"The core reality of the dispute is this: … If the Palestinians put down their weapons, there would be peace tomorrow. … If the Israelis put down their weapons, there would be genocide tomorrow." -- Harvard professor - Alan Dershowitz
"The 3 Cs of life: choices, chances, and changes: You must make a choice to take a chance or your life will never change." -- Anonymous
"Better to get up late and be wide awake than to get up early and be asleep all day." -- Anonymous
"Nos jeunes aiment le luxe, ont de mauvaises manières, se moquent de l'autorité et n'ont aucun respect pour l'âge." - citation du philosophe grec Aristote??, mort en l'an 322 avant Jésus-Christ, see Socrates
"It is wise to keep in mind that neither success nor failure is ever final." -- Roger Babson,
American entrepreneur and business theorist
"Every time you are not practicing someone else is." -- Boris Becker, German tennis player
"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." -- Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), Irish writer
"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is." -- Yogi Berra
"It ain't over ‘til it's over." -- Yogi Berra
"If people don't want to come out the ball park, nobody's going to stop them." -- Yogi Berra
"It's so crowded nobody goes there anymore." (Yogi's explanation for why he stopped going to a favourite restaurant.) -- Yogi Berra
"What Time Is It? You Mean Now?" -- Yogi Berra
"Oh, four," he replied, "I couldn't eat eight." (Yogi was asked in a restaurant whether he wanted his pizza cut in four or eight slices.) -- Yogi Berra
"I really didn't say all the things I said." -- Yogi Berra
"Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't go to yours." -- Yogi Berra
"You can observe a lot by watching." -- Yogi Berra
“It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” -- Yogi Berra
"You can work long, hard, and smart, but at Amazon.com you can pick only two out of three." -- Jeff Bezos - (pronounced Bay-zos) (founder and CEO of Amazon.com) (~1975)
"You can work long, you can work hard, you can work smart, but at Amazon you can't pick only two out of three." -- Jeff Bezos - (pronounced Bay-zos) (founder and CEO of Amazon.com) (~1980)
"Anyone who brings up 'work-life balance' during a hiring interview at Amazon does not get the job." -- Brad Stone @BloombergBusinessWeek wrote about Jeff Bezos - (pronounced Bay-zos) (founder and CEO of Amazon.com)
"An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field." --Niels Bohr, Danish physicist
"A problem clearly stated is a problem half solved." -- Dorothea Brande, see John Dewey
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it." -- Ferris Bueller
“I buy expensive suits. They just look cheap on me.”
“You may think this odd, but I have kept copies of every tax return I filed, starting with the return for 1944.”
“I can do anything I want, basically, as long as it doesn’t involve athletic ability.”
“You know, with your money and my brains, I mean, there’s no telling how far we’d go.”
“People should always know better.”
“I know that Congress will do the right thing.”
“I think confidence will come back.”
“We’ve got all the ingredients for a sensational future.”
“I mean, you know, you’re not going to change the human animal. And the human animal really doesn’t get a lot smarter.”
“At midnight, everything is going to turn to pumpkins and mice … You think, ‘Why the hell should I leave at quarter of 12? I’ll leave at two minutes to 12.’ But the trouble is, there are no clocks on the wall. And everybody thinks they’re going to leave at two minutes to 12.”
“You get what I call the natural progression, the three I’s. The innovators, the imitators, and the idiots.”
“There is seldom just one cockroach in the kitchen. You know, you turn on the light and, all of sudden, they all start scurrying around.”
“I like to go for cinches. I like to shoot fish in a barrel. But I like to do it after the water has run out.”
“I try to buy stock in businesses that are so wonderful that an idiot can run them. Because sooner or later, one will.”
“During inflation, goodwill is the gift that keeps on giving.”
“At age 19, I read a book, and what I’m doing today, at age 76, is running things through the same thought process I learned from the book I read at 19.”
“You don’t ever ask a barber whether you need a haircut.”
“A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought.”
“There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.”
“There’s no use running if you’re on the wrong road.”
“You know … you keep doing the same things, and you keep getting the same result over and over again.”
“The trick is, when there is nothing to do, do nothing.”
“We don’t get paid for activity, just for being right. As to how long we’ll wait, we’ll wait indefinitely.”
“If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.”
“Diversification is protection against ignorance. It makes little sense if you know what you are doing.”
“If you aren’t willing to own a stock for 10 years, don’t even think about owning it for 10 minutes.”
“Never count on making a good sale. Have the purchase price be so attractive that even a mediocre sale gives good results.”
“You shouldn’t own common stocks if a 50 percent decrease in their value in a short period of time would cause you acute distress.”
