We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aid, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
Our desires always disappoint us; for though we meet with something that gives us satisfaction, yet it never thoroughly answers our expectation.
—Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American Writer, Publisher, Artist, Philosopher
I have no expectation of making a hit every time I come to bat.
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) American Head of State, Lawyer
If you do not the expect the unexpected you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail.
—Heraclitus (535BCE–475BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher
Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.
—Aesop (620–564 BCE) Greek Fabulist
What is destructive is impatience, haste, expecting too much too fast.
—May Sarton (1912–95) American Children’s Books Writer, Poet, Novelist
Whatever we expect with confidence becomes our own self-fulfilling prophecy.
—Brian Tracy (b.1944) American Author, Motivational Speaker
We tend to get what we expect.
—Norman Vincent Peale (1898–1993) American Clergyman, Self-Help Author
Nothing sets a person up more than having something turn out just the way it’s supposed to be, like falling into a Swiss snowdrift and seeing a big dog come up with a little cask of brandy round its neck.
—Claud Cockburn (1904–81) English Journalist
We usually get what we anticipate.
—Claude M. Bristol (1891–1951) American Journalist, Self-Help Author
Good is not good, when better is expected.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
Few enterprises of great labor or hazard would be undertaken if we had not the power of magnifying the advantages we expect from them.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
High expectations are the key to everything.
—Sam Walton (1918–92) American Entrepreneur, Businessperson
What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I definitely overpaid for my carpet.
—Woody Allen (b.1935) American Film Actor, Director
A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher, though, awakens your own expectations.
—Patricia Neal (1926–2010) American Stage, Movie Actress
Nothing is so good as it seems beforehand.
—George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) (1819–80) English Novelist
People expect a certain reaction from a business and when you pleasantly exceed those expectations, you’ve somehow passed an important psychological threshold.
—Richard Thalheimer (b.1948) American Entrepreneur
It is generally known, that he who expects much will be often disappointed; yet disappointment seldom cures us of expectation, or has any effect other than that of producing a moral sentence or peevish exclamation.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
Rarely do the followers exceed the expectations of the leaders.
—Indian Proverb
The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
Oft expectation fails, and most oft there
Where most it promises; and oft it hits
Where hope is coldest, and despair most fits.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Don’t lower your expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet your expectations. Expect the best of yourself, and then do what is necessary to make it a reality.
—Ralph Marston American Self-Help Author
Life … tends to respond to our outlook, to shape itself to meet our expectations.
—Richard DeVos (1926–2018) American Businessman, Philanthropist
We love to expect, and when expectation is either disappointed or gratified, we want to be again expecting.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
Real life is, to most men … a perpetual compromise between the ideal and the possible.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Mathematician, Social Critic
The world is full of abundance and opportunity, but far too many people come to the fountain of life with a sieve instead of a tank car, teaspoon instead of a steam shovel. They expect little and as a result they get little.
—Ben Sweetland
High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation.
—Charles F. Kettering (1876–1958) American Inventor, Entrepreneur, Businessperson
I would not anticipate the relish of any happiness, nor feel the weight of any misery, before it actually arrives.
—Anonymous
When you expect things to happen—strangely enough—they do happen.
—J. P. Morgan (1837–1913) American Financier, Philanthropist, Art Collector
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
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