Archive for category: People

In the end, all business operations can be reduced to three words, people, product and profits. Unless you’ve got a good team, you can’t do much with the other two.

Lee Iacocca – American entrepreneur, savior of Chrysler (1924-2019), Quotations book 2016

We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us.

Sir Winston L. Churchill – British politician, 1940-45 and 1951-55 Prime Minister, Nobel Prize in literature 1953 (1874-1965), in his speech to the reconstruction of the House of Commons, Quotations book 2009

Progress is not possible without deviation (from the norm).

Frank Zappa – American rock musician (1940-1993), from an interview with VPRO (February 11th, 1971)

The highest Test of the civilization of any race is in its willingness to extend a helping hand to the less fortunate. A, race like an individual, lifts itself up by lifting others up.

Booker T. Washington – American educator, social reformer and civil rights activist (1856-1915), Quotations book 2011

A good leader inspires men to have confidence in him; a great leader inspires them to have confidence in themselves.

Wisdom – Quotations book 2015

What a curious phenomenon it is that you can get men to die for the liberty of the world who will not make the little sacrifice that is needed to free themselves from their own individual bondage.

Bruce Barton – American author and Advertising expert (1886-1967), Quotations book 2006

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble, it’s a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantement, it is as perrenial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And wh

ether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann – American lawyer and author (1872-1945), written in 1927

There is no expedient to which man will not resort to avoid the real labour of thinking.

Sir Joshua Reynolds – English painter (1723-1792)

If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.

Chinese wisdom, said by Prem Watsa – Canadian investor, chairman and founder of Fairfax Financial Holdings (b. 1950), Quotations book 2013

Anyone taken as an individual is tolerably sensible and reasonable – as a member of a crowd, he at once becomes a blockhead.

Friedrich Schiller – German writer (1759-1805)

It isn’t what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.

Dale Carnegie – born Dale Carnagey, American author and personality coach (1888-1955), from “How to Win Friends and Influence People” (1936), Quotations book 2019

Bonum vero commune summam complectitur earum vitae socialis condicionum, quibus homines, familiae et consociationes, suam ipsorum perfectionem plenius atque expeditius consequi possint.

Indeed, the common good embraces the sum of those conditions of the social life whereby men, families and associations more adequately and readily may attain their own perfection.

Second Vatican Council – from the Pastoral Constitution “Gaudium et Spes – On the Church in the modern World” promulgated by His Holiness, pope Paul VI (Chapter IV, 74, December 7th, 1965)

Big jobs generally go to men who prove their ability to outgrow smaller jobs.

American proverb

Prosperity does best discover vice, but adversity does best discover virtue.

Sir Francis Bacon – English philosopher, politician and writer (1561-1626), from his Essay “Of Adversity” (1625)

Educate your children, educate yourself, in the love for the freedom of others, for only in this way will your own freedom not be a gratuitous gift from fate. You will be aware of its worth and will have the courage to defend it.

Joaquim Aurélio Barreto Nabuco de Araújo – Brazilian politician, historian and journalist, co founder of the Academia Brasileira de Letras (1849-1910), from “Abolitionism: The Brazilian Antislavery Struggle” (1883), Quotations book 2019

Eduquem os seus filhos, eduquem-se a si mesmos, no amor da liberdade alheia, único meio de não ser a sua própria liberdade uma doação gratuita do Destino, e de adquirirem a consciência do que ela vale, e coragem para defendê-la.

Joaquim Aurélio Barreto Nabuco de Araújo – político, historiador e jornalista brasileiro, co-fundador da Academia Brasileira de Letras (1849-1910), de “O Abolicionismo” (1883), Livro de cotações 2019

Since half the people are not going to like me anyway, they may as well not like me for the right reason.

Patrick Morley – English auhor and former BBC journalist

I have rarely if ever found anyone out of whom I could not extract amusement or edification.

Sir Walter Scott – Scottish historical novelist, playwright, poet and historian (1771-1832), from his diary, published as “The Journal of Sir Walter Scott”, volume 1 (1890)

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.

Martin Luther King jr. – American civil rights activist and pastor, Nobel Peace Prize 1964 (1929-1968), in his essay “On Being a Good Neighbor” (1963), Quotations book 2018

Omnia, quae fiunt in toto mundo, in spe fiunt.

