Quote Queen

English: Publicity photo of Lena Horne performing on The Bell Telephone Hour television show. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Georges Duhamel, (1884-1966), was a French writer and poet. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

John Gay – 1685 – Poet

“Tell me and I forget.  Show me and I remember.  Involve me and I understand.”

Georges Duhamel – 1884 – Novelist

“Do not trust your memory; it is a net of holes; the most beautiful prizes slip through it.”

Emmet Fox – 1886 – Author

“You must not allow yourself to dwell for a single moment on any kind of negative thought.”

C. Northcote Parkinson – 1909 – Historian

“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”

Lena Horne – 1917 – Singer

“Always be smarter than the people who hire you.”

Vincent D’Onofrio – 1959 – Actor

“It’s pretty simple, pretty obvious:  that people’s first impressions of people are really a big mistake.”

Mark Waters – 1964 – Director

“Daydreaming allows you to play out scenarios where you miraculously save the day.  You play your scenarios in your head that are kind of crazy, and then you personally, heroically resolve them.”

Mike Tyson – 1966 – Boxer

“Everyone has a plan ’till they get punched in the mouth.”

Michael Phelps – 1985 – Athlete

“I think goals should never be easy, they should force you to work even if they are uncomfortable at the time.”

English: Particular of a famous portrait of the Count Giacomo Leopardi. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Giacomo Leopardi – 1798 – Poet

“People are ridiculous only when they try or seem to be that which they are not.”

William J. Mayo – 1861 – Scientist

“A specialist is a man who knows more and more about less and less.”

James Harvey Robinson – 1863 – Historian

“We find it hard to believe that other people’s thoughts are as silly as our own, but they probably are.”

James Van Der Zee – 1886 – Photographer

“Happiness is perfume, you can’t pour it on somebody else without getting a few drops on yourself.”

William Powell – 1892 – Actor

“Cultivate solitude and quiet and a few sincere friends, rather than mob merriment, noise and thousands of nodding acquaintances.”

Antoine de Saint-Exupery – 1900 – Novelist

“Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.”

Nelson Eddy – 1901 – Musician

“In society, one doesn’t tell the truth, one tells the exact opposite.”

Ed Gardner – 1901 – Actor

“Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and, instead of bleeding, he sings.”

Bernard Herrmann – 1911 – Composer

“Your views are as narrow as your tie.”

Van Der Zee in 1982 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Robert Evans – 1930 – Director

“I learned at a very early age, the easiest thing in the world is to tell the truth, and then you don’t have to remember what you said.  It has nothing to do with morality, just remembering what you said.”

Richard Lewis – 1947 – Comedian

“I quit therapy because my analyst was trying to help me behind my back.”

Andrew Bernstein – 1949 – Philosopher

“Remember that stress doesn’t come from what’s going on in your life.  It comes from your thoughts about what’s going on in your life.”

Don Dokken – 1953 – Musician

“I am not in competition with my peers; I am in competition with myself.”

Katherine Jenkins – 1980 – Musician

“Confidence is one of the sexiest things.”

Peter Paul Rubens (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Peter Paul Rubens – 1577 – Artist

“My talent is such that no undertaking, however vast in size…however surpassed my courage.”

Jean-Jacques Rousseau – 1712 – Philosopher

“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”

Luigi Pirandello – 1867 – Playwright

“A fact is like a sack – it won’t stand up if it’s empty.  To make it stand up, first you have to put in it all the reasons and feelings that caused it in the first place.”

Alexis Carrel – 1873 – Scientist

“In man, the things which are not measureable are more important than those which are measureable.”

Harold W. Dodds – 1889 – Educator

“A thick head can do as much damage as a hard heart.”

Richard Rogers – 1902 – Composer

“What’s wrong with sweetness and light?  It’s been around quite awhile.”

Ashley Montagu – 1905 – Scientist

“The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise.  It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us.”

Eric Ambler – 1909 – Writer

“International business may conduct its operations with scraps of paper, but the ink it uses is human blood.”

William Whitelaw – 1918 – Politician

French surgeon and biologist Alexis Carrel (1873-1944) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“It is never wise to try to appear to be more clever than you are.  It is sometimes wise to appear slightly less so.”

Mel Brooks – 1926 – Comedian

“Bad taste is simply saying the truth before it should be said.”

Harold Evans – 1928 – Journalist

“The camera cannot lie, but it can be an accessory to untruth.”

Pat Morita – 1932 – Actor

“I never was able to do karate.  That’s calling me a good actor.  I act like I can do anything.”

