Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Our best friends and our worst enemies are our thoughts. A thought can do us more good than a doctor or a banker or a faithful friend. It can also do us more harm than a brick.
—Frank Hall Crane (1873–1948) American Stage and Film Actor, Director
Persistent prophecy is a familiar way of assuring the event.
—George Gissing (1857–1903) English Novelist
They can, because they think they can.
—Virgil (70–19 BCE) Roman Poet
Act so as to elicit the best in others and thereby in thyself.
—Felix Adler (1851–1933) German-Born American Philosopher
Clear your mind of ‘can’t”.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
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
Every man is free to rise as far as he’s able or willing but the degree to which he thinks determines the degree to which he’ll rise.
—Ayn Rand (1905–82) Russian-born American Novelist, Philosopher
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
What after all has maintained the human race on this old globe despite all the calamities of nature and all the tragic failings of mankind, if not faith in new possibilities and courage to advocate them?
—Jane Addams (1860–1935) American Social Reformer, Feminist
I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.
—Arthur Rubinstein (1888–1982) Polish-born American Pianist
A happy life consists in tranquility of mind.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
It is never too late to be what you might have been.
—George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) (1819–80) English Novelist
If you are possessed by an idea, you find it expressed everywhere, you even smell it.
—Thomas Mann (1875–1955) German Novelist, Short Story Writer, Social Critic, Philanthropist, Essayist
If you think it’s going to rain, it will.
—Clint Eastwood (b.1930) American Film Director, Film Producer, Film Actor
Debt is a trap which man sets and baits himself, and then deliberately gets into.
—Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw) (1818–85) American Humorist, Author, Lecturer
Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces up, snow is exhilarating; there is no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.
—John Ruskin (1819–1900) English Writer, Art Critic
I am still determined to be cheerful and happy,
in whatever situation I may be; for I have also
learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness
or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.
—Martha Washington (1731–1802) American First Lady
Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.
—Yogi Berra (1925–2015) American Sportsperson
Man is what he believes.
—Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) Russian Short-Story Writer
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
Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress.
—Nicholas Murray Butler (1862–1947) American Philosopher, Diplomat, Educator
What all men are really after is some form, or perhaps only some formula, of peace.
—Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) Polish-born British Novelist
‘Tis very certain the desire of life prolongs it.
—Lord Byron (George Gordon Byron) (1788–1824) English Romantic Poet
If you expect nothing, you’re apt to be surprised. You’ll get it.
—Malcolm S. Forbes (1919–1990) American Publisher, Businessperson
The more wary you are of danger, the more likely you are to meet it.
—Jean de La Fontaine (1621–95) French Poet, Short Story Writer
We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them.
—Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) Lebanese-born American Philosopher, Poet, Painter, Theologian, Sculptor
A man is what he thinks about all day long.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.
—Lu Xun (1881–1936) Chinese Writer
Look for the ridiculous in everything, and you will find it.
—Jules Renard (1864–1910) French Writer, Diarist