To be free of destructive stress don’t sweat the small stuff and by realizing that all stuff is small.
—Indian Proverb
Fewer and fewer Americans possess objects that have a patina, old furniture, grandparents pots and pans—the used things, warm with generations of human touch, essential to a human landscape. Instead, we have our paper phantoms, transistorized landscapes. A featherweight portable museum.
—Susan Sontag (1933–2004) American Writer, Philosopher
A mighty flame followeth a tiny spark.
—Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) Italian Poet, Philosopher
It’s the little things that make the big things possible. Only close attention to the fine details of any operation makes the operation first class.
—J. Willard Marriott (1900–85) American Entrepreneur, Businessperson
There is no object so soft but it makes a hub for the wheeled universe.
—Walt Whitman (1819–92) American Poet, Essayist, Journalist
Don’t worry, be happy.
—Anonymous
All great things are only a number of small things that have carefully been collected together.
—Unknown
The person determined to achieve maximum success learns the principle that progress is made one step at a time. A house is built one brick at a time. Football games are won a play at a time. A department store grows bigger one customer at a time. Every big accomplishment is a series of little accomplishments.
—David J. Schwartz (1927–87) American Self-help Author
The human tendency to regard little things as important has produced very many great things.
—Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742–99) German Philosopher, Physicist
I can never bring you to realize the importance of sleeves, the suggestiveness of thumb-nails, or the great issues that may hang from a boot-lace.
—Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) Scottish Writer
For the person for whom small things do not exist, the great is not great.
—Jose Ortega y. Gasset (1883–1955) Spanish Critic, Journalist, Philosopher
Increased QUALITY/PRODUCTIVITY is made up of 1000s of small improvements. Just like Gulliver who was held down by 1000s of threads. Each one doesn’t seem to mean much, and in the case of a thread, can be easily broken. But 1000s of them can have a very strong effect.
—Unknown
Every passion borders on the chaotic, but the collector’s passion borders on the chaos of memories.
—Walter Benjamin (1892–1940) German Literary and Marxist Critic
The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions—the little, soon-forgotten charities of a kiss or smile, a kind look, a heart-felt compliment, and the countless infinitesimals of pleasurable and genial feeling.
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) English Poet, Literary Critic, Philosopher
It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.
—John Wooden (1910–2010) American Basketball Coach, Educator
Little pots soon boil over.
—Anonymous
Once I planned to write a book of poems entirely about the things in my pocket. But I found it would be too long; and the age of the great epics is past.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
Life is made up of small pleasures. Happiness is made up of those tiny successes. The big ones come too infrequently. And if you don’t collect all of these tiny successes, the big ones don’t really mean anything.
—Norman Lear (b.1922) American TV Personality
You’ll come to learn a great deal if you study the Insignificant in depth.
—Odysseus Elytis (1911–96) Greek Poet
It is in these acts called trivialities that the seeds of joy are forever wasted, until men and women look round with haggard faces at the devastation their own waste has made, and say, the earth bears no harvest of sweetness—calling their denial knowledge.
—George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) (1819–80) English Novelist
You may succeed in delaying, but never in preventing the transition of South Africa to a democracy.
—Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) South African Political leader
Yard by yard, it’s very hard. But inch by inch, it’s a cinch.
—Unknown
Life levels all men: death reveals the eminent.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
Success in life is founded upon attention to the small things rather than to the large things; to the everyday things nearest to us rather than to the things that are remote and uncommon.
—Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) African-American Educationist
It is often better to have a great deal of harm happen to one than a little; a great deal may rouse you to remove what a little will only accustom you to endure.
—George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick (1746–1816) British Nobleman, Politician
Human felicity is produced not as much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen as by little advantages that occur every day.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small.
—Laozi (fl.6th Century BCE) Chinese Philosopher, Sage
Never neglect the little things. Never skimp on that extra effort, that additional few minutes, that soft word of praise or thanks, that delivery of the very best that you can do. It does not matter what others think, it is of prime importance, however, what you think about you. You can never do your best, which should always be your trademark, if you are cutting corners and shirking responsibilities. You are special. Act it. Never neglect the little things.
—Og Mandino (1923–96) American Self-Help Author
A mountain is composed of tiny grains of earth. The ocean is made up of tiny drops of water. Even so, life is but an endless series of little details, actions, speeches, and thoughts. And the consequences whether good or bad of even the least of them are far-reaching.
—Sivananda Saraswati (1887–1963) Indian Hindu Spiritual Teacher
We must not discriminate between things. Where things are concerned there are no class distinctions. We must pick out what is good for us where we can find it.
—Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) Spanish Painter, Sculptor, Artist
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