This is a list of favourite quotes that have influenced my thinking.
It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent but the ones most adaptable to change.– Leon MEGGINSONThe Darwin Challenge: Love ourselves, others and our planet
In their search for gold, the alchemists discovered other things–gun powder, medicine, the laws of nature. There is a sense in which we are all alchemists.– Arthur SCHOPENHAUERCounsels and Maxims
I want to learn more and more to see as beautiful what is necessary in things; then I shall be one of those who make things beautiful.– Friedrich NIETZSCHE
Let all those beings which exist – without enemies, without obstacles, overcoming their grief and attaining happiness, be able to move freely, each in the path destined for them.– BUDDHAGHOSAVisuddhimagga
Beliefs are hypotheses to be tested, not treasures to be guarded.– Philip TETLOCKSuperforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction
How many ‘nos’ are there? Billions. And how many ‘yeses’? Just one.– Sergiu CELIBIDACHE
Through the chaos, we can create our own order.– Pema CHÖDRÖN
A good cook changes his knife once a year — because he cuts. A mediocre cook changes his knife once a month — because he hacks.– Zhuang ZHOUZhuangzi
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.– Michael POLLAN
Where do you seek the spiritual? You seek the spiritual in every ordinary thing that you do every day. Sweeping the floor, watering the vegetables, and washing the dishes become holy and sacred if mindfulness is there. With mindfulness and concentration, everything becomes spiritual.– Thích Nhất HẠNHHow to Eat, p 72Referenced in:Quote: Mindfulness
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.– Maya ANGELOU
I began to develop a system in which freedom was possible, and I conquered my own freedom– Pierre BOULEZPierre Boulez | Universal Edition
Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.– Mark TWAIN
I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them.– Andy BERNARD • The Office
I always hope that I can look back every year on myself the previous year and feel like that guy last year was an idiot.– Benjamin FELIXBen Felix: Stock Picking Is Dead | Investi (Ep. 59)
We humans love to investigate things. Often we want the results of our investigations to fit a certain mold or prove a certain theory, but at times, we are open and allow things simply to reveal themselves. ... With mindfulness, investigation takes us deeply into life and into reality.– Thích Nhất HẠNH
What upsets people is not things themselves but their judgements about the things. ... So when we are thwarted or upset or distressed, let us never blame someone else but rather ourselves, that is, our own judgements.– EPICTETUSHandbook (Encheiridion), 5Referenced in:Quote: How to lose weight (without getting lucky)
Knowledge is no guarantee of good behavior, but ignorance is a virtual guarantee of bad behavior.– Martha NUSSBAUMNot for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities
Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because they want to do it.– Dwight EISENHOWER
Legacy code is condescending engineering-speak for 'it makes money'.– Corey QUINNS3 and the Evolution of Storage with Andy Warfield - YouTube
The long term is made up of many short terms.– Ronnie COLEMAN
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.– Werner HEISENBERG
To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.– Leonard BERNSTEIN
If one has achieved a goal to the fullest extent possible in a given context then the achievement is perfect in the rational sense of the term. Subsequent improvements based on a wider range of knowledge or higher level of ability will not invalidate that achievement or subtract from its value. It remains perfect by the standards of the earlier context.– Harry BINSWANGER
Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.– St Francis of ASSISIReferenced in:Quote: How to lose weight (without getting lucky)
Solid research speeds up the decision-making process because it prevents much of the opinion-based wrangling.– Kim GOODWINDesigning for the Digital Age
When there is wrong view and one knows it is wrong view, it is already Right View. When there is Right View and one knows it is Right View, that is also Right View.– Majjhima Nikāya
You're going to spend at least a third of your life working. It's important to find something that you really like to do ... The second part is, find something that not too many other people want to do so you can make pretty good money out it.– Eugene FAMARational Reminder, Episode 200
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.– Colin POWELL
I have three treasures Which I hold and cherish. The first is known as compassion, The second is known as frugality, The third is known as not daring to take the lead in the empire;– Lao TZUTao Te Ching • 78
Only the unknown frightens men. But, for whoever confronts it, it is already no longer the unknown.– Antoine de SAINT-EXUPÉRY
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.– Albert EINSTEIN
I do remember that I was happy; and if that is what it means to have a vocation, then it is a very pleasant thing.– Gabriel FAURÉ
In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it. This is because there is nothing that can take its place.– Lao TZUTao Te Ching • 78
When a wise person suffers, she asks herself, 'What can I do to be free from this suffering? Who can help me? What have I done to free myself from this suffering?'– Thích Nhất HẠNHThe Heart Of The Buddhas Teaching