They who talk much of destiny, their birth-star, etc., are in a lower dangerous plane, and invite the evil they fear.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Every man has his own destiny; the only imperative is to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads him.
—Henry Miller (1891–1980) American Novelist
We sow our thoughts and reap our actions. We sow our actions and reap our habits. We sow our habits and reap our character. We sow our character, and we reap our destiny.
—Unknown
One meets his destiny often in the road he takes to avoid it.
—French Proverb
Alas! we are the sport of destiny.
—William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–63) English Novelist
Destiny is an absolutely definite and inexorable ruler. Physical ability and moral determination count for nothing. It is impossible to perform the simplest act when the gods say “no.” I have no idea how they bring pressure to bear on such occasions; I only know that it is irresistible.
—Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) English Occultist, Mystic, Magician
The destiny of man is in his own soul.
—Herodotus (c.485–425 BCE) Ancient Greek Historian
Both renunciation of action and the performance of action lead to Nirvana (Liberation); but these performance of action is superior to renunciation of action. The action of today becomes the destiny of tomorrow.
—Swami Chinmayananda (1916–93) Indian Hindu Spiritual Teacher
There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919) American Poet, Journalist
I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.
—Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) French Theologian, Musician, Philosopher, Physician
We are no more free agents than the queen of clubs when she victoriously takes prisoner the knave of hearts.
—Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762) English Aristocrat, Poet, Novelist, Writer
A strict belief in fate is the worst kind of slavery; on the other hand there is comfort in the thought that God will be moved by our prayers.
—Epicurus (c.341–270 BCE) Greek Philosopher
How easy ’tis, when Destiny proves kind, With full-spread sails to run before the wind.
—John Dryden (1631–1700) English Poet, Literary Critic, Playwright
‘Tis all a chequerboard of nights and days Where Destiny with men for pieces plays: Hither and thither moves, and mates, and slays, And one by one back in the closet lays.
—Omar Khayyam (1048–1123) Persian Mathematician
That which is not allotted the hand cannot reach; and what is allotted you will find wherever you may be.
—Sa’Di (Musharrif Od-Din Muslih Od-Din) (c.1213–91) Persian Poet
We write our own destiny; we become what we do.
—Soong Mei-ling (1898–2003) First Lady of the Republic of China
We are not creatures of circumstance; we are creators of circumstance.
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81) British Head of State
Destiny bears us to our lot, and destiny is perhaps our own will.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Let us follow our destiny, ebb and flow. Whatever may happen, we master fortune by accepting it.
—Virgil (70–19 BCE) Roman Poet
Man’s ultimate destiny is to become one with the Divine Power which governs and sustains the creation and its creatures.
—Alfred A. Montapert (1906–97) American Engineer, Philosopher
Thoughts lead on to purpose, purpose leads onto actions, actions form habits, habits decide character, and character fixes our destiny.
—Tryon Edwards American Theologian
Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.
—William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925) American Political leader, Diplomat, Politician
If the course of human affairs be considered, it will be seen that many things arise against which heaven does not allow us to guard.
—Niccolo Machiavelli (1469–1527) Florentine Political Philosopher
It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
Philosophers never stood in need of Homer or the Pharisees to be convinced that everything is done by immutable laws; that everything is settled; that everything is the necessary effect of some previous cause.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
The law of the harvest is to reap more than you sow. Sow an act, and you reap a habit; sow a habit, and you reap a character; sow a character, and you reap a destiny.
—George Boardman the Younger (1801–31) American Baptist Minister
No cause has he to say his doom is harsh, who’s made the master of his destiny.
—Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) German Poet, Dramatist
There is no such thing as chance; and what seems to us the merest accident springs from the deepest source of destiny.
—Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) German Poet, Dramatist
Only by joy and sorrow does a person know anything about themselves and their destiny. They learn what to do and what to avoid.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
No man is great enough or wise enough for any of us to surrender our destiny to. The only way in which anyone can lead us is to restore to us the belief in our own guidance.
—Henry Miller (1891–1980) American Novelist
Remember that you are an actor in a drama, of such a part as it may please the master to assign you, for a long time or for a little as he may choose. And if he will you to take the part of a poor man, or a cripple, or a ruler, or a private citizen, then may you act that part with grace! For to act well the part that is allotted to us, that indeed is ours to do, but to choose it is another s.
—Epictetus (55–135) Ancient Greek Philosopher
Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person you become.
—Jim Rohn (1930–2009) American Entrepreneur, Author, Motivational Speaker
Nature is at work.. Character and destiny are her handiwork. She gives us love and hate, jealousy and reverence. All that is ours is the power to choose which impulse we shall follow.
—David Seabury (1885–1960) American Psychologist
It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
Fate, then, is a name for facts not yet passed under the fire of thought; for causes which are unpenetrated.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
More than anything else, I believe it’s our decisions, not the conditions of our lives, that determine our destiny.
—Tony Robbins (b.1960) American Self-Help Author, Entrepreneur
The clew of our destiny, wander where we will, lies at the foot of the cradle.
—Jean Paul (1763–1825) German Novelist, Humorist
Death and life have their determined appointments; riches and honors depend upon heaven.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
No love, no friendship can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark on it forever.
—Francois Mauriac (1885–1970) French Novelist
A word, a look, an accent, may affect the destiny not only of individuals, but of nations. He is a bold man who calls anything a trifle.
—Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) Scottish-American Industrialist
Whatever you habitually think yourself to be, that you are. You must form, now, a greater and better habit; you must form a conception of yourself as a being of limitless power, and habitually think that you are that being. It is the habitual, not the periodical thought that decides your destiny.
—Wallace Wattles (1860–1911) American New Thought Author
It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves; we are underlings.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Not without a shudder may the human hand reach into the mysterious urn of destiny.
—Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) German Poet, Dramatist
Our destiny changes with our thoughts; we shall become what we wish to become, do what we wish to do, when our habitual thoughts correspond with our desires.
—Orison Swett Marden (1850–1924) American New Thought Writer, Physician, Entrepreneur
That which God writes on thy forehead, thou wilt come to it.
—The Holy Quran Sacred Scripture of Islam
How true it is that our destinies are decided by nothings and that a small imprudence helped by some insignificant accident, as an acorn is fertilized by a drop of rain, may raise the trees on which perhaps we and others shall be crucified.
—Henri Frederic Amiel (1821–81) Swiss Moral Philosopher, Poet, Critic
Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect, as well as for the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny. But what we put into it is ours.
—Dag Hammarskjold (1905–61) Swedish Statesman, UN Diplomat
Lots of folks confuse bad management with destiny.
—Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American Writer, Publisher, Artist, Philosopher
Nothing comes to pass but what God appoints.—Our fate is decreed, and things do not happen by chance, but every man’s portion of joy or sorrow is predetermined.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian