This is the true joy in life: Being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one, being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
We should all be obliged to appear before a board every five years, and justify our existence… on pain of liquidation.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
It’s not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something. May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, sharing what we have for the betterment of personkind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely.
—Leo Buscaglia (1924–98) American Motivational Speaker
In the real world, those of us who are most productive, successful, and satisfied focus not on fixing feelings or manipulating thoughts, but on what needs to be done—and then doing it—no matter what thoughts or feelings arise.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
Your purpose is to act on the resources God gives you. If God gives you a bucket of fish, you have to distribute those fish. If you don’t, they’re going to rot, attract a bunch of flies, and start stinking up your soul.
—Russell Simmons (b.1957) American Music Promoter
Anybody who believes in something without reservation, believes that this thing is right and should be, has the stamina to meet obstacles and overcome them.
—Golda Meir (1898–1978) Israeli Head of State
It is better by a noble boldness to run the risk of being subject to half of the evils we anticipate, than to remain in cowardly listlessness for fear of what may happen.
—Herodotus (c.485–425 BCE) Ancient Greek Historian
Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself, and know that everything in life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from.
—Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (1926-2004) American Psychiatrist
Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.
—Oprah Winfrey (b.1954) American TV Personality
Great minds have purposes; others have wishes.
—Washington Irving (1783–1859) American Essayist, Biographer, Historian
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
—Emily Dickinson (1830–86) American Poet
A person of definite character and purpose who comprehends our way of thought is sure to exert power over us. He cannot altogether be resisted; because, if he understands us, he can make us understand him, through the word, the look, or other symbol.
—Charles Cooley (1864–1929) American Sociologist
When you can live forever what do you live for?
—Stephenie Meyer (b.1973) American Novelist
Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete. If you’re alive, it isn’t.
—Richard Bach (b.1936) American Novelist, Aviator
When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.
—John Lennon (1940–80) British Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Activist
A philosophy of life: I’m an adventurer, looking for treasure.
—Paulo Coelho (b.1947) Brazilian Songwriter, Novelist
We pay a price when we deprive children of the exposure to the values, principles, and education they need to make them good citizens.
—Sandra Day O’Connor (b.1930) American Jurist
Every union for a divine purpose is destined to last.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
I don’t want to live. I want to love first, and live incidentally.
—Zelda Fitzgerald (1899–1948) American Writer, Artist
Joy is but the sign that creative emotion is fulfilling its purpose.
—Charles Du Bos (1882–1939) French Literary Critic
The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.
—William James (1842–1910) American Philosopher, Psychologist, Physician
Existence is a strange bargain. Life owes us little; we owe it everything. The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose.
—William Cowper (1731–1800) English Anglican Poet, Hymn writer
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
Happiness…that’s something you can’t achieve by taking the easy way out. Earning happiness means doing good and working, not speculating and being lazy. Laziness may look inviting, but only work gives you true satisfaction.
—Anne Frank (1929–45) Holocaust Victim
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
Looking good and dressing well is a necessity. Having a purpose in life is not.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
There is nothing quite so useless, as doing with great efficiency, something that should not be done at all.
—Peter Drucker (1909–2005) Austrian-born Management Consultant
Decide upon your major definite purpose in life and then organize all your activities around it.
—Brian Tracy (b.1944) American Author, Motivational Speaker
A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.
—Malcolm X (1925–65) American Civil Rights Leader
Fixedness of purpose is at the root of all successful efforts, whether in things worldly or spiritual, and without it man cannot be otherwise than wretched, and dependent upon others for that support which should be found within himself.
—James Allen (1864–1912) British Philosophical Writer
Your sole purpose in life is to attain God-realization. All else is useless and worthless.
—Sivananda Saraswati (1887–1963) Indian Hindu Spiritual Teacher
A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the “why” for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any “how”.
—Viktor Frankl (1905–97) Austrian Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist
Purpose is what gives life a meaning.
—Charles Henry Parkhurst (1842–1933) American Clergyman, Civic Reformer
Utility is the great idol of the age, to which all powers must do service and all talents swear allegiance.
—Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) German Poet, Dramatist
Give me a man who says, “This one thing I do,” and not, “These fifty things, I dabble in.”
—Dwight L. Moody (1837–99) Christian Religious Leader, Publisher
Happiness comes when you believe in what you are doing, know what you are doing, and live what you are doing.
—Brian Tracy (b.1944) American Author, Motivational Speaker
The kindest thing you can do for the people you care about is to become a happy, joyous person.
—Brian Tracy (b.1944) American Author, Motivational Speaker
We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.
—Marian Wright Edelman (b.1939) American Civil Regrets Advocate, Humanitarian, Lawyer
All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. However, a path without a heart is never enjoyable. On the other hand, a path with heart is easy—it does not make a warrior work at liking it; it makes for a joyful journey; as long as a man follows it, he is one with it.
—Carlos Castaneda (1925–98) Peruvian-born American Anthropologist, Author
Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
Above all be of single aim; have a legitimate and useful purpose, and devote yourself unreservedly to it.
