Whatever you dwell on in the conscious grows in your experience.
—Brian Tracy (b.1944) American Author, Motivational Speaker
In youth we learn; in age we understand.
—Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830–1916) Austrian Novelist
Writing is another powerful way to sharpen the mental saw. Keeping a journal of our thoughts, experiences, insights, and learnings promotes mental clarity, exactness, and context.
—Stephen Covey (1932–2012) American Self-help Author
Experience isn’t interesting until it begins to repeat itself—in fact, till it does that, it hardly is experience.
—Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973) Irish Novelist, Short-story Writer
Experience teaches only the teachable.
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English Humanist, Pacifist, Essayist, Short Story Writer, Satirist
It is really true what philosophy tells us, that life must be understood backwards. But with this, one forgets the second proposition, that it must be lived forwards.
—Soren Kierkegaard (1813–55) Danish Philosopher, Theologian
Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression. The chasm is never completely bridged. We all have the conviction, perhaps illusory, that we have much more to say than appears on the paper.
—Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902–91) Polish-born American Children’s Books Writer, Novelist, Short Story Writer
No man was ever endowed with a judgment so correct and judicious, but that circumstances, time, and experi ence, would teach him something new, and apprise him that of those things with which he thought himself the best acquainted, he knew nothing; and that those ideas which in theory appeared the most advantageous were found, when brought into practice, to be altogether impracticable.
—Terence (c.195–159 BCE) Roman Comic Dramatist
Wisdom before experience is only words; wisdom after experience is of no avail.
—Mark Van Doren (1894–1972) American Poet, Writer, Critic
Men may rise on stepping-stones of their dead selves to higher things.
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–92) British Poet
Experience keeps a dear school; but fools will learn in no other, and scarce in that; for it is true, we may give advice, but we cannot give conduct.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
How bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man’s eyes!
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
I have learned that there is always more to learn. And experience is our greatest teacher.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
Every generous illusion of youth leaves a wrinkle as it departs. Experience is the successive disenchanting of the things of life; it is reason enriched with the heart’s spoils.
—Jean Antoine Petit-Senn (1792–1870) Swiss Poet
Experience is the extract of suffering.
—Arthur Helps (1813–75) English Dramatist, Essayist
Growing up is, after all, only the understanding that one’s unique and incredible experience is what every one shares.
—Doris Lessing (1919–2013) British Novelist, Poet
Experience is a great advantage. The problem is that when you get the experience, you’re too damned old to do anything about it.
—Jimmy Connors (b.1952) American Sportsperson
There is only one thing more painful than learning from experience and that is not learning from experience.
—Archibald MacLeish (1892–1982) American Poet, Dramatist
When you realize that suffering and discomfort are the call to inquiry, you may actually begin to look forward to uncomfortable feelings. You may even experience them as friends coming to show you what you have not yet investigated thoroughly enough.
—Byron Katie (b.1942) American Speaker, Author
The better part of courage is the courage of having done the thing before.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
I am still determined to be cheerful and happy,
in whatever situation I may be; for I have also
learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness
or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.
—Martha Washington (1731–1802) American First Lady
The basic experience of everyone is the experience of human limitation.
—Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964) American Novelist
It is a pity that, as one gradually gains experience, one loses one’s youth.
—Vincent van Gogh (1853–90) Dutch Painter
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
I do not accept any absolute formulas for living. No preconceived code can see ahead to everything that can happen in a man’s life. As we live, we grow and our beliefs change. They must change. So I think we should live with this constant discovery. We should be open to this adventure in heightened awareness of living. We should stake our whole existence on our willingness to explore and experience.
—Martin Buber (1878–1965) Austrian Jewish Theologian, Philosopher, Novelist
What one has not experienced, one will never understand in print.
—Isadora Duncan (1877–1927) American Dancer, Choreographer
Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.
—Rita Mae Brown (b.1944) American Writer, Feminist
He who has been bitten by a snake fears a piece of string.
—Persian Proverb
The best way to suppose what may come is to remember what is past.
—George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax (1633–95) British Statesman, Writer, Politician
Women have been conditioned to believe that to be powerful is unfeminine and unattractive. It is my experience that nothing could be further from the truth.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look at fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along”. You must do the think you think you cannot do.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American First Lady, Diplomat, Humanitarian
The trouble with experience is that by the time you have it you are too old to take advantage of it.
—Jimmy Connors (b.1952) American Sportsperson
The point to remember is that when you blame any outside force for any of your experience of life, you are literally giving away all your power and thus creating pain, paralysis and depression.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
Can you really explain to a fish what it’s like to walk on land? One day on land is worth a thousand years of talking about it, and one day running a business has exactly the same kind of value.
