Quote Queen

Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802-1838) by Maclise (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Walter Scott – 1771 – Novelist

“For success, attitude is equally as important as ability.”

Letitia Elizabeth Landon – 1802 – Poet

“An apt question is like a lamp which flings its light over the whole sentence.”

John Galsworthy – 1867 – Author

“If you do not think about your future, you cannot have one.”

Pierre Schaeffer – 1910 – Composer

“Sound is the vocabulary of nature.”

Wellington Mara – 1916 – Businessman

“In trying to scramble out of a hole, it sometimes digs deeper.”

Russell Baker – 1925 – Journalist

“Don’t try to make children grow up to be like you, or they may do it.”

Earl Weaver – 1930 – Coach

“Coaches are an integral part of any manager’s team, especially if they are good pinochle players.”

Steve Martin – 1945 – Comedian and Actor

“A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.”

Danielle Steele – 1947 – Author

“A bad review is like baking a cake with all the best ingredients and having someone sit on it.”

Gary Larsen – 1950 – Cartoonist

“Great moments in science:  Einstein discovers that time is actually money.”

Debbie Meyer – 1952 – Athlete

“Believe in yourself, not only in swimming, but in life itself.  You always have to have fun.  You have to have an open mind.  If you’re not enjoying it, don’t do it.  Life’s too short.”

Marcia Gay Harden – 1959 – Actress

“I love it when ugliness is beautiful.  I love character flaws.”

Magic Johnson – 1959 – Athlete (Earvin Johnson, Jr.)

“All kids need is a little help, a little hope and somebody who believes in them.”

Susan Olsen – 1961 – Actress

“If you were a kid actor, if you had any plans of being an actor as an adult, you were really barking up the wrong tree.”

Sarah Brightman – 1961 – Musician

“Anything can happen to anyone at any time and you shouldn’t just live through the days, or you lose them.  You should do what you can to enjoy every moment.”

Emmanuelle Beart – 1965 – Actress

“Beauty is not something you can count on.  Usually, when people say you are beautiful, it is when there is a harmony between the inside and the outside.”

Catherine Bell – 1968 – Model

“I’m a firm believer in doing things that scare you.”

Halle Berry – 1968 – Actress

“After all, everybody has secrets and there are some things that nobody knows about you but only you, right?”

Jill Bennett – 1975 – Actress

“Never marry a man who hates his mother because he would end up hating you.”

Tim Tebow OPENSports.com (Photo credit: OPEN Sports)

Benjamin Cohen – 1982 – Journalist

“The truth is that most small businesses will not succeed and you need to be emotionally prepared for this.”

Mila Kunis – 1983 – Actress

“Always have a backup plan.”

Tim Tebow – 1987 – Professional Football Player

“You just try to be nice to everybody and treat them all the same.  Treat them how you would want to be treated.”

Ben Hogan (Photo credit: Steve and Sara)

Felix Adler – 1851 – Educator

“The family is the school of duties – founded on love.”

Burt Lahr – 1895 – Actor

“After The Wizard of Oz I was typecast as a lion, and there aren’t all that many parts for lions.”

Alfred Hitchcock – 1899 – Author

“The more outrageous a subject can get, the more I like it.”

William Bernbach – 1911 – Businessman

“The most powerful element in advertising is the truth.”

Ben Hogan – 1912 – Golfer

“As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round.”

Frederick Sanger – 1918 – Scientist

“It is like a voyage of discovery into unknown lands, seeking not for new territory but for new knowledge.  It should appeal to those with a good sense of adventure.”

George Shearing – 1919 – Musician

“You know, when you’ve established a certain thing, what can you do?  You’re stuck with it.”

Bernard Manning – 1931 – Comedian

“I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying, toys not included.”

Frederick Sanger, the fourth (and only living) person to win two Nobel Prizes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lee R. Raymond – 1938 – Businessman

“It is important to remember that all business has an impact on the lives of real people.”

Bobby Clarke – 1949 – Athlete

“I’ve discovered that the less I say, the more rumors I start.”

Dan Fogelberg – 1951 – Musician

“My grandfather gave me my first guitar, an old acoustic with palm trees and dancing girls painted on it.”

Herb Ritts – 1952 – Photographer

“Regardless of whether you speak the language or are familiar with a culture, the picture should hold up.”

Scott Hamilton – 1958 – Athlete

“Always try to maintain complete tolerance and always make an effort to give people more than they expect.”

Danny Bonaduce – 1959 – Actor

“I am a proud participant of the Spencer Tracy School of Acting:  Know your lines, don’t bump into the furniture.”

