Best Quotes Around (by topic) — B
Best Quotes Around (by topic)
B
Babies
Infancy conforms to nobody; all conform to it. — Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance," 1841
Adam and Eve had many advantages, but the principal one was that they escaped teething. — Mark Twain, Pudd’nhead Wilson, 1894
Balance
There is not much risk that an executive will cut back too much. We usually tend to overrate rather than underrate our importance and to conclude that far too many things can be done only by ourselves. Even very effective executive still do a great many unnecessary, unproductive things.
But the best proof that the danger of overpruning is a bugaboo is the extraordinary effectiveness so often attained by severely ill or severely handicapped people.
A good example was Harry Hopkins, President Roosevelt’s confidential adviser in World War II. A dying, indeed almost a dead man for whom every step was a torment, he could only work a few hours every other day or so. This forced him to cut out everything but truly vital matters. He did not lose effectiveness thereby; on the contrary, he became, as Churchill called him once, ‘Lord Heart of the Matter’ and accomplished more than anyone else in wartime Washington."
(I cannot count the number of times that illustration has come into my mind at critical moments. I determined to ruthlessly cut away whatever was not crucial to the task, asking myself repeatedly, "If I had two hours per day or ten hours per week to this job, what specific things would I do and what would I not do? As Drucker indicates in many , no matter how much wise pruning one does, the information worker will always have much more to do than he can possibly get to. as much as possible must be delegated to others.) Harold Myra, Leaders, Word Books, Waco, TX, p. 21, 1987
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. — Robert A. Heinlein, The Notebooks of Lazarus Long
Fear less, hope more;
Whine less, breathe more;
Hate less, love more;
And all good things are yours. — Anonymous
We aren’t what we eat. We are what we don’t shit. — Hugh Romney
I have so much to do that I am going to bed. — Savoyard proverb
Baseball
It could permanently hurt a batter for a long time. – Pete Rose re. Brushback pitch.
Beauty
What no beautician would ever tell a woman is that the secret to being beautiful is thinking the right thoughts. — Panel discussion on women’s issues, WNBC radio, 1979
Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies for instance. — John Ruskin, The Stones of Venice, 1851
Rarely to great beauty and great virtue dwell together. — Petrarch (d. 1374), De Remediis utriusque fortunae
Beginnings
The only joy in the world is to begin. — Cesare Pavese Source: Little Zen Companion, Schiller.
In creating, the only hard thing’s to begin; a grass-blade’s no easier to make than an oak. – James Russell Lowell, 1819-1891
The distance doesn’t matter; it is only the first step that is difficult. – Marie de Vichy-Chamrond, 1697-1780
The beginning is the most important part of the work. – Plato, 428-348 B.C.
Behavior
The virtue of a man ought to be measured not by his extraordinary exertions, but by his everyday conduct. — Blaise Pascal
Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those whom we cannot resemble. – Dr. Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784
To do just the opposite is also a form of imitation. – Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, 1742-1799
Belief
If we believe absurdities, we shall commit atrocities. — Voltaire
The abdication of Belief makes the behavior small. – Emily Dickinson
Bible
The Bible —
Know it — in your head;
Stow it — in your heart;
Sow it — in the world;
Show it — in your life.
The Bible is a stream of running water, where alike the elephant may swim, and the lamb walk without losing its feet. — Gregory the Great
Bitterness
Bitterness is the poison we swallow, while hoping the other person dies. — Skip Gray, Navigators missionary
Blame
Don’t find fault. Find a remedy. — Henry Ford
Everyone is responsible and no one is to blame. — Will Schutz
The only person I cannot help is one who blames others. — Carl Jung
Blessing
Bless these walls, so firm and stout, keeping all want and trouble out. — Christian prayer
If this is a blessing, it is certainly very well disguised. – Winston Churchill upon his defeat in the 1945 elections
Boldness
Given and equal degree of intelligence, a thousand times more is lost in war through anxiety than through boldness. – Carl von Clausewitz
Fortune befriends the bold. – John Dryden
Fortune favors the audacious. – Erasmus
In great straits, when hope is small, the boldest counsels are the safest. – Livy
Don’t stand shivering upon the bank; plunge in at once, and have it over. – Sam Slick
Only the bold get to the top. – Publilius Syrus
It is better to err on the side of daring than the side of caution. – Alvin Toffler
To achieve great things we must live as though we were never going to die. – Marquis de Vauvenarques
Be bold — and mighty forces will come to your aid. — Basil King
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor to the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure — Helen Keller
If you take too long in deciding what to do with your life, you’ll find you’ve done it. – George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950
Books
Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. Worthy books are like mentors — available as companions and as solitude for refreshment. — Francis Bacon
A good book should leave you… slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it. — William Styron, interview, Writers at Work, 1958
When I get a little money, I buy books and if any is left, I buy food and clothes. — Erasmus
The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, all the sweet serenity of books. — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Boredom
People not only lose faith in their talents and their dreams or values; some simply tire of them." — Edward Hoadland, Heart’s Desire
If you are living a hum-drum life, and you do nothing to change it, ten years from now you will be a product of ten more years of hum-drumidness." — David Campbell
Disorder and procrastination help avoid boredom; one never has the feeling that there is nothing important to do. — Unknown
Boredom is a sickness the cur for which is work; pleasure is only a palliative. — Luc Duc de Levis (d. 1787), Memoires
A scholar knows no boredom. — Jean Paul Richter, Hesperus, 1795
Boundaries
Learn to say no. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Brevity
"I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter." — Blaise Pascal
Brokenness
Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue. – Eugene O’Neill
Business
He who shall introduce into public affairs the principles of Christ will change the face of the world." — Benjamin Franklin
Drive thy business, let not thy business drive thee." — Benjamin Franklin
Busyness
Our two greatest problems are gravity and paper work. We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paper work is overwhelming. — Dr. Wernher von Braun
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