—Warren Buffett (b.1930) American Investor
Experience, like a pale musician, holds a dulcimer of patience in his hand.
—Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–61) English Poet
If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience!
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
Experience is something I always think I have until I get more of it.
—Burton Hillis (William E. Vaughan) (1915–77) American Columnist, Author
Even a high experience is worth nothing, when not polished and kept warm.
—Hans Taeger
I had a lot of experience with people smarter than I am.
—Gerald Ford (1913–2006) American Head of State
Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
—Franklin P. Jones
Experience teaches slowly and at the cost of mistakes.
—James Anthony Froude (1818–94) British Historian, Novelist, Biographer, Editor
My experience has taught me, and it has become a principle with me, that it is never any benefit to give out and out, to man or woman, money, food, clothing, or anything else, if they are able-bodied and can work and earn what they need, when there is anything on earth for them to do. This is my principle and I try to act upon it. To pursue a contrary course would ruin any community in the world and make them idlers.
—Brigham Young (1801–77) American Mormon Leader
The great thing about experience is that you can’t borrow it, buy it or steal it, you must earn it.
—Unknown
Experience is the name men give to their follies or their sorrows.
—Alfred de Musset (1810–57) French Dramatist, Poet, Novelist
I try to avoid experience if I can. Most experience is bad.
—E. L. Doctorow (b.1931) American Writer, Editor, Academic
We can have in life but one great experience at best, and the secret of life is to reproduce that experience as often as possible.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.
—Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) French Sculptor
One is taught by experience to put a premium on those few people who can appreciate you for what you are.
—Gail Godwin (b.1937) American Novelist, Short Story Writer
Frozen in fear, you avoid responsibility because you think your experience is beyond your control. This stance keeps you from making decisions, solving problems, or going after what you want in life.
—David Emerald
Wisdom is the daughter of experience.
—Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Polymath, Painter, Sculptor, Inventor, Architect
The cat, having sat upon a hot stove lid, will not sit upon a hot stove lid again. But he won’t sit upon a cold stove lid, either.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
It is important to expect nothing, to take every experience, including the negative ones, as merely steps on the path, and to proceed.
—Ram Dass (1931–2019) American Hindu, New Age Pioneer
We are often prophets to others, only because we are our own historians.
—Sophie Swetchine (1782–1857) Russian Mystic, Writer
I’ve watched a lot of mid-career people, and Yogi Berra says you can observe a lot just by watching. I’ve concluded that most people enjoy learning and growing. And many are dearly troubled by the self-assessments of mid-career. Such self-assessments are no great problem at your age. You’re young and moving up. The drama of your own rise is enough. But when you reach middle age, when your energies aren’t what they used to be, then you’ll begin to wonder what it all added up to; you’ll begin to look for the figure in the carpet of your life. I have some simple advice for you when you begin that process. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Look ahead. Someone said that Life is the art of drawing without an eraser. And above all don’t imagine that the story is over. Life has a lot of chapters.
—John W. Gardner (1912–2002) American Government Official, Political leader
We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.
—Unknown
The experiences of camp life show that a man does have a choice of action. There were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which proved that apathy could be overcome, irritability suppressed. Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress. We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s way. The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity—even in the most difficult circumstances—to add a deeper meaning to life.
—Viktor Frankl (1905–97) Austrian Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist
Experience is the best teacher.
—Common Proverb
And if my heart be scarred and burned, the safer, I, for all I learned.
—Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) American Humorist, Journalist
There is only one purpose for all of life, and that is for you and all that lives to experience fullest glory…everything else you say, think, or do is attendant to that function. There is nothing else for your soul to do, and nothing else your soul wants to do.
—Neale Donald Walsch (b.1943) American Spiritual Writer
The fool knows after he’s suffered.
—Hesiod (f.700 BCE) Greek Poet
No experience is a cause of success or failure. We do not suffer from the shock of our experiences so-called trauma – but we make out of them just what suits our purposes.
—Alfred Adler (1870–1937) Austrian Psychiatrist
One thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning.
—James Russell Lowell (1819–91) American Poet, Critic
No matter how vital experience might be while you lived it, no sooner was it ended and dead than it became as lifeless as the piles of dry dust in a school history book.
—Ellen Glasgow (1873–1945) American Novelist
When I was young I was sure of everything; in a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as I was before; at present, I am hardly sure of anything but what God has revealed.
—John Wesley (1703–91) British Methodist Religious Leader, Preacher, Theologian
Given the choice between the experience of pain and nothing, I would choose pain.
—William Faulkner (1897–1962) American Novelist
It is not necessary that you leave the house. Remain at your table and listen. Do not even listen, only wait. Do not even wait, be wholly still and alone. The world will present itself to you for its unmasking, it can do no other, in ecstasy it will writhe at your feet.