Leon Panetta – 1938 – Politician

“Go forward, knowing that you are greater than the challenges of your time.”

Bruce Davison – 1946 – Actor

“A good actor is somebody who can be truthful and fascinating and interesting and enlightening.”

Howard Barker – 1946 – Playwright

“A good play puts the audience through a certain ordeal.”

Gilda Radner – 1946 – Comedian

Pro Football Hall of Fame member and former Denver Broncos star John Elway now resides in Englewood. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Dreams are like paper, they tear so easily.”

Mark Helprin – 1947 – Novelist

“Well-timed silence is the most commanding expression.”

Kathy Bates – 1948 – Actress

“Every time an Oscar is given out, an agent gets his wings.”

John Elway – 1960 – Athlete.

“I always believe there’s a reason why you go through everything.”

Elon Musk – 1971 – Businessman

“I think that’s the single best piece of advice:  constantly think about how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself.”

Helen Keller (Photo credit: Marion Doss)

Augustus de Morgan – 1806 – Mathematician

“It is easier to square a circle than to get round a mathematician.”

Lafcadio Hearn – 1850 – Author

“The proverbial philosophy of a people helps us to understand more about them than any other kind of literature.”

John Manash – 1865 – Soldier

“Feed the troops on victory.”

Emma Goldman – 1869 – Activist

“The most violent element in society is ignorance.”

Paul Lawrence Dunbar – 1872 – Poet

“And that is life.”

Helen Keller – 1880 – Author

“Never bend your head.  Always hold it high.  Look the world straight in the eye.”

Gaston Bachelard – 1884 – Philosopher

“One must always maintain one’s connection to the past and yet ceaselessly pull away from it.”

Bob Keeshan – 1927 – Entertainer

“Play is the work of children.  It’s very serious stuff.”

Ross Perot – 1930 – Businessman

“An activist is not the man who says the river is dirty – it’s the man who cleans up the river.”

Lucille Clifton – 1936 – Poet

English: Publicity photo of Bob Keeshan as Captain Kangaroo. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“People wish to be poets more than they wish to write poetry.  One should wish to celebrate more than one wishes to be celebrated.”

Alan Coren – 1938 – Writer

“I wonder sometimes if manufacturers of foolproof items keep a fool or two on the payroll to test things.”

James P. Hogan – 1941 – Author

“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people are full of doubts.”

Krzysztof Kieslowski – 1941 – Director

“Maybe it is worth investigating the unknown, if only because the very feeling of not knowing is a painful one.”

Ami Ayalon – 1945 – Author

“A captain who does not know where he wants to sail, there is no wind on Earth that will bring him there.”

Vera Wang – 1949 – Fashion Designer

“Don’t be afraid to take time to learn.  It’s good to work for other people.  I worked for others for 20 years.  They paid me to learn.”

Anita Diament – 1951 – Author

“I get nice rejections explaining that historical fiction was a difficult sell.  But I kept trying.”

Isabelle Adjani – 1955 – Actress

“You protect your being when you love yourself better.  That’s the secret.”

J. J. Abrams – 1966 – Director

“We live in an age of instant knowledge.  And there’s almost a sense of entitlement to that.”

Cecily von Ziegesar – 1970 – Author

“I tend to stare at people and memorize what they’re saying and how they say it.”

Tobey Maguire – 1975 – Actor

“I am a blank slate – therefore I can create anything I want.”

Khloe Kardashian – 1984 – Entertainer

“I’m strong and fearless and not afraid to take risks in business.”

Matthew Lewis – 1989 – Actor

“I’m very self-conscious as an actor, with performances and things, and I don’t like watching my own self.”

English: Pearl Buck, Pulitzer Prize-winning American author (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

George A. Smith – 1817 – Clergyman

“Lives are changes by a moment’s listening to conscience, by a single and quiet inclination of the mind.”

Lord Kelvin – 1824 – Irish Scientist

“The true measure of a man is what he would do it he knew he would never be caught.”

Bernard Berenson – 1865 – Historian

“Miracles happen to those who believe in them.”

Sidney Howard – 1891 – Playwright

“One-half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it.”

Pearl S. Buck – 1892 – Author

“You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel, but you can make yourself do right in spite of your feelings.”

Big Bill Broonzy – 1893 – Composer

“I guess all songs is folk songs.  I never heard no horse sing ’em.”

Colonel Tom Parker – 1909 – Celebrity

“Don’t try to explain it, just sell it.”

Mildred Babe Didrikson – 1911 – Golfer (Mildred Ella Zaharias)

“It’s not just enough to swing at the ball.  You’ve got to loosen your girdle and really let the ball have it.”

