Inspiring quotes from Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand, a Russian-born American novelist and philosopher, is popularly known for creating a philosophy she named "Objectivism" and for her influential and controversial ideas that have attracted both enthusiastic admiration and scathing denunciation.

Here are some of her inspiring quotes:

1. "Throughout the centuries, there were men who took first steps down new roads, armed with nothing but their own vision."

2. "The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity."

3. "The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me."

4. "A desire presupposes the possibility of action to achieve it; action presupposes a goal which is worth achieving."

Great quotes from Leo Buscaglia

Leo F. Buscaglia is an Italian-American author and motivational speaker. His books, The Fall of Freddie the Leaf, Bus 9 to Paradise, Living Loving and Learning, Love, and My Father, were all on the NY Times bestsellers list. Upon his death in 1998, his books already had 18 million copies in 17 languages in print.

Here are some of his great thoughts and inspiring quotes:

1. “We seem to gain wisdom more readily through our failures than through our successes. We always think of failure as the antithesis of success, but it isn't. Success often lies just the other side of failure.”

2. "I believe that you control your destiny, that you can be what you want to be."

3. “There are two big forces at work, external and internal. We have very little control over external forces such as tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, disasters, illness and pain. What really matters is the internal force. How do I respond to those disasters? Over that I have complete control."

4. "We are no longer puppets being manipulated by outside powerful forces: we become the powerful force ourselves."

5. “The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live.”

Ludwig Wittgenstein inspires

Ludwig Wittgenstein is an Austrian-British philosopher, considered to be one of the greatest of the 20th century. His two books, Tractatus Logico-Philosiphicus (TLP) and Philosophical Investigations, were voted into the top five most important books of the 20th century by US and Canadian professional philosophers in an end-of-the century poll.

Here are some of his inspiring quotations:

1. "Our greatest stupidities may be very wise."

2. "The world is independent of my will."

3. "A man will be imprisoned in a room with a door that's unlocked and opens inwards; as long as it does not occur to him to pull rather than push."

4. "An inner process stands in need of outward criteria."

5. "Resting on your laurels is as dangerous as resting when you are walking in the snow. You doze off and die in your sleep."

Part 2: Napoleon Bonaparte's quotes

Napoleon Bonaparte, better known as simply "Napoleon" was one of the greatest military leaders of all time. Although he was France's greatest ever general,
he was actually of Italian descent. Not everything he did and said was wonderful, but
isn't that true of all of us?

Say what you will about him, but he knew how to get results.

He was famous for passionate and relentless "action".

Here are the additional quotes from him:

1. "A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights."

2. "Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily."

3. "The extent of your consciousness is limited only by your ability to love and to embrace with your love the space around you, and all it contains."

4. "Victory belongs to the most persevering."

Inspiring Quotes From Ann Landers

Ann Landers - the pseudonym copyrighted by Esther “Eppie” Pauline Friedman Lederer. Eppie Lederer wrote the Ask Ann Landers advice column for over 45 years, as it was syndicated in major newspapers across North America. She was honored by the Chicago City Council in 2002, as the street sign “Ann ‘Eppie’ Landers Way” was installed in front of the headquarters of her home paper, The Chicago Tribune Tower.

The following are some quotes from Ann Landers:

1. "Nobody gets to live life backward. Look ahead, that is where your future lies."

2. "Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them."

3. “If I were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for
all humanity it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in eye and say, 'I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.'”

4. “If you want to catch a trout, don't fish in a herring barrel.”

5. "Nobody ever drowned in his own sweat."

Albert Schweitzer inpires

Who is Albert Schweitzer?
It's hard to say what this man was ... He was a philosopher, a physician, a theologian, and a musician.

His philosophy was simple: affirmation of life.

He received the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in establishing a hospital in an impoverished area of Gabon (in central Africa).

Here are some of his inspiring quotes:

1. "Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success."

2. "Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves."

3. "A man can do only what he can do. But if he does that each day he can sleep at night and do it again the next day."

4. "An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while the pessimist sees only the red stoplight. The truly wise person is colorblind."

Quotes from Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington

Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington - a Greek-American columnist and writer. She leads the public interest group The Detroit Project, which lobbies for manufacturing of cars running on alternative fuels. She is also widely known as the founder of the highly successful news website and weblog, The Huffington Post (8.9 million unique visitors by February 2009 according to Nielsen Net Ratings).

Here are her inspiring quotes:

1. "But you have to do what you dream of doing even while you're afraid."

2. "We need to accept that we won't always make the right decisions, that we'll screw
up royally sometimes - understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it's part of success."

3. "The more we refuse to buy into our inner critics - and our external ones too - the easier it will get to have confidence in our choices, and to feel comfortable with who we are…."

4. "Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I exercise it the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me."

5. "The fastest way to break the cycle of perfectionism and become fearless… is to give up the idea of doing it perfectly - indeed to embrace uncertainty and imperfection."

James Russell Lowell's famous quotations

James Russell Lowell - an American poet and diplomat. His poem The Present Crisis was one of the first works that addressed the issue of slavery and considered to have a major impact on the modern civil rights movement. This poem was often quoted by Martin Luther King, Jr. and was also the source to the hymn Once to Every Man and Nation.

1. "All the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action."

2. "Greatly begin. Though thou have time, but for a line, be that sublime. Not failure, but low aim is crime."

3. "No man can produce great things who is not thoroughly sincere in dealing with himself."

4. "In creating, the only hard thing is to begin: a grass blade's no easier to make than an oak."

5. "Endurance is the crowning quality, and patience all the passion of great hearts."

