The man who said he never had a chance never took one.
—Unknown
Events of great consequence often spring from trifling circumstances.
—Livy (Titus Livius) (59 BCE–17 CE) Roman Historian
Those who trust to chance must abide by the results of chance. They have no legitimate complaint against anyone but themselves.
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933) American Head of State, Lawyer
Circumstances are the rulers of the weak; they are but the instruments of the wise.
—Samuel Lover (1797–1868) Anglo-Irish Writer, Artist, Songwriter
The race is not [always] to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
Be not too presumptuously sure in any business; for things of this world depend on such a train of unseen chances that if it were in man’s hands to set the tables, still he would not be certain to win the game.
—George Herbert (1593–1633) Welsh Anglican Poet, Orator, Clergyman
Chance is a word devoid of sense, nothing can exist without a cause.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.
—Mary Tyler Moore (b.1936) American Actor, TV Personality
To get anywhere, or even live a long time, a man has to guess, and guess right, over and over again, without enough data for a logical answer.
—Robert A. Heinlein (1907–88) American Science Fiction Writer
Chance never write a legible book; never built a fair house; never drew a neat picture; never did any of these things, nor ever will; nor can it, without absurdity, be supposed to do them, which are yet works very gross and rude, and very easy and feasible, as it were, in comparison to the production of a flower or a tree.
—Isaac Barrow
Grab a chance and you won’t be sorry for a might have been.
—Arthur Ransome (1884–1967) English Journalist, Children’s Writer
Men’s activities are occupied into ways—in grappling with external circumstances and in striving to set things at one in their own topsy-turvy mind.
—William James (1842–1910) American Philosopher, Psychologist, Physician
If you have a dream, give it a chance to happen.
—Richard DeVos (1926–2018) American Businessman, Philanthropist
Many a happiness in life, as many a disaster, can be due to chance, but the peace within us can never be governed by chance.
—Maurice Maeterlinck (1862–1949) Belgian Poet, Playwright, Essayist
A coincidence is a small miracle in which God chooses to remain anonymous.
—Unknown
The roulette table pays nobody except him that keeps it. Nevertheless a passion for gaming is common, though a passion for keeping roulette tables is unknown.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
Those who wait until all the lights are on green before starting will never leave home.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
I’ve always made a total effort, even when the odds seemed entirely against me. I never quit trying; I never felt that I didn’t have a chance to win.
—Arnold Palmer (b.1929) American Sportsperson
Nothing important was ever achieved without someone taking a chance.
—H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (b.1940) American Self-Help Author
Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.
—Bill Gates (b.1955) American Businessperson, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Author
If you’re proactive, you don’t have to wait for circumstances or other people to create perspective expanding experiences. You can consciously create your own.
—Stephen Covey (1932–2012) American Self-help Author
Gambling is the child of avarice, the brother of iniquity, and the father of mischief.
—George Washington (1732–99) American Head of State, Military Leader
There is no such thing as chance or accident; the words merely signify our ignorance of some real and immediate cause.
—Adam Clarke (1762–1832) British Methodist Scholar, Theologian, Clergyman
The mines of knowledge are often laid bare by the hazel-wand of chance.
—Martin Farquhar Tupper (1810–89) English Poet, Writer
One who waits for chance may wait a year.
—African Proverb
Chance corrects us of many faults that reason would not know how to correct.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
How often events, by chance, and unexpectedly, come to pass, which you had not dared even to hope for!
—Terence (c.195–159 BCE) Roman Comic Dramatist
A wise man turns chance into good fortune.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes.
—Unknown