martin Luther King Jr.

Optimism isn’t a belief that things will automatically get better; it’s a conviction that we can make things better.
Melinda French Gates

I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.
Walt Disney

One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.
Lucille Ball

In times of great stress and adversity, it’s always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.
Lee Iacocca

My optimism … does not rest on the absence of evil, but on a glad belief in the preponderance of good and a willing effort always to cooperate with the good, that it may prevail.
Helen Keller

I am very optimistic, and I always think positive, but within reason and never getting too far ahead of the game.
Luis Fonsi

Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.
Herbert Kretzmer

Toxic positivity is pressuring people to look on the bright side … Healthy support is shielding people from the dark side. You invite them to express their pain, and show them they’re not alone and won’t feel it forever.
Adam Grant

I don’t believe in ageing. I believe in forever altering one’s aspect to the sun. Hence my optimism.
Virginia Woolf

When you’ve exhausted all possibilities, remember this: You haven’t!
Robert Harold Schuller

Hope confronts. It does not ignore pain, agony, or injustice … You can’t have hope without despair, because hope is a response. Hope is the active conviction that despair will never have the last word.
Cory Booker

About the Author
Kristina is a coffee-fueled writer living happily ever after with her family in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia.

Meditation is one of the most accessible ways to instantly boost our moods and clear our minds. To call it one of the easiest ways, though, would not be entirely true — given our busy lives and the constant buzz of social media, achieving total stillness can feel downright difficult. Somewhat paradoxically, this is all the more reason for us to practice meditation on a regular basis.

Whether it’s sitting cross-legged for 10 to 15 minutes each morning or taking a slow walk around the neighborhood each evening, the point of meditation is less about which physical activity we engage in than our mental state during that time. It’s the practice of slowing down and training our minds toward silence and calm that matters most, as we can then carry this stillness into other aspects of our lives.

In addition to alleviating anxiety, meditation can also help us improve our cognitive function and even give us a fresher, clearer lens through which to view our lives. Meditation can even be something as simple as focusing on a mantra or a quote. These 11 quotes could be a great addition to anyone’s practice, and they may inspire us to find ourselves on the cushion more often (either literally or figuratively).

It is indeed a radical act of love just to sit down and be quiet for a time by yourself.
Jon Kabat-Zinn

The thing about meditation is, you become more and more you.
David Lynch

Meditation is not about stopping thoughts, but recognizing that we are more than our thoughts and our feelings.
Arianna Huffington

Meditation is a vital way to purify and quiet the mind, thus rejuvenating the body.
Deepak Chopra

Meditation is like a gym in which you develop the powerful mental muscles of calm and insight.
Ajahn Brahm

Meditation is choosing not to engage in the drama of the mind but elevating the mind to its highest potential.
Amit Ray

Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.
Bruce Lee

Meditation is the ultimate mobile device; you can use it anywhere, anytime, unobtrusively.
Sharon Salzberg

When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering like the flame of a candle in a windless place.
Bhagavad Gita

Meditation is not evasion; it is a serene encounter with reality.
Thích Nhất Hạnh

The mind is definitely something that can be transformed, and meditation is a means to transform it.
Dalai Lama

About the Author
Joyce Chen is a writer, editor, and community builder based in Seattle, Washington.

Getting older is inevitable, but in a world where the word “aging” is usually prefaced with “anti,” it can be difficult to enjoy the process, as normal and natural as it is. Yet there are many benefits to getting older: With age come experience, wisdom, and an opportunity to live more intentionally and enjoy every day.

“As I go on in life and I feel more and more myself and less judgmental about myself, my values become clearer to me,” Gwyneth Paltrow once said, highlighting a hopeful way to think about aging. “I can be in integrity all the time, which is much harder when you’re younger.”

With a slight shift in perspective, it’s possible to see all the positives that come along with moving up in years. It can be helpful to remember that not everyone gets the chance to age as far into life as others, and that we should cherish the time as we have it. Here are 10 selected quotes that will help you to appreciate the beauty in life and embrace getting older.

