Potent Quotables

There is no try, only do.
But there can be do overs.

To travel fast, go alone.
To travel further, go together.

Better to walk alone than with a crowd moving in the wrong direction.

Don’t over think to the detriment of doing.

Wherever you go, there you are.

If you don’t know where you’re going, you could end up anywhere.

You can’t find anything if you don’t know what you’re looking for.

Give a man a fish, feed him for a day;
Teach a man to fish, feed him for life… if he likes to eat fish.  (OR)
Teach a man to fish, ruin a great business opportunity.  (OR)
He will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

The more you know, the less you don’t know.
The more you forget, the less you remember.

Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

In chasing perfection one can achieve excellence.

Necessity is the mother of invention BUT
One’s mother often can be the necessity for invention.

Don’t believe everything you think.

My mind has a mind of its own.

Don’t think twice when counting to one.

The more you put in, the more you get out.

If you want a break, go to Hollywood.

Be upstanding and outstanding, not just bystanding.
Stand up, don’t just standby.

What lies behind or ahead of us is not as important as what’s inside us.
As long as we’re not hungry.

What’s in front of us may depend on who’s behind us.

The longest journey begins with just one step.
If dancing there, make sure you begin with left foot.

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.

You have brains in your head and feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.

You don’t have to see the whole staircase to take the first step.

Life is a journey, not a destination.
But a meaningful destination is needed to have a purposeful trip.

We all will sometimes fail, but we only really fail if we give up.  (or)
Only giving up is unforgivable.

It is often better to travel in hope than to arrive.
Especially if traveling first class.

The journey is often better than the inn.
Especially if staying at a Holiday Inn. 

Impossible is nothing; it may just take a bit longer.

A small rock can hold back a great wave.
Except at a rock concert.

Every big wave started small.

Be careful what you ask for, you may get it.
Like the check.

What comes around, goes around.
Especially a merry go round.

All squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares.

A circle has no point.

Any number divided by itself is 1.
Any number divided by infinity is zero.
Any number divided by zero is infinity.
But can zero divided by zero or infinity divided by infinity = 1?

Synergy is 1 + 1 = 3.
Super synergy is 1 + 1 = 11.

The only real disability is a bad attitude,
And you won’t get paid Social Security benefits for it.

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.

Hire as much for attitude as for aptitude.

None of us is smarter than all of us.

You’ll never make the shots you don’t take.
But you only can take shots if you have the ball.

Big shots are just little shots who kept shooting.

You won’t have a chance if you never take one.

Being safe doesn’t mean you won’t be sorry.

The only safe bet is to take a chance.

The biggest risk is never taking one.

Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.

Resilience reduces risk remorse (R4).

If you only go hunting for small game, that’s all you’ll catch.

If you’ve got nothing to lose, you’ve got everything to gain.

It is what it is, not what was or what will be.

The best things in life aren’t things.
They’re everything else.

Doing things, not acquiring things, gives life real meaning.

Contented people don’t have the best of everything.
They just make the best of everything they have.

Life is not a dress rehearsal.
It’s more like a rummage sale; there are no returns.

The problem with capitalism is that there’re not enough capitalists.

A rising tide lifts all ships (except the Titanic).

Brevity is the soul of wit.
James Brown is the king of soul.
Thus, brevity is king.

I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.

There are no small details.  (Just small people.)

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

Begin with the end in mind.

It’s best to start at the beginning.

It’s not where you start but where you finish.

It’s not how often you fall down, it’s how quickly you get back up.

You must give to also get back.

Over-achievement means at least 2/3 of those tested are above average.

Life is lived forward but only understood backward.
But if you walk backward thru life you may get hit crossing the street.

The only thing certain is uncertainty.
The only thing constant is change.

Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it (or at least flunk it).
Or in other words…  In one era, out the other.

Everything in moderation (except moderation.)

90% of life is just showing up,
The other 10% is having exact change (excluding pennies).
Similarly, success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration (so don’t use an antiperspirant).

‘Tis better to show up late than not at all.
But you may not be immediately seated.

Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.
Luck is partly the residue of design.
If I didn’t have bad luck I’d have no luck at all.
To ensure lucky things happen, make sure many things happen. 

Chance favors the connected mind.

Those who can do,
those who can’t do teach, and
those who can’t teach — teach gym.

I used to be indecisive, but now I’m not sure.

Can you make the decision not to decide?

You can’t soar with eagles if you’re surrounded by turkeys.

It’s better to be a moving turkey than a sitting duck.

If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward.

The main function of astrologists is to make economists look good.

Economists know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

The Middle Ages were one thousand years without a bath.

Some see things the way they are and ask why,
Others see things the way they can be and ask why not.

If I am not for me, who else will be?
If I am but for myself, than who am I?
If not me, who?  If not now, when?
If it is to be, it is up to me.

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
But the one-eyed king may be unable to ride his horse.

Measure twice, cut once (but use sharp scissors).

A stitch in time saves nine and may prevent bleeding.

You’re either part of the solution or you’re part of the problem
(unless it’s a chemistry experiment and you can be both).

If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.
You decide which restaurant.

It’s not the recipe, it’s the chef.
It’s the chef, not the hat.

