of dictionaries, but I can’t agree with him that making – and reading – them is “dull work”.
James Owen
He who does something at the head of one regiment, will eclipse him who does nothing at the head of a hundred.
[Letter, 1861]
Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the US (1809–1865)
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Those who believe that they are exclusively in the right are generally those who achieve something.
Proper Studies (1927)
Aldous Huxley, English writer and philosopher (1894–1963)
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Concentrate all of your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.
Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-born scientist and inventor (1847–1922)
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Give me but one firm spot on which to stand and I will move the Earth.
Archimedes, Greek mathematician and physicist (287–212 BC)
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Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see.
The World as Will and Representation (1819)
Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (1788–1860)
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For myself, losing is not coming second. It’s getting out of the water knowing you could have done better.
Ian Thorpe, Australian Olympic swimmer (1982–)
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One secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.
Benjamin Disraeli, prime minister of the UK (1804–1881)
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Well done is better than well said.
Benjamin Franklin, founding father of the US (1706–1790)
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To gain that which is worth having, it may be necessary to lose everything else.
The Price of My Soul (1969)
Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, Irish civil rights leader (1947–)
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It is easier to live through someone else than to become complete yourself.
The Feminine Mystique (1963)
Betty Friedan, American writer and activist (1921–2006)
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Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.
Mother Teresa, Albanian nun and missionary (1910–1997)
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It’s the stuff of dreams … Kids from Kilburn don’t become favourite for the Tour de France. You’re supposed to become a postman or a milkman or work in Ladbrokes.
Bradley Wiggins, British professional road racing cyclist (1980–)
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The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.
Broca’s Brain (1979)
Carl Sagan, American astronomer and educator (1934–1996)
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Diligence is the mother of good fortune, and idleness, its opposite, never led to good intention’s goal.
Don Quixote (1605)
Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish writer (1547–1616)
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The world is divided into people who do things and people who get the credit. Try, if you can, to belong to the first class. There’s far less competition.
Dwight Morrow, American diplomat (1873–1931)
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The two kinds of people on earth I mean are the people who lift, and the people who lean.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox, American writer and poet (1850–1919)
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I attribute my success to this — I never gave or took any excuse.
Florence Nightingale, English social reformer and nurse (1820–1910)
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The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
Man and Superman (1903)
George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright (1856–1950)
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Success is more dangerous than failure, the ripples break over a wider coastline.
Graham Greene, English writer (1904–1991)
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If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.
Henry Ford, American industrialist and businessman (1863–1947)
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Not in the clamour of the crowded street, not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, but in ourselves, are triumph and defeat.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet (1807–1882)
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Fame is no plant that grows on mortal soil.
Lycidas (1637)
John
