In the depth of winter I finally learned there was inside me an invincible summer.
—Albert Camus (1913–60) Algerian-born French Philosopher, Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist, Author
Take a risk a day—one small or bold stroke that will make you feel great once you’ve done it. Even if it doesn’t work out the way you wanted it to, at least you’ve tried. You didn’t sit back…powerless. Watch what starts to happen when you expand your comfort zone…with each risk you take, each time you move out of what feels comfortable, you become more powerful… As your power builds, so does your confidence, so that stretching your comfort zone becomes easier and easier, despite any fear you may experiencing. The magnitude of the risks you take also expands.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
Just as much as we see in others we have in ourselves.
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English Essayist
Having once decided to achieve a certain task, achieve it at all costs of tedium and distaste. The gain in self-confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labor is immense.
—Arnold Bennett (1867–1931) British Novelist, Playwright, Critic
Whatever we expect with confidence becomes our own self-fulfilling prophecy.
—Brian Tracy (b.1944) American Author, Motivational Speaker
The most vital quality a soldier can possess is self-confidence, utter, complete and bumptious.
—George S. Patton (1885–1945) American Military Leader
I have learned, in some degree at least, to disregard the old maxim which says, “Do not get others to do that which you can do yourself”. My motto, on the other hand, is, “Do not do that which others can do as well”.
—Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) African-American Educationist
It is best to act with confidence, no matter how little right you have to it.
—Lillian Hellman (1905–84) American Playwright, Dramatist, Memoirist
There is no man so low down that the cure for his condition does not lie strictly within himself.
—Thomas Masson (1866–1934) American Journalist, Humorist, Author
Let us have a care not to disclose our hearts to those who shut up theirs against us.
—Francis Beaumont (1584–1616) English Dramatist
It is a painful thing to look at your own trouble and know that you yourself, and no one else, has made it.
—Sophocles (495–405 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
He has not learned the first lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Once you become self-conscious, there is no end to it; once you start to doubt, there is no room for anything else.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
With confidence, you can reach truly amazing heights; without confidence, even the simplest accomplishments are beyond your grasp.
—Jim Loehr
Lend yourself to others, but give yourself to yourself.
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) French Essayist
Self-confidence grows on trees, in other people’s orchards.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
Religion is the possibility of the removal of every ground of confidence except confidence in God alone.
—Karl Barth (1886–1968) Swiss Reformed Theologian, Author
When you engage in systematic, purposeful action, using and stretching your abilities to the maximum, you cannot help but feel positive and confident about yourself.
—Brian Tracy (b.1944) American Author, Motivational Speaker
A fellow can’t keep people from having a bad opinion of him, but he can keep them from being right about it.
—Unknown
The confidence in another man’s virtue is no light evidence of a man’s own, and God willingly favors such a confidence.
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) French Essayist
A secure individual … knows that the responsibility for anything concerning his life remains with himself — and he accepts that responsibility.
—Harry Browne (1933–2006) American Politician, Investor, Writer
Trust him with little, who, without proofs, trusts you with everything, or when he has proved you, with nothing.
—Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741–1801) Swiss Theologian, Poet
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
Perhaps I am stronger than I think.
—Thomas Merton (1915–68) American Trappist Monk
There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self. So you have to begin there, not outside, not on other people. That comes afterward, when you’ve worked on your own corner.
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English Humanist, Pacifist, Essayist, Short Story Writer, Satirist
Fear to let fall a drop and you spill a lot.
—Malaysian Proverb
Self-suggestion makes you master of yourself.
—W. Clement Stone (1902–2002) American Self-help Guru, Entrepreneur
Smile, for everyone lacks self-confidence and more than any other one thing a smile reassures them.
—Andre Maurois (1885–1967) French Novelist, Biographer
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own.And you know what you know. You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
—Theodor Seuss Geisel (‘Dr. Seuss’) (1904–91) American Children’s Books Writer, Writer, Cartoonist, Animator
Happiness is not in our circumstances, but in ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the heat of a fire. Happiness is something we are.
—John B. Sheerin (1907–92) American Catholic Columnist
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined! As you simplify your life, the laws of the Universe will be simpler, solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
Learn to depend upon yourself by doing things in accordance with your own way of thinking.
