Quote Queen

Stevie Smith (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

William Chappell – 1809 – Writer

“I think women get a little crazier when they run in packs.  They want to outdo each other.”

James Dewar – 1842 – Scientist

“Minds are like parachutes, they only function when they are open.”

Upton Sinclair – 1878 – Author

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”

Elizabeth Kenny – 188o – Celebrity

“He who angers you conquers you.”

Charles Williams – 1886 – Editor

“Many promising reconciliations have broken down because while both parties come prepared to forgive, neither party comes prepared to be forgiven.”

Stevie Smith – 1902 – Poet

“All poetry has to do is to make a strong communication.  All the poet has to do is listen.  The poet is not an important fellow.  There will always be another poet.”

Clarice Taylor – 1917 – Actress

“My family thought it was insanity for me to go into the theater rather than to get an education.”

Red Auerbach – 1917 – Coach

“He who believes in nobody knows that he himself is not to be trusted.”

William Kapell – 1922 – Musician

“The dull and stupid have a much easier time of it.”

Joyce Brothers – 1927 – Psychologist

“Trust your hunches.  They’re usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level.”

Malachy McCourt – 1931 – Actor

“Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”

NASCAR and former Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya at the August 2007 NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Cropped from original. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sophia Loren – 1934 – Actress

“Mistakes are the dues one pays for a full life.”

Andrew Davies – 1936 – Writer

“You’re stuck with being yourself, so the important thing is to find people who like that.”

Pete Coors – 1946 – Businessman

“I’ve always wanted to serve my country in some capacity.”

Jude Deveraux – 1947 – Author

“I don’t like to read books where I feel as though I’ve stepped into the middle of things and don’t know what’s going on.  I like to see characters I’ve met before, but I don’t want to feel left out because I haven’t read other books in the series.”

George R. R. Martin – 1948 – Author

“Of course it’s not enough to be a good man to be an effective ruler and it never has been.”

Guy Lafleur – 1951 – Athlete

“Play every game as if it is your last one.”

Nuno Bettencourt – 1966 – Musician

“As much as you put into it is as much as you get out of it.”

Kristen Johnston – 1967 – Actress

“And to be different is great.  You don’t want to be the same.”

Juan Pablo Montoya – 1975 – Professional Race Car Driver

“I’m busy, man, too busy.  There’s a lamentable absence of free time.”

Jon Bernthal – 1976 – Actor

“If you can figure out how to get paid to do something you love, that’s the dream.”

Dante Hall – 1978 – Athlete

“Treat everyone the way you would want to be treated . . . this can be applied to any situation.”

Photo of Lajos Kossuth (1802 -1891) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lajos Kossuth – 1802 – Lawyer

“The unspoken word never does harm.”

George Cadbury – 1839 – Businessman

“But if each man could have his own house, a large garden to cultivate and healthy surroundings – then, I thought, there will be for them a better opportunity of a happy family life.”

Rachel Field – 1894 – Novelist

“Too much good fortune can make you smug and unaware.  Happiness should be like an oasis, the greener for the desert that surrounds it.”

Mika Waltari – 1908 – Author

“A decision once taken brings peace to a man’s mind and eases his soul.”

William Golding – 1911 – Novelist

“Childhood is a disease – a sickness that you grow out of.”

Frances Farmer – 1913 – Actress

“If a person is treated like a patient, they are apt to act like one.”

Emil Zatopek – 1922 – Athlete

“An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets.  He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.”

James Lipton – 1926 – Educator

“The definition of genius, really, should be that that person can do what the rest of us have to learn how to do.”

Adam West – 1928 – Actor

“I’ve always tried to fit what I do professionally into my family, rather than the other way around.”

David McCallum – 1933 – Actor

“I think your life is governed not by the bricks or mortar around you, it’s governed by who holds your hand and who spits in your eye.”

Al Oerter – 1936 – Athlete

“To exercise at or near capacity is the best way I know of reaching a true introspective state.  If you do it right, it can open all kinds of inner doors.”