Nadia Comaneci's quotes

Nadia Elena Comaneci - a Romanian gymnast who won three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics. She is the very first gymnast to receive a perfect 10 in an Olympic gymnast event. In 1984 and 2004, Nadia Comaneci also received the Olympic Order, the highest award given by the International Olympic Committee.

The following are five of her famous quotes:

1. "Hard work has made it easy. That is my secret. That is why I win."

2. "I don't run away from a challenge because I am afraid. Instead, I run toward it because the only way to escape fear is to trample it beneath your feet."

3. "I like to tell young people to work hard for your goals and live in the moment."

4. "You should also appreciate the goodness around you, and surround yourself with
positive people."

5. "I don't do many things. But if I do one, I do it well. I don't give half. I don't like not to be perfect."

Rudyard Kipling's quotes

Joseph Rudyard Kipling - a British poet born in British India. He was awarded the
Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907. His great works include The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), Mandalay (1890)and Gunga Din (1892).

Here are Rudyard Kipling's quotes:

1. "Gardens are not made by singing "Oh, how beautiful," and sitting in the shade."

2. "If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew to serve your turn long after they are gone, and so hold on when there is nothing in you except the will which says to them: 'Hold on!'"

3. "Never look backwards or you'll fall down the stairs."

4. "Fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run."

5. "If you don't get what you want, it's a sign either that you did not seriously
want it, or that you tried to bargain over the price."

Anita Roddick's quotes

Anita Roddick - a British businesswoman, human rights activist and environmental campaigner. She is widely known as the founder of The Body Shop, a cosmetics
company producing and retailing beauty products that formed ethical consumerism.
The Body Shop was one of the first to rule out the use of ingredients tested
on animals and encourage fair trade with third world countries.

Here are some of her inspiring quotes:

1. "If you do things well, do them better. Be daring, be first, be different, be just."

2. "There is no scientific answer for success. You can't define it. You've simply got to live it and do it."

3. "When you run an entrepreneurial business, you have hurry sickness - you don't look back, you advance and consolidate. But it is such fun."

4. "We were most creative when our back was against the wall."

5. "But if you can create an honorable livelihood, where you take your skills and use them and you earn a living from it, it gives you a sense of freedom and allows you to balance your life the way you want."

Five inspiring quotes from Samuel Butler

Samuel Butler - a Victorian author of the 19th century. He authored the Utopian satire Erewhon and the novel The Way of All Flesh. The latter was started in 1870 and published only in 1903 because it was so modern and ahead of its time.

Here are some of Samuel's inspiring quotations:

1. "All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of every organism to live beyond its income."

2. "If we attend continually and promptly to the little that we can do, we shall ere
long be surprised to find how little remains that we cannot do."

3. “Fear is static that prevents me from hearing myself.”

4. "Don't learn to do, but learn in doing. Let your falls not be on a prepared ground,
but let them be bona fide falls in the rough and tumble of the world."

5. "Look before you leap for as you sow, ye are like to reap."

Mary Lou Retton's inspiring quotes

Mary Lou Retton - an American gymnast who was the first female outside Eastern Europe to win the Olympic all-around title. There is a skill on the uneven bars that is named after her- the Retton Flip.

Here are some of her quotes:

1. "As simple as it sounds, we all must try to be the best person we can: by making the best choices, by making the most of the talents we've been given."

2. "Be cocky. Walk into the Georgia Dome like you own it."

3. "You give up your childhood. You miss proms and games and high-school events, and people say it's awful... I say it was a good trade. You miss something but I think I gained more than I lost."

4. "I'm very determined and stubborn. There's a desire in me that makes me want to do more and more, and to do it right."

5. "I know that if I wanted to have a chance at a medal in the Olympics, I was not going to do it if I stayed at home."

Five quotes from Jean Paul Richter

Jean Paul Richter - a German Romantic writer who is best known for his humorous novels and stories. His complete works appeared in 1826 to 1828 in 60 volumes.
He had the extraordinary ability to express great thoughts in simple events.

Here are his famous quotes:

1. “Be great in act, as you have been in thought.”

2. “Do not wait for extraordinary circumstances to do good action; try to use ordinary
situations.”

3. "Men, like bullets, go farthest when they are smoothest."

4. "Flowers never emit so sweet and strong a fragrance as before a storm. When a
storm approaches thee, be as fragrant as a sweet-smelling flower."

5. "Only actions give life strength; only moderation gives it a charm."

Indira Gandhi's quotes

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi - the Prime Minister of the Republic of India for a total of fifteen years: three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977 and for a fourth term from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. She was India's first and, to date, only female Prime Minister.

Here are some of her inspiring quotes:

1. "You can break that big plan into small steps and take the first step right away."

2. "There is not love where there is no will."

3. "You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose."

4. "Have a bias toward action - let's see something happen now."

5. "Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up."

Quotes from Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. - an American physician, lecturer and author. He is considered as one of the best regarded poets of the 19th century. He was also a member of the group known as the Fireside Poets along with William Cullen Bryant, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, and John Greenleaf Whittier. It is believed that Arthur Conan Doyle drew one inspiration for his famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes from a real-life self-described "consulting detective" named Wendel Scherer changing "Scherer" to "Sherlock" and "Wendel" to "Holmes" by association with Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Here are some of his famous quotes:

1. "Every calling is great when greatly pursued."

2. "To reach a port we must sail, sometimes with the wind, and sometimes against it. But we must not drift or lie at anchor."

3. "He has half the deed done who has made a beginning."

4. "The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are
moving."

5. "The mode by which the inevitable comes to pass is effort."