Make small commitments and keep them. Be a light, not a judge. Be a model, not a critic. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
—Stephen Covey (1932–2012) American Self-help Author
It is wise to direct your anger towards problems—not people, to focus your energies on answers—not excuses.
—William Arthur Ward (1921–94) American Author
Few can really understand the problem, the answer will come out of it, because the answer is not separate from the problem.
—Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) Indian Philosopher
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
Whatever your problem, no matter how difficult, you can release spiritual power sufficient to solve your problem. The secret is—pray and believe.
—Norman Vincent Peale (1898–1993) American Clergyman, Self-Help Author
The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.
—Theodore Isaac Rubin (1923–2019) American Psychiatrist, Author
The best way to escape from a problem is to solve it.
—Brendan Behan (1923–64) Irish Poet, Novelist, Playwright
Problems are only opportunities in work clothes.
—Henry J. Kaiser (1882–1967) American Industrialist
Science is the search for truth – it is not a game in which one tries to beat his opponent, to do harm to others. We need to have the spirit of science in international affairs, to make the conduct of international affairs the effort to find t he right solution, the just solution of international problems, not the effort by each nation to get the better of other nations, to do harm to them when it is possible.
—Linus Pauling (1901–94) American Scientist, Peace Activist
You will only be remembered for two things: the problems you solve or the ones you create.
—Mike Murdock
It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It is that they can’t see the problem.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
Don’t find fault. Find a remedy.
—Henry Ford (1863–1947) American Businessperson, Engineer
Success is relevant to coping with obstacles… but no problem is ever solved by those, who, when they fail, look for someone to blame instead of something to do.
—Unknown
It may seem to your conceited to suppose that you can do anything important toward improving the lot of mankind. But this is a fallacy. You must believe that you can help bring about a better world. A good society is produced only by good individuals, just as truly as a majority in a presidential election is produced by the votes of single electors. Everybody can do something toward creating in his own environment kindly feelings rather than anger, reasonableness rather than hysteria, happiness rather than misery.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Mathematician, Social Critic
When the solution is simple, God is answering.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems.
—Brian Tracy (b.1944) American Author, Motivational Speaker
Our tendency to create heroes rarely jibes with the reality that most nontrivial problems require collective solutions.
—Warren Bennis (1925–2014) American Business Academic, Author
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to treat everything as if it were a nail.
—Abraham Maslow (1908–70) American Psychologist, Academic, Humanist
In the final analysis, the questions of why bad things happen to good people transmutes itself into some very different questions, no longer asking why something happened, but asking how we will respond, what we intend to do now that it happened.
—Harold Kushner (b.1935) American Jewish Religious Leader, Priest
Ah, mastery … what a profoundly satisfying feeling when one finally gets on top of a new set of skills … and then sees the light under the new door those skills can open, even as another door is closing.
—Gail Sheehy (1936–2020) American Writer, Journalist
Plurality should not be assumed without necessity.
—William of Ockham (1288–1347) English Philosopher, Theologian
The man who has no more problems to solve is out of the game.
—Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American Writer, Publisher, Artist, Philosopher
Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer.
—Denis Waitley (b.1933) American Motivational Speaker, Author
Again and again, the impossible problem is solved when we see that the problem is only a tough decision waiting to be made.
—Robert H. Schuller (1926–2015) American Christian Televangelist, Author
The only difference between a problem and a solution is that people understand the solution.
—Charles F. Kettering (1876–1958) American Inventor, Entrepreneur, Businessperson
For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
—H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American Journalist, Literary Critic
There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts.
—Richard Bach (b.1936) American Novelist, Aviator
To solve any problem, here are three questions to ask yourself: First, what could I do? Second, what could I read? And third, who could I ask?
—Jim Rohn (1930–2009) American Entrepreneur, Author, Motivational Speaker
A problem is a chance for you to do your best.
—Duke Ellington (1899–1974) American Jazz Pianist, Composer, Bandleader
I’m not convinced that the world is in any worse shape than it ever was. It’s just that in this age of almost instantaneous communication, we bear the weight of problems our forefathers only read about after they were solved.
—Burton Hillis (William E. Vaughan) (1915–77) American Columnist, Author