Virginia Satir – 1916 – Psychologist

“We need 4 hugs a day for survival.  We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance.  We need 12 hugs a day for growth.”

Colin Henry Wilson – 1931 – Writer

“A symphony is a stage play with the parts written for instruments instead of for actors.”

One of several studio portraits of Broonzy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Paul Thomas Anderson – 1970 – Director

“Acting is the hardest job in the entire world.  By far.  Harder than ditch digging.”

Gretchen Wilson – 1973 – Musician

“To me, redneck is a sense of self and a way of life.”

Derek Jeter – 1974 – Athlete

“There may be people who have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do – and I believe that.”

Michael Vick – 1980 – Athlete

“During my time in prison, I told myself that I wanted to be a part of the solution and not the problem.”

Ariana Grande – 1993 – Actress

“Be happy with being you.  Love your flaws.  Own your quirks.  And know that you are just as perfect as anyone else, exactly as you are.”

William Howard Stein (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Antonio Gaudi – 1852 – Architect

“Copiers do not collaborate.”

Georges Courteline – 1858 – Dramatist

“If it was necessary to tolerate in other people everything that one permits oneself, life would be unbearable.”

Robert Henri – 1865 – Artist

“Do whatever you do intensely.”

Hermann Oberth – 1894 – Scientist

“Our education system is like an automobile which has strong rear lights, brightly illuminating the past.  But looking forward things are barely discernible.”

Moses Hadas – 1900 – Writer

“The greatest gift is the passion for reading.  It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind.  It is a moral illumination.”

George Orwell – 1903 – Author

“Happiness can exist only in acceptance.”

William Howard Stein – 1911 -Scientist

“Keep high aspirations, moderate expectations, and small needs.”

Harry Seidler – 1923 – Architect

“Architecture is not an inspirational business, it’s a rational procedure to do sensible and hopefully beautiful things; that’s all.”

Dorothy Gilman – 1923 – Novelist

“It something anticipated arrives too late it finds us numb, wrung out from waiting, and we feel – nothing at all.  The best things arrive on time.”

Sidney Lumet – 1924 – Director

“All great work is preparing yourself for the accident to happen.”

Robert Venturi – 1925 – Architect

Vladimir Kramnik 06 08 2006 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Less is a bore.”

Eric Carle – 1929 – Author

“The hardest part is developing the idea, and that can take years.”

Willis Reed – 1942 – Athlete

“Go for the moon.  If you don’t get it, you’ll still be heading for a star.”

Phyllis George – 1949 – Journalist

“Life is what you make it:  If you snooze, you lose; if you snore, you lose more.”

Sonia Sotomayor – 1954 – Judge

“We apply law to facts.  We don’t apply feelings to facts.”

Anthony Bourdain – 1956 – Author

“Context and memory play powerful roles in all the truly great meals in one’s life.”

Ricky Gervais – 1961 – British Comedian

“Where there’s a will there’s a relative.”

George Michael – 1963 – Musician

“You’ll never find peace of mind until you listen to your heart.”

Matt LeBlanc – 1967 – Actor

“I believe that laughter is the best emotional Band-Aid in the world.  It’s like nature’s Neosporin.”

Vladimir Kramnik – 1975 – Russian Chess Champion

“Even if you play perfectly, a fault of your opponent’s can destroy the entire beauty of the game.”

Lauren Bush – 1984 – Model

“I think politicians do great things in the world, but I don’t think they’re the only ones who can.  I don’t like all the rhetoric and the finger pointing.”

Ambrose Bierce, American author (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Henry Ward Beecher – 1813 – Clergyman

“In this world it is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich.”

Rebecca Harding Davis – 1831 – Author

“The sun, the earth, love, friends, our very breath are parts of the banquet.”

Ambrose Bierce – 1842 – Journalist

“Speak when you are angry and you will make the speech you will ever regret.”

Jack Dempsey – 1895 – Athlete

“A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.”

Katherine Dunham – 1909 – Dancer

“I used to want the words ‘She tried’ on my tombstone.  Now I want ‘She did it.'”

Irving R. Kaufman – 1910 – Judge

“The judicial system is the most expensive machine ever invented for finding out what happened and what to do about it.”

Mary Wesley – 1912 – Novelist

“Of course risk-taking does not always pay off, but it’s a lot of fun!”

Fred Hoyle – 1915 – Scientist

“There is a coherent plan in the universe, though I don’t know what it’s a plan for.”

Norman Cousins – 1915 – Author

“Hearty laughter is a good way to jog internally without having to go outdoors.”