“We look for things I can understand. A lot of businesses I don’t understand.”
“What we learn from history is that people don’t learn from history.”
“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”
“You can’t make a good deal with a bad person.”
“Honesty is a very expensive gift. Don’t expect it from cheap people.”
“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
“It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.”
“The big question about how people behave is whether they’ve got an Inner Scorecard or an Outer Scorecard. It helps if you can be satisfied with an Inner Scorecard.”
“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.”
“I insist on a lot of time being spent, almost every day, to just sit and think. That is very uncommon in American business.”
“Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you.”
“Generally speaking, investing in yourself is the best thing you can do. Anything that improves your own talents; nobody can tax it or take it away from you.”
“We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy, and to be greedy only when others are fearful.”
“I think you are out of your mind if you keep taking jobs that you don’t like because you think it will look good on your résumé.”
“If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.”
“In the world of business, the people who are most successful are those who are doing what they love.”
“Never lie under any circumstances.”
“If principles can become dated, they’re not principles.”
“You can always tell someone to go to hell tomorrow … You haven’t missed the opportunity. Just forget about it for a day. If you feel the same way tomorrow, tell them — but don’t spout off in a moment of anger.”
“It’s much easier to stay out of trouble now than to get out of trouble later.”
“When forced to choose, I will not trade even a night’s sleep for the chance of extra profits.”
“Don’t risk what is important to you, to get what is not important to you.”
“Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget rule No. 1.”
“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.”
“Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.”
“Time is the friend of the wonderful company, the enemy of the mediocre.”
“The one piece of advice I can give you is, do what turns you on. Do something that, if you had all the money in the world, you’d still be doing it. You’ve got to have a reason to jump out of bed in the morning.”
'Cheshire Puss,' she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider. 'Come, it's pleased so far,' thought Alice, and she went on. 'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'
'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.
'I don't much care where—' said Alice.
'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.
'—so long as I get somewhere,' Alice added as an explanation.
'Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, 'if you only walk long enough.'
"Je ne suis pas difficile. Je me contente du meilleur." -- Winston Churchill??, see Oscar Wilde
“You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they’ve tried everything else.” -- Winston Churchill
"Attack, don't settle, get off the issue, never apologize" -- Roy Cohn (DJ Trump's mentor)
"Above all, attack, attack, attack – never defend." -- Roger Stone
"Every man needs five wives: a movie star, a housekeeper, a cook, a good listener, a devoted nurse.
But since ever woman needs five husbands: an intelligent and cultivated companion, an attentive athlete, a financial wizard, a poet, and a handyman who knows how to mend faucets, we might as well be reasonable about it right from the start." -- Alain Delon (French actor)
"It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory." -- W. Edwards Deming
"More men have become great through practice than by nature." -- Democritus, Ancient Greek philosopher
"The real Québécois knows what he's after, and that's an independent Quebec in a strong Canada" "Le vrai Québécois sait qu'est-ce qu'y veut. Pis qu'est-ce qu'y veut, c't'un Québec indépendant, dans un Canada fort " Yvon Deschamps' monologues were known for their unrelenting irony, and often buried a message that was completely opposite to what the stage character was saying literally.
"Never complain. Never explain." - (explain = make excuses) -- Benjamin Disraeli
See also: Royle
"A problem is half-solved if properly stated." -- John Dewey, see Dorothea Brande
People who know the least about a subject tend to be the most confident about their knowledge. - DKE = Dunning–Kruger effect - Wikipedia (1999)
"In all those things which deal with people, be liberal, be human. In all those things which deal with people's money, or their economy, or their form of government, be conservative." - President Dwight D. Eisenhower
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything" -- Albert Einstein
"The difference between genius and stupidity is: genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein
WC Fields
"Money isn't everything, according to those who have it." -- Malcolm S. Forbes, American publisher
"Any color ... so long as it is black" -- (about options for his ~1915 Model-T car) -- attributed to Henry Ford
"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." -- (about his ~1915 Model-T car) -- attributed to Henry Ford
“You have a grand gift for silence, Watson. It makes you quite invaluable as a companion.” -- Sherlock Holmes -- (Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle)
"When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier" -- Sherlock Holmes -- (Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle)
"It's better to get forgiveness than permission." -- Grace Hopper - (Developed the first computer software compiler. She became one of the first women promoted to rear admiral in the U.S. Navy.)
