100 Quotes Worth Remembering
Leander, TX
10:30am
Dear Leah, Jack & Adam-
I collect quotes.
I have for years.
I love em!
Whenever I come across something that makes me stop and think—or laugh—I tend to save it.
As a result, I now have hundreds of them.
Some are profound. Some are funny. Some are about success, money, family, friendship, failure, getting older, or simply dealing with other human beings. Most manage to say in fifteen words what the rest of us would need three pages to explain.
So, for this week’s Random Thought, I decided to pick 100 and share them.
Before anyone starts arguing with my choices, let me save you the trouble.
These are not the 100 greatest quotes of all time.
They’re not even my 100 favorite quotes of all time.
They’re simply 100 quotes that, for one reason or another, I thought were worth saving—and now think are worth sharing.
There are plenty more where these came from. So this will be the first of several quote posts that will undoubtedly show up in the future.
One thing I discovered while putting this together was how difficult it can be to determine who actually said some of these things.
Apparently, if nobody knows who said something clever, the solution is to give credit to Mark Twain.
If that doesn’t work, try Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln or Benjamin Franklin.
So I did my best. Where I could reasonably determine who said something, I’ve given that person credit. Where I couldn’t, it says Author Unknown. I’d rather admit I don’t know than confidently give Mark Twain credit for something he never said.
One other thing…
There is absolutely no organization to this list.
No sections. No categories. No Ten Rules for Success followed by Ten Thoughts About Happiness.
They’re random.
Imagine that.
One quote may be about raising children, the next about money, the next about failure, and the next may simply make me laugh.
Read all 100. Read ten. Pick one at random.
But I suspect somewhere in the list you’ll find at least one that makes you stop for a second and think:
That’s worth remembering.
Here are the first 100.
1
“Never miss a good chance to shut up.”
— Will Rogers
2
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
— Proverb
3
“People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude.”
— John C. Maxwell
4
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.”
— Warren Buffett
5
“Turn your wounds into wisdom.”
— Oprah Winfrey
6
“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”
— James Baldwin
7
“You can do anything, but not everything.”
— David Allen
8
“No one has ever become poor by giving.”
— Anne Frank
9
“Comparison is the thief of joy.”
— Author Unknown
10
“You can’t change the people around you, but you can change the people around you.”
— Author Unknown
11
“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything.”
— John Wooden
12
“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.”
— Will Rogers
13
“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”
— J.K. Rowling
14
“You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.”
— Indira Gandhi
15
“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.”
— Nicolas Chamfort
16
“If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.”
— Author Unknown
17
“The most important thing in the world is family and love.”
— John Wooden
18
“Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.”
— Author Unknown
19
“The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces.”
— Author Unknown
20
“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
— Wayne Dyer
21
“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
— Warren Buffett
22
“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.”
— Elbert Hubbard
23
“You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”
— Author Unknown
24
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
— Author Unknown
25
“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.”
— Dolly Parton
26
“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
— Author Unknown
27
“Nothing will work unless you do.”
— Maya Angelou
28
“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.”
— Elbert Hubbard
29
“The time is always right to do what is right.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.
30
“If you buy things you do not need, soon you will have to sell things you need.”
— Warren Buffett
31
“A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.”
— Proverb
32
“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”
— John Wooden
33
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
— Author Unknown
34
“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.”
— Margaret Thatcher
35
“Children need your presence more than your presents.”
— Author Unknown
36
“The best way out is always through.”
— Robert Frost
37
“The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you.”
— B.B. King
38
“Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.”
— Author Unknown
39
“When you’re 20 you care what everyone thinks. When you’re 40 you stop caring. When you’re 60 you realize no one was ever thinking about you in the first place.”
— Author Unknown
40
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not.”
— Epicurus
41
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”
— Booker T. Washington
42
“It’s good to learn from your mistakes. It’s better to learn from other people’s mistakes.”
— Warren Buffett
43
“The greatest use of a life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.”
— William James
44
“Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.”
— Dale Carnegie
45
“The harder I work, the luckier I get.”
— Author Unknown
46
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.
47
“The most important investment you can make is in yourself.”
— Warren Buffett
48
“You can disagree without being disagreeable.”
— Author Unknown
49
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”
— Anaïs Nin
50
“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.”
— Milton Berle
51
“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”
— John Wooden
52
“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.”
— Linda Grayson
53
“It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.”
— Epictetus
54
“Don’t count the days; make the days count.”
— Muhammad Ali
55
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
— Jim Rohn
56
“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.”
— Michael Altshuler
57
“It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”
— Author Unknown
58
“Do what you feel in your heart to be right—for you’ll be criticized anyway.”
— Eleanor Roosevelt
59
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”
— Author Unknown
60
“If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.”
— Steve Jobs
61
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”
— Author Unknown
62
“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.”
— Author Unknown
63
“The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.”
— David Morrison
64
“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving.”
— Conrad Hilton
65
“We do not remember days; we remember moments.”
— Cesare Pavese
66
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
— Proverb
67
“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.”
— Henry Ford
68
“A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.”
— Author Unknown
69
“Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.”
— John Wooden
70
“If you’re not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”
— Jim Rohn
71
“Don’t wish it were easier. Wish you were better.”
— Jim Rohn
72
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”
— Jim Rohn
73
“We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.”
— Jim Rohn
74
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
— Author Unknown
75
“You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.”
— Author Unknown
76
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
— Thomas Edison
77
“Never spend your money before you have it.”
— Thomas Jefferson
78
“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”
— Epictetus
79
“Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it.”
— Charles R. Swindoll
80
“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”
— Author Unknown
81
“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”
— Henry Ford
82
“When you’re good at something, you’ll tell everyone. When you’re great at something, they’ll tell you.”
— Walter Payton
83
“Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge.”
— Simon Sinek
84
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
— John C. Maxwell
85
“Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.”
— Albert Schweitzer
86
“Surround yourself with people who are going to lift you higher.”
— Oprah Winfrey
87
“Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.”
— Author Unknown
88
“We are free to choose our actions, but we are not free to choose the consequences of those actions.”
— Stephen R. Covey
89
“Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”
— Author Unknown
90
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
— Author Unknown
91
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool.”
— Richard Feynman
92
“When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?”
— Author Unknown
93
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”
— Stephen R. Covey
94
“Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.”
— John D. Rockefeller
95
“There are no traffic jams along the extra mile.”
— Roger Staubach
96
“The only source of knowledge is experience.”
— Albert Einstein
97
“It’s not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?”
— Henry David Thoreau
98
“Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping them up.”
— Author Unknown
99
“If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.”
— Alan K. Simpson
100
“The truth doesn’t cost anything, but a lie could cost you everything.”
— Author Unknown
Leah, Jack & Adam —
Someday you’ll collect your own quotes. Maybe not on paper — maybe just lines that stick in your head from a coach, a teacher, your mom, or some stranger who said the right thing at the right time.
Save them. Write them down if you have to. You never know which fifteen words are going to matter twenty years from now.
If any one of these 100 sticks with you, mine or someone else’s — good. That’s the whole point.
I love you guys.
Papa