Little minds think and talk about people.
Average minds think and talk about things and actions.
Great minds think and talk about ideas.
Don’t stumble over something behind you.
A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows the public opinion.
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.
The person who says he knows what he thinks but cannot express it usually does not know what he thinks.
Preconceived notions are the locks on the door to wisdom.
Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it ~ David Starr Jordan– eugenics
The less you try to impress, the more impressive you are.
Consistently wise decisions can only be made by those whose wisdom is constantly challenged.
How noble and good everyone could be if, every evening before falling asleep, they were to recall to their minds the events of the whole day and consider exactly what has been good and bad. Then, without realizing it, they would try to improve themselves at the start of each new day.” Anne Frank
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” – Ernest Hemingway
Some people think they can find satisfaction in good food, fine clothes, lively music, and sexual pleasure. However, when they have all these things, they are not satisfied. They realize happiness is not simply having their material needs met. Thus, society has set up a system of rewards that go beyond material goods. These include titles, social recognition, status, and political power, all wrapped up in a package called self-fulfillment. Attracted by these prizes and goaded on by social pressure, people spend their short lives tiring body and mind to chase after these goals. Perhaps this gives them the feeling that they have achieved something in their lives, but in reality they have sacrificed a lot in life. They can no longer see, hear, act, feel, or think from their hearts. Everything they do is dictated by whether it can get them social gains. In the end, they’ve spent their lives following other people’s demands and never lived a life of their own. How different is this from the life of a slave or a prisoner?
Liezi
A man’s true greatness lies in the consciousness of an honest purpose in life, founded on a just estimate of himself and everything else, on frequent self-examinations, and a steady obedience to the rule which he knows to be right, without troubling himself about what others may think or say, or whether they do or do not that which he thinks and says and does.
Choose not to be harmed and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed and you haven’t been.
If you are pained by any external thing, it is not this that disturbs you, but your own judgment about it.
In the end, what would you gain from everlasting remembrance? Absolutely nothing. So what is left worth living for? This alone: justice in thought, goodness in action, speech that cannot deceive, and a disposition glad of whatever comes, welcoming it as necessary, as familiar, as flowing from the same source and fountain as yourself.
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails ~ William Arthur Ward
When you hear kind word spoken about a friend, tell him so. Spoil your spouse, not your children. Never make fun of someone who speaks broken English. It means they know another language. To help your children turn out well, spend twice as much time with them and half as much money ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Do not go to bed until you have gone over the day three times in your mind. What wrong did I do? What good did I accomplish? What did I forget to do? ~ Pythagoras
Let nothing be done in your life, which will cause you fear if it becomes known to your neighbor ~ Epicurus
A wise man speaks because he has something to say; a fool because he has to say something.
The wise man will want to be ever with him who is better than himself.
Just as bees make honey from thyme, the strongest and driest of herbs, so do the wise profit from the most difficult of experiences.
What thou intendest to do, speak not of before thou doest it ~ Pittacus of Mytilene
To become wise you should condemn yourself for all those things that you would criticize others.
Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves. Whistle and dance the shimmy, and you’ve got an audience.
The high-minded man must care more for the truth than for what people think.
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it ~ Aristotle
whenever you learn something, always write it down. Then you can refer to it before beginning tasks and be sure to avoid the mistake
one thing above all else: once you have discovered a noble and just goal — a vision of a better, happier world — never, ever give up on making it a reality
paradise would be ours today if only we would behave the way we wish others would behave
life is short. Don’t waste it being angry, resentful or feeling sorry for yourself.
The only medicine for suffering, crime, and all other woes of mankind, is wisdom. Teach a man to read and write, and you have put into his hands the great keys of the wisdom box. But it is quite another thing to open the box.