Great ability develops and reveals itself increasingly with every new assignment.
—Baltasar Gracian (1601–58) Spanish Scholar, Prose Writer
Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
—Robert A. Heinlein (1907–88) American Science Fiction Writer
If you doubt you can accomplish something, then you can’t accomplish it. You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.
—Rosalynn Carter (b.1927) American Humanitarian, First Lady
The ablest men in all walks of modern life are men of faith. Most of them have much more faith than they themselves realize.
—Bruce Fairchild Barton (1886–1967) American Author, Advertising Executive, Politician
The Creator has not given you a longing to do that which you have no ability to do.
—Orison Swett Marden (1850–1924) American New Thought Writer, Physician, Entrepreneur
To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life.
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94) Scottish Novelist
You can do what you have to do, and sometimes you can do it even better than you think you can.
—Jimmy Carter (b.1924) American Head of State, Military Leader
To know how to hide one’s ability is great skill.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
I am no longer what I was. I will remain what I have become.
—Coco Chanel (1883–1971) French Fashion Designer
Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.
—John Wooden (1910–2010) American Sportsperson
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
Not because of any extraordinary talents did he succeed, but because he had a capacity on a level for business and not above it.
—Tacitus (56–117) Roman Orator, Historian
Do a little more each day than you think you possibly can.
—Lowell Thomas (1892–1981) American Writer, Businessperson, Journalist, Radio Personality
Ability and necessity dwell near each other.
—Pythagoras (570–495 BCE) Greek Philosopher
The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
A traveller at Sparta, standing long upon one leg, said to a Lacedaemonian, “I do not believe you can do as much.” “True,” said he, “but every goose can.
—Plutarch (c.46–c.120 CE) Greek Biographer, Philosopher
A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.
—English Proverb
Too many people spend more time planning how to get the job than on how to become productive and successful in that job.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
The great law of culture is: Let each become all that he was created capable of being.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
Competence, like truth, beauty, and contact lenses, is in the eye of the beholder.
—Laurence J. Peter (1919–90) Canadian-born American Educator, Author
No great intellectual thing was ever done by great effort.
—John Ruskin (1819–1900) English Writer, Art Critic
Consider the postage stamp, my son. It secures success through its ability to stick to one thing till it gets there.
—Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw) (1818–85) American Humorist, Author, Lecturer
It is not my ability, but my response to God’s ability, that counts.
—Corrie Ten Boom (1892–1983) Dutch Jewish Humanist
I have learnt that I am me, that I can do the things that, as one might put it, me can do, but I cannot do the things that me would like to do.
—Agatha Christie (1890–1976) British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Playwright
There is no need to show your ability before everyone.
—Baltasar Gracian (1601–58) Spanish Scholar, Prose Writer
Wicked people are always surprised to find ability in those that are good.
—Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues (1715–47) French Moralist, Essayist, Writer
I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
I can feel guilty about the past, apprehensive about the future, but only in the present can I act. The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.
—Abraham Maslow (1908–70) American Psychologist, Academic, Humanist
Often the difference between a successful man and a failure is not one’s better abilities or ideas but the courage that one has to bet on his ideas, to take a calculated risk—and act.
—Maxwell Maltz (1899–1975) American Surgeon, Motivational Writer
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