Cass Elliot – 1941 – Musician

English: Emil Zatopek (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Honest is all you need.”

Joe Morgan – 1943 – Athlete

“I believe you learn social skills by mixing with people.”

Kate Adie – 1945 – Journalist

“I’ve never been one to sit around and eat my heart out.  Life’s too short.”

Tanith Lee – 1947 – Writer

“No one is ever ordinary.”

Joan Lunden – 1950 – Celebrity

“Holding on to anger, resentment and hurt only gives you tense muscles, a headache and a sore jaw from clenching your teeth.  Forgiveness gives you back the laughter and the lightness in your life.”

Nile Rodgers – 1952 – Musician

“I think the hardest thing to overcome is judging yourself and being your own worst critic so to speak.”

Michael Symon – 1969 – Chef

“Sitting down for dinner not only helps you learn, but also teaches you how to listen – which I feel is the most important skill to have.  I remember as a kid going around the table listening to everyone’s day.  It was hard to have the manners not to interrupt back then.”

Jimmy Fallon – 1974 – Comedian

“Everyone looks so much better when they smile.”

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Greta Garbo in The Joyless Street. Alexander Binder (for Atelier Binder) made the portrait during the filming. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Samuel Johnson – 1709 – Author

“Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must be first overcome.”

Joseph Story – 1779 – Judge

“A feeble executive implies a feeble execution of the government.”

Greta Garbo – 1905 – Actress

“Life would be so wonderful if we only knew what to do with it.”

Agnes de Mille – 1905 – Dancer

“No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made.  Destiny is made known silently.”

Francis Parker Yockey – 1917 – Writer

” Pessimism only describes an attitude, and not facts, and hence is entirely subjective.”

Scotty Bowmen – 1933 – Coach

“There is nothing so uncertain as a sure thing.”

Robert Blake – 1933 – Actor

“Don’t give it to the audience; leave it to the audience.”

Frankie Avalon – 1939 – Actor

“I think today’s music absolutely stinks.  I really do mean that.”

Fred Willard – 1939 – Comedian

“Suddenly you’re like a pirate, you’re 65 years old and you’ve got an earring.”

Peter Shilton – 1949 – Athlete

“Being fit will keep you mentally sharp and people forget that.”

Anna Deavere Smith – 1950 – Actress

“Listening is not just hearing what someone tells you word for word.  You have to listen with a heart.  I don’t want that to sound touchy-feely; it is not.  It is very hard work.”

Rick Pitino – 1952 – Athlete

“Excellence is the unlimited ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer.”

James Gandolfini (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Debbi Fields – 1956 – Businesswoman

“Good enough never is.”

Ryne Sandberg – 1959 – Athlete

“I was taught you never, ever disrespect your opponent or your teammates or your organization or your manager and never, ever your uniform.”

Bernard Werber – 1961 – Writer

“Can we ever really know anyone well?  Let’s just say we often found ourselves in each other’s company and neither of us minded.”

James Gandolfini – 1961 – Actor

“I love hearing people laugh.”

Christopher Heyerdahl – 1963 – Actor

“Mother Nature is the great equalizer.  You can’t get away from it.”

Aisha Tyler – 1970 – Actress

“When I get old and slow down I want to look behind me and see all the fire and the wreckage and no stone left unturned.”

Lance Armstrong – 1971 – Athlete

“Pain is temporary.  Quitting lasts forever.”

Jada Pinkett Smith – 1971 – Actress

“I have a thing for doors.  I always think of them as a threshold to something new.”

Chief Justice Warren E. Burger (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Francisco de Quevedo – 1580 – Writer

“In short, not only are things not what they seem, they are not even what they are called!”

Marquis de Condorcet – 1743 – Philosopher

“Enjoy your own life without comparing it with that of another.”

Samuel Prout – 1783 – Artist

“Poetry does not consist of words alone; there must be sentiment and fancy, combination and arrangement.”

