Destiny: A tyrant’s authority for crime and a fool’s excuse for failure.
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1913) American Short-story Writer, Journalist
No wind favors him who has no destined port.
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) French Essayist
Hanging and Riving goes by destiny.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
How true it is that our destinies are decided by nothings and that a small imprudence helped by some insignificant accident, as an acorn is fertilized by a drop of rain, may raise the trees on which perhaps we and others shall be crucified.
—Henri Frederic Amiel (1821–81) Swiss Moral Philosopher, Poet, Critic
Whatever you habitually think yourself to be, that you are. You must form, now, a greater and better habit; you must form a conception of yourself as a being of limitless power, and habitually think that you are that being. It is the habitual, not the periodical thought that decides your destiny.
—Wallace Wattles (1860–1911) American New Thought Author
We sow our thoughts and reap our actions. We sow our actions and reap our habits. We sow our habits and reap our character. We sow our character, and we reap our destiny.
—Unknown
‘Tis all a chequerboard of nights and days Where Destiny with men for pieces plays: Hither and thither moves, and mates, and slays, And one by one back in the closet lays.
—Omar Khayyam (1048–1123) Persian Mathematician
The destiny of man is in his own soul.
—Herodotus (c.485–425 BCE) Ancient Greek Historian
The clew of our destiny, wander where we will, lies at the foot of the cradle.
—Jean Paul (1763–1825) German Novelist, Humorist
It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
No cause has he to say his doom is harsh, who’s made the master of his destiny.
—Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) German Poet, Dramatist
I knew what my job was; it was to go out and meet the people and love them.
—Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–97) English Royal, Humanitarian, Peace Activist
No love, no friendship can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark on it forever.
—Francois Mauriac (1885–1970) French Novelist
A word, a look, an accent, may affect the destiny not only of individuals, but of nations. He is a bold man who calls anything a trifle.
—Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) Scottish-American Industrialist
The destiny of any nation at any given time depends on the opinion of its young people, those under twenty-five.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
Thoughts lead on to purpose, purpose leads onto actions, actions form habits, habits decide character, and character fixes our destiny.
—Tryon Edwards (1809–94) American Theologian, Author
That which is not allotted the hand cannot reach; and what is allotted you will find wherever you may be.
—Sa’Di (Musharrif Od-Din Muslih Od-Din) (c.1213–91) Persian Poet
They who talk much of destiny, their birth-star, etc., are in a lower dangerous plane, and invite the evil they fear.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
That which God writes on thy forehead, thou wilt come to it.
—The Holy Quran Sacred Scripture of Islam
Destiny is our will, and our will is nature.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently.
—Agnes de Mille (1905–93) American Dancer, Choreographer
No man of woman born, coward or brave, can shun his destiny.
—Homer (751–651 BCE) Ancient Greek Poet
Death and life have their determined appointments; riches and honors depend upon heaven.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
A consistent soul believes in destiny, a capricious one in chance.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
To accomplish our destiny it is not enough to merely guard prudently against road accidents. We must also cover before nightfall the distance assigned to each of us.
—Alexis Carrel (1873–1944) American Surgeon, Biologist
More than anything else, I believe it’s our decisions, not the conditions of our lives, that determine our destiny.
—Tony Robbins (b.1960) American Self-Help Author, Entrepreneur
Man supposes that he directs his life and governs his actions, when his existence is irretrievably under the control of destiny.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
What do I know of man’s destiny? I could tell you more about radishes.
—Samuel Beckett (1906–1989) Irish Novelist, Playwright
Control your destiny or somebody else will.
—Jack Welch (1935–2020) American Businessperson
Anatomy is destiny.
—Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) Austrian Psychiatrist, Psychoanalytic
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