The present is the necessary product of all the past, the necessary cause of all the future.
—Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–99) American Lawyer, Orator, Agnostic
Just do your best today and tomorrow will come … tomorrow’s going to be a busy day, a happy day.
—Helen Boehm (1920–2010) American Entrepreneur, Author
Today is a king in disguise.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness; no laziness; no procrastination; never put off till to-morrow what you can do to-day.
—Earl of Chesterfield (1694–1773) English Statesman, Man of Letters
We can live forever, a minute at a time.
—Unknown
Tomorrow’s life is too late. Live today.
—Martial (40–104) Ancient Roman Latin Poet
Live for today. Multitudes of people have failed to live for today … What they have had within their grasp today they have missed entirely, because only the future has intrigued them.
—William Allen White (1868–1944) American Journalist, Author, Editor
There exists only the present instant… a Now which always and without end is itself new. There is no yesterday nor any tomorrow, but only Now, as it was a thousand years ago and as it will be a thousand years hence.
—Meister Eckhart (c.1260–1327) German Christian Mystic
Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.
—Charles Dickens (1812–70) English Novelist
It is now and in this world that we must live.
—Andre Gide (1869–1951) French Novelist
Very few men, properly speaking, live at present, but are providing to live another time.
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) Irish Satirist
Labour not after riches first, and think thou afterwards wilt enjoy them. He who neglecteth the present moment, throweth away all that he hath. As the arrow passeth through the heart, while the warrior knew not that it was coming; so shall his life be taken away before he knoweth that he hath it.
—Akhenaten (1378BCE–1348BCE) Egyptian Monarch, Religious Leader
Diligence is the mother of good luck, and God gives all things to industry. Work while it is called today, for you know not how much you may be hindered tomorrow. One today is worth two tomorrows; never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
We do not remember days, we remember moments. The richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten.
—Cesare Pavese (1908–50) Italian Novelist, Poet, Critic, Translator
Children have neither a past nor a future. Thus they enjoy the present—which seldom happens to us.
—Jean de La Bruyere (1645–96) French Satiric Moralist, Author
Tomorrow I will live, the fool does say: today itself’s too late; the wise lived yesterday.
—Martial (40–104) Ancient Roman Latin Poet
The time is always right to do what’s right.
—Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68) American Civil Rights Leader, Clergyman
We are here and it is now. Further than that all human knowledge is moonshine.
—H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American Journalist, Literary Critic
In the present, every day is a miracle.
—James Gould Cozzens (1903–78) American Novelist, Writer
The future is made of the same stuff as the present.
—Simone Weil (1909–1943) French Philosopher, Political Activist
Now is all we have. Everything that has ever happened to you and anything that is ever going to happen to you, is just a thought.
—Wayne Dyer (1940–2015) American Self-Help Author
The only courage that matters is the kind that gets you from one moment to the next.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
The present moment is significant, not as the bridge between past and future, but by reason of its contents, which can fill our emptiness and become ours, if we are capable of receiving them.
—Dag Hammarskjold (1905–61) Swedish Statesman, UN Diplomat
Now is the only time we own; give, love, toil with a will. And place no faith in tomorrow, for the clock may then be still.
—Unknown
Today must not borrow from tomorrow.
—German Proverb
The second half of the twentieth century is a complete flop.
—Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902–91) Polish-born American Writer, Novelist, Short Story Writer
Give me insight into today and you may have the antique and future worlds.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon—instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.
—Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American Self-Help Author
‘Twere too absurd to slight for the hereafter, the day’s delight.
—Robert Browning (1812–89) English Poet
Florence Farr once said to me, “If we could say to ourselves, with sincerity, ‘this passing moment is as good as any I shall ever know,’ we could die upon the instant and be united with God”.
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) Irish Poet, Dramatist
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