Gabriel Heatter – 1890 – Journalist

“More power than all the success slogans ever penned by human hand is the realization for every man that he has but one boss.  That boss is the man – he – himself.”

Warren E. Burger – 1907 – Judge

“Free speech carries with it some freedom to listen.”

M. F. Husain – 1915- Artist (Maqbool Fida Husain)

“I only give expression to the instincts from my soul.”

Dinah Sheridan – 1920 – Actress

“After all, a job isn’t worth doing unless you enjoy it.”

Hank Williams – 1923 – Musician

“I was a pretty good imitator of Roy Acuff, but then I found out they already had a Roy Acuff, so I started singin’ like myself.”

Roddy McDowall – 1928 – Actor

“My whole life I’ve been trying to prove I’m not just yesterday.”

Jim Rohn – 1930 – Businessman

“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan.  And guess what they have planned for you?  Not much.”

Anne Bancroft – 1931 – Actress

“If you marry the wrong person for the wrong reasons, then no matter how hard you work, it’s never going to work, because then you have to completely change yourself, completely change them, completely – by that time, you’re both dead.”

Robert B. Parker – 1932 – Writer

“If you want to write, write it.  That’s the first rule.  And send it in, and send it in to someone who can publish it or get it published.  Don’t send it to me.  Don’t show it to your spouse, or your significant other, or your parents, or somebody.  They are not going to publish it.”

Chuck Grassley – 1933 – Politician

“What makes a child gifted and talented may not always be good grades in school, but a different way of looking at the world and learning.”

Ken Kesey – 1935 – Author

“People think love is an emotion.  Love is good sense.”

Orlando Cepeda – 1937 – Athlete

“When people are wrong, you’ve got to let them know it.”

David H. Souter – 1939 – Judge

Roddy McDowall taken at 60th Academy Awards 4/11/88 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“It is much easier to modify an opinion if one has not already persuasively declared it.”

Phil Jackson – 1945 – Coach

“Always keep an open mind and a compassionate heart.”

John Ritter – 1948 – Actor

“I knew when I grew up, I always wanted to be a liar, and if you’re in television, you’re lying because you’re just pretending to be yourself much like I’m doing now.”

Rita Rudner – 1955 – Comedian

“Men who have a pierced ear are better prepared for marriage – they’ve experienced pain and bought jewelry.”

Kyle Chandler – 1965 – Actor

“Opportunity does not knock, it presents itself when you beat down the door.”

Bryan Singer – 1965 – Director

“We don’t live in the world of reality, we live in the world of how we perceive reality.”

Tito Vilanova – 1968 – Athlete

“You should never get nervous about anything.  What today seems important tomorrow isn’t so any more.”

Cheryl Strayed – 1968 – Writer

“Writing is part intuition and part trial and error, but mostly it’s very hard work.”

Jimmie Johnson – 1975 – Professional Race Car Driver

“I didn’t get into racing to make friends.”

Elliott Bisnow – 1985 – Businessman

“Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship.  It drives everything:  Job creation, poverty alleviation, innovation.”

Cropped screenshot of Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, from the trailer for the film To Have and Have Not. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Henry St. John – 1678 – Politician

“Truth lies within a little and certain compass, but error is immense.”

Nathan Meyer Rothschild – 1777 – Businessman

“We are like the mechanism of a watch:  each part is essential.”

James J. Hill – 1838 – Businessman

“Most men who have really lived have had, in some share, their great adventure.  This railway is mine.”

Ricardo Flores Magon – 1874 – Journalist

“We are free, truly free, when we don’t need to rent our arms to anybody in order to be able to lift a piece of bread to our mouths.”

Lewis Hine – 1874 – Photographer

“If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn’t need to lug around a camera.”

James Cash Penney – 1875 – Businessman

“Men are not great or small because of their material possessions.  They are great or small because of what they are.”

Alfred Noyes – 1880 – Poet

“The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas.”