Strike while your iron is hot.
Particularly if playing golf.

If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
If still too hot, turn up the AC.

When you get lemons, make lemonade.
When you get oranges, make orange juice.
When you get three in a row of either, jackpot.

When you get lemons, add ice and vodka.

You need to break a lot of eggs to make an omelet.
Also a hot skillet and some cheese. 

Close counts only in horse shoes, hand grenades, and tee shots.

Hair today, gone tomorrow.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
[Either to be used as catch-all topic sentences for your SAT writing sample]

Nothing succeeds like success.
You learn more from failing than you do from succeeding.

Some are destined to succeed but most succeed from determination.

There is no elevator to success.
You have to take the stairs.

If at first you don’t succeed… stop.
Particularly at a 4-way intersection.

Failure can be the first step to success.
It also can be the last step before quitting.

Fear of failure is worse than fear of success.

Failure is a bruise, not  a tattoo.

Failure is the mother of Success.
Thus, Failure must attend Success’s parent teacher conferences.
(Invention’s mother (Necessity) also attends  her conferences.) 

A frequent precursor of failure is too much success.

Many failures are people not realizing how close they were to success.

The best way not to fail is to determine to succeed.

Discouragement and failure are two sure stepping stones to success.

The road to success is always under construction.
Watch out for the potholes.

It is hard to fail but worse never to have tried.

Who is happier?
One who braved life’s storms and lived, or
one who stayed securely on shore and merely existed?

Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get.

Happiness leads to success, but success does not necessarily lead to happiness.

Success = 10% inspiration + 90% perspiration.
Thus, avoid heavy use of antiperspirants.

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.

You will never truly succeed unless you first have failed.

To enhance your chance of success, double your rate of failure.

The secret of success is to understand others’ points of view.

You are truly successful when you help others become so as well.

Success is the peace of mind from knowing you did your best to be
all you are capable of becoming.

Success is about what you’ve accomplished, not what you own. 

To succeed, we must first believe that we can.

Success is never final, failure is never fatal.

There is only one success—to be able to live your life your own way.

It’s continued courage that counts.

The difference between being successful or not is not lack of strength or knowledge but lack of will.  

It’s the size of your will, not skill, that determines your success.

To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve.
But once you are successful to continue as such you have to be unselfish.

Success is usually the culmination of controlling failure.

Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.

If you don’t want to be criticized, don’t try anything different.

Don’t let your losses defeat you.

To have great presence you must accept the risk of long absence.

You can’t beat the person who never gives up.

Courage is resistance to fear.

Great achievements often require overcoming great dangers.

Fear is a function of time and thinking.

Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
Hobgoblins have little minds and thus are foolishly consistent.

Insanity = doing the same thing over again but expecting a different result.
Does that also mean:
Insanity = doing different things but expecting the same result?

Time heals all wounds but time also wounds all heels (just ask Achilles).

The lack of money is the root of all evil.
The dandelion is an evil root and not worth a penny.

Sometimes silence is a lie.

When in doubt, leave it out.

He who hesitates is hesitant.

When the going gets tough, it’s tough to get going.
Especially if you’re a car battery on a cold morning.

When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.

Fatigue makes cowards of us all.
Hence, the cowardly lion was very tired.

If we don’t hang together we shall surely hang separately.
If you don’t hang up, phone callers will get a busy signal (or have to leave a message).

Victory has many fathers but defeat is an orphan.

Cemeteries are filled with indispensable people.

Don’t outsmart your common sense.

The devil is in the details and he’s not wearing Prada.

He who laughs last didn’t get joke first.

Two wolves deciding to eat the lamb is still democracy.

When you come to the fork in the road, take it or use a spoon (compromisers use a spork).

You can observe a lot just by watching.

That place is so crowded no one goes there anymore.

Cash is almost as good as money.

A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.

It’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.

The future (or the status quo) ain’t what it used to be.

You can’t squeeze toothpaste back in the tube.

Sometimes you have to take your eye off the ball to hit it.

You better cut the pizza in four slices ’cause I’m not hungry enough to eat six.

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice but in practice there is.

Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.

Be descriptive, not prescriptive.

See with your heart, listen with your eyes.

All that’s needed for evil to prevail is for enough good people to do nothing (or watch television).

There are thousands hacking at the branches of evil to one striking at the root.

When push comes to shove, push back.

Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.

The worst circumstances can bring out your best.

Always expect the unexpected.

What isn’t measured (or rewarded) doesn’t get done.

Behind every great fortune is a great crime.

No good deed goes unpunished.
Does that mean no bad deed gets punished?

Fortune favors the bold.
Fortune cookies favor those with finished meal and sweet tooth.

Big hat, no cattle.
No cattle, no hat.

Freedom isn’t free.
And it is becoming more expensive everyday.

Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.

We are free not because we claim it but because we practice it.

Liberty is about balancing the freedom “to” with the freedom “from.”

If you don’t know your rights, you don’t have any.
If you don’t know your wrongs, you lack introspection.

No use crying over spilled milk, unless it’s a milk shake.

You can’t judge a book by its cover, unless it’s a paperback.

What you see is what you get.
What you get is not necessarily what you asked for.

Where you stand depends on where you sit.
If you have no seat, you must stand.

