The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.
Start with the end in mind.
If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.
The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose.
In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don’t try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present.
When in doubt, choose to live.
To see what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice.
Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.
If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them.
Time stays long enough for those who use it.
Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.
You never know who’s swimming naked until the tide goes out.
Knowing others is wisdom; Knowing the self is enlightenment. Mastering others requires force; Mastering the self requires strength; He who knows he has enough is rich. Perseverance is a sign of will power.
Heaven is a state of mind, not a location.
One today is worth two tomorrows.
To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be creditable; to be credible we must be truthful.
Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.
The brighter you are, the more you have to learn.