Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it.
—Bill Cosby (b.1937) American Actor, Comedian, Activist, Producer, Author
My definition of financial freedom is simple: it is the ability to live the lifestyle you desire without having to work or rely on anyone else for money.
—T. Harv Eker (b.1954) American Motivational Speaker, Lecturer, Author
Unbridled gratification produces unbridled desire.
—Common Proverb
The desire for success lubricates secret prostitution’s in the soul.
—Norman Mailer (1923–2007) American Novelist Essayist
Wealth and rank are what people desire, but unless they are obtained in the right way they may not be possessed.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire.
—James Montgomery (1771–1854) English Hymn writer, Poet, Editor, Humanitarian
Large desire is endless poverty.
—Indian Proverb
Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, and no trust.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
One of the most difficult things everyone has to learn is that for your entire life you must keep fighting and adjusting if you hope to survive. No matter who you are or what your position is you must keep fighting for whatever it is you desire to achieve.
—George E. Allen (1896–1973) American Sportsperson
Those who really desire to attain an independence, have only set their minds upon it, and adopt the proper means, as they do in regard to any other object which they wish to accomplish, and the thing is easily done.
—P. T. Barnum (1810–91) American Businessperson, Entertainer
Seek not proud wealth; but such as thou mayest get justly, use soberly, distribute cheerfully, and leave contentedly, yet have not any abstract or friarly contempt of it.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
However rich or elevated we may be, a nameless something is always wanting to our imperfect fortune.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
If your desires be endless, your cares and fears will be so, too.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
The more clear you are on what you want, the more power you will have.
—Unknown
The desire of power in excess caused angels to fall; the desire of knowledge in excess caused man to fall; but in charity is no excess, neither can man or angels come into danger by it.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
The secret of happiness is to admire without desiring. And that is not happiness.
—F. H. Bradley (1846–1924 ) British Idealist Philosopher
Let us train our minds to desire what the situation demands.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
Just imagine you’re four years old, and someone makes the following proposal: If you’ll wait until after he runs an errand, you can have two marshmallows for a treat. If you can’t wait until then, you can have only one—but you can have it right now. It is a challenge sure to try the soul of any four-year-old, a microcosm of the eternal battle between impulse and restraint, id and ego, desire and self-control, gratification and delay… There is perhaps no psychological skill more fundamental than resisting impulse. It is the root of all emotional self-control, since all emotions, by their very nature, led to one or another impulse to act.
—Daniel Goleman (b.1946) American Psychologist, Author, Science Journalist
Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.
—Jim Rohn (1930–2009) American Entrepreneur, Author, Motivational Speaker
Dwell not upon thy weariness, thy strength shall be according to the measure of thy desire.
—Arabic Proverb
The more wild and incredible your desire, the more willing and prompt God is in fulfilling it, if you will have it so.”
—Coventry Patmore (1823–96) English Poet, Critic
Every time I look at you I get a fierce desire to be lonesome.
—Oscar Levant (1906–72) American Musician, Composer, Author, Comedian, Actor
We trifle when we assign limits to our desires, since nature hath set none.
—Christian Nestell Bovee (1820–1904) American Writer, Aphorist
The way you create any outcome in your life is to hold the vision of your deepest desires. At the same time, though, you must honestly and accurately assess your current situation and how it relates to your greater vision. By doing this, you engage tension between what is and what can be. This tension is the primary creative force behind the manifestation of any outcome. It’s as natural and powerful as the force of gravity.
—David Emerald
Where there is no power… there is never any desire to do a thing; and where there is strong desire to do a thing… the power to do it is strong.
—Wallace Wattles (1860–1911) American New Thought Author
It is the soul’s duty to be loyal to its own desires. It must abandon itself to its master passion.
—Rebecca West (1892–1983) English Author, Journalist, Literary Critic
The Coach is the antidote to the Victim’s Rescuer in the DDT…Mainly, a Coach supports, assists, and facilitates the Creator in manifesting a desired outcome. A Coach holds others to be whole, resourceful, and creative…They help you dig deep inside yourself to gain clarity about what you want to create in your life.
—David Emerald
Some people wanted champagne and caviar when they should have had beer and hot dogs.
—Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) American Head of State, Military Leader
I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the principal source of success in life. Since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone. The key is to develop inner peace.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (b.1935) Tibetan Buddhist Religious Leader, Civil Rights Leader, Philosopher, Author
I learned that if you want to make it bad enough, no matter how bad it is, you can make it.
—Gale Sayers (1943–2020) American Football Player
Nothing is impossible; there are ways that lead to everything, and if we had sufficient will we should always have sufficient means. It is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
Our nature is inseparable from desires, and the very word desire—the craving for something not possessed—implies that our present felicity is not complete.
—Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) English Political Philosopher
The beginning of pride and hatred lies in worldly desire, and the strength of your desire if from habit. When an evil tendency becomes confirmed by habit, rage is triggered when anyone restrains you.
—Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207–73) Persian Muslim Mystic
To know what you prefer, instead of humbly saying “Amen” to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to keep your soul alive.
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94) Scottish Novelist
A burning desire is the greatest motivator of every human action. The desire for success implants “success consciousness” which, in turn, creates a vigorous and ever-increasing “habit of success.”
—Paul J. Meyer
Dreams do come true, if we only wish hard enough, You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it.
—J. M. Barrie (1860–1937) Scottish Novelist, Dramatist
It sometimes seems that we have only to love a thing greatly to get it.
—Robert Collier (1885–1950) American Self-Help Author
A human being has a natural desire to have more of a good thing than he needs.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
I recognize thart even you, yourself, will change. Your ideals will change, your tastes will change, your desires will change. Your whole understandings of who you are had better change, because if it doesn’t change, you’ve become a very static personality over a great many years, and nothing would displease me more. And so I recognize that the process of evolution will produce changes in you.
—Neale Donald Walsch (b.1943) American Spiritual Writer
Man is a creation of desire, not a creation of need.
—Gaston Bachelard (1884–1962) French Philosopher, Psychoanalyst, Poet
Which 20% of sources are causing 80% of my problems and unhappiness? Which 20% of sources are resulting in 80% of my desired outcomes and happiness?
—Tim Ferriss (b.1977) American Self-help Author
All victims have experienced a loss—a thwarted desire or aspiration—even if they’re not aware of it.
—David Emerald
If you desire a thing, picture it clearly and hold the picture steadily in mid until it becomes a definite thought-form.
—Wallace Wattles (1860–1911) American New Thought Author
There’s nothing capricious in nature, and the implanting of a desire indicates that its gratification is in the constitution of the creature that feels it.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Desire of having is the sin of covetousness.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Can anything be so elegant as to have few wants, and to serve them one’s self?
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
The fewer our wants the more we resemble the Gods.
—Socrates (469BCE–399BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher
To educate the intelligence is to expand the horizon of its wants and desires.
—James Russell Lowell (1819–91) American Poet, Critic
Desire! That’s the one secret of every man’s career. Not education. Not being born with hidden talents. Desire.
—Bobby Unser (1934–2021) American Automobile Racer