Know that you are the perfect age. Each year is special and precious, for you shall only live it once.
Louise Hay, author

Your wrinkles reflect the roads you have taken; they form the map of your life… My face carries all my memories. Why should I erase them?
Diane von Fürstenberg, fashion designer

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Max Ehrmann, writer

I don’t believe in aging. I believe in forever altering one’s aspect to the sun.
Virginia Woolf

The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.
Frank Lloyd Wright

Every year brings you closer to expressing your whole and healed self. I celebrate that. Honor it. Hold it in reverence. And I'm grateful for every age I'm blessed to become.
Oprah Winfrey

You die young, or you get older. There is nothing in between. You may as well enjoy it.
Helen Mirren

One day, you will look back and see that all along, you were blooming.
Morgan Harper Nichols, artist and writer

The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been.
Madeleine L'Engle, author

If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should never grow old.
James A. Garfield

About the Author
Nicole is a writer, thrift store lover, and group-chat meme spammer based in Ontario, Canada.

Ernest Hemingway was one of America’s most influential writers, known for 20th-century classics such as The Old Man and the Sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize for Literature, Hemingway wrote in an understated and deceptively simple style that belies considerable depth and meaning. That’s why so many people quote — and often misquote — Hemingway to this day.

The author and larger-than-life figure penned a host of relevant musings, including “The way to make people trust-worthy is to trust them,” and “Courage is grace under pressure.” But many Hemingway fans mistakenly put words in his mouth, such as “Write drunk, edit sober,” a famous quote attributed to the author — despite the fact that he never said it.

Now, it’s not that Hemingway was against alcohol; in fact, he imbibed everything from daiquiris to champagne to rice wine to whiskey — but he wasn’t a fan of writing while inebriated.

Why is Hemingway the victim of so many misattributed quotes? According to the Hemingway Society, the problem may stem from either the desire to popularize lesser-known writers, meme creators seeking to create something new and catchy, or the simple fact that separating a quote from its original source sometimes makes it more positive. It “decontextualizes” the quote, giving it the chance for a new, positive spin — especially with “Hemingway’s” stamp of approval.

“Write drunk, edit sober” merely scratches the surface of the vast library of misattributed Hemingway quotes. Here are 10 additional quotes the beloved author never said.

For sale, baby shoes, never worn.

There is no evidence Hemingway actually wrote this quote, but experts also can’t pinpoint its origin. The likeliest explanation is early-1900s newspaper advertisements, where phrases such as “for sale, baby carriage; never been used” were printed regularly.

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.

This simple but relevant quote reads like a Hemingway musing, but he didn’t write this phrase, either. Renowned fantasy and science-fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin penned this popular phrase in her 1969 novel The Left Hand of Darkness.

We are all broken — that’s how the light gets in.

Hemingway did write about how to be strong during broken phases (“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places”), but he’s not the author of this particular quote. It’s likely a merging of Hemingway’s words and singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen’s song "Anthem," which features the lyrics: “There is a crack, a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”

The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.

Some say this one came from Hemingway’s short-story collection Men Without Women, but that’s another false quote to the author’s name. It’s believed to have originated from writer Marc Chernoff’s 2011 blog post, “30 things to stop doing to yourself.”

There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.

This quote actually surfaced two years before Hemingway’s 1899 birth, which means there’s no way the author could have popularized this phrase. Lecturer W.L. Sheldon penned this one in his collection of Ethical Addresses in 1897.

There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.

Like most writers, Hemingway enjoyed the final product much more than the writing process, but he’s not the true author of this relatable quote. It’s believed to be an adaptation of sportswriter Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith’s 1949 quote, “You simply sit down at the typewriter, open your veins, and bleed.” Writer Paul Gallico uttered a similar sentiment with this metaphor in 1946: “It is only when you open your veins and bleed onto the page a little that you establish contact with your reader.”

Before you act, listen.

This simple but striking quote has all the makings of a Hemingway maxim, but yet again, the words aren’t his. Experts believe the quote originated from motivational writer William Arthur Ward’s poem, which reads: “Before you speak, listen. Before you write, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you invest, investigate. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try. Before you retire, save. Before you die, give.”

I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I’m awake, you know?

The self-deprecating realness in this quote definitely sounds right up Hemingway’s alley, but this one is also misattributed. The true source has yet to be confirmed.

Humans need two years to learn to speak and sixty years to learn to shut up.

This Hemingway misquote originated in the early 1900s. A 1909 editorial in the Wenatchee, Washington, local newspaper included a similar phrase: “It takes a person two years to learn how to talk and all the rest of his life to learn to keep from talking too much.” Newspapers republished variations of this phrase for years after.

People are dying that have never died before.

