No one is content with his own lot.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
I am not much an advocate for traveling, and I observe that men run away to other countries because they are not good in their own, and run back to their own because they pass for nothing in the new places. For the most part, only the light characters travel. Who are you that have no task to keep you at home?
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
I hate myself on the screen. I want to die… my voice is either too high or too gravelly. I want to dive under the carpet… I’ll love to be tall and willowy… I’m short.
—Elizabeth Taylor (1932–2011) British-born American Actress
We are long before we are convinced that happiness is never to be found; and each believes it possessed by others, to keep alive the hope of obtaining it for himself.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
The majority of America’s colossal fortunes have been made by entering industries in their early stages and developing leadership in them…. Think of what opportunities the present and the future contain in such fields as ship-building and ship-owning, aircraft, electrical development, the oil industry, different branches of the automotive industry, foreign trade, international banking, invention, the chemical industry, moving pictures, color photography, and, one night add, labor leadership.
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
My crown is in my heart, not on my head, Nor decked with diamonds and Indian stones, Nor to be seen: My crown is called content: A crown it is, that seldom kings enjoy.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Beggars do not envy millionaires, though of course they will envy other beggars who are more successful.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Mathematician, Social Critic
Money is another pressure. I’m not complaining, I’m just Saying that there’s a certain luxury in having no money. I spent 10 years in New York not having it, not worrying about it. Suddenly you have it, then you worry, where is it going? Am I doing the right thing with it?
—Dustin Hoffman (b.1937) American Actor, Filmmaker
Try as we may, none of us can be free of conflict and woe. Even the greatest men have had to accept disappointments as their daily bread…. The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing with them. Man and society must grow together. Each individual’s efforts to discipline himself must be matched by society’s struggle to enforce the rules of law and of justice under the law.
—Bernard M. Baruch (1870–1965) American Financier, Economic Consultant
Every stage of life has its troubles, and no man is content with his own age.
—Ausonius (c.309–392 CE) Latin Poet, Rhetorician
I never admired another’s fortune so much that I became dissatisfied with my own.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
The only incurable troubles of the rich are the troubles that money can’t cure.
—Ogden Nash (1902–71) American Writer of Sophisticated Light Verse
The prizes go to those who meet emergencies successfully. And the way to meet emergencies is to do each daily task the best we can; to act as though the eye of opportunity were always upon us. In the hundred-yard race the winter doesn’t cross the tape line a dozen strides ahead of the field. He wins by inches. So we find it in ordinary business life. The big things that come our way are seldom the result of long thought or careful planning, but rather they are the fruit of seed planted in the daily routine of our work.
—William Feather (1889–1981) American Publisher, Author
When a man’s busy, leisure strikes him as a wonderful pleasure; and at leisure once is he? Straightway he wants to be busy.
—Robert Browning (1812–89) English Poet
Plain women know more about men than beautiful ones do.
—Katharine Hepburn (1907–2003) American Actor, TV Personality
The lesson which life repeats and constantly enforces is ‘look under foot.’ You are always nearer the divine and the true sources of your power than you think. The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are. Do not despise your own place and hour. Every place is under the stars, every place is the center of the world.
—John Burroughs (1837–1921) American Naturalist, Writer
I want to be able to live without a crowded calendar. I want to be able to read a book without feeling guilty, or go to a concert when I like.
—Golda Meir (1898–1978) Israeli Head of State
Opportunity has power over all things.
—Sophocles (495–405 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
Oh God, don’t envy me, I have my own pains.
—Barbra Streisand (b.1942) American Musician, Actor, Songwriter
You know how many stunning women told me they can’t stand a good-looking man? … Women feel secure with an ugly guy because a man in bad shape isn’t gonna cheat.
—Jackie Mason (1928–2021) American Stand-up Comedian, Actor
The man with toothache thinks everyone happy whose teeth are sound. The poverty stricken man makes the same mistake about the rich man.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
Every day is an opportunity to make a new happy ending.
—Unknown
As you seek new opportunity, keep in mind that the sun does not usually reappear on the horizon where last seen.
—Robert Brault
It is not irritating to be where one is. It is only irritating to think one would like to be somewhere else.
—John Cage (1912–92) American Composer
There are three wants which can never be satisfied: that of the rich, who want something more; that of the sick, who want something different; and that of the traveler, who says, “Anywhere but here”.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Comparison, more than reality, makes men happy or wretched.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
He who leaves his house in search of happiness pursues a shadow.
—Unknown
Opportunity rarely knocks until you are ready. And few people have ever been really ready without receiving opportunity’s call.
—Channing Pollock (1880–1946) American Playwright, Critic
Opportunity is a parade. Even as one chance passes, the next is a fife and drum echoing in the distance.
—Robert Brault
No man can tell what the future may bring forth, and small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.
—Demosthenes (384–322 BCE) Greek Statesman, Orator
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