Quotes

“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.” a misquote (of Darwin) from a Louisianna Prof in 1963.

» On Sucess

“Success consists of stumbling from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

“Heights by great men reached and kept were not obtained by sudden flight but, while their companions slept, they were toiling upward in the night.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

» On Books

“People don’t realise how a man’s whole life can be changed by one book.” – Malcolm X

‘He who desires the wealth of the Indies, must carry the wealth of the Indies with him.’

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page”

“All that mankind has done, thought, gained or been: it is lying as in magic preservation in the pages of books.” Thomas Carlyle

“Though we can condemn…the persecution of writers, acts of censorship, the burning of books, we are powerless when it comes to [the worst crime against literature]: that of not reading the books. For that…a person pays with his whole life;…a nation…pays with its history.” – Joseph Brodsky, 1987 Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

“Verba scripta manent” – the written word remains, paraphrasing Pliny, the ancient Roman author and autograph collector

» Soren Kierkegaard

“Life has its own hidden forces which you can only discover by living.”
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.”
“The highest and most beautiful things in life are not to be heard about, nor read about, nor seen but, if one will, are to be lived.”

» In General

Voltaire: ‘I may not agree with what you say but I shall fight to the death for your right to say it’.

“Span of threescore and ten.” – Score is an old word for the number 20. It is used in the famous expression from the Gettysburg Address: “Four score and seven years ago…” = (4*20+7)years = 87 years. And in the Bible: “three score years and ten” meaning: “seventy years old” (3*20+10) (Psalm 90). This was thought to be a normal life span.

Shakespeare’s inevitable ‘…and may flights of angels send thee, to thy rest

“Time is precious. Cancel your magazine subscriptions.”
“A gentleman is simply a patient wolf.” Lana Turner
“In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I’ll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now.” Patrick Bateman, American Psycho
522. More times than not, you will be judged by your shoes.
501. Never shake a man’s hand sitting down.
492. In a negotiation, never make the first offer.
474. If you choose not to own a TV, keep it to yourself.
440. Expect the seat in front of you to recline. Prepare accordingly.
404. Don’t linger in a doorway. In or out.
399. Buy it in hardback.

394. Try to lose the adverbs. Seriously.

393. Never eat lunch at your desk.

389. After writing an angry email, read it carefully. Then delete it.

367. You marry the girl, you marry her whole family.

356. Know your idioms! Avoid cliché.

351. Know your furniture. But never buy it all at once.

335. If you’re good at something, never do it for free.

325. When excusing yourself from the table, you need not give a reason.

309. Learn to pronounce French words correctly.

301. Dress for the job you want, not for the one you have.

298. Have a signature look.

284. If you drop change, pick it up. Even the pennies.
256. On Sunday morning, a gentleman gets dressed. Remember, it’s the first day of the week, not the last.

250. Be precise.

238. Read before bed every night.

229. Write letters. On paper.

230. Become an expert in something.

181. If you ignore history, it will ignore you.

176. Do laundry often. You won’t need as many clothes.

171. Know the proper time to wear a tuxedo. It’s more often than you think.

170. Know the proper time to chew gum. It’s less often than you think.

158. The best thing to do in the rain is be quiet and listen.
157. Go all out on Halloween.

156. Find your favorite painting.
“It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary. Winston Churchill

127. Know her dress size. Don’t ask.

126. Don’t spit on the sidewalk.

125. A t-shirt is neither a philosophy nor an advertisement. It’s a shirt. Wear it plain.

113. When in doubt, wear a tie.

105. Keep it simple: the white oxford shirt.

102. Take the stairs.

99. Nothing good ever happens after 3 am. I promise.
You can lead a man to the university, but you can’t make him think. Finley Peter Dunne

95. Never eat the same meal twice in a row.

85. Learn to sail.

63. Send postcards.

61. Exercise in the morning.

24. Write thank you notes promptly on personalized correspondence cards.

23. Learn to tie a bowtie.

14. Men with facial hair have something to hide.

11. Don’t waste time with a fancy watch.