While Hemingway did write this phrase in the mid-1900s, it’s not his original work — and he didn’t try to mask that fact. Hemingway attributed this phrase to his friend and boat captain Edward “Bra” Saunders, the phrase’s originator. Almost 100 years later, a viral meme also incorrectly attributed the quote to U.S. President Joe Biden.

About the Author
Stephanie is an Ohio-based writer and photographer who's never met a slice of pizza she didn't like — or inhale.

You can't talk about women in TV or comedy without talking about Carol Burnett. She’s a trailblazer who inspired generations after her, thanks to her eponymous series for CBS, The Carol Burnett Show. Launched in 1967, when television executives were sure no one would watch a women-led variety sketch show, it became a blockbuster hit — winning 23 Emmys over 10 seasons and entering the pantheon among the greatest TV shows of all time.

Texas-born but raised in Hollywood, Burnett started down the journalism path at UCLA but ended up in theater. She made her first splash on Broadway in Once Upon a Mattress in 1959, earning her first Tony nomination before moving on to TV. Her Emmy-winning physical comedy bits on The Garry Moore Show led to appearances alongside Lucille Ball and Julie Andrews and, finally, The Carol Burnett Show, which cemented her stardom.

Burnett went on to play a host of interesting roles in film and TV, from the villainess Miss Hannigan in Annie, to Helen Hunt’s mom on Mad About You. As testament to her influence, in 2019, the Golden Globes created the Carol Burnett Award for career achievement in television.

All along, Burnett has been an outspoken advocate for women. A supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment, she has been vocal about supporting fellow women in comedy and elevating more women to executive positions in film and TV. So many comedians who have followed — Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Amy Schumer, and many more — have cited Burnett’s influence in creating their own shows and blazing their path. Ahead are just a few of her most memorable words of wisdom.

How would I like to be remembered? I know this is kind of corny, but, ‘she made me laugh.’ Because that's a good feeling.

I wouldn’t be where I am now if I hadn’t had certain setbacks. They made me open different doors and made me stronger.

We all get where we’re going by circuitous journeys, and some of the setbacks are warranted.

I’ve had such a charmed life and I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by people who care and are kind… I sure lucked out.

Funny is funny, even if it’s old and it happened a long time ago.

I taught myself how to fall. I did get bruised occasionally. I never broke anything jumping out of windows, walking into walls, taking pratfalls.

My ear grew. It’s a millimeter or two longer from pulling it on the air.

I heard the laughs and thought, ‘This is it. I want to, the rest of my life, make people laugh.’ So that’s what happened, it was out of the blue.

I knew there was something out there I could do and I was never afraid. I think it was because of the movies, because they weren’t cynical. I had no cynicism.

I had nothing in my mind about fame. All I wanted was to be able to perform and pay my rent and buy clothes and food.

There’s a trick to playing a villain. The villain never thinks they are a villain. They think the world is against them.

I’ll really be happy when there are as many women in power positions as there are men.

I think it’s very important for women to be portrayed in strong roles on TV. Why not? We’re just as strong as the guys.

As for the career, sometimes I catch myself daydreaming about being young again and doing it all over. Then I bring myself up short when I realize how incredibly fortunate I was.

I’ve always believed that kids are great actors. They ‘become’ what they look like.

About the Author
Courtney E. Smith is an author, podcaster, and editor based in Dallas, Texas.

I'm working on researching what strategies humanity will need to survive into our unknown future. I've been focusing on the most basic lessons of philosophy from Ancient Egypt to modern America. The lessons are wise and useful and necessary, but what I am really looking for are the ideas that will spark personal wisdom and even moral instincts. This might be a good one. 

"It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are
squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched
the center of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shriveled and closed
from fear of further pain.
I want to know
if you can sit with pain mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.
I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own.
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.
It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.
I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”
It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the center of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.
I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.
Oriah Mountain Dreamer  - The invitation 

On May 25, 1962, President John F. Kennedy stood before a crowd in Houston, Texas, and declared to the world that the United States was going to put a man on the moon. At the time, the Space Race between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R was not going well for America.

The Soviets had put the first satellite in orbit when they launched Sputnik in 1957, and then put the first human in space when Yuri Gagarin was sent up in 1961. There was a fear that the U.S. would forever be playing catchup in the race to the stars.

