When a man has fulfilled all four of these requisites—to be wide awake, to have fear, respect, and absolute assurance—there are no mistakes for which he will have to account; under such conditions his actions lose the blundering quality of the acts of a fool. If such a man fails, or suffers a defeat, he will have lost only a battle, and there will be no pitiful regrets over that.
—Carlos Castaneda (1925–98) Peruvian-born American Anthropologist, Author
A tree trunk the size of a man grows from a blade as thin as a hair. A tower nine stories high is built from a small heap of earth.
—Laozi (fl.6th Century BCE) Chinese Philosopher, Sage
To sin is to be off the mark, that is, to inhibit development, contracting backward into regression rather than expanding forward into growth.
—Connie Zweig (b.1949) American Author, Psychotherapist
It is the greatest good for an individual to discuss virtue (aka Kindness, Virtue, Goodness) every day…for the unexamined life is not worth living.
—Socrates (469BCE–399BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher
It is heartening to realize that although we may crave comfort and routine, we nourish the soul’s growth primarily through what is hard. As Darwin saw it, it’s not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but those who are most responsive to change.
—Robert K. Cooper (b.1957) American Author, Psychologist
It is easier to appear worthy of a position one does not hold, than of the office which one fills.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
Growth begins when we start to accept our own weakness.
—Jean Vanier (1928–2019) French-Canadian Philosopher, Theologian, Humanitarian
When you see the value of continued growth, the circumstances around you become stepping stones.
—Clyde M. Narramore (1916–2015) American Christian Psychologist
The acorn becomes an oak by means of automatic growth; no commitment is necessary. The kitten similarly becomes a cat on the basis of instinct. Nature and being are identical in creatures like them. But a man or woman becomes fully human only by his or her choices and his or her commitment to them. People attain worth and dignity by the multitude of decisions they make from day by day. These decisions require courage.
—Rollo May (1909–94) American Philosopher
Life doesn’t do anything to you. It only reveals your spirit.
—John C. Maxwell (b.1947) American Author, Speaker, Pastor
There can be no progress, no achievement without sacrifice.
—James Allen (1864–1912) British Philosophical Writer
We find comfort among those who agree with us—growth among those who don’t.
—Frank A. Clark
Little by little, wean yourself.This is the gist of what I have to say.
—Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207–73) Persian Muslim Mystic
I am talking about the power within the self. This means power over your perceptions of the world, power over how you react to situations in your life, power to do what is necessary for your own self-growth, power to create joy and satisfaction in your life, power to act, and power to love.
—Susan Jeffers (1938–2012) American Psychologist, Self-Help Author
There is no growth without discontent.
—Unknown
A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.
—John C. Maxwell (b.1947) American Author, Speaker, Pastor
The depth of your mythology is the extent of your effectiveness.
—John C. Maxwell (b.1947) American Author, Speaker, Pastor
Comfort kills! If your goal in life is to be comfortable, I guarantee two things. First, you will never be rich. Second, you will never be happy. Happiness doesn’t come from living a lukewarm life, always wondering what could have been. Happiness comes as a result of being in our natural state of growth and living up to our fullest potential.
—T. Harv Eker (b.1954) American Motivational Speaker, Lecturer, Author
We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.
—Anais Nin (1903–77) French-American Essayist
When superior people hear of the Way, they carry it out with diligence. When middling people hear of the Way, it sometimes seems to be there, sometimes not. When lesser people hear of the Way, they ridicule it greatly. If they didn’t laugh at it, it wouldn’t be the Way.
—Laozi (fl.6th Century BCE) Chinese Philosopher, Sage
We need to give each other the space to grow, to be ourselves, to exercise our diversity. We need to give each other space so that we may both give and receive such beautiful things as ideas, openness, dignity, joy, healing, and inclusion.
—Max De Pree (1924–2017) American Businessman
Still round the corner there may wait,
A new road or a secret gate.
—J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973) British Scholar, Author
There are lots of things a warrior can do at a certain time which he couldn’t do years before. Those things themselves did not change; what changed was his idea of himself.
—Carlos Castaneda (1925–98) Peruvian-born American Anthropologist, Author
If your knowledge of fire has been turned to certainty by words alone, then seek to be cooked by the fire itself. Don’t abide in borrowed certainty. There is no real certainty until you burn; if you wish for this, sit down in the fire.
—Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207–73) Persian Muslim Mystic
To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
If we’re growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone.
—John C. Maxwell (b.1947) American Author, Speaker, Pastor
Every Warrior of the Light has felt afraid of going into battle. Every Warrior of the Light has, at some time in the past, lied or betrayed someone. Every Warrior of the Light has trodden a path that was not his. Every Warrior of the Light has suffered for the most trivial of reasons. Every Warrior of the Light has, at least once, believed he was not a Warrior of the Light. Every Warrior of the Light has failed in his spiritual duties. Every Warrior of the Light has said ‘yes’ when he wanted to say ‘no.’ Every Warrior of the Light has hurt someone he loved. That is why he is a Warrior of the Light, because he has been through all this and yet has never lost hope of being better than he is.
—Paulo Coelho (b.1947) Brazilian Songwriter, Novelist
A total immersion in life offers the best classroom for learning to love.
—Leo Buscaglia (1924–98) American Motivational Speaker
The spiritual journey does not consist in arriving at a new destination where a person gains what he did not have, or becomes what he is not. It consists in the dissipation of one’s own ignorance concerning one’s self and life, and the gradual growth of that understanding which begins the spiritual awakening. The finding of God is a coming to one’s self.
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English Humanist, Pacifist, Satirist, Short Story Writer
The harvest of old age is the recollection and abundance of blessing previously secured.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
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