For myself, I am an optimist — it does not seem to be much use being anything else.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.
—Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68) American Civil Rights Leader, Clergyman
Think you can, think you can’t; either way, you’ll be right.
—Henry Ford (1863–1947) American Businessperson, Engineer
The optimist pleasantly ponders how high his kite will fly; the pessimist woefully wonders how soon his kite will fall.
—William Arthur Ward (1921–94) American Author
Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.
—Lady Bird Johnson (1912–2007) First Lady of the United States, Conservationist
Miracles never cease to amaze me. I expect them, but their consistent arrival is always delightful to experience.
—Mark Victor Hansen (b.1948) American Speaker, Author, Entrepreneur
When you have 7% unemployed, you have 93% working.
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
He is happy that knoweth not himself to be otherwise.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.
—Walt Disney (1901–66) American Entrepreneur
The incontestable truth is that America has been built up by optimists, not by pessimists, but by men possessing courage, confidence in the nation’s destiny, by men willing to adventure, to shoulder risks terrifying to the timid.
—B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) Scottish-born American Journalist, Publisher
If you pretend to be good, the world takes you very seriously. If you pretend to be bad, it doesn’t. Such is the astounding stupidity of optimism.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
People only see what they are prepared to see.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
If one asks for success and prepares for failure, he will get the situation he has prepared for.
—Florence Scovel Shinn (1871–1940) American Illustrator, Spiritual Writer
The optimist thinks that this is the best of all possible worlds; the pessimist knows it.
—J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904–67) American Nuclear Physicist
The basis of optimism is sheer terror.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
Thoughts lead on to purpose, purpose leads onto actions, actions form habits, habits decide character, and character fixes our destiny.
—Tryon Edwards (1809–94) American Theologian, Author
Everybody, my friend, everybody lives for something better to come. That’s why we want to be considerate of every man—Who knows what’s in him, why he was born and what he can do?
—Maxim Gorky (1868–1936) Russian Novelist, Dramatist, Political Activist
Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it.
—Ernest Holmes (1887–1960) American New Thought Writer, Teacher
Nothing bad is going to happen to us. If we get fired, it’s not failure; its a midlife vocational reassessment.
—P. J. O’Rourke (1947–2022) American Journalist, Political Satirist
Every decision you make is a mistake.
—Edward Dahlberg (1900–77) American Novelist, Essayist, Autobiographer
The only way to make a man trustworthy is to trust him.
—Henry L. Stimson (1867–1950) American Statesman, Lawyer
We may be pretty certain that persons whom all the world treats ill deserve the treatment they get. The world is a looking-glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. Frown at it, and it will in turn look sourly upon you; laugh at it and with it, and it is a jolly, kind companion; and so let all young persons take their choice.
—William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–63) English Novelist
If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so intoxicating, as possibility!
—Soren Kierkegaard (1813–55) Danish Philosopher, Theologian
Getting people to like you is merely the other side of liking them.
—Norman Vincent Peale (1898–1993) American Clergyman, Self-Help Author
What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble.
—John Madden (1936–2021) American Football Coach
A mind not to be changed by place or time. The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a heav’n of hell, a hell of heav’n.
—John Milton (1608–74) English Poet, Civil Servant, Scholar, Debater
The place where optimism flourishes most is in the lunatic asylum.
—Havelock Ellis (1859–1939) British Essayist, Physician
If you think it’s going to rain, it will.
—Clint Eastwood (b.1930) American Film Director, Film Producer, Film Actor
May the pain you have known and the conflict you have experienced give you the strength to walk through life acing each new situation with courage and optimism.
—Indian Proverb
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