Victory; a matter of staying power.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Victory
Lots of folks confuse bad management with destiny.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Leadership, Management, Destiny
College football is a sport that bears the same relation to education that bullfighting does to agriculture.
—Elbert Hubbard
A little more patience, a little more charity for all, a little more devotion, a little more love; with less bowing down to the past, and a silent ignoring of pretended authority; brave looking forward to the future with more faith in our fellows, and the race will be ripe for a great burst of light and life.
—Elbert Hubbard
Keep your mind on the great and splendid things you would like to do and then, as the days go gliding by you will find yourself unconsciously seizing the opportunities that are required for the fulfillment of your desire. Picture in your mind the able, earnest, useful person you desire to be, and the thought you hold is hourly transforming you into that particular individual you so admire.
—Elbert Hubbard
Strong men can always afford to be gentle. Only the weak are intent on “giving as good as they get.”
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Strength
Knowledge is the distilled essence of our intuitions, corroborated by experience.
—Elbert Hubbard
The weaknesses of the many make the leader possible.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Leadership
A woman can defend her virtue from men much more easily than she can protect her reputation from women
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Virtue
Formal religion was organized for slaves: it offered them consolation which earth did not provide.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Religion
Winning isn’t everything. Wanting to is.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Winning, Enthusiasm, Passion, Motivation
A conservative is a man who is too cowardly to fight and too fat to run.
—Elbert Hubbard
Fear is the thought of admitted inferiority.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Fear, Anxiety
The man who doesn’t relax and hoot a few hoots voluntarily, now and then, is in great danger of hooting hoots and standing on his head for the edification of the pathologist and trained nurse, a little later on.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Stress
The supreme prayer of my heart is not to be learned, rich, famous, powerful, or good, but simply to be radiant. I desire to radiate health, cheerfulness, calm courage, and good will. I wish to live without hate, whim, jealousy, envy, fear. I wish to be simple, honest, frank, natural, clean in mind and clean in body, unaffected – as ready to say I do not know, if it be so, and to meet all men on an absolute equality – to face any obstacle and meet every difficulty unabashed and unafraid.
I wish others to live their lives, too – up to their highest, fullest, and best. To that end I pray that I may never meddle, interfere, dictate, give advice that is not wanted, or assist when my services are not needed. If I can help people, I’ll do it by giving them a chance to help themselves; and if I can uplift or inspire, let it be by example, inference, and suggestion, rather than by injunction and dictation. That is to say, I desire to be radiant – to radiate life.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Inspirational
Genius is the ability to act rightly without precedent—the power to do the right thing the first time.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Genius
A failure is a man who has blundered, but is not able to cash in on the experience.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Mistakes, Failure, Failures
Many a man’s reputation would not know his character if they met on the street.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Hypocrisy, Reputation, Character
Forbid a man to think for himself or to act for himself and you may add the joy of piracy and the zest of smuggling to his life.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Enthusiasm
Anyone who idolizes you is going to hate you when he discovers that you are fallible. He never forgives. He has deceived himself, and he blames you for it.
—Elbert Hubbard
Grammar is the grave of letters.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Letters
If you want work well done, select a busy man; the other kind has no time.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Time, Quality, Busy
The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure criticism without resentment.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Criticism
Positive anything is better than negative nothing.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Attitude, Optimism, Virtues, Thinking, Entrepreneurs
The cure for grief is motion.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Self-Pity, Grief
Gossip is only the lack of a worthy memory.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Gossip
Responsibilities gravitate to the person who can shoulder them; power flows to the man who knows how.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Power
If you have health, you probably will be happy, and if you have health and happiness, you have all the wealth you need, even if it is not all you want.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Health
Natural joy brings no headaches and no heartaches.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Happiness
Never explain—your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyhow.
—Elbert Hubbard
Speak well of every one if you speak of them at all—none of us are so very good.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Conversation
If you work for a man, in heavens name work for him!If he pays you wages that supply you your bread and butter, work for himspeak well of him, think well of him, stand by him and stand by the institution he represents. I think if I worked for a man I would work for him. I would not work for him a part of the time, and the rest of the time work against him. I would give an undivided service or none. If put to the pinch, an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Loyalty
The sculptor produces the beautiful statue by chipping away such parts of the marble block as are not needed—it is a process of elimination.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Simplicity
He has achieved success who has worked well, laughed often, and loved much.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Success, Accomplishment, Work, Achieve, Love, Success & Failure
The greatest mistake a man can make is to be afraid of making one.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Mistakes
I would rather be able to appreciate things I can not have than to have things I am not able to appreciate.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Appreciation, Attitude
Morality is largely a matter of geography.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Morals
Every tyrant who has lived has believed in freedom – for himself
—Elbert Hubbard
No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one.
—Elbert Hubbard
This will never be a civilized country until we expend more money for books than we do for chewing gum.
—Elbert Hubbard
Topics: Books, Reading
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
Randolph Bourne American Writer
Robert Anton Wilson American Polymath
Robert M. Pirsig American Writer
M. F. K. Fisher American Writer
Oliver Herford American Writer
Charles M. Schulz American Cartoonist
John Cage American Composer
Ursula K. Le Guin Science-fiction writer
Glenn Beck American Mormon Children’s Books Writer
Sheri L. Dew American Mormon Children’s Books Writer