—Grenville Kleiser (1868–1935) Canadian Author
Pay no attention to what the critics say. A statue has never been erected in honor of a critic.
—Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) Finnish Composer
One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.
—Arthur Ashe (1943–93) American Tennis Player
Remember that what pulls the strings is the force hidden within; there lies the power to persuade, there the life—there, if one must speak out, the real man.
—Marcus Aurelius (121–180) Emperor of Rome, Stoic Philosopher
Calm self-confidence is as far from conceit as the desire to earn a decent living is remote from greed.
—Channing Pollock (1880–1946)
American Playwright, Critic
Once you get rid of the idea that you must please other people before you please yourself, and you begin to follow your own instincts — only then can you be successful. You become more satisfied, and when you are other people tend to be satisfied by what you do.
—Raquel Welch (b.1940) American Actress, Singer
Mere bashfulness without merit, is awkward; and merit without modesty, insolent. But modest merit has a double claim to acceptance, and generally meets with as many patrons as beholders.
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719) English Essayist, Poet, Playwright, Politician
Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence.
—Vince Lombardi (1913–70) American Football Coach
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
Believe that with your feelings and your work you are taking part in the greatest; the more strongly you cultivate this belief, the more will reality and the world go forth from it.
—Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926) Austrian Poet
There is no dependence that can be sure but a dependence upon one’s self.
—John Gay (1685–1732) English Poet, Dramatist
Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they’re yours.
—Richard Bach (b.1936) American Novelist, Aviator
Confidence: The feeling that makes one believe a man, even when one knows that one would lie in his place.
—H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American Journalist, Literary Critic
Many men are like unto sausages: Whatever you stuff them with, that they will bear in them.
—Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1883–1945) Soviet Novelist, Short-story Writer
Learning too soon our limitations, we never learn our powers.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
He who has no opinion of his own, but depends upon the opinion and taste of others, is a slave.
—Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (1724–1803) German Poet
The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.
—Carlos Castaneda (1925–98) Peruvian-born American Anthropologist, Author
Self-respect will keep a man from being abject when he is in the power of enemies, and will enable him to feel that he may be in the right when the world is against him.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Mathematician, Social Critic
When you allow yourself to begin to dream big dreams, creatively abandon the activities that are taking up too much of your time, and focus your inward energies on alleviating your main constraints, you start to feel an incredible sense of power and confidence.
—Brian Tracy (b.1944) American Author, Motivational Speaker
Your success depends mainly upon what you think of yourself and whether you believe in yourself.
—William J. H. Boetcker (1873–1962) American Presbyterian Minister
If you doubt yourself, then indeed you stand on shaky ground.
—Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) Norwegian Playwright
No human being can really understand another, and no one can arrange another’s happiness.
—Graham Greene (1904–91) British Novelist, Playwright, Short Story Writer
The efficient man is the man who thinks for himself.
—Charles William Eliot (1834–1926) American Educationalist
The destiny of man is in his own soul.
—Herodotus (c.485–425 BCE) Ancient Greek Historian
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said today… Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Skill and confidence are an unconquered army.
—George Herbert (1593–1633) Welsh Anglican Poet, Orator, Clergyman
Happiness depends upon ourselves.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
To be a man is, precisely, to be responsible.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900–44) French Novelist, Aviator
A chief is a man who assumes responsibility. He says, “I was beaten”. He does not say, “My men were beaten”. Thus speaks a real man.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900–44) French Novelist, Aviator
Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.
—Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American Self-Help Author
Faced with crisis, the man of character falls back on himself. He imposes his own stamp of action, takes responsibility for it, makes it his own.
—Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970) French General, Statesman
There are admirable potentialities in every human being. Believe in your strength and your youth. Learn to repeat endlessly to yourself, ‘It all depends on me’.
—Andre Gide (1869–1951) French Novelist
It’s so important to believe in yourself. Believe that you can do it, under any circumstances. Because if you believe you can, then you really will. That belief just keeps you searching for the answers, and then pretty soon you get it.