Clive Bell – 1881 – Critic

“Do not mistake a crowd of big wage-earners for the leisure class.”

Karen Horney – 1885 – Psychologist

“The perfect normal person is rare in our civilization.”

Nadia Boulanger – 1887 – Musician

“Loving a child doesn’t mean giving in to all his whims; to love him is to bring our the best in him, to teach him to love what is difficult.”

Albert Szent-Gyorgyi – 1893 – Scientist

“Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.”

Allen Funt – 1914- Celebrity

Ed Begley, Jr. at the 81st Academy Awards (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“When people are smiling they are most receptive to almost anything you want to teach them.”

Frank Butler – 1916 – Journalist

“A golf course is nothing but a pool room moved outdoors.”

Laurence J. Peter – 1919 – Scientist

“Psychiatry enables us to correct our faults by confessing our parents’ shortcomings.”

Lauren Bacall – 1924 – Actress (Betty Jean Perske)

“Imagination is the highest kite one can fly.”

Charlie Byrd – 1925 – Musician

“A person should design the way he makes a living around how he wishes to make a life.”

B. B. King – 1925 – Musician (Riley B. King)

“The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.”

Peter Falk – 1927 – Actor

“Usually, I get hired because I’m tall.”

George Chakiris – 1934 – Dancer

“No matter how dark the moment, love and hope are always possible.”

Elgin Baylor – 1934 – Athlete

“Coaching is easy.  Winning is the hard part.”

Ed Begley, Jr. – 1949 – Actor

“One of the regular intervals of meditation in my life, believe it or not, is in my car.”

David Copperfield – 1956 – Illusionist

“I’m just waiting for people to start asking me to make the rain disappear.”

Orel Hershiser – 1958 – Athlete

“No matter how noble and special people want to make the playoffs out to be . . . it’s a crapshoot.”

Trisha Yearwood – 1964 – Musician

“What’s meant to be will always find a way.”

Marc Anthony – 1969 – Musician

“If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.”

Kristy Coventry – 1983 – Athlete

“It is much harder to retain your position at the top than to get to the top.”

Agatha Christie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Marco Polo – 1254 – Explorer

“I have not told half of what I saw.”

Francois de La Rochefoucauld – 1613 – Writer

“A true friend is the greatest of all blessings, and that which we take the least care to acquire.”

Karl Philipp Moritz – 1756 – Author

“It is a common observation, that the more solicitous any people are about dress, the more effeminate they are.”

James F. Cooper – 1789 – Novelist

“Candor is a proof of both a just frame of mind, and of a good tone of breeding.  It is a quality that belongs equally to the honest man and to the gentleman.”

William Howard Taft – 1857 – 27th President of the United States

“No tendency is quite so strong in human nature as the desire to lay down rules of conduct for other people.”

Bruno Walter – 1876 – Composer

“Napoleon is dead – but Beethoven lives.”

Claude McKay – 1889 – Writer

“If a man is not faithful to his own individuality, he cannot be loyal to anything.”

Dame Agatha Christie – 1890 – Author

“An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have:  the older she gets, the more interested he is in her.”

Robert Benchley – 1889 – Humorist and Actor

“It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous.”

Roy Acuff – 1903 – Musician

“My health is good; it’s my age that’s bad.”

Fay Wray – 1907 – Actress

“Only in your imagination can you revise.”

Fawn M. Brodie – 1915- Author

“Housework is a breeze.  Cooking is a pleasant diversion.  Putting up a retaining wall is a lark.  But teaching is like climbing a mountain.”

Nipsey Russell – 1918 – Comedian

“I start with the joke line and write backward.”

Jackie Cooper – 1922 – Actor

“If it’s boring, then it’s tiring.”

Bobby Short – 1924 – Musician

“But life is tough and if you’re creative, it’s tougher.”

Murray Gell-Mann – 1929 – Physicist

“Enthusiasm is followed by disappointment and even depression, and then by renewed enthusiasm.”

