“Ignore the front that people display, the myth that surrounds them, and instead plumb their depths for signs of their character. This can be seen in the patterns they reveal from their past, the quality of their decisions, how they delegate authority and work with others, and countless other signs.”
Robert Greene, The Daily Laws (Page 170)
“Learn how to listen as things speak for themselves.”
Unknown, via Narrow Road To The Interior (Page XXI)
“The attitude is paradoxical: the Zen poet believes the real experience of poetry lies somewhere beyond the words themselves but, like a good Confucian, believes simultaneously that only the perfect word perfectly placed has the power to reveal the authentic experience of the poem.”
Sam Hamill, Narrow Road To The Interior (Page XVIII)
You work and work for years and years, you're always on the go You never take a minute off, too busy makin' dough Someday you say, you'll have your fun, when you're a millionaire Imagine all the fun you'll have in your old rockin' chair Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think Enjoy yourself, while you're still in the pink The years go by, as quickly as a wink Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it's later than you think ~ Guy Lombardo, Enjoy Yourself, It’s Later Than You Think
“The most significant indicator of people’s character comes through their actions over time. Despite what people say about the lessons they have learned, and how they have changed over the years, you will inevitably notice the same actions and decisions repeating in the course of their life. In these decisions they reveal their character.”
Robert Greene, The Daily Laws (Page 166)
“Remove the branches of a thorn bush today and you’ll avoid a scrape this year. But next year, you’ll face the same problem again. Remove the root of the bush today, and the entire plant will die. Are you solving problems at the branch level or the root level?”
James Clear, Blog
“The most important battles must be fought anew each day. Exercising today does not render tomorrow’s workout unnecessary. Supporting your spouse today does not mean you can mail it in tomorrow. Learn to love the endless nature of things and life gets easier.”
James Clear, Blog
“The happiness or unhappiness of a man does not depend upon the amount of property or gold he owns. Happiness or misery is in one’s soul. A wise man feels at home in every country. The whole universe is the home of a noble soul.”
Demoncritus, via A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 140)
“Compassion for animals is so closely connected with kindness that you can truly say that a person cannot be kind if he is cruel to animals. Compassion for animals comes from the same source as compassion toward people.”
Arthur Schopenhauer, via A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 139)
“In business, people negotiate to win. They negotiate to get what they want. Maybe you’re too used to that. Love is different. Love is when you are as concerned about someone else’s situation as you are about your own.”
Morrie Schwartz, via Tuesdays With Morrie (Page 178)
“Never assume that the person you are dealing with is weaker or less important than you are. A man who is of little importance and means today can be a person of power tomorrow. We forget a lot in our lives, but we rarely forget an insult.”
Robert Greene, The Daily Laws (Page 163)
“Death ends a life, not a relationship.”
Morrie Schwartz, via Tuesdays With Morrie (Page 174)
“As long as we can love each other, and remember the feeling of love we had, we can die without ever really going away. All the love you created is still there. All the memories are still there. You live on—in the hearts of everyone you have touched and nurtured while you were here.”
Morrie Schwartz, via Tuesdays With Morrie (Page 174)
“‘That’s what we’re all looking for. A certain peace with the idea of dying. If we know, in the end, that we can ultimately have that peace with dying, then we can finally do the really hard thing.’ Which is? ‘Make peace with living.’“
Morrie Schwartz, via Tuesdays With Morrie (Page 173)
“If you would like to know how to recognize a prophet, look to him who gives you the knowledge of your own heart.”
Persian Wisdom, via A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 136)
“You need to train yourself to pay less attention to the words that people say and greater attention to their actions. People will say all kinds of things about their motives and intentions; they are used to dressing things up with words. Their actions, however, say much more about what is going on underneath the surface.”
Robert Greene, The Daily Laws (Page 161)
“The problem, Mitch, is that we don’t believe we are as much alike as we are. Whites and blacks, Catholics and Protestants, men and women. If we saw each other as more alike, we might be very eager to join in one big human family in this world, and to care about that family the way we care about our own. But, believe me, when you are dying, you see it is true. We all have the same beginning—birth—and we all have the same end—death. So how different can we be? Invest in the human family. Invest in people. Build a little community of those you love and who love you.”
Morrie Schwartz, via Tuesdays With Morrie (Page 157)
“Look, no matter where you live, the biggest defect we human beings have is our shortsightedness. We don’t see what we could be. We should be looking at our potential, stretching ourselves into everything we can become. But if you’re surrounded by people who say ‘I want mine now,’ you end up with a few people with everything and a military to keep the poor ones from rising up and stealing it.”
Morrie Schwartz, via Tuesdays With Morrie (Page 156)
“There are a few rules I know to be true about love and marriage: If you don’t respect the other person, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. If you don’t know how to compromise, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. If you can’t talk openly about what goes on between you, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. And if you don’t have a common set of values in life, you’re gonna have a lot of trouble. Your values must be alike.”
Morrie Schwartz, via Tuesdays With Morrie (Page 136)