Archive for category: People

We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.

wisdom

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)

You want to learn from experience, but you want to learn from other people’s experience when you can.

Warren Buffett – American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930), Q&A session with MBA students at Tuck School of Business, Dartmout (2005)

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

Nothing great is done without great men, an they are great because they are determined to be so.

Charles de Gaulle – French politician, 1959-69 president of the Fifth Republic (1890-1970), from “The Army of the future” (“Vers l’armée de métier”, 1934), Quotations book 2011

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

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

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.

Mahatma Gandhi – Indian politician (1869-1948), Quotations book 2005

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

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

If you want the cooperation of humans around you, you must make them feel they are important, and you do that by being genuine and humble.

Nelson Mandela – South African anti-apartheid activist and politician, 1994-99 president, Nobel Peace Prize (1918-2013), from an interview with Oprah Winfrey for the “O magazine” (April 2001)

The world is as it is – we make the difference.

Dr. Jagdish Parikh – Indian manager, author and speaker (b. 1940)

When you look for the good in others, you discover the best in yourself.

attributed to Martin Walsh – English film cutter (b. 1955), Quotations book 2013

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

People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives.

Theodore Roosevelt – American politician, 1901-09 26th president, Nobel Peace Prize 1906 (1858-1919), from his speech in Birmingham, New York, on October 24th, 1910

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

The first thing is character. Before money or anything else. Money cannot buy it. … A man I do not trust could not get money from me on all the bonds in Christendom. I think that is the fundamental basis of business.

John Pierpont Morgan – American banker (1837-1913), from a statement before a Congressional committee (1912),  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

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

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 greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.

attributed to Benjamin Disraeli – English writer and politician, 1868 and 1874-80 Prime Minister (1804-1881)

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

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

Germans are honest men.

William Shakespeare – English author (1564-1616), in “The Merry Wives of Windsor” (1597), Quotations book 2003

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

Det Store er ikke at være Dette eller Hiint, men at være sig selv.

The greatness is not to be this or that but to be oneself.

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard – Danish Protestant theologian an philosopher (1813-1855), known as one of the most important academics in Denmark; from “Either – Or. A Life Fragment” (1843), Quotations book 2016

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)

Give people freedom and they’ll amaze you.

Frank Kohl-Boas – German lawyer, Human Resources Manager at Google (b. 1969), about his company’s philosophy on human resources, Quotations book 2015

Migrants do not so much break the law as the law breaks them.

Hernando de Soto – Peruvian economist (b. 1941), from “The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else” (2000), second chapter, Quotations book 2009

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

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

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)

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

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..

There are two levers to set a man in motion, fear and self-interest.

Napoleon Bonaparte – French general and 1804-14 and 1815 emperor (1769-1821)

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

The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.

attributed to Abigail van Buren – born Pauline Esther Friedman, American advice columnist

(1918-2013), Quotations book 2010

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

attributed to Plato – Greek philosopher (c. 428-348 B.C.), Quotations book 2012

Frequently, we act as arbiters of grace rather than its facilitators. But the Church is not a tollhouse; it is the house of the Father, where there is a place for everyone, with all their problems.

Pope Francis – born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, since 2013 Holy Father (b. 1936), from the Apostolic Exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium”, N° 47 (2013), Quotations book 2015

There are three conversions: first the head, then of the heart, and finally of the pocketbook..

attributed to Martin Luther- German reformer (1483-1546), Quotations book 2009

Grace is loving people for who they are, where they are. It’s loving people before they change, not just after they change.

Mark Batterson – American pastor and author (b. 1969), from “All In: You Are One Decision Away From a Totally Different Life” (2013), Quotations book 2020

People are unreasonable,
illogical and self-centered,
LOVE THEM ANYWAY!

If you do good,
people will accuse you of selfish,
ulterior motives,
DO GOOD ANYWAY!

If you are successful,
you win false friends and true enemies,
SUCCEED ANYWAY!

The good you do today
will be forgotten tomorrow,
DO GOOD ANYWAY!

Honesty and frankness
make you vulnerable,
BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY!

What you spent years building
may be destroyed overnight,
BUILD ANYWAY!

People who really need help
but may attack you if you help them,
HELP PEOPLE ANYWAY!

Give the world your best
and you’ll get kicked in the teeth,
GIVE THE WORLD YOUR BEST ANYWAY!

from a boeard in Sishu Bhavan, a children’s home in Calcutta, where Mother Teresa (Albanian nun, 1910-1997) used to work. “Anyway”) is a text from eight of the “Paradoxical Commandments” by Dr. Kent M. Keith (see below), Quotations book 2002

Original PARADOXICAL COMMANDMENTS

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
3. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
6. The biggest men with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.
7. People favor underdogs, but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.
10. Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.
Additional to “Paradoxical Commandments” at  “The Final Analysis”: You see, in the final analysis, it is all between you and God; I was never between you and them anyway.

Respect people for who they are, not for what their titles are.

Herbert D. “Herb” Kelleher – American entrepreneur, co-founder of Southwest Airlines (1931-2019)

Celui qui se juge trop important pour de petits travaux est souvent trop petit pour les travaux importants.

attribué à Jacques Tati – né Jacques Tatischeff, réalisateur et acteur français (1907-1982)

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

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)

Каждый думает изменить мир, но никто не думает изменить себя.

Everyone thinks of changing humanity, but no one thinks of changing himself.

Leo N. Tolstoy – Russian writer (1828-1910), from “Three Methods of Reform” in his collection “Pamphlets” (1900)

You must, therefore, live with your enemies, as you cannot always live with your friends.

Alexis de Tocqueville – French publisher and politician (1805-1859), from a letter to Eugène Stoffels, September 16th, 1823, Quotations book 2011

Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.

wisdom, often attributed to Abraham Lincoln – American politician, 1861-65 16th president (1809-1865), abolished slavery in 1863;
the Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield (Illinois) called his authorship unlikely, Quotations book 2019

When the people fear the government you have tyranny.
When the government fears the people you have liberty.

John Basil Barnhill – American writer (1864-1929), Quotations book 2012

When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.

The Bible, Proverbs 16:7 (NIV) – Quotations book 2011

Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.

Frédéric Bastiat – French economist and journalist (1801-1850)

Believing in our hearts that who we are is enough is the key to a more satisfying and balanced life.

Ellen Sue Stern – American life advisor and author (b. 1954)

The family that prays together stays together.

Al Scalpone – American author and scriptwriter (1913-2000), Quotations book 2013

Reputation is what others think of us; character is what God and the angels know of us.

Thomas Paine – American independece fighter and human rights activist, known as “voice of the American revolution” (1737-1809), Quotations book 2005

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

American proverb

Elegance is not to be noticed, it’s to be remembered.

attributed to Giorgio Armani – Italian fashion designer (b. 1934)

L’eleganza non è farsi notare, ma farsi ricordare.

attribuita a Giorgio Armani – stilista italiano (*1934)

The weak can never forgive.

Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

Mahatma Gandhi – Indian politician (1869-1948), Quotations book 2004