John Ciardi – 1916 – Dramatist

“Intelligence recognizes what has happened.  Genius recognizes what will happen.”

Martin Lewis Perl – 1927 – Physicist

Solange Knowles @ The Ruby Lounge, Manchester, (14/11/08) (Photo credit: magicube77 (shay))

“My parents regarded school teachers as higher beings, as did many immigrants.”

Claude Chabrol – 1930 – Director

“Stupidity is infinitely more fascinating than intelligence.  Intelligence has its limits while stupidity has none.”

Peter Bart – 1932 – Editor

“Most movie-goers are overdosing on star coverage; it’s the ultimate example of too much information.”

Terry Riley – 1935 – Composer

“Everyone seems to be in a kind of accelerated time mode that is beyond their own control.”

Lawrence Block – 1938 – Writer

“When you get older, keeping the private stuff private seems less important.”

Sherry Stringfield – 1967 – Actress

“It’s amazing how everyone has an opinion on how you should live your life.”

Jean Charest – 1968 – Lawyer

“You can’t go east and west at the same time.”

Christine Rampone – 1975 – Athlete

“I try to be realistic, listen to my body and know when to slow down.”

Solange Knowles – 1986 – Actress

Lionel Messi (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“You get educated by traveling.”

Lionel Messi – 1987 – Athlete

“The day you think there is no improvements to be made is a sad one for any player.”

Irvin Cobb (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

John Dickey – 1794 – Politician

“To create the power of competence without creating a corresponding direction to guide the use of that power is bad education.”

Irvin S. Cobb – 1876 – Journalist

“A good storyteller is a person with a good memory and hopes other people haven’t.”

King Edward VIII – 1894 – English Royalty

“When you’re bored with yourself, marry and be bored with someone else.”

Winifred Holtby – 1898 – Novelist

“The crown of life is neither happiness nor annihilation; it is understanding.”

Gordon B. Hinckley – 1910 – Clergyman

“Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds.”

WINIFRED HOLTBY (Photo credit: summonedbyfells)

Edward P. Morgan – 1910 – Journalist

“A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it, or explore an explosive idea without fear it will go off in your face.  It is one of the few havens remaining where a man’s mind can get both provocation and privacy.”

Jean Anouilh – 1910 – French Playwright

“Our entire life – consists ultimately in accepting ourselves as we are.”

David Ogilvy – 1911 – Businessman

“A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.”

June Carter Cash (Photo credit: A.Currell)

Alan Turing – 1912 – Mathematician

“We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.”

Art Modell – 1925 – Businessman

“I want to be remembered as a guy who tried his best and did his best.”

June Carter Cash – 1929 – Musician

“Every dog has his day, unless he loses his tail, then he has a weak-end.”

Dave Bristol – 1933 – Coach

“Boys, baseball is a game where you gotta have fun.  You do that by winning.”

Richard Bach – 1936 – Novelist

“If you love someone, set them free.  If they come back they’re yours; if they don’t they never were.”

Wilma Rudolph – 1940 – Track and Field Champion

“Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of human spirit.  We are all the same in this notion:  The potential for greatness lives within each of us.”

Clarence Thomas – 1948 – Judge

“Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot.”

Randy Jackson – 1956 – Musician

“Figure out who you are.”

Frances McDormand – 1957 – Actress

“The only power you have is the word no.”

Joel Edgerton – 1974 – Actor

“Every job leaves its residue, a bit of extra knowledge, or a new skill-set.”

Jason Mraz – 1977 – Musician

“You come to realize that only one person can tell you what’s expected of you, and that’s you.”

English: Italian statesman Giuseppe Mazzini (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jacques Delille – 1738 – Poet

“Fate chooses our relatives, we choose our friends.”

Wilhelm von Humboldt – 1767 – Educator

“I am more and more convinced that our happiness or unhappiness depends far more on the way we meet the events of life than on the nature of these events themselves.”

Giuseppe Mazzini – 1805 – Italian Activist

“Music is the harmonious voice of creation; an echo of the invisible world.”

John Dillinger – 1903 – Criminal

“OK, boys; let’s go make a withdrawal.”

Carl Hubbell – 1903 – Athlete

“A fellow doesn’t last long on what he has done.  He has to keep on delivering.”

Gilbert Highet – 1906 – Writer

“These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves.”

Anne Morrow Lindbergh – 1906 – Author

English: Portrait of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, photographed by Louis Fabian Bachrach, 1918. Image courtesy of the Lindbergh Picture Collection, Yale University Manuscripts & Archives Digital Images Database. Retouched by MarmadukePercy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“If you surrender completely to the moments as they pass, you live more richly those moments.”