If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.
For example, if the bus stops short after you stood up without holding on,
You stood for nothing and now will fall.

Once bitten, twice shy.
Twice bitten, ouch!

Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me (or won’t get fooled again @ GWB or the Who).

If you’re not the lead dog the view never changes.

Even a broken clock tells the right time twice a day.

It is difficult to make people understand something if their livelihood depends otherwise.

Things that are rewarded and appreciated are the things that get done.

Eat to live, not live to eat.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be.
Then how do you earn interest, buy a house,  or expand your business?

Have more than thou showest,
Speak less than thou knowest,
Lend less than thou owest.
And end all proverbs with “est.”

A bank wants to lend you money only when you don’t need it.
It will sell you an umbrella only when it’s sunny.

For want of a nail the kingdom was lost.
So see your manicurist or blacksmith.

With great power comes great responsibility.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

When one door closes, another one opens.
But the hall between the doors may be very long.

If the door won’t open:  knock, build a new one or use another key.

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks (without the right treats).

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink (if it’s not thirsty).
So the key is convincing the horse that it needs a drink.

Don’t put the cart before the horse.
Don’t put water in a wooden horse cart.

Slow and steady wins the race (unless it’s a sprint).

Think big, act small.
Think globally, act locally.

Culture eats strategy for breakfast but not lucky charms.

A whisper can be louder than a roar (provided someone is listening).

Good fences make good neighbors.
Good fencers make dangerous neighbors.

The truth can be said in few words.
A lie takes longer.

Haste makes waste.
Waste not, want not.

Where’s there’s a will, there’s way (or in the case of probate, a delay).
Where’s there’s a will, there’s often many interested relatives. 

Sometimes the best advice is to stay silent.

Leaders accept responsibility rather than assign blame.

Leaders can take you to places you would not go on your own.

Do not seek blame for the past but instead accept responsibility for the future.

We grow old too fast and wise too slow.

If I hear I may still doubt,
if I see I may still disbelieve,
but if I do I will understand.

Listening is wanting to hear.

To thine own self be true.

A watched pot never boils.
A watch thrown in a boiling pot is useless.

Life isn’t just surviving the storm; it’s also learning to dance in the rain.

Life is short; eat dessert first.
It’s your entree to happiness.

Knowledge pays the best interest.

A mind once stretched never returns to its original dimensions.

By three methods we may learn wisdom:
First, by reflection, which is noblest;
second, by imitation, which is easiest; and
third by experience, which is the bitterest.

It’s not what we don’t know that gets us in trouble,
It’s the things we think we know that just ain’t so.

Resolve to perform what you ought.
Perform without fail what you resolve.

It takes six years to make a friend, six seconds to lose one.

A friend is just a stranger you have not yet met.

Character is much easier kept than recovered.

Don’t use time or words carelessly, neither can be retrieved.

If you don’t know who the sucker at the table is, it’s you.

Since the contented person adapts to society
While the discontented person tries to change it,
Society is thus changed by its discontents.

Not everything that counts can be measured,
Not everything that can be measured counts.
The Count of Monte Cristo is an immeasurable novel.

If you can’t define it, you can’t measure it.
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.
If you can’t manage it, you leave it to chance.

Tests teach you how to answer questions.
An education teaches you how to ask questions to get answers.

Employees will treat customers the same way the company treats employees.

Our choices define us.

Talent hits a target others cannot;
Genius hits a target others cannot see.

A genius recognizes he knows little.

Things should be as simple as possible, not simpler.

Do what’s necessary when necessary.

There’s a method to our method.

Perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add,
but when there is nothing left to take away.

It’s hard to play well, but it’s easy to play hard.

Train hard; win easy.

You can be a hero or a zero.

It’s tougher staying on top than getting there.

The difference in winning and losing is most often not quitting.

They told me I was gullible – and I believed them.

Don’t take a sleeping pill and laxative at same time.

Don’t criticize what you don’t understand.

Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s game.

Fall up and forward, not down and backwards.

If you leap, the net will appear (hopefully).
Unless you are a flying fish — then you hope not.

How can you find yourself if you never get lost?

You never miss the water ’till the well runs dry.

Repetition of a lie does not make it the truth.

One’s company, two’s a crowd, and three’s a party.

It ain’t what they call you, it’s what you answer to.

It’s not who you are that limits you, it’s who you think you are.

Our only limits are those we self-impose.

We are what we aren’t.
We are what we eat.

Only those who risk going too far can find out how far they can go.

Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.

Reach for the stars and you may touch the sky.

Let your reach exceed your grasp.

Challenges are what makes life interesting,
Overcoming them is what makes it meaningful.

If we can’t change our circumstances we are challenged to change ourselves.

Destiny is a matter of choice, not chance.

Watch your thoughts as they become words,
and words become actions,
and actions become habits,
and habits become character,
and character becomes your destiny.

Excellence is not a single act, it is a habit.

Character is simply habit long continued.

Ability may get you to the top, but character is what keeps you there.

It’s not just what you create, it’s what you leave behind.

We cannot become what we need to be by remaining who we are.

You cannot discover new oceans while afraid to lose sight of the shore.

Nothing is so fatiguing as an uncompleted task.