Gaylord Perry – 1938 – Athlete

“The trouble with baseball is that it is not played the year round.”

Merlin Olsen – 1940 – Athlete

“One of life’s most painful moments comes when we must admit that we didn’t do our homework, that we are not prepared.”

Norman Spinrad – 1940 – Author

“I’m not gifted, but I’m not hopeless.”

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro – 1942 – Writer

“Storylines are how characters create the plots involved in their stories.”

Jessye Norman – 1945 – Musician

“A person has the right, and I think the responsibility, to develop all of their talents.”

Tommy Lee Jones – 1946 – Actor

“Kindness and politeness are not overrated at all.  They’re underused.”

Oliver Stone – 1946 – Director

“Never underestimate the power of jealousy and the power of envy to destroy.  Never underestimate that.”

English: Chimamanda Adichie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dan Marino – 1961 – Athlete

“I don’t need to be motivated by anybody.  Never have.”

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – 1977 – Writer

“Successful fiction does not need to be validated by ‘real life’; I cringe whenever a writer is asked how much of a novel is ‘real’.”

Prince Harry – 1984 – British Royalty

“You’ve got to give something back.  You can’t just sit there.”

English: Alice Stone Blackwell and suffragist newspaper (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

John Gould – 1804 – Writer

“A lecture is an occasion when you numb one end to benefit the other.”

Ivan Pavlov – 1849 – Psychologist

“Perfect as the wing of a bird may be, it will never enable the bird to fly if unsupported by the air.  Facts are the air of science.  Without them a man of science can never rise.”

Alice Stone Blackwell – 1857 – Journalist

“Justice is better than chivalry if we cannot have both.”

Hamlin Garland – 1860 – Novelist

“There is no gilding of setting sun or glamor of poetry to light up the ferocious and endless toil of the farmers’ wives.”

Jan Masaryk – 1886 – Diplomat

“Dictators are rulers who always look good until the last ten minutes.”

Peter Scott – 1909 – Artist

“I’ve always believed the greater danger is not aiming too high, but too low for a bogey rather than shooting for an eagle.”

Clayton Moore – 1914 – Actor “The Loner Ranger”

“I think you’re going to find out that westerns will be coming back.  It’s Americana, it’s part of our history, the cowboy, the cattle drive, the sheriff, the fight for law, order, and justice.  Justice will always prevail as far as I’m concerned.”

Robert McCloskey – 1914 – Author

“I get a lot of letters.  Not only from children but from adults, too.  Almost every week, every month, clippings come in from some part of the world where ducks are crossing the street.”

Eric Bentley – 1916 – Critic

“Ours is the age of substitutes:  instead of language, we have jargon; instead of principles, slogans; and instead of genuine ideas, bright ideas.”

Sydney Harris – 1917 – Journalist

“When I hear somebody say ‘Life is hard’, I am always tempted to ask ‘Compared to what?'”

Jerry Coleman – 1924 – Athlete

“You never ask why you’ve been fired because if you do, they’re liable to tell you.”

Clayton Moore (Photo credit: twm1340)

Allan Bloom – 1930 – Philosopher

“Education is the movement from darkness to light.”

Barbara Grizzuti Harrison – 1934 – Writer

“There are no original ideas.  There are only original people.”

Renzo Piano – 1937 – Architect

“A museum is a place where one should lose one’s head.”

Robert Herjavec – 1963 – Businessman

“Business is a sprint until you find an opportunity, then it’s the patience of a marathon runner.”

Tyler Perry – 1969 – Actor

“It’s not an easy journey, to get to a place where you forgive people.  But it is such a powerful place, because it frees you.”

English: Milton S. Hershey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Julius Charles Hare – 1795 – Clergyman

“Be what you are.  This is the first step toward becoming better than you are.”

Clara Schumann – 1819 – Musician

“Why hurry over beautiful things?  Why not linger and enjoy them?”

Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach – 1830 – Novelist

“Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.”

Walter Reed – 1851 – United States Army Physician

“If it happens, it happens . . . We can’t stop living.”

Milton Hershey – 1857 – Businessman

“Give them quality.  That’s the best kind of advertising.”

John Clapham – 1873 – Economist

“Economic advance is not the same thing as human progress.”

J. B. Priestley – 1894 – Writer (John Boynton Priestley)

“I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.”

Claudette Colbert – 1903 – Actress

“Men don’t get smarter when they grow older.  They just lose their hair.”

Bill Monroe – 1911 – Musician

“Practice every time you get a chance.”

Roald Dahl – 1916 – Novelist

“A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.”

Robert Indiana – 1928 – Artist

“I think of my peace paintings as one long poem, with each painting being a single stanza.”

Claudette Colbert (Photo credit: twm1340)

Adrienne Kennedy – 1931 – Playwright

“I get excited by landscape.”

Judith Martin – 1938 – “Miss Manners” Columnist

“It’s far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help.”

Bela Karolyi – 1942 – Gymnastics Coach

“Genetics is all about showcasing human beauty along with high-quality performance.”

Jacqueline Bisset – 1944 – Actress

“Character contributes to beauty.  It fortifies a woman as her youth fades.  A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, discipline, fortitude, and integrity can do a great deal to make a woman beautiful.”

Nell Carter – 1948 – Actress

“Rich means you have to stay there to maintain it.”

Jean Smart – 1951 – Actress

“Personally, I think life offers us the opportunity to take chances and make changes all the time.”

Domenico Dolce – 1958 – Designer

“The worst time can be the best if you think with positive energy.”

Jeff Ross – 1965 – Comedian

“Life is short.  You have to be able to laugh at our pain or we never move on.”

Michael Johnson – 1967 – Athlete

“The only one who can beat me is me.”

Bern Williams – 1968 – Author

“Books had instant replay long before televised sports.”

Stella McCartney – 1971 – Fashion Designer

“Sometimes I wish I were less sensible.”

Fiona Apple – 1977 – Musician

“Nothing that you do will ever feel good if you let people convince you that you have no choice.”

Ben Savage – 1980 – Actor

“If you always have a crutch, you don’t learn anything.”

Amy Winehouse – 1984 – Musician

“There’s no point in saying anything but the truth.”

H. L. Mencken (Photo credit: Union-Square)

Anselm Feuerbach – 1829 – Artist

“If someone gives you so-called good advice, do the opposite; you can be sure it will be the right thing nine out of 10 times.”

Charles Dudley Warner – 1829 – Journalist

“Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough.”

H. L. Mencken – 1880 – Writer (Henry Louis Mencken)

“Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.”

Maurice Chevalier – 1888 – Actor

“If you wait for the perfect moment when all is safe and assured, it may never arrive.  Mountains will not be climbed, races won, or lasting happiness achieved.”

Arthur Hays Sulzberger – 1891 – Publisher

“I believe in an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out.”

Alfred A. Knopf – 1892 – Publisher

“The writer who can’t do his job looks to his editor to do it for him, though he won’t dream of sharing his royalties with that editor.”

Lewis B. Hershey – 1893 – Soldier

“A boy becomes an adult three years before his parents think he does, and about two years after he thinks he does.”

Jesse Owens – 1913 – Olympic Athlete

“Find the good.  It’s all around you.  Find it, showcase it and you’ll start believing in it.”

Mary Stewart – 1916 – Novelist

“The best way of forgetting how you think you feel is to concentrate on what you know you know.”

Eric Butterworth – 1916 – Educator

English: Alfred A. Knopf photo taken by Carl Van Vechten (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Don’t go through life, grow through life.”

Han Suyin – 1917 – Writer

“There is nothing stronger in the world than gentleness.”

Stanislaw Lem – 1921 – Writer

“Where do consequences lead?  Depends on the escort.”