Martin Luther – German reformatorian (1483-1546), from his speech N° 38, published in “Luthers Werke in Auswahl”, Book eight (1930), Quotations book 2020

Strong beliefs win strong men, and then make them stronger.

Walter Bagehot – English economist and author, editor in chief of “The Economist” (1826-1877), from “Physics and Politics Or Thoughts on the Application of the Principles of Natural Selection and Inheritance to Political Society” (1872), Quotations book 2020

Sometime they’ll give a war and nobody will come.

Carl Sandburg – American poet and historian (1878-1967), from “The People, Yes” (1936), was used by the Peace movement and changed into “Imagine, it is war and nobody goes there.” These words were falsely attributed to Bertolt Brecht..

All geniusses are leeches, so to speak. They feed from the same source – the blood of life … We all derive from the same source. There is no mystery about the origin of things. We are all part of creation, all kings, all poets, all musicians; we have only to open up, only to discover what is already there.

Henry Miller – American writer and painter  (1891-1980), from “Sexus” (1949)

No animal but man ever laughs.

Aristoteles – Greek philosopher (384-322 B.C.), in “De partibus animalium” (4th century B.C.), Quotations book 2014

It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.

Warren Buffett – American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930), Quotations book 2020

The best index to a persons character is (a) how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and (b) how he treats people who can’t fight back.

Abigail van Buren – born Pauline Esther Friedman, American advice columnist (1918-2013), Quotations book 2003

The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity.

Rollo May – American existential psychologist (1909-1994), alongside Viktor E. Frankl, was a major proponent of existential psychotherapy, following a passage from “Man’s Search for himself” (1953), Quotations book 2018

I will pay more for the ability to deal with people than for any other under the sun.

John D. Rockefeller – American oil magnate, sundays school teacher at at his time richest man of the world (1839-1937), Quotations book 2015

Live life as though nobody is watching, and express yourself as though everyone is listening.

advice

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.

Helen Keller – American deaf-blind writer (1880-1968), from “The Open Door” (1957), Quotations book 2018

Let us, then, be what we are, and speak what we think, and in all things keep ourselves loyal to the truth.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – American poet (1807-1882), from “The Courtship of Miles Standish” (1858)

Never underestimate the man who overestimates himself.

Charlie Munger – Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1924), at the Daily Journal annual meeting (February 12th, 2020)

When an election is passed, it is altogether befitting a free people, that until the next election, they should be as one people.

Abraham Lincoln – American politician, 1861-65 16th president (1809-1865), abolished slavery in 1863, to New York Governor E. D. Morgan and his delegation in Albany, New York, 18th February 1861

To me, old age is always fifteen years older than I am.

Bernard M. Baruch – American financier, advisor to several American presidents (1870-1965), at his 85th birthday, quoted in “The Observer”, August 21st, 1955, Quotations book 2012

Счастье не в том, чтобы делать всегда, что хочешь, а в том, чтобы всегда хотеть того, что делаешь.

Лев Николаевич Толстой – русский писатель (1828-1910), котировки выпуска 2018

When someone dreams alone, it is just a dream.
When we dream together, it is the beginning of a new reality.

Raul Seixas – Brazilian musician (1945-1989), lyrics of “Prelúdio” (1974), Quotations book 2020

Sonho que se sonha só, e só um sonho que se sonha só.
Mas sonho que se sonha junto é realidade.

Raul Seixas – músico brasileiro (1945-1989), letras para “Prelúdio”, Livro de cotações 2020

I have lerned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.

Khalil Gibran – Lebanese poet, philosopher and artist, aka Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931), from “Sand and Foam” (1926)

For the power of Man to make himself what he pleases means […] the power of some men to make other men what they please.

C. S. Lewis – British writer (1898-1963), from “The Abolition of Man” (1943)

Love sees people – not as problems, better as possibilities.

Dr. Robert H. Schuller – Americanisch evangelist and reformed priest (1926-2015)

Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can read.

wisdom, often attributed to Mark Twain – born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, American writer (1835-1910), could not be verified by the Mark-Twain-collection at the University of Berkeley, first published without an author’s name in “The Ladie‘s Repository” (June 1861), Quotations book 2019

If you wait for a perfect church, you must wait until you get to heaven; and even if you could find a perfect assenbly on earth, I am sure they would not admit you to their fellowship, for you are not perfect yourself.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon – English baptist pastor (1834-1892), from “Additions to the Church”, Predigt 1167 (1874)

A person is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.