Change your thoughts and you can change your world.

You can never stand out by remaining in the crowd.

Focus on the critical few, not the insignificant many.

Things that matter most cannot be at the mercy of those that matter least.

If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.

A bird in hand beats two in the bush.

Patience and time are the most powerful warriors.

Make your work your play and your play your work.

If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.

Make your vocation a vacation.

Nothing is really work unless you rather be doing something else.

A meeting is an event where seconds to motions are made, minutes are kept, and hours are lost.

A committee takes a week to do what one person can do in an hour.

To get something done a committee should consist of no more than three people, two of whom are absent.

A committee is an animal with four back legs.

A committee is a group who individually can do nothing, but as a group decide that nothing can be done.

A committee is a group of the unwilling chosen from the unfit, to do the unnecessary.

Any committee worth its salt is composed of people too busy to sit on it for a second longer than necessary.

If you don’t step on it, you may step in it.

You can’t step in the same river twice.  

Downstream is history;
Upstream the future;
You wade in the present.

If you want to predict the future, invent it.  

The past is history, the future a mystery.

History is but tomorrow’s yesterday.

If all the world’s a stage, where does the audience sit?    

Cowards die many times before their deaths but the valiant taste of death but once.

The credit belongs to the man in the arena … who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails why daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid soils who know neither victory nor defeat.

Iron forges iron.

Smile.  It increases your face value.

Kindness is the language the blind can see and the deaf can hear.

Time is the most valuable thing in the world.
Money can’t buy a second of it.

Always remember to thank those performing thankless tasks. 

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity;
An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room.

Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.

The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you can see.

If you can’t convince them, confuse them.

It was by labor, not gold and silver, that all the world’s wealth was originally purchased.

No matter where you turn, your rear-end is behind you. 

You can’t prepare for the future by looking only to the past.

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.

Time is nature’s way of not having everything happen at once. 

Every knot was once a straight rope.

When you get to the end of your rope make a knot.

When you find yourself in the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

Those who live within their means suffer from a lack of imagination.

An expert is someone who has made enough mistakes in a narrow field. 

If you don’t make enough mistakes, you’re not working on hard enough problems.

If mistakes aren’t being made, progress (or learning) isn’t occurring.

Those who dare to fail can achieve greatly.

If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?

Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

Focus on being productive, not on being busy.

Never mistake activity for achievement.

Many a false step was made by standing still.

The reasonable person adapts to the world while the unreasonable person  seeks to modify it.
Thus, all progress comes from unreasonable persons.

Learning to ignore things is a key to inner peace.

The best defense is a good offense.

Genius is only the superior power of seeing.

If you can’t define it or act upon it, forget it.

Most questions without answers are just poorly worded.

Judge a person by their questions, not their answers.

It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.

Remembering you are mortal is the best way to avoid thinking you have too much to lose.

Happiness is harmonizing what you think, what you say, and what you do.

If you ask the wrong questions, you’ll never get the right answers.

If you never change it, why have a mind? 

The only way to really win an argument is to avoid one. 

How come you park in a driveway and drive on a parkway?

Treat people as ends, not means. 

You treat a disease, you win, you lose.
But if you treat the person, you’ll win, no matter the outcome.

Politics is when people choose words & actions based on how they
want others to react rather than on how they really think. 

To get buy-in, first get weigh-in.

If everything is important, than nothing is.

Nothing is not nothing.

Whether you’re dealing with terrorism or securities fraud,
it’s better to be in the prevention business than the cleanup business.

The smallest deed is better than the largest intention.

Make the most of the best and the least of the worst.  

Intuition is nothing more nor less than recognition.  

We can be both blind to the obvious, and oblivious to our blindness. 

Life is not measured in the breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away.

It’s only when the tide goes out do we learn who’s swimming naked.

Intelligence is not information alone;
It’s applying judgment to your facts.

Good judgment comes from experience;  
Experience comes from bad judgment.

Character trumps reputation.
Character is what you are, your reputation merely what others think about you. 

We can afford to lose money but not our reputation.

Promise is a cloud; fulfillment is rain.

People convinced against their will are of the same opinion still.

Markets that don’t exist don’t care how smart you are.

Investors have lost far more money over the years fearing a market crash than in an actual one.

Did you ever receive a predictable surprise?
How do you prepare for the unknown?

There are known knowns.
There are known unknowns.
But there are also unknown unknowns.

Be fearful when others are greedy and
Be greedy when others are fearful. 

He who builds a factory builds a temple.

Those crazy enough to think they can change the world are those who do.

Remember yesterday,
Dream about tomorrow,
But live for today!

We buy junk and sell antiques.

The difference between fact and fiction is that fiction has to make sense.

Education is knowing how to read the fine print.
Experience is what you get when you don’t.

People may forget what you said and did
but never how you made them feel.  

The ultimate measure is not where you stand in moments of calm and comfort,
But what you stand for in times of challenge and controversy.

Great spirits have always met violent opposition from simple minds.

Politics is the art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich,
by promising to protect each from the other.

If you rob Peter to pay Paul, Paul will never complain.

A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world.

If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.

Follow your heart, but check it with your head.

An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.

A ‘No’ uttered from deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please or avoid trouble.