Billy Wilder – 1906 – Director

“Trust your own instincts.  Your mistakes might as well be your own, instead of someone else’s.”

Michael Todd – 1909 – Producer

“I have always advised people never to apply for a job you do not really want.”

Bill Blass – 1922 – Designer

“Red is the ultimate cure for sadness.”

Bruce Kent – 1929 – British Activist

“Some people are genetically programmed to be difficult.”

Dianne Feinstein – 1933 – Politician

“Ninety percent of leadership is the ability to communicate something people want.”

Kris Kristofferson – 1936 – Musician

“You don’t paddle against the current, you paddle with it.  And if you get good at it, you throw away the oars.”

Andrew Brown – 1938 – Producer

“The Internet is so big, so powerful and pointless that for some people it is a complete substitute for life.”

Abbas Kiarostami – 1940 – Director

“A work of art doesn’t exist outside the perception of the audience.”

Ed Bradley – 1941 – Journalist

“Be prepared, work hard, and hope for a little luck.  Recognize that the harder you word and the better prepared you are, the more luck you might have.”

Brit Hume – 1943 – Journalist

“Fairness is not an attitude.  It’s a professional skill that must be developed and exercised.”

Pete Maravich – 1947 – Athlete

“There is nothing wrong with dedication and goals, but if you focus on yourself, all the lights fade away and you become a fleeting moment in life.”

Octavia Butler – 1947 – Writer

“Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing.  There is a time for silence.  A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny.  And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it’s all over.”

Todd Rundgren – 1948 – Musician

“Behind every tree there’s a new monster.”

Meryl Streep – 1949 – Actress

“Expensive clothes are a waste of money.”

Lindsay Wagner – 1949 – Actress

“Once you go inside and weed through the muck, you will find the real beauty, the truth about yourself.”

Cyndi Lauper – 1953 – Musician

“People can save the world by the way they think and by the way they behave and what they hold to be important.”

Stephen Chow – 1962 – Actor

“A creation needs not only subjectivity, but also objectivity.”

Dan Brown – 1964 – Author

“That is the definition of faith – acceptance of that which we imagine to be true, that which we cannot prove.”

Greg Anderson – 1964 – Athlete

“Focus on the journey, not the destination.  Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”

A splendid wreck and other poems : illustrated (1888) (Photo credit: CircaSassy)

Anthony Collins – 1676 – Philosopher

“I am obligated to believe certain opinions myself.  No man’s belief will save me except my own.”

Simeon Poisson – 1781 – Mathematician

“Life is good for only two things, discovering mathematics and teaching mathematics.”

Ferdinand Christian Baur – 1792 – Theologian

“Without philosophy, history is always for me dead and dumb.”

Matthew Simpson – 1811 – Clergyman

“Angels are spirits, flames of fire; they are higher than man, they have wider connections.”

Daniel Carter Beard – 1850 – Artist

“We must depend upon the Boy Scout Movement to produce men of the future.”

Henry Ossawa Tanner – 1859 – Artist

“Get it – get it better or get it worse.  No middle ground of compromise.”

Josiah Stamp – 1880 – Businessman

Reinhold Niebuhr (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.”

Jean-Paul Sartre (um 1950) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Reinhold Niebuhr – 1892 – Theologian

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Al Hirschfeld – 1903 – Cartoonist

“Artists are just children who refuse to put down their crayons.”

Jean-Paul Sartre – 1905 – Philosopher

“Only the guy who isn’t rowing has time to rock the boat.”

Mary McCarthy – 1912 – Author

“We are the hero of our own story.”

Jane Russell – 1921 – Actress

“Publicity can be terrible.  But only if you don’t have any.”

Conrad Hall – 1926 – Artist

“There is a kind of beauty in imperfection.”

Francoise Sagan – 1935 – Playwright

“Art must take reality by surprise.”

Ian McEwan – 1948 – Author

“True intelligence requires fabulous imagination.”

Kathy Mattea – 1959 – Musician

“We rob ourselves of so much by focusing on the wrong stuff.  And the ability to get into the moment and deal with what is, that’s the real opportunity.”

Nicole Kidman – 1967 – Actress

“I would rather be tough on myself than have other people be tough on me.”

Richard Jefferson – 1980 – Athlete

“Businessmen…were not born chief executives.  They were often people first.”

Prince William – 1982 – British Royalty

“My guiding principles in life are to be honest, genuine, thoughtful, and caring.”