My interest is in the future because I’m going to spend the rest of my life there.
—Charles F. Kettering (1876–1958) American Inventor, Entrepreneur, Businessperson
Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.
—Oprah Winfrey (b.1954) American TV Personality
Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.
—Ralph Vaull Starr
We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen.
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933) American Head of State, Lawyer
What I need is someone who will make me do what I can.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
I was once ask if a big business man ever reached his objective. I replied that if a man ever reached his objective he was not a big business man.
—Charles M. Schwab (1862–1939) American Businessperson
We all live under the same sky, but we don’t all have the same horizon.
—Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967) German Statesman
When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a grove of junipers to rest and eat; when we see children in a moment when they are really children, when we know love in our own hearts; or when, like the Japanese poet, Basho, we hear an old frog land in a quiet pond with a solitary splash–at such times the awakening, the turning inside out of all values, the “newness”, the emptiness and the purity of vision that make themselves evident, all these provide a glimpse of the cosmic dance.
—Thomas Merton (1915–68) American Trappist Monk
All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose.
—Brian Tracy (b.1944) American Author, Motivational Speaker
There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same.
—Chinese Proverb
To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don’t worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest.
—Unknown
What we see depends mainly on what we look for.
—John Lubbock (1834–1913) English Politician, Biologist
The most common commodity in this country is unrealized potential.
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933) American Head of State, Lawyer
Nothing is so easy to fake as the inner vision.
—Robertson Davies (1913–95) Canadian Novelist, Playwright, Essayist
Some men see things as they are and say, “Why?” I dream things that never were, and say, “Why not?”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
I will not follow where the path may lead, but I will go where there is no path, and I will leave a trail.
—Muriel Strode (1875–1964) American Author, Businesswoman
True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.
—Arthur Ashe (1943–93) American Tennis Player
A philosophy of life: I’m an adventurer, looking for treasure.
—Paulo Coelho (b.1947) Brazilian Songwriter, Novelist
Capital isn’t scarce; vision is.
—Sam Walton (1918–92) American Entrepreneur, Businessperson
The affairs of life embrace a multitude of interests, and he who reasons in any one of them, without consulting the rest, is a visionary unsuited to control the business of the world.
—James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851) American Novelist
It is good to realize that if love and peace can prevail on earth, and if we can teach our children to honor nature’s gifts, the joys and beauties of the outdoors will be here forever.
—Jimmy Carter (b.1924) American Head of State, Military Leader
Whoever does not know how to find the way to his ideal lives more frivolously and impudently than the man without an ideal.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.
—Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German Philosopher
Salvation of the Dawn
Look to this day,
For it is life,
The very life of life.
In its brief course lie all the truths
And realities of your existence;
The bliss of growth
The glory of action, and
The splendor of beauty;
For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision,
But today well lived makes
Every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, to this day.
Such is the salvation of the dawn.
—The Bhagavad Gita Hindu Scripture
To the person who does not know where he wants to go there is no favorable wind.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
It’s not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something. May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, sharing what we have for the betterment of personkind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely.
—Leo Buscaglia (1924–98) American Motivational Speaker
The world stands aside to let anyone pass who knows where he is going.
—David Starr Jordan (1851–1931) American Zoologist, Educator, Peace Activist
We know what we are, but know not what we may be.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Outstanding people have one thing in common: an absolute sense of mission.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
Too much sanity may be madness. But maddest of all, to see life as it is, and not as it should be.
—Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) Spanish Novelist
The visionary disciplines himself to see the world always as if he had only just seen it for the first time.
—Colin Wilson (b.1931) British Philosopher, Novelist
Personal mastery is the discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and of seeing reality objectively.
—Peter Senge (b.1947) American Management Consultant, Author, Scientist
The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes, in seeing the universe with the eyes of another, of hundreds of others, in seeing the hundreds of universes that each of them sees.
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922) French Novelist
You can vitally influence your life from within by auto-suggestion. The first thing each morning, and the last thing each night, suggest to yourself specific ideas that you wish to embody in your character and personality. Address such suggestions to yourself, silently or aloud, until they are deeply impressed upon your mind.
—Grenville Kleiser (1868–1935) Canadian Author
I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
We start out in our lives as little children, full of light and the clearest vision.
—Brenda Ueland (1891–1985) American Journalist, Editor, Writer, Teacher
Hell begins on the day when God grants us a clear vision of all that we might have achieved, of all the gifts which we might have wasted, of all that we might have done which we did not do.