Live as if you were to die tomorrow.
Learn as if you were to live forever.

What’s right is what’s left after you’ve done everything else wrong.

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.

Great minds don’t just take opportunities, they also make them.

Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.

There are no traffic jams on the extra mile.

If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.

If you learn from defeat, you haven’t really lost.

People don’t buy for logical reasons.
They buy for emotional ones.

A lot of people quit looking for work as soon as they find a job.

Every choice you make has an end result.

Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem.
We all have 24-hour days.
Except when we convert to daylight savings time.

You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.

If you go out looking for friends, you’re going to find them scarce.
If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere.

You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.

Character got us out of bed,
Commitment moved us into action, and
Discipline enabled us to follow through.

Failing is an event, not a person. 

If you must fail, be sure to fail forward.

Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.

Optimism: Hunting Moby Dick in a rowboat and taking tartar sauce along.

The pessimist complains about the wind.
The optimist expects it to change.
The leader adjusts the sails.

Motivation doesn’t last, nor does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.

We choose our own self image.

Friends need our presence, not just presents.

Do what you must and your friends will adjust.

To effect change, think of the possibilities, not the pitfalls.

Don’t just get ready to live, get living.

The stability we cannot find in the world we must create within.

Self doubt is like enlisting with your enemy to bear arms against yourself. 

The entire population of the universe, with one small exception, is composed of others.

When you’re through changing, you’re through.

If scientists knew what they were doing, it would not be called research.

Moderation is the mask that ambition has worn.  

Never spend your money before you have it.
Never buy what you don’t want.  

Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, or cold.  

We never repent of having eaten too little of life.

Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.  

Take things always by their smooth handle.  

You can do little about the length of your life,
but you can do much about its width and depth.

People do not believe lies because they have to, 
but because they want to. 

The greatest communication problem is the illusion that it has been accomplished. 

Advances occur by answering questions.
Discoveries occur by questioning answers. 

He without good memory should avoid the plying of lying.

Truth fears no questions.
Even those without answers.

Business is never so healthy as when, like a chicken,
it must do a certain amount of scratching around for what it gets.

A drunken man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts. 

Tell me and I forget,
Teach me and I may remember,
Involve me and I learn. 

Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.

Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.

Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.

Possession isn’t nine-tenths of the law.
It’s nine-tenths of the problem.

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.

A friend to all is a friend to none.

A true friend is there for you when he’d rather be anywhere else.

Being honest might not get you many friends, but it will get you the right ones.

If honor were profitable, everybody would be.

Being rich is having money; being wealthy is having time to enjoy it.

To err is human, to correct is divine.
To err is human, to blame others is politics.

An unexamined life is not worth living.

Failure is life’s way of telling you to move in a different direction.

One of life’s true rewards is working at a job worth doing.

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.
He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.
He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.

Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.

Success is not measured by the position we have obtained
but by the obstacles overcome in obtaining it.

Two things define you:
Your patience when you have nothing and your attitude when you have everything.

Doing what you like is freedom.
Liking what you do is happiness.

Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t — you’re right.

Nothing can stop someone with the right mental attitude from achievement;
nothing on earth can help the person with the wrong mental attitude.

We are bounded only by the walls we build around ourselves.

Pleasure in the job makes perfection in the work.

Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.

‘Tis better to die from passion than of boredom.

It is never too late to be what you might have been.

The two most important days in your life are when you are born and when you find out why.

We can’t live our dreams if constrained by our fears.

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.
The next best time is now.

If you tell people where to go but not how to get there, you will be amazed by the how.

The most complex questions sometimes have the simplest answers.

Life is not made up of minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years, but of moments.

Learn from the past, prepare for the future, and perform in the moment.

There are no defining moments, only moments for you to define.

A clear conscience may be the sign of a bad memory.

Take care of your cents and your dollars will take care of themselves.

Common sense can be worth more than dollars of education.

Never trouble another with what you can do yourself.

High expectations are the key to everything.

Well done is better than just well said.

Actions speak louder than words.

A bend in the road is not its end unless you fail to turn with it.

Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can come together.

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

To begin something is good;
to begin again after failing is great.

The harder you work, the luckier you get.

There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.

Without customers, you don’t have a business.
You have a hobby.

If I had nine hours to chop down a tree I’d spend the first six sharpening my ax.

‘Tis better to discover than just merely know.

If you don’t have a Plan B, you don’t have a Plan.

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.

If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. 

Are you a doer or a don’ter?

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did.

There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.

Obstacles are the frightful things seen when you take your eyes off the goal.

A road without obstacles makes for an unmemorable journey. 

If the wind will not serve, take to the oars.

We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails.

It is never too late to be what you might have been.

Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible. 

When everything seems against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind,
not with it.

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, “I’m possible!” 

Live life and forget your age.

It’s better to have everything you need than what you want.

If you are depressed you are living in the past,
If you are anxious you are living in the future,
If you are at peace you are living in the present.

The misery of uncertainty is worse than the certainty of misery.

Let go of what wasn’t,
Accept what is,
Have faith in what can be.

Take care of your thoughts when alone, 
Take care of your words when with others.

If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree
it will live its entire life believing it is inadequate.