Yet in his celebrated speech, President Kennedy thrilled the nation with his determination to put an American on the moon. “We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”

It was a stirring call to action — one that would ultimately help expand humanity’s scientific knowledge and to pinpoint our place in the cosmos. Kennedy did not live to see Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the surface of the moon, but when they did the astronauts brought a message of peace with them: The crew of Apollo 11 carried two medals commemorating Soviet astronauts who had lost their lives on missions to show that this really was “one giant leap for mankind.”

To celebrate the anniversary of that stirring speech, here are 10 other presidential speeches that have changed the course of history.

The period for a new election of a citizen to administer the executive government of the United States being not far distant … I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made.
George Washington

George Washington’s “Farewell Address” of 1796 set the standard that U.S. presidents would serve only two terms in office. As the most popular figure of his day, and the first to hold this office, Washington could have served as President for life. Instead, he chose to step down from his position of power, putting the good of the nation before his personal ambition.

Washington had already displayed his selflessness when, in 1783, he gave up his military power to Congress. When King George III of England was told Washington meant to return to private life he declared, "If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world."

"A house divided against itself cannot stand." I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln delivered his historic “House Divided” speech in 1858 when he was chosen as the Republican nominee for the presidency. The United States was already on the precipice of war over the matter of slavery, and Lincoln told voters that they would not be able to ignore the issue much longer. There would have to be a great reckoning, and it was not one that Lincoln intended to lose.

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.
Abraham Lincoln

After Lincoln won the presidency in 1861, the United States endured a bloody civil war over the issue of slavery. In his second Inaugural Address in 1865, with the Union at the precipice of  victory and millions of enslaved people freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln set out his bold vision of reconstruction and reconciliation between the North and South.

It is that the world be made fit and safe to live in; and particularly that it be made safe for every peace-loving nation which, like our own, wishes to live its own life, determine its own institutions, be assured of justice and fair dealing by the other peoples of the world as against force and selfish aggression. All the peoples of the world are in effect partners in this interest, and for our own part we see very clearly that unless justice be done to others it will not be done to us.
Woodrow Wilson

Despite campaigning for President on a vow not to enter the First World War, Woodrow Wilson found himself leading the United States into the conflict. In 1918, looking toward the peace that would follow the war, Wilson gave a speech setting out 14 points necessary for a lasting settlement. His plan led to the creation of the League of Nations, which paved the way for the United Nations of today.

Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

In Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first Inaugural Address in 1933, he set out clearly the dire state of the nation amid the Great Depression. Yet he also sought to comfort Americans and promised change. Reflecting that fear itself was the only true obstacle, Roosevelt set out his project to rebuild the United States, the New Deal, telling his audience that “this nation asks for action, and action now.

The United States pledges before you — and therefore before the world, its determination to help solve the fearful atomic dilemma — to devote its entire heart and mind to find the way by which the miraculous inventiveness of man shall not be dedicated to his death, but consecrated to his life.
Dwight Eisenhower

In 1953, the United States and the Soviet Union were facing each other in a Cold War that threatened at any moment to turn into a destructive conflict of atomic warfare. In his “Atoms for Peace” speech, Eisenhower opened up nuclear technology to the world, instead of guarding it secretly.

Trading fear for knowledge, this helped demystify the new science, which paved the way for the development of nuclear energy around the globe.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy laid down a challenge to Americans and to the world in his Inaugural Address of 1961. His speech set the tone for a government that would bring the nation together and foster a global community. Promoting service over selfishness, he promised the country that no challenge would be too great if people worked together.

We cannot, we must not, refuse to protect the right of every American to vote in every election that he may desire to participate in … It is all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome.
Lyndon Johnson

The United States in 1965 (as it is now) was struggling with issues of racial injustice. After 600 civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama, were brutally attacked by state troopers, the nation was shocked into action. President Johnson went to Congress and pressed for the passage of the Voting Rights Act. The new law would guarantee equal rights to vote to all U.S. citizens by abolishing discriminatory voting laws.

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
Ronald Reagan

The Cold War had dragged on for 40 years by the time President Reagan stood to speak beside the Brandenburg Gate in a divided Berlin in 1987. Outlining simple demands, he challenged the Soviet Union to speed up its promises of reform and freedom. It marked the closing chapter of an age of uncertainty, and promised better relations between the two global superpowers.

For when we have faced down impossible odds, when we've been told we're not ready or that we shouldn't try or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Yes, we can.
Barack Obama

In a campaign speech in New Hampshire in 2008, Barack Obama hit on a phrase that channelled the optimism of America. He would later repeat it in his acceptance speech delivered on November 4, 2008 in Chicago after his victory.. He reminded Americans, “A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination … America, we have come so far.”

Featured image credit: nasa/ Unsplash

Author image
About the Author
Ben Gazur
Ben Gazur is a freelance writer, historian, and folklorist.

The acceptance speeches are often the highlight of any televised award ceremony. After a name is called, the winner has just a short amount of time to thank everyone they want to thank, and, potentially, to say something impactful. Adrenaline is often running high, and the outcome can be emotional, inspiring, funny, and more often than not, a little bit awkward.

Ever since the first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929 (which was held at a private banquet and was not broadcast), speeches have been a major part of the evening. Many actors have used the time to make statements about politics or current issues, while others have gone off the cuff and simply reveled in the moment. Some have kept it short and sweet, such as Patty Duke’s two-word “Thank you” in 1963 when, looking overwhelmed, she accepted the Best Supporting Actress trophy for The Miracle Worker. Others, however, have ignored the timed speech slot: In 1943, actress Greer Garson set a world record for the longest Oscars speech when she accepted her Best Actress award for Mrs. Miniver and spoke for almost six minutes.

From the Oscars to the Golden Globes to the Emmys and more, here are some quick quips and heartfelt outpourings that have made for some of the most unforgettable moments in award show history.

I want any kid who is watching to know that your biggest obstacle may turn into your purpose.
Ari’el Stachel accepting the Tony Award for Featured Actor in a Musical for “The Band’s Visit,” 2018

If you have a dream, fight for it. It's not about how many times you get rejected or thought you’ve fallen down or you're beaten up. It's about how many times you stand up and are brave and you keep on going.
Lady Gaga accepting the Oscar for Best Original Song for “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born,” 2019

This moment is so much bigger than me … It's for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened. Thank you.
Halle Berry accepting the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for “Monster’s Ball,” 2001

Never once in my life did my parents ever say, “What you're doing is a waste of time.” Never. I know there are kids out there that don't have that support system, so if you're out there and you're listening, listen to me: If you want to be creative, get out there and do it; it's not a waste of time. Do it.
Michael Giacchino accepting the Oscar for Best Original Score for “Up,” 2010

Why don't you sit, 'cause I may never be here again.
Julia Roberts accepting the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for “Erin Brockovich,” 2001

Thanks so much. Thank you so much. Um, I've got to go. Bye.
Merritt Wever accepting the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for “Nurse Jackie,” 2013

My LGBTQIA family. I see each and every one of you. The things that make us different, those are our superpowers … The world would not be as beautiful as it is if we weren’t in it.
Lena Waithe accepting the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for “Master of None,” 2017

This show is proof that history remembers. We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger. We rise and fall and light from dying embers. Remembrances that hope and love live longer. And love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed or swept aside.
Lin-Manuel Miranda accepting the Tony Award for Best Original Score for “Hamilton,” 2016

It’s important to me to show images to my children that reflect their beauty so they can grow up in a world where they look in the mirror … and see themselves, and have no doubt that they’re beautiful, intelligent, and capable.
Beyoncé accepting the Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album for “Lemonade,” 2017

I don’t know whether to be happy or ashamed because I thought we made a comedy.
Jack Nicholson accepting the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for “About Schmidt,” 2003

I want all the girls watching here and now, to know that a new day is on the horizon! And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say “Me too” again.
Oprah Winfrey receiving the Cecil B. deMille Award at the Golden Globes, 2018

Featured image credit: REUTERS/ Alamy Stock Photo

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About the Author
Nicole Villeneuve
Nicole is a writer, thrift store lover, and group-chat meme spammer based in Ontario, Canada.

Chi, the yin-yang, Lao Tzu — these are all important elements of the Tao. Both a religion and a philosophy, Taoism (also spelled Daoism) formed in China around 500 BCE and existed for millennia alongside other ancient belief systems, such as Buddhism and Confucianism. Although China’s communist turn in 1949 led to a ban on Taoism, the philosophy flourished in Taiwan and is now even returning to China.

Some 20 million people follow the Tao and the teachings of its ancient master, Lao Tzu. But many millions more simply find inspiration and wisdom in Taoism’s ideas, and its message has found its way into some of the most popular Western art and literature. Understanding Taoism starts with the elusive but essential concept at the core of the philosophy: the Tao, roughly translated as “the Way.”

