Quotes that never fail to lift my spirits

"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
~Thomas Edison (1847 - 1931)
Edison was a businessman and a prolific American inventor. Holding 1,093 U.S. patents (along with patents in other countries), he invented many devices during his lifetime. The ones that we are most familiar with, and which he is most famous for, are the phonograph and a long lasting light bulb.

"Eighty percent of success is just showing up."
~Woody Allen (1935 - )
Born Allen Stewart Königsberg, he is a well-known actor, jazz musician, comedian, playwright, writer, and American film director.

"It is necessary for us to learn from other's mistakes. You will not live long enough to make them all yourself."
~Hyman George Rickover (1900 - 1986)
Known as the "Father of the Nuclear Navy", he became the longest-serving active duty military officer in U.S. history with 63 years of continuous service.
What we say today:
"Learn from the mistakes of others."

"You will always miss 100% of the shots you don't take."
~Wayne Gretzky (1961 - )
Nicknamed "The Great One" Gretzky is one of the most famous professional Canadian hockey players in history. He won four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers, as well as setting numerous hockey records during his career.

"Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right."
~Henry Ford (1863 - 1947)
Ford was the founder of the Ford Motor Company and is considered the father of modern assembly lines used in mass production. Ford revolutionized transportation with his invention of the Model-T automobile introduced on October 1, 1908. Horse-drawn carriages soon became a thing of the past.

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent."
~Calvin Coolidge (1872 - 1933)
30th President of the United States from August 2, 1923 to March 4, 1929).

"What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve."
~Napolean Hill (1883 - 1970)
Hill was an American author who was one of the earliest producers of the modern genre of personal-success literature. His most famous work, Think and Grow Rich , is one of the best-selling books of all time.

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."
~Lao Tzu (Laozi) (6th Century BC)
He was believed to be a great philosopher of ancient China and is considered to be the father of Taosism (which is both a religion and a philosophy that advocates following the Tao or the way of nature.) It is still widely debated as to whether he was a real person or a mythical figure.

"I think therefore I am."
~Rene Descartes (1596 - 1650)
Descartes was a highly influential French philospher, mathematician, writer, and scientist. He is also known as the Father of Modern Philosophy and the Father of Modern Mathematics. Much of subsequent Western philosophy is a reaction to his writings.

"Energy and persistence conquer all things."
~Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)
Franklin was one of the most important and influential Founding Fathers of the United States of America. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author and printer, satirist, political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman and diplomat. As a scientist he was a major figure in the Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. He invented the lightning rod, bifocals, the Franklin stove, a carriage odometer, and a musical instrument. (Source: wikipedia.org)

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."
~John R. Wooden (1910 - )
A retired American basketball coach with 10 NCAA National Championships to his credit while coaching at UCLA.

"Life is an echo. What you send out--you get back. What you give--you get."
"Worry is like a rocking chair, it will give you something to do, but it won't get you anywhere."
~Anonymous
You'll find that this "Anonymous" person crops up a lot. No one has been able to identify who this person really is.

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too, can become great."
~Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)
Although best known by his pen name, Mark Twain, his real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He was an American humorist, satirist, lecturer and writer and is famous for his novels: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

"A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life."
"In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility."
~Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 - 1962)
Married to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, she was the First Lady from 1933 to 1945.

"Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens."
~Carl Jung (1875 - 1961)
Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, influential thinker, theoretical psychologist, and founder of analytical psychology. He explored the psyche by examining dreams, art, mythology, world religion, and philosophy. He believed that modern man relied too much on science and did not place enough emphasis on spirituality and the unconscious mind.

"Never think that you're not good enough yourself. A man should never think that. People will take you very much at your own reckoning."
~Anthony Trollope (1815 - 1882)
He was a successful and highly respected English novelist during the Victorian era. The British Broadcasting Corporation has made several television-drama serials based on his works.

"Some people believe that holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go--and then do it."
~Ann Landers (1918 - 2002)
Landers ran a successful syndicated advice column for 45 years called "Ann Landers." In reality, her real name was Esther "Eppie" Pauline Friedman Lederer. Her identical twin sister, Pauline Esther Friedman Phillips wrote the famous "Dear Abby" column as Abigail Van Buren.

"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely."
~Auguste Rodin (1840 - 1917)
Rodin was a famous French sculptor and artist.

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
"Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)
Famous American author, essayist, poet, and philosopher.

"We often discover what will do by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery."
~Samuel Smiles (1812 - 1904)
A Scottish author and reformer best known as a writer of self-help and biographical books on the achievements of "heroic" engineers.

"The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear and get a record of successful experiences behind you. Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
~William Jennings Bryan (1860 - 1925)
As an American lawyer, statesman, and politician, he was a three-time Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States.
You must accept that you might fail; then, if you do your best and still don’t win, at least you can be satisfied that you’ve tried. If you don’t accept failure as a possibility, you don’t set high goals, you don’t branch out, you don’t try - you don’t take the risk.
Rosalynn Carter