When you try to control everything you enjoy nothing.

If you can’t fly, then run.
If you can’t run, then walk.
If you can’t walk, then crawl.
But whatever you do, keep moving forward.

If we can’t live together as brothers,
We will perish together as fools. 

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’
Expediency asks the question,’Is it politic?’
But conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but in times of challenge and controversy.

“An eye for an eye” leaves everybody blind.

We may remember the words of our enemies,
but the silence of our friends is worse.

The early bird catches the worm,
but the second mouse gets the cheese. 

Free cheese is only found in a mousetrap.
(Ask the second mouse.)

People prefer one apple today rather than waiting for two tomorrow. 

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.

It is easier to leave than to return.

He who is wandering is not necessarily lost.

Genius without education is like silver still in the mine.

Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
Trust the threats of enemies more than the promises of your friends.

The way you do just anything is the way you should do everything.

You can’t look behind to see beyond.
You can’t look to the past to fashion the future.

The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.

 An artist is somebody who produces things that people don’t need to have.

If nothing is hidden, we have nothing left to find.

You don’t become bigger by making someone else smaller.

Things don’t happen to us.
They happen for us.

A legacy is not built by looking behind but my continually moving forward.
So keep on moving.

A fool who remains silent may be mistaken as wise.

The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.

You achieve love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly.

It ain’t bragging if you can back it up.

Don’t let the person saying it can’t be done interfere with the person trying to get it done. 

The most important employee traits are intelligence, energy and integrity,
but without the last one the first two don’t matter. 

A good plan, executed timely, is better than a perfect plan executed too late.

Good tactics can save even the worst strategy.
Bad tactics will destroy even the best strategy.

A pint of sweat can save a gallon of blood.

If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.

Success is a function of how you well you bounce on your bottom.

You’re never beaten until you admit it.

Untutored courage is useless in the face of educated bullets.

If you kick the can down the road long enough, eventually it lands in the sewer.

Worst case scenarios rarely happen.

If the body is weak it commands;
If strong it obeys.

Don’t let the fear of losing be greater than the excitement of winning.

Totalitarianism is patriotism institutionalized.

A common man marvels at uncommon things.
A wise man marvels at the commonplace.

Be not so ashamed of mistakes to thus make them crimes.

Before embarking on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.

Respect yourself and others will respect you.

He who knows others is wise;
He who knows himself is enlightened.

Folks who have no vices have very few virtues.

None has sufficient memory to make a successful liar.

Saying the right thing means little without also doing it.

Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.

Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.

One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but with potential.
Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency.
We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.

You can’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands;
You need to be able to throw something back.

You can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets (or a catcher’s mitt).

Why search for the needle when you can buy the haystack.

Many a step forward was made while looking foolish.

You can either throw in the towel or wipe yourself off and continue.

If you do not pursue your dream, you will never have it.
If you never ask, the answer always will  be no.
If you never move, you always will be in the same place.

You either win or learn,
You need never lose.

The best way to get ahead is to start.

Confidence comes at the intersection of ambition and experience.

Losers quit when they fail.
Winners fail until they succeed.

Never let the fear of striking out prevent you from taking a swing.

You don’t build a business.
You build people and they build it.

Without fear there can be no true courage.

You cannot stain a black coat.

If you want something done, give it to a busy person.

I thought I was clever and knew how to change the world.
Today I am wise so I am changing myself.

It’s much cheaper to keep a client than to find a new one.

Anyone can walk on water – if it’s frozen.

As a solid rock is unshaken by the storm,
The wise likewise are unaffected by praise or blame.

The most dangerous liars are those who think they are telling the truth.

Happiness is not ready made but only comes from your own actions.

Sometimes it is better to be kind than right.

A patient heart that listens can be better than an intelligent mind that speaks.

Thousands of candles can be lit from one and the life of that candle is not shortened.
Happiness never decreases by being shared.

‘Tis better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles because that victory is yours alone.
It can never be taken from you. 

Peace comes from within.  Do not seek it without.

You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.

I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done.

Attempt the end and never doubt, nothing’s so hard that your search won’t find out.

Even an overflowing jug was filled drop by drop.

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.

Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.

Live to give, not just to get.

Worrying does not erase tomorrow’s troubles but does take away today’s peace.

Avoid a negative personal balance with those who withdraw more than they deposit.
Close the account. 

Why fit in if you were born to stand out?

Be who you are because those who matter don’t mind and those who mind don’t matter. 

Life is short, live it.
Anger is harmful, dump it.
Fear is scary, challenge it.
Memories are sweet, cherish them. 

Everything which is not forbidden is allowed.  (Democracy)
Everything which is not allowed is forbidden.  (Limits on elected officials)
Everything is allowed even if it is forbidden.  (Anarchy)
Everything is forbidden, even that which is expressly allowed.  (Communism)
Everything that is not forbidden is compulsory.  (Totalitarianism)  
Everything is allowed after giving a bribe.  (Kleptocracy)

That which must be done eventually might as well be done immediately.

The best form of wisdom is kindness.

Your smile is your logo.
Your personality your business card.
How you leave people feeling your trademark.

What got you here won’t necessarily get you there.

We’re all in this alone.
But you are never alone if you like who you are alone with.