—James Allen (1864–1912) British Philosophical Writer
Hell is paved with good intentions, not with bad ones. All men mean well.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
Life without a purpose is a languid, drifting thing; every day we ought to review our purpose, saying to ourselves, ‘This day let me make a sound beginning, for what we have hitherto done is naught!’
—Thomas a Kempis (1379–1471) German Religious Priest, Writer
Would that well-thinking people should be replaced by thinking ones.
—Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972) American Playwright, Poet, Novelist
I shall not remain insignificant, I shall work in the world for mankind….I don’t want to have lived in vain like most people. I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I’ve never met. I want to go on living, even after my death.
—Anne Frank (1929–45) Holocaust Victim
The main facts in human life are five: birth, food, sleep, love and death.
—E. M. Forster (1879–1970) English Novelist, Short Story Writer, Essayist
What allows us, as human beings, to psychologically survive life on earth, with all of its pain, drama, and challenges, is a sense of purpose and meaning
—Barbara De Angelis (b.1951) American Lecturer, Author, TV Personality, Motivational Speaker
What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.
—Viktor Frankl (1905–97) Austrian Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist
Cherish your visions. Cherish your ideals. Cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment; of these, if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built.
—James Allen (1864–1912) British Philosophical Writer
My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I’m happy. I can’t figure it out. What am I doing right?
—Charles M. Schulz (1922–2000) American Cartoonist, Writer, Artist
What men want is not talent, it is purpose; in other words, not the power to achieve, but will to labor. I believe that labor judiciously and continuously applied becomes genius.
—Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803–73) British Novelist, Poet, Politician
As poet-philosopher Rabindranath Tagore reminds us, “We cannot cross the sea merely by staring at the water”. Simplicity has power. And living on purpose comes to this: Just do it. How much simpler can we get?
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
Fear God and work hard.
—David Livingstone (1813–73) Scottish Missionary, Explorer
Commerce is a game of skill, which every man cannot play, which few men can play well. The right merchant is one who has the just average of faculties we call commonsense; a man of strong affinity for facts, who makes up his decision on what he has seen. He is thoroughly persuaded of the truths of arithmetic. There is always a reason, in the man, for his good or bad fortune; and so, in making money. Men talk as if there were some magic about this, and believe in magic, in all parts of life. He knows that all goes on the old road, pound for pound, cent for cent-for every effect a perfect cause-and that good luck is another name for tenacity of purpose.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
I see so many of my kind who have gone mad for want of something to do.
—Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) English Nurse
No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he’d only had good intentions. He had money as well.
—Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) British Head of State
Generous people are rarely mentally ill people.
—Karl Menninger (1893–1990) American Psychiatrist
This life is worth living, we can say, since it is what we make it.
—William James (1842–1910) American Philosopher, Psychologist, Physician
The secret to success is constancy to purpose.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
The service we render to others is really the rent we pay for our room on this earth. It is obvious that man is himself a traveler; that the purpose of the world is not.
—Wilfred Grenfell (1865–1940) Canadian Humanitarian, Doctor
The purpose of life is not to win. The purpose of life is to grow and to share. When you come to look back on all that you have done in life, you will get more satisfaction from the pleasure you have brought into other people’s lives that you will from the times that you outdid and defeated them.
—Harold Kushner (b.1935) American Jewish Religious Leader, Priest
Avoid fragmentation: Find your focus and seek simplicity. Purposeful living calls for elegant efficiency and economy of effort—expanding the minimum time and energy necessary to achieve desired goals.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
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
The greatest events occur without intention playing any part in them; chance makes good mistakes and undoes the most carefully planned undertaking. The world’s greatest events are not produced, they happen.
—Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742–99) German Philosopher, Physicist
It is one of the beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another, without helping himself.
—Gamaliel Bailey (1807–59) American Journalist
Find a purpose in life so big it will challenge every capacity to be at your best.
—David O. McKay (1873–1970) American Mormon Religious Leader
The great and glorious masterpiece of man is to know how to live to purpose; all other things, to reign, to lay up treasure, to build, are at the most but mere appendixes and little props.
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) French Essayist
We are at our very best, and we are happiest, when we are fully engaged in work we enjoy on the journey toward the goal we’ve established for ourselves. It gives meaning to our time off and comfort to our sleep. It makes everything else in life so wonderful, so worthwhile.
—Earl Nightingale (1921–89) American Motivational Speaker, Author
The biggest disease today is not leprosy or cancer or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted, uncared for, deserted by everybody. The greatest evil is the lack of love and charity, the terrible indifference towards one’s neighbor.
—Mother Teresa (1910–97) Roman Catholic Missionary, Nun
Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time.
—Marian Wright Edelman (b.1939) American Civil Regrets Advocate, Humanitarian, Lawyer
The dreamers are the saviors of the world.
—James Allen (1864–1912) British Philosophical Writer
Set peace of mind as your highest goal and organize your entire life around it.
—Brian Tracy (b.1944) American Author, Motivational Speaker
The capacity for hope is the most significant fact of life. It provides human beings with a sense of destination and the energy to get started.
—Norman Cousins (1915–90) American Journalist, Author, Academic, Activist