—Gian Carlo Menotti (1911–2007) Italian-born American Composer
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
—Peter Drucker (1909–2005) Austrian-born Management Consultant
A leader will find it difficult to articulate a coherent vision unless it expresses his core values, his basic identity…one must first embark on the formidable journey of self-discovery in order to create a vision with authentic soul.
—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (b.1934) Hungarian-American Psychologist
Hitch your wagon to a star. Let us not fag in paltry works which serve our pot and bag alone.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Learn to see, and then you’ll know that there is no end to the new worlds of our vision.
—Carlos Castaneda (1925–98) Peruvian-born American Anthropologist, Author
In my experience, there’s only one thing that will always steer you toward success: That’s to have a vision and to stick with it… Once I have a vision for a new venture, I’m going to ride that vision until the wheels come off.
—Russell Simmons (b.1957) American Music Promoter
With vision there is no room to be frightened., No reason for intimidation. It’s time to march forward! Let’s be confident and positive!.
—Chuck Swindoll (b.1934) American Evangelical Christian Pastor, Author
The very essence of leadership is [that] you have a vision. It’s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.
—Theodore Hesburgh (1917–2015) American Catholic Educator, Clergyman
It may be that those who do most, dream most.
—Stephen Leacock (1869–1944) Canadian Political Scientist, Humorist
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is.
—Unknown
The obscure we see eventually, the completely apparent takes longer.
—Edward R. Murrow (1908–65) American Journalist, Radio Personality
This is the true joy in life: Being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one, being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
When I care to be powerful–to use my strength in the service of my vision–then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.
—Audre Lorde (1934–92) American Poet, Activist
If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900–44) French Novelist, Aviator
I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
As selfishness and complaint pervert and cloud the mind, so love with its joy clears and sharpens the vision.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.
—Robertson Davies (1913–95) Canadian Novelist, Playwright, Essayist
Where there is no vision, there is no hope.
—George Washington Carver (1864–1943) American Scientist, Botanist, Educator, Inventor
Remember, every great leader (or visionary or brave thinker) was initially laughed at. Now they are revered.
—Robin Sharma (b.1964) Canadian Writer, Motivational Speaker
People who soar are those who refuse to sit back, sigh and wish things would change. They neither complain of their lot nor passively dream of some distant ship coming in. Rather, they visualize in their minds that they are not quitters; they will not allow life’s circumstances to push them down and hold them under.
—Chuck Swindoll (b.1934) American Evangelical Christian Pastor, Author
When you have vision it affects your attitude. Your attitude is optimistic rather than pessimistic.
—Chuck Swindoll (b.1934) American Evangelical Christian Pastor, Author
The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
When something does not insist on being noticed, when we aren’t grabbed by the collar or struck on the skull by a presence or an event, we take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.
—Cynthia Ozick (b.1928) American Novelist, Short-story Writer, Essayist
To accomplish great things we must first dream, then visualize, then plan… believe… act!
—Alfred A. Montapert (1906–97) American Engineer, Philosopher
The very best thing you can do for the whole world is to make the most of yourself.
—Wallace Wattles (1860–1911) American New Thought Author
The great successful men of the world have used their imagination…they think ahead and create their mental picture in all its details, filling in here, adding a little there, altering this a bit and that a bit, but steadily building – steadily building.
—Robert Collier (1885–1950) American Self-Help Author
Intent is not a thought, or an object, or a wish. Intent is what can make a man succeed when his thoughts tell him that he is defeated. It operates in spite of the warrior’s indulgence. Intent is what makes him invulnerable. Intent is what sends a shaman through a wall, through space, to infinity.
—Carlos Castaneda (1925–98) Peruvian-born American Anthropologist, Author
The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.
—Thucydides (c.455?c.400 BCE) Greek Historian
Perhaps the most distinguishing trait of visionary leaders is that they believe in a goal that benefits not only themselves, but others as well. It is such vision that attracts the psychic energy of other people, and makes them willing to work beyond the call of duty for the organization.
—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (b.1934) Hungarian-American Psychologist
Ultimately a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus.
—Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68) American Civil Rights Leader, Clergyman
Our grand business undoubtedly is, not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
If you want to reach a goal, you must ‘see the reaching’ in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal.
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
I stake to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.
—Wayne Gretzky (b.1961) Canadian Sportsperson
I submit to you that if a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.
—Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68) American Civil Rights Leader, Clergyman
When I think of vision, I have in mind the ability to see above and beyond the majority.