THE MAN WHO DOES NOT READ GOOD BOOKS HAS NO
ADVANTAGE OVER THOSE WHO CANNOT READ THEM.

Man sacrifices his health to make money then sacrifices his money to restore his health.
He is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present and therefore lives fitfully in neither.
He lives as if he will never die and then dies having never really lived.

Life is largely a matter of expectation.

Be the change you seek to create.

Work is a fool’s destiny.

Don’t look back for long unless you plan to go that way. 

Enthusiasm is key to creating great things.

Elegance is a beauty that never fades.

Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.

Clear eyes with full hearts can’t lose.

We are what we aren’t.

Every day may not be great but there is something great in every day.

Laugh more, worry less.

You can complain about what’s wrong but don’t forget to also appreciate what’s right.

Freedom is knowing when to let go of the things you are not.

Negative thoughts will not give you a positive life.

Seeking success without hard work is like trying to harvest what you have not planted.

Success trains,
Failure complains.

Success is largely a function of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. 

If you can’t deal with change, be prepared to deal with irrelevance.
If you can’t deal with change, be sure to use a credit or debit card.

You’re only young once but can be immature forever. 

Prices fluctuate more than values – so therein lies opportunity.

If history books were the key to riches, the Forbes 400 would consist of librarians.

Good positions don’t win (chess) games; good moves do.

It isn’t the mountains you climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.

Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.

Who seeks shall find.

Good better best, never let it rest,
until your good is your better, and your better is your best.

Excuses don’t solve problems.

Don’t major in minor things.

It is unwise to be sure of one’s own wisdom.

Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.

The soft stuff is the hard stuff.

What is understood need not be explained.

Health = wealth.

I may have a hard day but never a bad day.

You won’t know if the juice was worth the squeeze until you drink the juice.

Some people drink from the fountain of knowledge.  Others just gargle.

A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline.

If it doesn’t challenge you it won’t change you.

Set your goals high enough to inspire you and low enough to encourage you.

Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.

What you get by achieving goals is less important than what you become by doing so.

There are three types of people:  sheep, sheepdogs, and wolves.

Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties. 

The only way to have enough is to master the art of being satisfied.

Democracy gives you the right to be wrong.

A democracy has the law as king, not the king as law. 

Customers don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Customers don’t expect perfection but they do expect you to fix it when it goes wrong.

The employer just handles the money, the customer pays the wages.

Society prepares the crime that the criminal commits.

Innovation is rewarded, execution is worshiped.

If you buy things you do not need you may end up selling things you do need.

Statistics are a lot like a bikini, they reveal much but still hide the most important parts.

Collaboration is not consensus.

You don’t learn to walk by following rules; 
You learn by falling, standing up and trying again. 

Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.

Everybody incapable of learning has taken to teaching. 

Education discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of knowledge.

Revenue is vanity; profit is sanity.

One who is thoroughly satisfied is not likely fully successful.

When opportunity comes it’s too late to prepare.

Everyone has his days but some last longer than others.

It’s amazing what can be accomplished if no one cares who receives the credit.  

Be where your feet are.
Be quick but don’t hurry.

Don’t judge your insides by another’s outsides. 

Never answer an anonymous letter.

Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical.

Avoid making too many wrong mistakes.

You are not truly rich unless you enrich others.

If you want happiness for an hour — take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day — go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year — inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime — help someone else.

Happiness is like a kiss. You must share it to enjoy it.
Happiness is not the absence of problems, it’s the ability to deal with them.

The race is not always to the swift or the battle to the strong.
Nor does food come to the wise, wealth to the brilliant, or favor to the learned.
But rather time and chance happen to them all.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Two wrongs don’t make a right, 
But two Wrights can make an airplane.

Two wrongs don’t make a right, but three rights make a left.

Don’t make champagne promises with beer money.

Democracy is the art of running the circus from the monkey cage.

Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.

Politicians promise to build a bridge even when there is no river. 

Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.

An honest politician is one who, when bought, stays bought.

The best way to predict the future is to invent it yourself.

Power is like fire:  It can be very useful but also very dangerous.

Sunshine is better than moonshine.

You should never truly lose.
You either win or learn.

A ship is safest at shore but that is not what it’s built for.

The best source of knowledge is experience.

Logic will take you from A to B.
Imagination can take you anywhere.

Life is like riding a bicycle.
To keep your balance you must keep moving forward.

The fountain of youth is the right mixture of grin and tonic.

The secret of eternal youth is arrested development.

In unity there is victory.

Hot enthusiasm can melt many a cold prospect.

Hard work without meaning is like a prison sentence.

No valleys, no mountaintops. 

The years teach much that the days never know.

How many things must happen to you before something occurs to you?

Virtue is the fountain from which honor springs.

On a two way street a one way dialogue is inadequate. 

Sticks in a bundle can become unbreakable. 

Individually, we are one drop but together we can be an ocean.

You can make more people your friends by becoming interested in them
than by trying to get them interested in you.

Knowledge of a fact differs from knowing the reason it exists.

You can’t achieve something new by doing something old.

Expressing words of gratitude is not the same as living by such words. 

Nothing ages faster than the future.

Focus on the input, not the output.

