See here for a full list of my favorite quotes. Send me yours, I’m always looking for great ones.
When the student is ready, the master appears. – Buddhist Proverb
The older I get, the more I believe that learning (both informal, like among friends, and formal, like taking classes) is vital to staying young, becoming successful, and being happy.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
-Invictus by William Ernest Henley
Full poem here. A truly great one.
Some men aren’t looking for anything logical. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn. – Alfred in The Dark Knight
Scary but believable concept.
The trick is to choose a goal just beyond your present abilities; to target the struggle. Thrashing blindly doesn’t help. Reaching does. – Daniel Coyle in The Talent Code
Here are my highlights from The Talent Code (great book if you enjoy studying human behavior).
Without haste, but without rest – Goethe
Uh-huh. There’s a dirty joke in here about the old bull and the young bull…
Our greatest battles are those with our own minds – Jameson Frank
Could not agree more. Entrepreneurs please read this.
Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind – Bertrand Russell
I loved this quote in high school. I like it less now. It’s always interesting to see your likes/dislikes change as you grow older.
Revenge is a dish best served cold
Robert Greene’s Law #36: Disdain things you cannot have – ignoring them is the best revenge. Here’s a full list of his 48 laws of power.
The competitor to be feared is the one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time – Henry Ford
I need to remember this.
The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for. – Bob Marley
Appreciate this insight more and more.
I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth. Then I ask myself the same question – Harun Yahya
Why I try to see a new city every month. Still fail.
There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction – J.K. Rowling
Mm-hmm. Think many children-of-immigrants can attest to this.
You sound like a 17-year old guy who’s happy to get some pussy. I want you to sound like a 30-year old guy who likes to fuck. – D.O.C.
Ha-ha.
The wrong question to ask of a myth is whether it is true or false. The right question is whether it is living or dead, whether it still speaks to our condition. – Richard Holloway
An insight I would not have appreciated when I was younger. Wonder what other insights will reveal themselves in time.
The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing. – Blaise Pascal
One that is beautiful as much for its phrasing as its insight.