—Chuck Swindoll (b.1934) American Evangelical Christian Pastor, Author
I think there is something, more important than believing: Action! The world is full of dreamers, there aren’t enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision.
—W. Clement Stone (1902–2002) American Self-help Guru, Entrepreneur
Cherish your visions. Cherish your ideals. Cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment; of these, if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built.
—James Allen (1864–1912) British Philosophical Writer
The dreamers are the saviors of the world.
—James Allen (1864–1912) British Philosophical Writer
The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were and ask why not?”.”
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.
—Isaac Newton (1643–1727) English Physicist, Mathematician, Astronomer, Theologian
The ultimate function of prophecy is not to tell the future, but to make it. Your successful past will block your visions of the future.
—Joel A. Barker
Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.
—Louisa May Alcott (1832–88) American Novelist
The soul never thinks without a mental picture.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
Very few men are wise by their own counsel, or learned by their own teaching; for he that was only taught by himself had a fool as his master.
—Ben Jonson (1572–1637) English Dramatist, Poet, Actor
A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the “why” for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any “how”.
—Viktor Frankl (1905–97) Austrian Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist
Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn’t mean he lacks vision.
—Stevie Wonder (b.1950) American Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Activist
We are limited, not by our abilities, but by our vision.
—Anonymous
If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember this whole thing was started by a mouse.
—Walt Disney (1901–66) American Entrepreneur
The time is always right to do what’s right.
—Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68) American Civil Rights Leader, Clergyman
Now, having seen the differences between where you are and where you want to be, begin to change—consciously change—your thoughts, words, and actions to match your grandest vision.
—Neale Donald Walsch (b.1943) American Spiritual Writer
Control your destiny or somebody else will.
—Jack Welch (1935–2020) American Businessperson
A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He inspires the power and energy to get it done.
—Ralph Lauren (b.1939) American Businessman
All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. However, a path without a heart is never enjoyable. On the other hand, a path with heart is easy—it does not make a warrior work at liking it; it makes for a joyful journey; as long as a man follows it, he is one with it.
—Carlos Castaneda (1925–98) Peruvian-born American Anthropologist, Author
Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete. If you’re alive, it isn’t.
—Richard Bach (b.1936) American Novelist, Aviator
Every age needs men who will redeem the time by living with a vision of the things that are to be.
—Adlai Stevenson (1900–65) American Diplomat, Politician, Orator
The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.
—John Wooden (1910–2010) American Sportsperson
It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it.
—Arnold J. Toynbee (1889–1975) British Historian
Nurture your mind with great thoughts; to believe in the heroic makes heroes.
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81) British Head of State
If only we could pull out our brain and use only our eyes.
—Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) Spanish Painter, Sculptor, Artist
The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but has no vision.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
Look at everything as though you were seeing it for the first time or last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with glory.
—Betty Smith
Great things are not something accidental, but must certainly be willed.
—Vincent van Gogh (1853–90) Dutch Painter
Most of us have jobs that are too small for our spirits.
—Studs Terkel (1912–2008) American Author, Oral Historian
Dreams
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
—Langston Hughes (1902–67) American Poet, Fiction Writer, Dramatist
I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it,—but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–94) American Physician, Essayist
He who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in his heart, will one day realize it. Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Your Vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your Ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.
—James Allen (1864–1912) British Philosophical Writer
Usually obstacles are the things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.
—Hannah More
The moment there is suspicion about a person’s motives, everything he does becomes tainted.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
October. This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August, and February.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
You don’t need an explanation for everything, Recognize that there are such things as miracles — events for which there are no ready explanations. Later knowledge may explain those events quite easily.
—Harry Browne (1933–2006) American Politician, Investor, Writer
To believe in the things you can see and touch is no belief at all; but to believe in the unseen is a triumph and a blessing.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.
—Viktor Frankl (1905–97) Austrian Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist
If you would hit the mark, you must aim a little above it; every arrow that flies feels the attraction of earth.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) American Poet, Educator, Academic
Adversity is the trial of principle. Without it, a man hardly knows whether he is honest or not.
—Henry Fielding (1707–54) English Novelist, Dramatist
For those who have seen the earth from space, and for the hundreds and perhaps thousands more who will, the experience most certainly changes your perspective. The things that we share in our world are far more valuable than those which divide us.
—Donald E. Williams qqq
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
—Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008) British Scientist, Science-fiction Writer
One effect of sustained conflict is to narrow our vision of what is possible.
—Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) South African Political leader
We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aid, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher