Life Lessons and Maxims

 

This is a list of quotes and life maxims that I have compiled over the years organized by themes based on common ideas and messages:  This is a dynamic list.   I will constantly be adding, deleting, and updating


1. Personal Growth and Learning

  • Never stop learning.
  • Happiness, like unhappiness, is a proactive choice. – Stephen Covey
  • Motivation is a byproduct of movement - when in doubt, start moving.
  • Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. – Arthur Ashe
  • Avoid stupidity before seeking brilliance. – Shane Parrish
  • Professionals solve the problem. Amateurs solve the symptom. – Shane Parrish
  • When tired, learn to rest, not quit.
  • If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. – Dr. Maya Angelou
  • Discipline is important. Discipline is not just what you do, but what you don't do. – Jim Collins
  • The best life lesson I've learned is in being still, letting go, stopping fighting, and relaxing. – Angelia Roberts
  • You can't talk yourself out of problems you behave yourself into. – Stephen Covey
  • Judging others does not define who they are. It defines who you are. – Matthew 7
  • Once you identify a problem, don't tolerate it. – Ray Dalio

2. Success, Failure, and Resilience

  • If you’re going through hell, keep going. – Winston Churchill
  • Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. – Winston Churchill
  • Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. – John Wooden
  • You just can’t beat the person who never gives up. – Babe Ruth
  • Never be down. Either be up or getting up.
  • Don’t wait until your dying to start living.
  • Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose. – Bill Gates
  • Take time to deliberate, but when the time comes for action, stop thinking and go in. – Andrew Jackson
  • Outcome over ego. – Shane Parrish
  • The voice in your head that says "you can't" is a liar and a coward.

3. Leadership and Integrity

  • You can’t lead if you don’t follow. Jesus was a follower.
  • Deliver more than you promise.
  • Walk your talk. Do something good every day.
  • Integrity has no need for rules. – Albert Camus
  • Quality means doing it right when no one is looking. – Henry Ford
  • Don’t count on the advice of your dime friends to make dollar decisions. – Duke Naiphon
  • Don’t be afraid to challenge or question the boss.
  • Never under any circumstances take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night. – Dave Barry

4. Relationships and Influence

  • Friends are important. You can’t do it by yourself.
  • Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work. – John Trainer, MD
  • When you have more than you need, build a bigger table, not a taller fence.
  • Distance yourself from people you don't want to become. – Shane Parrish
  • People too weak to follow their own dreams will always find a way to discourage yours.
  • Never argue with someone that believes their own lies.
  • Don’t try to win over those who ridicule, mock, or hate. You're not called to be the jackass whisperer. – Scott Stratten
  • Forgiveness is a decision. Trust is a process. - Steve Mitchell
  • Human applause has a short shelf life.

5. Faith and Spirituality

  • God is important. You can’t do it by yourself.
  • Live, work, worship, and lead knowing that everything is a miracle.
  • In life, God is the pilot. You are either the Co-Pilot or a passenger. It’s your choice.
  • One day, you will be just a memory for some people. Do your best to be a good one.
  • You can't blame your way into a better future. – Genesis 3:8-13
  • You can't enjoy your ride if you're always looking at somebody else's destination. - Philippians 4:11-13

6. Risk, Decision-Making, and Planning

  • Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash. – George S. Patton
  • Expect the best and plan for the worst. (The Wright brothers took extra lumber assuming their first flight would crash.)
  • Never camp at the fork in the road.
  • Don't think you are on the right path just because it's a well-beaten path.
  • If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction. – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
  • Only dead fish go with the flow.

7. Work and Career

  • Always have your resume up to date.
  • In the first ten years of your career, never say “That’s not my job.” After that, learn to say “No.”
  • Become an expert in ONE thing. Learn how to do lots of things, but make one thing your go-to thing. Later, you can expand that to a circle of expertise.
  • Someone will always find a way to be cheaper. Don’t race to the bottom, race to the top! – Seth Godin
  • Out kick the coverage.

8. Perspective and Attitude

  • Being cool is overrated.
  • Don’t compare yourself to others. No one in the entire world can do a better job of being you than you.
  • A lie will go around the world while a truth is pulling its boots on. – C.H. Spurgeon
  • Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. – John Wooden
  • Drunkenness is simply voluntary insanity. – Seneca
  • Don't ever let them fit you in a box. – Christian Gideon

9. Humor and Practical Wisdom

  • Always drink upstream from the herd.
  • Never argue with someone that believes their own lies.
  • You can't sit on two toilets. – George Naddaff
  • Do not use the stairwell to smoke, drink, eat, or have sex.


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