—Wally Amos (b.1936) American Entrepreneur
Trust him little who praises all, him less who censures all, and him least who is indifferent about all.
—Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741–1801) Swiss Theologian, Poet
A person who doubts himself is like a man who would enlist in the ranks of his enemies and bear arms against himself. He makes his failure certain by himself being the first person to be convinced of it.
—Alexandre Dumas pere (1802–1870) French Novelist, Playwright
Self-love seems so often unrequited.
—Anthony Powell (1905–2000) English Novelist, Memoirist
All times are beautiful for those who maintain joy within them; but there is no happy or favorable time for those with disconsolate or orphaned souls.
—Rosalia de Castro (1837–1885) Galician Romanticist Writer, Poet
The man who makes everything that leads to happiness depend upon himself, and not upon other men, has adopted the very best plan for living happily. This is the man of moderation, the man of manly character and of wisdom.
—Plato (428 BCE–347 BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, Educator
The promises of this world are, for the most part, vain phantoms; and to confide in one’s self, and become something of worth and value is the best and safest course.
—Michelangelo (1475–1564) Italian Painter, Sculptor, Architect, Poet, Engineer
All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
If you think you can, you can.
And if you think you can’t, you’re right.
—Mary Kay Ash (1918–2001) American Entrepreneur, Businessperson
A gentleman that loves to hear himself talk, will speak more in a minute than he will stand to in a month.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
It’s not what you are that holds you back, it’s what you think you’re not.
—Unknown
Man must cease attributing his problems to his environment, and learn again to exercise his will – his personal responsibility in the realm of faith and morals.
—Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) French Theologian, Musician, Philosopher, Physician
The world stands aside to let anyone pass who knows where he is going.
—David Starr Jordan (1851–1931) American Zoologist, Educator, Peace Activist
The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible.
—Richard DeVos (1926–2018) American Businessman, Philanthropist
Aerodynamically, the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn’t know that; so it goes on flying anyway.
—Mary Kay Ash (1918–2001) American Entrepreneur, Businessperson
Don’t ask of your friends what you yourself can do.
—Ennius (c.239–169 BCE) Roman Poet
Confidence imparts a wondrous inspiration to its possessor. — It bears him on in security, either to meet no danger, or to find matter of glorious trial.
—John Milton (1608–74) English Poet, Civil Servant, Scholar, Debater
Only the person who has faith in himself is able to be faithful to others.
—Erich Fromm (1900–80) German-American Psychoanalyst, Social Philosopher
One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And, the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American First Lady, Diplomat, Humanitarian
We are all such a waste of our potential, like three-way lamps using one-way bulbs.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.
—Groucho Marx (1890–1977) American Actor, Comedian, Singer
We have not passed that subtle line between childhood and adulthood until we move from the passive voice to the active voice — that is, until we have stopped saying “It got lost,” and say, “I lost it.”
—Sydney J. Harris (1917–86) American Essayist, Drama Critic
If being an egomaniac means I believe in what I do and in my art or my music, then in that respect you can call me that I believe in what I do, and I’ll say it.
—John Lennon (1940–80) British Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Activist
If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves.
—Thomas Edison (1847–1931) American Inventor, Scientist, Entrepreneur
Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
No one who deserves confidence ever solicits it.
—John Churton Collins (1848–1908) English Literary Critic
A wise man will make more opportunities, than he finds.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
Think wrongly, if you please, but in all cases think for yourself.
—Doris Lessing (1919–2013) British Novelist, Poet
You can be pleased with nothing if you are not pleased with yourself.
—Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762) English Aristocrat, Poet, Novelist, Writer
There is no reality except the one contained within us.
—Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) German-born Swiss Novelist, Poet
As soon
Seek roses in December, ice in June;
Hope constancy in wind, or corn in chaff;
Believe a woman or an epitaph,
Or any other thing that’s false, before
You trust in critics.
—Lord Byron (George Gordon Byron) (1788–1824) English Romantic Poet
Danger breeds best on too much confidence.
—Pierre Corneille (1606–84) French Poet, Dramatist
Search and you will find that at the base and birth of every great business organization was an enthusiast, a man consumed with earnestness of purpose, with confidence in his powers, with faith in the worthwhileness of his endeavors.