John Barrymore – American actor (1882-1942), as quoted in the biography “Good Night, Sweet Prince: The Life and Times of John Barrymore” by Gene Fowler (1949)

The two most important days of a man’s life are the day on which he was born and the day on which he discovers why he was born.

wisdom – quoted in a sermon by Ernest T. Campbell, American pastor (1923-2010), at the Riverside Church, New York (January 25th, 1970)

It is precisely the organization that is the means to multiply the ability of the individuals.

Prof. Guido Stein – Professor of managing at IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Madrid (b. 1964), in “Managing People and Organizations: Peter Drucker’s Legacy” (2010)

Every child has its own statistic:

Wise medical doctors answer to the question of worried parents what survivial chance percentage their child would have: The child is well and alive today.

said at the Ira W. Sohn Conference for Tomorrows Childrens Fund – Quotations book 2005

Extraordinary people need extraordinary conditions.

Melker Schörling – Swedish businessman and investor (Securitas AB, Assa Abloy, b. 1947)

Utomordentliga personer behöver utomordentliga förutsättningar.

Melker Schörling – svensk affärsman och investerare (Securitas AB, Assa Abloy, f. 1947)

Men are willing to forego the old for the sake of the new. But commonly it is found in theology that that which is true is not new, and that which is new is not true.

Robert Shindler – American Baptist priest, close friend to preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon (c. 1824-1903), from his article “The Down Grade “, published in “Sword and the Trowel” (March 1887), Quotations book 2019

Generosity is taking care of the others.

Jean-Pascal Bobst – Swiss mechanical engineer and manager (b. 1965), Quotations book 2019

It is much more easy to have sympathy with suffering, than it is to have sympathy with thought. Accordingly, with admirable though misdirected intentions, they very seriously and very sentimentally set themselves to the task of remedying the evils that they see. But their remedies do not cure the disease, they merely prolong it. Indeed, their remedies are part of the disease..

Oscar Wilde – Irish writer (1854-1900), from “The Soul of Man under Socialism” (1891), Quotations book 2004

Content makes poor men rich; Discontent makes rich men poor.

Benjamin Franklin – American politician, writer and scientist (1706-1790), from “Poor Richard Improved” (1749), Quotations book 2017

Before you speak, listen.
Before you write, think.
Before you spend, earn.
Before you invest, investigate.
Before you criticize, wait.
Before you pray, forgive.
Before you quit, try.
Before you retire, save.
Before you die, give.

William Arthur Ward – American writer (1921-1994), from his poem “Before You” (1963), Quotations book 2020

We have two ears, but one mouth so that we may hear more but speak less.

διὰ τοῦτο … δύο ὦτα ἔχομεν, στόμα δὲ ἕν, ἵνα πλείονα μὲν ἀκούωμεν, ἥττονα δὲ λέγωμεν.

Zeno of Citium – Greek philosopher (c. 333-c. 261 BC), from “Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers” (book seven, Zeno of Citium) by Diogenes Laërtius (Greek historian and doxographer, 3rd century)

One of the secrets of a long and fruitful life is to forgive everybody everything every night before you go to bed.

attributed to Bernard M. Baruch – American financier, adviser to several American presidents (1870-1965), Quotations book 2010

People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.

Simon O. Sinek – American author, speaker and optimist (b. 1973), from “Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action” (2009), Quotations book 2018
see Startwithwhy.com

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep … you are richer than 75 % of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish some place … you are among the top 8 %  of the world’s wealthy.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness … you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation … you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death … you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

If your parents are still alive and still married … you are very rare.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful … you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

If you can hold someone’s hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder … you are blessed because you can offer healing touch.

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing that someone was thinking of you, and furthermore … you are more blessed than 780 Million people in the world that cannot read at all.

Have a good day, count your blessings, and pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are.

Blessing – found on the Internet, Quotations book 2016

I have seen no trend towards value investing in the 35 years that I’ve practiced it. There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.

Warren Buffett – American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930)

Generally speaking, envy, resentment, revenge and self-pity are disastrous modes of thought. […] You do not want to drift into self-pity. … Self-pity will not improve the situation.

Charlie Munger – Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1924), from his USC School of Law Commencement speech (May 13th, 2007)