William Thomas – 1968 – Athlete

“Anyone who thinks they’re important is usually just a pompous moron who can’t deal with his or her own pathetic insignificance and the fact that what they do is meaningless and inconsequential.”

Alan Shearer – 1970 – Athlete

“The fans have what they want.  They want entertainment, they want passion, and they want commitment.”

English: Edith Hamilton (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Robert Southey – 1774 – Poet

“It is with words as with sunbeams – the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn.”

Katharine Lee Bates – 1859 – Author

“Love planted a rose, and the world turned sweet.”

Julius Rosenwald – 1862 – Businessman

“Do not be fooled into believing that because a man is rich he is necessarily smart.  There is ample proof to the contrary.”

Edith Hamilton – 1867 – Writer

“Faith is not belief.  Belief is passive.  Faith is active.”

Christy Mathewson – 1880 – Athlete

“You can learn little from victory.  You can learn everything from defeat.”

Radclyffe Hall – 1880 – Poet

“You’re neither unnatural, nor abominable, nor mad; you’re as much a part of what people call nature as anyone else.”

Cecil B. DeMille – 1881 – Producer

“The person who makes a success of living is the one who sees his goal steadily and aims for it unswervingly.  That is dedication.”

Mathewson in NY Giants uniform (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

George Soros – 1930 – Businessman

“I chose America as my home because I value freedom and democracy, civil liberties and an open society.”

Jean Nouvel – 1945 – Architect

“Each new situation requires a new architecture.”

Dominique Swain – 1980 – Actress

“Things that bring out your emotions are what should be in the theaters and in books.  That’s what art is.  It makes you feel things.”

Deutsch: Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Friedrich Ludwig Jahn – 1778 – Coach

“The secret of living in peace with all people lies in the art of understanding each one by his own individuality.”

Robert Green Ingersoll – 1833 – Lawyer

“Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind.”

Gifford Pinchot – 1865 – Politician

“The vast possibilities of our great future will become realities only if we make ourselves responsible for that future.”

Louise Bogan – 1897 – Poet

“Stupidity always accomplishes evil.  Or evil, stupidity.”

Erwin Chargaff – 1905 – Scientist

“Science is wonderfully equipped to answer the question ‘How?’ but it gets terribly confused when you ask the question ‘Why?'”

Alex Haley – 1921 – Novelist

“Anytime you see a turtle up on top of a fence post, you know he had some help.”

Carl T. Rowan – 1925 – Journalist

“The library is the temple of learning, and learning has liberated more people than all the wars in history.”

Aaron Klug – 1926 – Physicist

“Human curiosity, the urge to know, is a powerful force and is perhaps the best secret weapon of all in the struggle to unravel the workings of the natural world.”

Alun Hoddinott – 1929 – Composer

“One often forms a mental image of an artist through his work and is often disappointed on meeting him.”

Andre Dubus – 1936 – Writer

“Shyness has a strange element of narcissism, a belief that how we look, how we perform, is truly important to other people.”

Frederick W. Smith – 1944 – Businessman

“Leaders get out in front and stay there by raising the standards by which they judge themselves – and by which they are willing to be judged.”

Steve Wozniak (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ian McDiarmid – 1944 – Actor

“That’s the mark of a great storyteller, never to give away secrets in advance.”

Marilyn vos Savant – 1946 – Columnist and Writer

“A good idea will keep you awake during the morning, but a great idea will keep you awake at night.”

Steve Wozniak – 1950 – Businessman

“In the end, I hope there’s a little note somewhere that says I designed a good computer.”

Hulk Hogan – 1953 – Celebrity (Terry Gene Bollea)

“To all my little Hulkamaniacs, say your prayers, take your vitamins and you will never go wrong.”

Photograph of Norma Shearer sitting (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Herbert Hoover – 1874 – 31st President of the United States

“About the time we can make the ends meet, somebody moves the ends.”

Alfred Doblin – 1878 – Novelist

“But the main things about a man are his eyes and his feet.  He should be able to see the world and go after it.”

Norma Shearer – 1900 – Actress

“It is impossible to get anything made or accomplished without stepping on some toes; enemies are inevitable when one is a doer.”

Leo Fender – 1909 – Businessman

“If something is easy to repair, it is east to construct.”

Jean-Francois Lyotard – 1924 – Philosopher

“A self does not amount to much, but no self is an island; each exists in a fabric of relations that is now more complex and mobile than ever before.”

Jimmy Dean – 1928 – Actor and Businessman

“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”

Doyle Brunson – 1933 – Celebrity

“A man with money is no match against a man on a mission.”

