One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.
Love is the absence of judgment.
Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.
In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.
It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
I attribute my success to this - I never gave or took any excuse.
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.
I am a Soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight.
There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.
Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.
You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.
I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying.
Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.
Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.
If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities.
Nothing will work unless you do.
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.
It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.
Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
Change your thoughts and you change your world.
Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.
Happiness is not by chance, but by choice.
How sad to see a father with money and no joy. The man studied economics, but never studied happiness.
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.
The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.
I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.
It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.
Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office.
The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.
Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.
Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.
Conflict cannot survive without your participation.
Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice.
No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.
Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.
Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.
The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.
Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.
What do we live for, if not to make life less difficult for each other?
Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there.
Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!'
What is the recipe for successful achievement? To my mind there are just four essential ingredients: Choose a career you love, give it the best there is in you, seize your opportunities, and be a member of the team.
One of the great lessons I've learned in athletics is that you've got to discipline your life. No matter how good you may be, you've got to be willing to cut out of your life those things that keep you from going to the top.
I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music.
Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.
Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.
There may be people who have more talent than you, but there's no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do - and I believe that.
Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science.
Life is like a roller coaster, live it, be happy, enjoy life.
Having once decided to achieve a certain task, achieve it at all costs of tedium and distaste. The gain in self confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labor is immense.
Continuous, unflagging effort, persistence and determination will win. Let not the man be discouraged who has these.
The will to succeed is important, but what's more important is the will to prepare.
True independence and freedom can only exist in doing what's right.
Infuse your life with action. Don't wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love. And whatever your beliefs, honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from upon high, but by doing what you can to make grace happen... yourself, right now, right down here on Earth.
It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.
Nothing is more sad than the death of an illusion.
I don't know driving in another way which isn't risky. Each one has to improve himself. Each driver has its limit. My limit is a little bit further than other's.
Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it's a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from.
This life is like a swimming pool. You dive into the water, but you can't see how deep it is.
Set your sights high, the higher the better. Expect the most wonderful things to happen, not in the future but right now. Realize that nothing is too good. Allow absolutely nothing to hamper you or hold you up in any way.
There's no such thing as bad weather, just soft people.
An employee's motivation is a direct result of the sum of interactions with his or her manager.
Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.
The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.
Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.
I was introverted, shy. But if you win a lot you need to be extroverted, or they'll think you're arrogant.
From too much love of living, From hope and fear set free, We thank with brief thanksgiving Whatever gods may be That no life lives for ever; That dead men rise up never; That even the weariest river Winds somewhere safe to sea.
A professional is someone who can do his best work when he doesn't feel like it.
The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.
The foundation of every state is the education of its youth.
Believe in yourself, not only in swimming, but in life itself. You always have to have fun. You have to have an open mind. If you're not enjoying it, don't do it. Life's too short.
Nothing can substitute for just plain hard work. I had to put in the time to get back. And it was a grind. It meant training and sweating every day. But I was completely committed to working out to prove to myself that I still could do it.
Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.
Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.
I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.
A lot of late nights in the gym, a lot of early mornings, especially when your friends are going out, you're going to the gym, those are the sacrifices that you have to make if you want to be an NBA basketball player.
Mental attitude and concentration are the keys to pitching.
You've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction.
Take a look at your natural river. What are you? Stop playing games with yourself. Where's your river going? Are you riding with it? Or are you rowing against it? Don't you see that there is no effort if you're riding with your river?
Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you?
We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.
Only the mediocre are always at their best.
We are reminded how short life really is, and how we are just passing through. So, all the people you haven't told you love lately, tell them, and live your days like you mean it.
Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.
It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.
Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.
The natural state of motherhood is unselfishness. When you become a mother, you are no longer the center of your own universe. You relinquish that position to your children.
The focus should not be on talking. Talk is cheap. It must be on action.
The ultimate victory in competition is derived from the inner satisfaction of knowing that you have done your best and that you have gotten the most out of what you had to give.