Many have the will to win, few have the will to prepare to.

The difference between players and champions?
Champions train thru the boredom.

Don’t be sad that something great has ended, 
Instead be glad that it happened.

A good leader knows the rules,
A great leader breaks them.

If you correct a fool you are admonished;
If you correct a sage you are admired.

If you can’t grow it, buy it.

In matters of style swim with the tide;
In matters of principle stand like a rock.

Buy nice or buy twice.

You can’t negotiate with a tiger when your head is in its mouth.

The lion cares not for the sheep’s opinion.

The source of fear is the future, so once freed of the future you can be fearless.

The only reason people want to be masters of the future is to change the past.

Common sense is not common action.

True humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.

True patriotism is supporting your country even when your government does not deserve it.

Use the brain you have as well as the ones you can borrow.

No one’s memory is good enough to be a successful liar. 

Democracy is a set of principles, not just a form of government.

A few good men is far better than many indifferent ones.

‘Tis better to offer no excuse than a bad one.

One cool judgement is worth a thousand hasty counsels. 

Leaders should be guided not by temporary excitement but by sober secondary thought.

We cannot enjoy the comfort of firm opinions without the discomfort of clear thought.   

Nothing is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. 

Whoever is careless of the truth in small things cannot be trusted with big things. 

Character is a tree and reputation its shadow;
The tree is real and the shadow is what we think of it.

Peace is not the absence of all conflict, but rather the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.

There is nothing new except the history you do not know.

History teaches but has few pupils. 

Better to be one person’s shot of whiskey than everyone’s cup of tea.

Think big to go small.

Failure and innovation are two sides of the same coin.

Without data you’re just another person with an opinion.

All who wander are not lost.
All who wonder are not unsure.

Men marry women with the idea they won’t change;
Women marry men with the idea they will change.  

We may have all come in different ships,
but we are in the same boat now.

There is no such thing as a good war or a bad peace.

To have peace you must prepare for war.

Our mistakes make our fate.

Maybes are for babies.

To win, you must go all in.

Judge intelligence by imagination, not knowledge.

It don’t matter how slow you go, just don’t stop,

A great act often consists of small deeds.

Experience tells us what to do, 
Confidence allows us to do it.

Efficiency is doing the thing right,
Effectiveness is doing the right thing.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Any fool can make things bigger and more complex,
but it takes genius and courage to move in the opposite direction.

Trust is the daughter of time.
So is rust.  They are fraternal twins.

History may not always repeat itself,
But it often rhymes.

Judge intelligence by imagination, not just knowledge.

It doesn’t matter how slow you go,
Just don’t stop.

A great act may consist of many small deeds.

Even small deeds can require great care.

Experience tells us what to do,
Confidence allows us to do it.

You can’t change the direction of the wind,
But you can change the direction of your sail.

You first must see it in your mind,
To make it appear in your hand.

Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.

Everyone may be entitled to their own opinion but not their own facts. 

Punch first, punch hard, and keep on punching.

The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf. 

Taxpaying isn’t gamesmanship, it’s citizenship. 

Momentum stocks “take the escalator up and the elevator down.”
It might be more accurate to say they take the elevator down — with its cables cut.

Over an investing lifetime, the price of long-term gain is short-term pain.

The most important organ for investing is the stomach, not the brain.

If you act in haste you may lament in leisure.

If you chase two rabbits you will catch neither.

A politician thinks about the next election,
A states-person thinks about the next generation.

Lost time is never found again (but lost watches are sometimes located.)

Don’t stumble over something behind you.

If you always are the smartest person in the room you need to find another room.

Spiders united can tie down a lion.

You can win the Daytona 500 on fumes or lose with a full tank.
That’s the nature of auto racing, politics, and life.

Genius ain’t nothing more than elegant common sense.

Everything is impossible until it happens.

To be a good leader, first be a servant.

Like man, like state. (Plato’s Republic)

Character is the decisive factor in the lives of individuals
and nations alike.

If there is to be another contest for national existence, the dividing line
will not be Mason & Dixon but instead between patriotism and intelligence
on one side and superstition, ambition, and ignorance on the other. (Ulysses S. Grant)

One must never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion. (DDE)

Nations fail more often from internal rot than external invasion. (Lincoln)

A speaker should stop talking five minutes before the audience stops listening.

First they ignore you.
Then they mock you.
Then they fight you.
Then you triumph.

Always do (or try to do) what you are afraid of.

The current Court has sided with the prosecution over the defendant,
the strong over the weak, the executive branch over Congress, and the
corporation over the individual.

Circumstances will make you or break you.

Many are called, but few are chosen.

He knows a lot about everything, but little about anything.

Faith is not the absence of reason.

Every day may not be good, but there is good in every day.

What you do is more important than how you feel.
What you feel is more important than your thoughts.

Whether you think you can or cannot, you’re right.

Politics is Hollywood for unattractive people.

If you’re lonely when alone, you’re in bad company.

Don’t act above, don’t act below, act beside.

Reading makes a full person,
Conference a ready person, and
Writing an exact one. 

Some dream of fortunes, others just fortune cookies. 

There may be no I in team, but there is in win.

All truths are easy to understand once they are
discovered; the point is to discover them.