Fooled once shame on you, fooled twice shame on me.
—U.S. Proverb
To regret one’s own experiences is to arrest one’s own development. To deny one’s own experiences is to put a lie into the lips of one’s life. It is no less than a denial of the soul.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
But human experience is usually paradoxical, that means incongruous with the phrases of current talk or even current philosophy.
—George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) (1819–80) English Novelist
It is really true what philosophy tells us, that life must be understood backwards. But with this, one forgets the second proposition, that it must be lived forwards.
—Soren Kierkegaard (1813–55) Danish Philosopher, Theologian
At twenty years of age the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and at forty, the judgment.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Not only is there little stigma attributed to going bankrupt among cutting-edge entrepreneurs, it’s even seen as a good source of business experience.
—Unknown
Experience is the mother of wisdom.
—Common Proverb
There is no wider gulf in the universe than yawns between those on the hither and thither side of vital experience.
—Rebecca West (1892–1983) English Author, Journalist, Literary Critic
How novel and original must be each new mans view of the universe – for though the world is so old – and so many books have been written – each object appears wholly undescribed to our experience – each field of thought wholly unexplored – the whole world is an America – a New World.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
All is but lip-wisdom which wants experience.
—Philip Sidney (1554–86) English Soldier Poet, Courtier
Where you are in consciousness has everything to do with what you see in experience.
—Eric Butterworth (1916–2003) American Spirituality Writer
Life consists in the alternate process of learning and unlearning, but it is often wiser to unlearn than to learn.
—Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803–73) British Novelist, Poet, Politician
Experience is a good school, but the fees are high.
—Heinrich Heine (1797–1856) German Poet, Writer
Most of the most important experiences that truly educate cannot be arranged ahead of time with any precision.
—Harold Taylor
The point to remember is that when you blame any outside force for any of your experience of life, you are literally giving away all your power and thus creating pain, paralysis and depression.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
Experience is the name we give to our mistakes.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
Experience is a school where a man learns what a big fool he has been.
—Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw) (1818–85) American Humorist, Author, Lecturer
Truth comes out of error more readily than out of confusion.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
There are no failures—just experiences and your reactions to them.
—Tom Krause (1934–2013) Finnish Opera Singer
Experience is a great advantage. The problem is that when you get the experience, you’re too damned old to do anything about it.
—Jimmy Connors (b.1952) American Tennis Player
It takes half your life before you discover life is a do-it-yourself project.
—Napoleon Hill (1883–1970) American Author, Journalist, Attorney, Lecturer
Experience, as a desire for experience, does not come off. We must not study ourselves while having an experience.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
Few people even scratch the surface, much less exhaust the contemplation of their own experience.
—Randolph Bourne (1886–1918) American Journalist, Social Critic
The wisdom of the wise and the experience of ages may be preserved by quotation.
—Isaac D’Israeli (1766–1848) English Writer, Scholar
Frozen in fear, you avoid responsibility because you think your experience is beyond your control. This stance keeps you from making decisions, solving problems, or going after what you want in life.
—David Emerald
The road to wisdom?
– Well, it’s plain
and simple to express:
Err
and err
and err again
but less
and less
and less.
—Piet Hein (1905–96) Danish Inventor, Poet
The spectacles of experience; through them you will see clearly a second time.
—Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) Norwegian Playwright
Jumping to conclusions can be a bad exercise.
—Unknown
Men are wise in proportion, not to their experience, but to their capacity for experience.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
Spirit is the sword and experience the sharpening stone.
—Arabic Proverb
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