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
To know what you prefer, instead of humbly saying “Amen” to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to keep your soul alive.
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94) Scottish Novelist
Confidence… thrives on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection and on unselfish performance. Without them it cannot live.
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) American Head of State, Lawyer
He who believes in nobody knows that he himself is not to be trusted.
—Berthold Auerbach (1812-82) German Novelist
Your problem is you’re … too busy holding onto your unworthiness.
—Ram Dass (1931–2019) American Hindu, New Age Pioneer
No one, Eleanor Roosevelt said, can make you feel inferior without your consent. Never give it.
—Marian Wright Edelman (b.1939) American Civil Regrets Advocate, Humanitarian, Lawyer
You’re never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you’re never as bad as they say when you lose.
—Lou Holtz (1893–1980) American Stage Performer
Be a lamp to yourself. Be your own confidence. Hold to the truth within yourself, as to the only truth.
—Buddhist Teaching
You cannot consistently perform in a manner which is inconsistent with the way you see yourself.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
In tribulation immediately draw near to God with confidence, and you will receive strength, enlightenment, and instruction.
—John of the Cross (1542–1591) Spanish Roman Catholic Mystic
Doubt indulged soon becomes doubt realized.
—Frances Ridley Havergal (1836–79) English Anglican Poet, Hymn writer
Shyness has a strange element of narcissism, a belief that how we look, how we perform, is truly important to other people.
—Andre Dubus (1936–99) American Short Story Writer, Essayist
Great poetry is always written by somebody straining to go beyond what he can do.
—Stephen Spender (1909–95) English Poet, Critic
Public opinion is a weak tyrant, compared with our private opinion – what a man thinks of himself, that is which determines, or rather indicates his fate.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
A decent boldness ever meets with friends.
—Homer (751–651 BCE) Ancient Greek Poet
Luck is always waiting for something to turn up. Labor, with keen eyes and strong will, always turns up something. Luck lies in bed and wishes the postman will bring news of a legacy. Labor turns out at six o’clock and with busy pen or ringing hammer, lays the foundation of a competence. Luck whines. Labor whistles. Luck relies on chance, labor on character.
—Richard Cobden
I have always regarded myself as the pillar of my life.
—Meryl Streep (b.1949) American Actor
Up to a point a man’s life is shaped by environment, heredity, and the movements and changes in the world around him. Then there comes a time when it lies within his grasp to shape the clay of his life into the sort of thing he wishes to be. Only the weak blame parents, their race, their times, lack of good fortune, or the quirks of fate. Everyone has it within his power to say, ‘This I am today; that I will be tomorrow.’ The wish, however, must be implemented by deeds.
—Louis L’Amour (1908–88) American Novelist, Short-story Writer
If you doubt you can accomplish something, then you can’t accomplish it. You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.
—Rosalynn Carter (b.1927) American Humanitarian, First Lady
There can be no friendship without confidence, and no confidence without integrity.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I shall have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it, even if I may not have it at the beginning.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
He who closes his ears to the views of others shows little confidence in the integrity of his own views.
—William Congreve (1670–1729) English Playwright, Poet
Let me listen to me and not to them.
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) American Writer
A successful man is one who lays a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him.
—Swami Chinmayananda (1916–93) Indian Hindu Spiritual Teacher
Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.
—Anne Frank (1929–45) Holocaust Victim
I care not so much what I am in the opinion of others as what I am in my own; I would be rich of myself and not by borrowing.
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) French Essayist
Confidence … is directness and courage in meeting the facts of life.
—John Dewey (1859–1952) American Philosopher, Psychologist, Educator
Each man must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn’t. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and inexcusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
If you hear a voice within you saying, “You are not a painter,” then by all means paint… and that voice will be silenced.
—Vincent van Gogh (1853–90) Dutch Painter
Our ordinary mind always tries to persuade us that we are nothing but acorns and that our greatest happiness will be to become bigger, fatter, shinier acorns; but that is of interest only to pigs. Our faith gives us knowledge of something better: that we can become oak trees.