—Franz Kafka (1883–1924) Austrian Novelist, Short Story Writer
I think we are a product of all our experiences.
—Sanford I. Weill (b.1933) American Financier, Philanthropist
The spectacles of experience; through them you will see clearly a second time.
—Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) Norwegian Playwright
Fooled once shame on you, fooled twice shame on me.
—U.S. Proverb
Experience is the mother of wisdom.
—Common Proverb
Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and beginning all over again.
—Andre Gide (1869–1951) French Novelist
Experience is a good teacher, but she sends in terrific bills.
—Minna Antrim (1861–1950) American Writer, Epigrammist
In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later.
—Harold S. Geneen (1910–1997) British-American Businessman
It took me years to understand that words are often as important as experience, because words make experience last
—William Morris (1834–96) British Designer, Craftsman, Poet, Writer
The notion of a universality of human experience is a confidence trick and the notion of a universality of female experience is a clever confidence trick.
—Angela Carter (1940–92) English Novelist
Ask the experienced rather than the learned.
—Arabic Proverb
The man who views the world at fifty the same as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.
—Muhammad Ali (1942–2016) American Sportsperson
Experience is the only prophecy of wise men.
—Alphonse de Lamartine (1790–1869) French Poet, Politician, Historian
Men are wise in proportion, not to their experience, but to their capacity for experience.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
No man was ever so completely skilled in the conduct of life, as not to receive new information from age and experience.
—Terence (c.195–159 BCE) Roman Comic Dramatist
Experience is the child of thought, and thought is the child of action. We cannot learn men from books.
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81) British Head of State
Experience is the best of schoolmasters, only the school fees are heavy.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
In long experience I find that a man who trusts nobody is apt to be the kind of man nobody trusts.
—Harold Macmillan (1894–1986) British Head of State
We have two lives – the one we learn with and the life we live after that.
—Bernard Malamud (1914–86) American Novelist, Short Story Writer
The wisdom of the wise and the experience of ages may be preserved by quotation.
—Isaac D’Israeli (1766–1848) English Writer, Scholar
A burnt child dreads the fire.
—English Proverb
Experience is one thing you can’t get for nothing.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
The results of life are uncalculated and uncalculable. The years teach much which the days never know. The persons who compose our company, converse, and come and go, and design and execute many things, and somewhat comes of it all, but an unlooked for result. The individual is always mistaken. He designed many things, and drew in other persons as coadjutors, quarrelled with some or all, blundered much, and something is done; all are a little advanced, but the individual is always mistaken. It turns out somewhat new, and very unlike what he promised himself.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Experience is a safe light to walk by, and he is not a rash man who expects success in the future by the same means which secured it in the past.
—Wendell Phillips (1811–84) American Abolitionist, Lawyer, Orator
Many a man in love with a dimple makes the mistake of marrying the whole girl.
—Stephen Leacock (1869–1944) Canadian Political Scientist, Humorist
Almost all of the world-class athletes and other peak performers are visualizers. They see it; they feel it; they experience it before they actually do it. They begin with the end in mind.
—Stephen Covey (1932–2012) American Self-help Author
Experience is what you get looking for something else.
—Mary Pettibone Poole American Aphorist
In times of rapid change, experience could be your worst enemy.
—J. Paul Getty (1892–1976) American Business Person, Art Collector, Philanthropist
It is foolish to try to live on past experience. It is a very dangerous, if not a fatal habit to judge ourselves to be safe because of something that we felt or did twenty years ago.
—Charles Spurgeon (1834–92) English Baptist Preacher
Everything I know I learned after I was thirty.
—Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929) French Head of State, Physician, Publisher, Political leader
Experience proves that none is so cruel as the disillusioned sentimentalist
—William Motter Inge (1913–73) American Playwright, Novelist
A happy childhood is poor preparation for human contacts.
—Colette (1873–1954) French Novelist, Performer
Religious experiences which are as real as life to some may be incomprehensible to others.
—William O. Douglas (1898–1980) American Judge
If there is something you choose to experience in your life, do not “want” it—choose it.
—Neale Donald Walsch (b.1943) American Spiritual Writer
What I like about experience is that it is such an honest thing. You may take any number of wrong turnings; but keep your eyes open and you will not be allowed to go very far before the warning signs appear. You may have deceived yourself, but experience is not trying to deceive you. The universe rings true wherever you fairly test it.
—C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) Irish-born British Academic, Author, Literary Scholar
In my experience, there’s only one thing that will always steer you toward success: That’s to have a vision and to stick with it… Once I have a vision for a new venture, I’m going to ride that vision until the wheels come off.
—Russell Simmons (b.1957) American Music Promoter