I have always believed in the saying, "It's better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission." It's a way of life. It's not about abusing situations but about knowing when to push the boundaries. It's about knowing that the overwhelming number of people in life are naysayers and "no sayers" and sometimes you gotta just roll the dice and say WTF. -- Mark Suster, writing at Both Sides of the Table:
"Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities." -- Aldous Huxley
"Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger." -- Franklin P. Jones
“It is not that we have too little time to do all the things we need to do, it is that we feel the need to do too many things in the time we have.” -- “The One Thing” by Gary Keller
"When the final result is expected to be a compromise, it is often prudent to start from an extreme position." -- John Maynard Keynes
"Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past." -- Jack Kornfield, A Lamp in the Darkness
"Next play." & “Whatever you have just done is not nearly as important as what you are doing right now.” -- Duke University’s legendary basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, or Coach K - If you miss a shot in basketball, swing and miss in baseball, or throw an interception in American football, you should quickly reset your mind and keep going. Focus on the task at hand rather than on what just happened. To perform at your best, you should try to stay focused on what’s happening now and not allow what just happened to distract you, regardless of how devastating or wonderful it was.
After tasting the wine, Macha summons the waiter: "Elvis. Come here. If I wanted vinegar, I would have ordered french fries. Get me something with a price tag on it. Okay?" - Ray Liotta (as Macha) in the movie Revolver, 2005.
Christmas Shopping: "The gift giving. Spending money you don't have to give people you don't like stuff they don't want. That's got to stop. All that anxiety over what to get, how much to spend. If I get something for this one, do I have to buy something for that one? The parking. The shopping. The returning. Sometimes I wonder how my assistant does it." - Bill Maher - 2014-11-21
"Why should I care about posterity? What's posterity ever done for me?" -- Groucho Marx
"If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail." -- Abraham H. Maslow
Have a drink: "Never drink alcohol unless you are celebrating something, upset on something, or if it's a day that ends with the letter Y. And never drink when you're driving." - Helen Mirren
"Not that you lied to me, but that I no longer believe you, has shaken me." -- Friedrich Nietzsche
"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity."
-- George S. Patton,
U.S. Army general
"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." -- Will Rogers
"Never apologize, never explain. Get it over with and let them howl," -- Edwin Milton Royle. Peace and Quiet: A Novel, 1916
"Ne reculez pas; n'explquez rien; ne vous excusez jamais. Agissez, et laissez-les se plaindre."
"Never retreat; never explain; never apologize. Get the job done and let them howl." -- Nellie McClung ??
See also: Disraeli
"Je n'ai fait celle-ci plus longue que parce que je n'ai pas eu le loisir de la faire plus courte." -- Blaise Pascal
"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." -- Will Rogers
"One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important." -- Bertrand Russell
"When I was a young man, I observed that nine out of 10 things I did were failures. I didn't want to be a failure, so I did 10 times more work."
-- George Bernard Shaw,
Irish playwright
"Life is not about finding yourself; life is about creating yourself." -- Bernard Shaw
"The more slowly you talk, the more authoritative you sound." -- Mary Ellen Slayter, founder and managing director of Reputation Capital Media Services, writing at RepCapitalMedia.com
"We may have knowledge of the past but cannot control it; we may control the future but have no knowledge of it." -- Claude Shannon - (polar codes, 5G)
"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers." -- attributed to Socrates by Plato, see Aristotle
“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” -- Margaret Thatcher
"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." -- Mark Twain
"I would have written you a shorter letter, but I did not have the time." -- Mark Twain?, see Blaise Pascal
"Even if you're on the right path, if you stand still, you'll be run over." -- Mark Twain
"Avoid boring people." -- James Watson, the scientist who helped discover DNA
"I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best." -- Oscar Wilde,
see Winston Churchill
"Whenever I think of the past, it brings back so many memories" -- comedian Steven Wright
"Do or do not. There is no try." -- Yoda
"I don't care how much power, brilliance, or energy you have, if you don't harness it and focus it on a specific target and hold it there, you're never going to accomplish as much as your ability warrants." -- Zig Ziglar
“Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street.” -- Zig Ziglar
"Have you ever noticed that the less something can be proved, the angrier we get when we argue trying to prove it?" -- ??
"A successful executive in business is one who can delegate all the responsibility, shift all the blame, and appropriate all the credit." -- ??
I’m on a seafood diet. I see food, and then I eat it.
I’m jealous of my parents. I’ll never have a kid as cool as theirs.
I get enough exercise from pushing my luck.
Studies show that people who have the most of them live the longest.
The best part of going to work is coming home at the end of the day.
Foreign concepts
Karoshi (Japanese) – death from overwork
996 culture - the 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six-days-a-week schedule that became so extreme in China that courts eventually barred employers from requiring it.
Hygge (Danish) – a warm, cozy feeling from simple comforts—soft light, good company, calm.
Schadenfreude (German): taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune.
Lagom (Swedish): just the right amount - not too much, not too little.