Sid Waddell – 1940 – Entertainer

“Well as giraffes say, you don’t get no leaves unless you stick your neck out.”

Antonio Banderas – 1960 – Actor

“It was an honor and privilege to arrive to this country 16 years ago with almost no money in my pocket.  A lot has happened since then.”

Claudia Christian – 1965 – Actress

President Herbert Hoover. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“The busier you are, the more interesting you are.  The more you’re off doing your thing and loving your job and your life, that’s fascinating.”

Roy Keane – 1971 – Athlete

“I am not naïve enough to settle for anything less than a reasonable valuation of my worth.”

Angie Harmon – 1972 – Model

“Here’s my kind of motto – if you’re not happy at home, you’re not happy anywhere else.”

P.L. Travers in the role of Titania from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, c. 1920s / by unknown photographer (Photo credit: State Library of New South Wales collection)

P.L. Travers – 1899 – Writer (Pamela Lyndon Travers)

“A writer is, after all, only half his book.  The other half is the reader and from the reader the writer learns.”

Philip Larkin – 1922 – Poet

“You can’t put off being young until you retire.”

Marvin Minsky – 1927 – Scientist

“No computer has ever been designed that is ever aware of what it’s doing; but most of the time, we aren’t either.”

Bob Cousy – 1928 – Athlete

“Do your best when no one is looking.  If you do that, then you can be successful in anything that you put your mind to.”

Rod Laver – 1938 – Athlete

“The time your game is most vulnerable is when you’re ahead; never let up.”

Sam Elliott – 1944 – Actor

“I think anytime you can affect people in general, in a positive way, then you’re a lucky individual.”

Amanda McBroom – 1947 – Musician

“It’s the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance.”

Melanie Griffith – 1957 – Actress

“There are no small parts; there are only small actors.”

Michael Kors – 1959 – Designer

“Learn to invest in the best quality you can afford and wear pieces in different ways.”

English: Deion Sanders being interviewed at the 2011 NFL Draft. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Brad Gilbert – 1961 – Coach

“There’s always a learning curve, where you’ve got to learn what your subject is all about.”

Whitney Houston – 1963 – Musician

“I decided long ago never to walk in anyone’s shadow; if I fail, or I succeed at least I did as I believe.”

Deion Sanders – 1967 – Athlete

“Athletes know kids look up to them, and it’s important for athletes to be responsible.”

Gillian Anderson – 1968 – Actress

“I believe people are in our lives for a reason.  We’re here to learn from each other.”

English: Filsinger, Sara Teasdale, Mrs., portrait photograph. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Francis Hutcheson – 1694 – Philosopher

“That action is best which produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number.”

Matthew Henson – 1866 – Explorer

“I think I’m the first man to sit on top of the world.”

Sara Teasdale – 1884 – Author

“Call him wise whose actions, words, and steps are all a clear because to a clear why.”

Ernest Lawrence – 1901- Scientist

“Let us cherish the hope that the day is not far distant when we will be in the midst of this next adventure.”

Benny Carter – 1907 – Musician

“At my age, I realize that my most precious possession is time, and I’ve got too much unfinished work to do to spend even a minute talking about myself.”

Esther Williams – 1921 – Actress

“The wisdom acquired with the passage of time is a useless gift unless you share it.”

Dustin Hoffman – 1937 – Actor

“A good review from the critics is just another stay of execution.”

Connie Stevens – 1938 – Actress

English: Portrait of Benny Carter, Apollo Theatre, New York, N.Y., ca. Oct. 1946 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Nothing you wear is more important than your smile.”

Erskine Bowles – 1945 – Businessman

“Leadership is the key to 99 percent of all successful efforts.”

Keith Carradine – 1949 – Actor

“I’ve grown this mustache which saves me from having to glue one on every day in the heat.”

English: Billie Burke, American actress, early in her career (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Powell Clayton – 1833 – Politician

“Freedom is an internal achievement rather than an external adjustment.”

Alice James – 1848 – Writer

“I make it a rule always to believe compliments implicitly for five minutes, and to simmer gently for twenty more.”

Emil Nolde – 1867 – Artist

“The artist need not know very much; best of all let him work instinctively and paint as naturally as he breathes or walks.”

Mata Hari – 1876 – Dancer and Spy

“The dance is a poem of which each movement is a word.”

Billie Burke – 1885 – Actress

“Age is of no importance unless you are a cheese.”

Louis Leakey – 1903 – Scientist and Anthropologist

“I saw what looked like another fallen tree in front of me and put my foot on it to cross over.  At that moment it reared up in front of me – the biggest python I had ever seen.”