—E. F. Schumacher (1911–77) German Mathematician, Economist
I could never pour out my inmost soul without reserve to any human being, without danger of one day repenting my confidence.
—Robert Burns (1759–96) Scottish Poet, Songwriter
Life marks us all down, so it’s just as well that we start out by overpricing ourselves.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
Fields are won by those who believe in winning.
—Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1823–1911) American Social Reformer, Clergyman
Every day we slaughter our finest impulses. That is why we get a heart-ache when we read those lines written by the hand of a master and recognize them as our own, as the tender shoots which we stifled because we lacked the faith to believe in our own powers, our own criterion of truth and beauty. Every man, when he gets quiet, when he becomes desperately honest with himself, is capable of uttering profound truths. We all derive from the same source. There is no mystery about the origin of things. We are all part of creation, all kings, all poets, all musicians; we have only to open up, to discover what is already there.
—Henry Miller (1891–1980) American Novelist
He who would be well taken care of must take care of himself.
—William Graham Sumner (1840–1910) American Polymath, Academic, Historian, Sociologist, Anthropologist
If, after all, men cannot always make history have a meaning, they can always act so that their own lives have one.
—Albert Camus (1913–60) Algerian-born French Philosopher, Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist, Author
The man who acquires the ability to take full possession of his own mind may take possession of anything else to which he is justly entitled.
—Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) Scottish-American Industrialist
The confidence we have in ourselves arises in a great measure from that which we have in others.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
Nobody holds a good opinion of a man who has a low opinion of himself.
—Anthony Trollope (1815–82) English Novelist
Those who are silent, self-effacing and attentive become the recipients of confidences.
—Thornton Wilder (1897–1975) American Novelist, Playwright
I have the most perfect confidence in your indiscretion
—Sydney Smith (1771–1845) English Clergyman, Essayist, Wit
Every time I start a picture … I feel the same fear, the same self-doubts … and I have only one source on which I can draw, because it comes from within me.
—Federico Fellini (1920–93) Italian Filmmaker
Never dull your shine for somebody else.
—Tyra Banks (b.1973) American Supermodel, Talk Show Host
Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor.
—Alexis Carrel (1873–1944) American Surgeon, Biologist
No one to blame! That was why most people led lives they hated, with people they hated. How wonderful to have someone to blame! How wonderful to live with one’s nemesis! You may be miserable, but you feel forever in the right. You may be fragmented, but you feel absolved of all the blame for it. Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame.
—Erica Jong (b.1942) American Novelist, Feminist
I have nothing but confidence in you, and very little of that.
—Groucho Marx (1890–1977) American Actor, Comedian, Singer
Doubt breeds doubt.
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872) Austrian Dramatist, Playwright
It ain’t what they call you, it’s what you answer to.
—W. C. Fields (1880–1946) American Actor, Comedian, Writer
Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
—John Wooden (1910–2010) American Sportsperson
I’ve always had confidence. It came because I have lots of initiative. I wanted to make something of myself.
—Eddie Murphy (b.1961) American Actor
Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, “Make me feel important.” Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life.
—Mary Kay Ash (1918–2001) American Entrepreneur, Businessperson
A man who trims himself to suit everybody will soon whittle himself away.
—Charles M. Schwab (1862–1939) American Businessperson
The height of your accomplishments will equal the depth of your convictions.
—William F. Scolavino
What a fool, quoth he, am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty! I have a key in my bosom, called Promise, that will, I am persuaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle.
—John Bunyan (1628–88) English Puritan Writer, Preacher
As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
If a man doesn’t delight in himself and the force in him and feel that he and it are wonders, how is all life to become important to him?
—Sherwood Anderson (1876–1941) American Novelist, Short Story Writer
Sex appeal is fifty percent what you’ve got and fifty percent what people think you’ve got.
—Sophia Loren (b.1934) Italian Actor
We carry with us the wonders we seek without us.
—Thomas Browne (1605–82) English Author, Physician
Trust not him that hath once broken faith; he who betrayed thee once, will betray thee again.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Never allow a person to tell you ‘no’ who doesn’t have the power to say ‘yes.’
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American First Lady, Diplomat, Humanitarian
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American First Lady, Diplomat, Humanitarian