Quotations and Poems

» Approval » “Naturalness is the easiest thing in the world to acquire, if you will forget yourself-forget about the impression you are trying to make.”

» Bores and Boredom » “Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours.”

» Business » “You can close more business in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.”

» Communication » “There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it.”

» Communication » “The royal road to a man’s heart is to talk to him about the things he treasures most.”

» Courage » “Most of us have far more courage than we ever dreamed we possessed.”

» Courage » “You are merely not feeling equal to the tasks before you.”

» Critics and Criticism » “Criticism of others is futile and if you indulge in it often you should be warned that it can be fatal to your career.”

» Critics and Criticism » “If you believe in what you are doing, then let nothing hold you up in your work. Much of the best work of the world has been done against seeming impossibilities. The thing is to get the work done.”

» Enjoyment » “You never achieve real success unless you like what you are doing.”

» Enthusiasm » “Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success.”

» Enthusiasm » “If you want to be enthusiastic, act enthusiastic.”

» Facts » “I deal with the obvious. I present, reiterate and glorify the obvious — because the obvious is what people need to be told.”

» Fatigue » “Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration and resentment.”

» Fear » “You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn’t exist anywhere except in the mind.”

» Fear » “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

» Fear » “Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it… that is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear.”

» Fear » “If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy”

» Fools and Foolishness » “Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain — and most fools do.”

» Fun » “People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.”

» Habit » “Feeling sorry for yourself, and you present condition, is not only a waste of energy but the worst habit you could possibly have.”

» Happiness » “Did you ever see an unhappy horse? Did you ever see bird that had the blues? One reason why birds and horses are not unhappy is because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses.”

» Happiness » “Many people think that if they were only in some other place, or had some other job, they would be happy. Well, that is doubtful. So get as much happiness out of what you are doing as you can and don’t put off being happy until some future date.”

» Happiness » “Remember, happiness doesn’t depend upon who you are or what you have, it depends solely upon what you think.”

» Ideas » “The ideas I stand for are not mine. I borrowed them from Socrates. I swiped them from Chesterfield. I stole them from Jesus. And I put them in a book. If you don’t like their rules, whose would you use?”

» Life and Living » “One of the most appalling comments on our present way of life is that half of all the beds in our hospitals are reserved for patients with nervous and mental troubles, patients who have collapsed under the crushing burden of accumulated yesterdays and fearful tomorrows. Yet a vast majority of those people would be walking the streets today, leading happy, useful lives, if they had only heeded the words of Jesus: Have no anxiety about the morrow; or the words of Sir William Osler; Live in day-tight compartments.”

» Memory » “If you want to win friends, make it a point to remember them. If you remember my name, you pay me a subtle compliment; you indicate that I have made an impression on you. Remember my name and you add to my feeling of importance.”

» Mistakes » “The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way.”

» Motivation » “There is only one way… to get anybody to do anything. And that is by making the other person want to do it.”

» Past » “All the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t put the past together again. So let’s remember: Don’t try to saw sawdust.”

» Perseverance » “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no help at all.”

» Philosophers and Philosophy » “Tell me what gives a man or woman their greatest pleasure and I’ll tell you their philosophy of life.”

» Possibilities » “We all have possibilities we don’t know about. We can do things we don’t even dream we can do.”

» Preparation » “First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then proceed to improve on the worst.”

» Present » “Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.”

» Present » “Today is life-the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto.”

» Presentation » “There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.”

» Purpose » “Your purpose is to make your audience see what you saw, hear what you heard, feel what you felt. Relevant detail, couched in concrete, colorful language, is the best way to recreate the incident as it happened and to picture it for the audience.”

» Results » “If you want to gather honey, don’t kick over the beehive.”

» Risk » “Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes the furthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The