Ralph Bunche – 1904 – Diplomat

“If you want to get across an idea, wrap it up in a person.”

Ben Maddow – 1909 – Dramatist

(left to right): Mary Douglas Nicol Leakey (1913-1996) and her husband Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey (1903-1972) (Photo credit: Smithsonian Institution)

“Experience has taught me never to trust a policeman.  Just when you think one’s all right, he turns legit.”

Jerry Pournelle – 1933 – Journalist

“The importance of information is directly proportional to its improbability.”

Garrison Keillor – 1942 – Writer

“A book is a gift you can open again and again.”

Alexei Sayle – 1952 – Comedian

“People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it’s safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs.”

Alberto Salazar – 1958 – Athlete

“If you want to achieve a high goal, you’re going to have to take some chances.”

David Duchovny – 1960 – Actor

“Anxiety is part of creativity, the need to get something out, the need to be rid of something or to get in touch with something within.”

Jimmy Wales – 1966 – Businessman

“Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge.  That’s what we’re doing.”

Kristin Hersh – 1966 – Musician

“Before you can make good music, you just have to shut up.  Then the music can say what it has to say.”

Charlize Theron – 1975 – Actress

“I have OCD, which is not fun.  I have to be incredibly tidy and organized or it messes with my mind and switches off on me.”

Sidney Crosby – 1987 – Athlete

“I always wanted to be the best and to get the most out of myself.”

English: Alfred Lord Tennyson, autographed portrait by Elliott & Fry (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Nicolas Malebranche – 1638 – Philosopher

“Just as our eyes need light in order to see, our minds need ideas in order to conceive.”

Luc de Clapiers – 1715 – Writer

“All grand thoughts come from the heart.”

Daniel O’Connell – 1776 – Politician

“There is nothing politically right that is morally wrong.”

Alfred Lord Tennyson – 1809 – Poet

“A lie which is half a truth is ever the blackest of lies.”

Zerelda G. Wallace – 1817 – Activist

“The highest form of development is to govern one’s self.”

Paul Claudel – 1868 – Dramatist

“Intelligence is nothing without delight.”

Alexander Fleming – 1881 – Scientist

“One sometimes finds what one is not looking for.”

Scott Nearing – 1883 – Activist

“Do the best that you can in the place where you are, and be kind.”

Robert Mitchum (Photo credit: Alan Light)

Lucille Ball – 1911 – Actress

“I would rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not.”

Robert Mitchum – 1917 – Actor

“There just isn’t any pleasing some people.  The trick is to stop trying.”

Andy Warhol – 1928 – Artist

“An artist is somebody who produced things that people don’t need to have.”

Piers Anthony – 1934 – Writer

“All things make sense; you just have to fathom how they make sense.”

Charlie Haden – 1937 – Musician

“We’re here to bring beauty to the world and make a difference in the planet.  That’s what art forms are about.”

Jon Postel – 1943 – Scientist

“Be conservative in what you do, be liberal in what you accept from others.”

Soleil Moon Frye – 1976 – Actress

“It’s never too early to involve your kids in giving back.  And the more hands-on the experiences are, the better.”

Guy de Maupassant (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Guy de Maupassant – 1850 – Writer

“It is the lives we encounter that make life worth living.”

Bruce Barton – 1886 – Author

“The five steps in teaching an employee new skills are preparation, explanation, showing, observation, and supervision.”

John Huston – 1906 – Director

“Hollywood has always been a cage … a cage to catch our dreams.”

Neil Armstrong – 1930 – Astronaut

“I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats.  I don’t intend to waste any of mine.”

Wendell Berry – 1934 – Poet

“It is not from ourselves that we learn to be better than we are.”

Herb Brooks – 1937 – Coach

Neil Armstrong (Photo credit: votadino)

“Great moments are born from great opportunities.”

Loni Anderson – 1946 – Actress

“If somebody invented cigarettes today, the government would not legalize them.”

R. Foster Winans – 1948 – Journalist

“The only reason to invest in the market is because you think you know something others don’t.”

Peter McWilliams – 1949 – Writer

“Learn to ask for what you want.  The worst people can do is not give you what you asked for which is precisely where you were before you asked.”

Maureen McCormick – 1956 – Author

“If you aren’t going to do something all the way, don’t do it.”

David Baldacci – 1960 – Novelist

“Why waste time trying to discover the truth, when you can so easily create it?”

Terri Clark – 1968 – Musician

“Artists who write songs … what they’re going through usually comes through in their music.”