Misfortune

All misfortune is but a stepping stone to fortune.  - Henry David Thoreau

Morality & Certainty

Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on "I am not too sure." -H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and critic (1880-1956)

Joy

To relieve a full bladder is one of the great human joys. - Henry Miller

Worrying

Do not give any time to your past, you can’t change what happened 5 minutes ago. ~Jan Ruhe

Truth

Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold. -Leo Tolstoy, novelist and philosopher (1828-1910)

A good teacher

Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher. -Japanese proverb

Words

No one means all he says, and yet very few say all they mean, for words are slippery and thought is viscous. -Henry Brooks Adams, historian (1838-1918)

Man and the World..

The world, we are told, was made especially for man -- a presumption not supported by all the facts... Why should man value himself as more than a small part of the one great unit of creation? -John Muir, naturalist and explorer (1838-1914)

Expert

In my experience, the hallmark of an expert is his ability to say “I don't know”. - Sridhar Parthasarathy.

Light

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. ~Edith Wharton

Right vs wrong

The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it. ~Norman Schwarzkopf

Action

Never confuse movement with action. ~Ernest Hemingway

Life

There are many ways to lose your life. Death is only one of them.
You are not dead - just buried alive - some days are like that. ~ Robert Fulghum

Words

A man who uses a great many words to express his meaning is like a bad marksman who, instead of aiming a single stone at an object, takes up a handful and throws at it in hopes he may hit. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)

Crime & Punishment

It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them. -Cesare Beccaria, philosopher and politician (1738-1794)

Scrutiny

The most erroneous stories are those we think we know best -- and therefore never scrutinize or question. -Stephen Jay Gould, paleontologist, biologist, author (1941-2002)

A Superior Man

A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions. -Confucius, philosopher and teacher (c. 551-478 BCE)

Shaping reality with words

I AM:
Two of the most powerful words; for what you put after them shapes your reality.

Help

Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day. ~Sally Koch

Spirit

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. -Albert Schweitzer, philosopher, physician, musician, Nobel laureate (1875-1965)

Unique

"Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else."

Future

Nobody gets to live life backward. Look ahead, that is where your future lies. ~Esther Lederer - (Better known as Ann Landers)

Progress

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. - George Bernard Shaw

Happiness

"What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience." —Adam Smith, Scottish moral philosopher and a pioneer of political economy

Light

There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.  ~Leonard Cohen

Success

Your success in life will be in direct proportion to what you do after you do what you are expected to do. ~Brian Tracy