THE TAO
The Tao was first described in texts by the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu (or Laozi). Scholars aren’t certain that Lao Tzu existed or if he is a personification of ancient wisdom, but what can’t be debated is the existence of his attributed masterwork, the Tao Te Ching, which means “The scripture of the Way and Its Virtue.” This book is one of the fundamental texts of Taoism, along with Zhuangzi, a compilation of writings from the philosopher Zhuangzi, an influential Taoist master from the fourth century BCE.

In the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu attempts to illuminate the truth at the heart of his new philosophy, the Tao. The master described it as “undefined and complete” and “reaching everywhere.” He wrote, “It may be regarded as the Mother of all things. I do not know its name, and I give it the designation of the Tao.”

Taoism’s entire goal is to live in harmony with the Tao, or in other words, the natural balance of the universe. Taoists don’t believe in a single god, though they do venerate Lao Tzu as a personification of Tao. Instead, the religion features a host of gods, mostly borrowed from other cultures, and these beings are subject to the Tao just like humans. Because the Tao is the “mother of all things,” Taoists also believe the soul returns to the universe after death.

WUWEI AND CHI
Lao Tzu wished for his adherents to follow the “way” of the universe — but what exactly does that mean? That’s where a few of Taoism’s most famous principles come in handy.

The first is a concept known as “wuwei,” which literally means “inexertion,” as is described in the Tao Te Ching: “The Way does nothing, and yet nothing remains unaccomplished.” This is similar to the idea of letting go, or not trying too hard. It is perhaps best described in this quote attributed to Zhuangzi: “Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness.” It’s this paradoxical idea of action through inaction that lies at the heart of wuwei.

“Chi,” which means “vital energy,” is defined as a primordial substance that animates the universe; examples can be found in wind blowing through trees or waves crashing upon the shore. Because Taoists believe they are of the universe, this chi also flows through them. The concept of chi has been used in medicinal and alchemical applications throughout Chinese history by Taoist sages who practiced influencing their chi for physical and spiritual wellness.

Many Taoists texts concern themselves with ways to live in harmony with this universal energy, which often manifests in the ideas of living simply, gaining wisdom through flexibility, and staying true to yourself. # As Lao Tzu wrote, "Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power." Benjamin Hoff, who analyzed Taoism through the character of Winnie the Pooh in his book The Tao of Pooh, also emphasizes this strong sense of self. “When you know and respect your Inner Nature, you know where you belong,” he wrote. “You also know where you don’t belong.”

THE YIN-YANG
The most recognizable symbol of Taoism is the yin-yang, which literally means “dark-bright” or “positive-negative.” This concept is famously depicted as a black and white swirl that forms a circle, each containing a small “seed” of the other color. The yang (black) is often associated with the concepts of soft, positive, warm, dry, active, day, and masculine, while the yin (white) is hard, negative, cold, wet, passive, night, and feminine.

Neither yin nor yang is good or bad — according to Taoism, both are amoral if taken alone. Unlike monotheistic relations which depict a god as all good and a devil as all evil, Taoism, as symbolized in the yin-yang, teaches that both aspects of our nature can be great teachers, and only together can one truly be in accordance with the Tao. Lao Tzu only mentions the yin-yang once in the Tao Te Ching, but the work encapsulates the singular importance of this world-famous symbol: “A yin (with) a yang is called Tao.”

For millennia, Taoism has taught lessons of humility, gratefulness, and self-love while also probing the deeper meaning of our existence. However it’s explored, the ancient wisdom has many lessons to teach us, by following Zhuangzi’s simple-yet-difficult advice: “Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.”

About the Author
Darren lives in Portland, Oregon, has two cats, and writes about science, technology, nature, and history.

 From Michael McWatters.
“See that bird? It’s a brown-throated thrush, but in Germany it’s called a halzenfugel, and in Chinese they call it a chung ling, and even if you know all those names for it, you still know nothing about the bird. You only know something about people: what they call the bird. Now that thrush sings, and teaches its young to fly, and flies so many miles away during the summer across the country, and nobody knows how it finds its way.”—Richard Feynman
“As to methods, there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.”— Harrington Emerson
“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”— Maria Robinson
“One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.”—Eleanor Roosevelt

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