Adrian Rogers – 1931 – Clergyman

“A church is an incubator, a nursery, a grade school.  You start where people are and move them to where they need to be.”

Kristin Hunter – 1931 – Writer

“Every one of us is a wonder.  Every one of us has a story.”

Ian Holm – 1931 – Actor

“The most important thing in the face is the eyes, and if you can make the eyes talk, you’re halfway there.”

Linda Gray – 1942 – Actress

“You make a mistake, you keep going.”

Michael Ondaatje – 1943 – Author

“It’s why you create characters:  so you can argue with yourself.”

Stephen Sprouse – 1953 – Designer

“I guess you just fall into things when you’re supposed to.”

Rachel Ward – 1957 – Actress

“All anything takes, really, is confidence.”

Ruben Studdord – 1978 – Singer

“My mother always taught me, even my dad, just never let other people’s opinions of you shape your opinion of yourself.  And I never have and I never will.”

Jennifer Hudson – 1981 – Singer

“Don’t block your blessings.  Don’t let doubt stop you from getting where you want to be.”

O. Henry (real name William Sydney Porter) in his thirties. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

James Thomson – 1700 – Musician

“Ingratitude is treason to mankind.”

Eduard Hanslick – 1825 – Writer

“Music has no subject beyond the combinations of notes we hear, for music speaks not only by means of sounds, it speaks nothing but sound.”

O’Henry – 1862 – Writer (William Sydney Porter)

“The true adventurer goes forth aimless and uncalculated to meet and greet unknown fate.”

James Jeans – 1877 – Physicist

“Put three grains of sand inside a vast cathedral, and the cathedral will be more closely packed with sand than space is with stars.”

D. H. Lawrence – 1885 – Writer (David Herbert Lawrence)

“Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.”

Vinoba Bhave – 1895 – Educator

“When a thing is true, there is no need to use any arguments to substantiate it.”

Jimmie Davis – 1899 – Politician

“A song is the most intangible thing in the world.”

Theodor Adorno – 1903 – Philosopher

“Love is the power to see similarity in the dissimilar.”

Paul Goodman – 1911 – Writer

“Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.”

Paul “Bear” Bryant – 1913 – American College Football Coach

“Show class, have pride, and display character.  If you do, winning takes care of itself.”

Herbert Lom – 1917 – Actor

“You know, I always do my best, no matter the quality of the film.”

Ferdinand Marcos – 1917 – Filipino Statesman

“Leadership is the other side of the coin of loneliness, and he who is a leader must always act alone.  And acting alone, accept everything alone.”

Jessica Mitford – 1917 – Journalist

“You may not be able to change the world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty.”

Charles Evers – 1922 – Activist

“I believe welfare makes you lazy and unproductive.”

Tom Landry – 1924 – Professional Football Coach

Capt. Robert Crippen, USN, STS-1 pilot, STS commander (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react.  If you’re in control, they’re in control.”

David Broder – 1929 – Journalist

“Anybody who wants the presidency so much that he’ll spend two years organizing and campaigning for it is not to be trusted with the office.”

Bob Packwood – 1932 – Politician

“Judgment comes from experience and great judgment comes from bad experience.”

Arvo Part – 1935 – Composer

“The human voice is the most perfect instrument of all.”

Robert Crippen – 1937 – Astronaut

“You’re going very fast when you’re on orbit, going around the world once every hour and a half.”

Tony Gilroy – 1956 – Writer

“I love the idea of spies in love.  How would it work between two people who were so programmed to lie and be suspicious, who have a whole life based on pretense?”

Brad Bird – 1957 – Cartoonist

“Animation is about creating the illusion of life.  And you can’t create it if you don’t have one.”

Maria Bartiromo – 1967 – Journalist

“I think that my biggest attribute to any success that I have had is hard work.  There really is no substitute for working hard.”

Charles Kelley – 1981 – Musician

“With anything you do in life, there are days where you’re worn out and you don’t want to do it for a second.”