Why do famous quotes affect us?

by | Jun 14, 2011 | Uncategorized | 18 comments

In the back of my schedule book I have copied two famous quotes:

Knowledge is power (Francis Bacon)
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing (Edmund Burke)

I apply the “knowledge” quote by working as an educator. I apply the “triumph” quote by supporting political causes oriented toward helping individuals gain human rights.

Many famous quotes have had great impacts: “We shall fight on the beaches…” (Winston Churchill), “I have a dream…” (Martin Luther King, Jr.).  Why?  Because they say something we think or feel. Because they speak with authority and sincerity. Because they are original.  Because they succinctly convey something that is emotionally important.

What are your favorite famous quotes? What appeals to you about them?

John Malouff, PhD, JD, Associate Professor of Psychology

18 Comments

  1. If you can’t do something well don’t do it at all – makes you try a little harder

  2. One of my favourites- “I want to be alone”. Greta Garbo – simply because sometimes i just want to be alone. 🙂

  3. Here’s a quote that reflects my current feeling about my thesis:

    “Sometimes a scream is better than a thesis.”
    – Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

    However, this one keeps me working on it:

    “Manuscript: something submitted in haste and returned at leisure.”
    – Oliver Herford (1863-1935)

  4. A tree with strong roots can withstand the most violent storm, but the tree can’t grow roots just as the storm appears on the horizon. Howard C. Cutler

  5. My first quote is for times that i need to catch my breathe and re energise. The second quote to remind myself or anyone else that maybe facing a trying time. To keep strong and have strength to face whatever.

  6. Too many to list but here’s a few…They remind me that nothing is impossible and to be the best person I can be

    “Dare to Aim High”—Unknown

    “Aspire to inspire before you expire”–Unknown

    “Be the change you wish to see in the world”—Gandhi.

    “When the pupil is ready, the teacher will appear”—Buddha.

    “It isn’t where you came from, it’s where you’re going that counts.”—Ella Fitzgerald

    “No one can make you feel inferior, without your consent”–Eleanor Roosevelt

    “This above all: To thine own self be true”– Polonius (Hamlet)—William Shakespeare

  7. Another favourite. “To be, or not to be, that is the question”. William Shakespeare. I like that one when i am making a big decision usually about what to study or changing careers. Joanne

  8. With my very recent past in mind, I bring you, “If you can’t be a good example, be a horrible warning”.

    I have others that I find cheering in hard times, but right now, that one seems to be the right one for the times 🙂

  9. Very interesting quotes! Here is a statement by Seneca that I just posted for my students during exam time:

    A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a person perfected without trials.

  10. What about the old saying by whom i am not sure- “Behind every good man, there is a good woman”! Why dont they follow with “And behind every good woman, there is a good man!” 🙂

    Stride forward with a firm, steady step knowing with a deep, certain inner knowing that you will reach every goal you set yourselves, that you will achieve every aim. Eileen Caddy- Footprints on the Path. I use this one to remind me that if i really want it, i can have it. Its up to me!

    Dwell not on the past. Use it to illustrate a point, then leave it behind. Nothing really matters except what you do now in this instant of time. From this moment onward you can be an entirely different person, filled with love and understanding, ready with an outstretched hand, uplifted and positive in every thought and every deed. Eileen Cady- God Spoke to Me.
    This one if i start to dwell on something too muc.h

    Be open to your happiness and sadness as they arise. John & Lyn St Clair Thomas- Eyes of the Beholder This one is when i go with feeling the emotion and dont fight it!

    Learn to be silent. Let your quiet mind listen and absorb. Pythagorus. When i feel my mind is too busy which is quite often! 🙂

  11. I wonder whether the quotes we consider favorites tell something about our personalities. And our aspirations.

  12. John, I think you may be right. My favourites tend to be how i am feeling at the time. I do have a real special one but cant seem to find which book it is in.

  13. Life is like a wild tiger. You can either lie down and let it lay its paw on your head- Or sit on its back and ride it. This is my most favourite of all. When i am feeling beaten which isnt for long then i re access and start again. 🙂

    Success depends on where intention is. Gita Bellin

    Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother- Kahlil Gibran

    All the world’s a stage. And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances. And one man in his time plays many parts- Shakespeare

    There is little sense in attempting to change external conditions, you must first change inner beliefs, then outer conditions will change accordingly- Brian Adams

    Do the thing and you will have the power- Ralph Waldo Emerson

    To be upset over what you dont have…. is to waste what you do have- Ken Keyes, JR

    To change one’s life: Start immediately….Do it flamboyantly…..No exceptions and no excuses- William James

    Everything i do and say with anyone makes a differnece- Gita Bellin

    What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them- Mark 11: 24
    Work is love made visible- Kahlil Gibran

  14. A woman is a jewel and a man provides the right setting for her to shine- John Gray

    When we can express the best of who we are, we gradually create the good fortune to attract in our lives all the opportunities we need- John Gray

    Keeping positive! 🙂

  15. I have this written on my whiteboard: “Our thoughts are our only limitations to what we can achieve”.

    I also like this one by Thomas Edison ” I have not failed. I just found 10 000 ways that won’t work”.

    I remember these quotes when I feel stressed or having a hard time juggling work, study and life ;). I think that having these written where I can see them has helped with striving forward and focusing on what I want to achieve. At the moment it is continuing my studies with this great university!

  16. Thomas Edison provided us with an potent model when he talked about the need to persist in trying to solving a problem. He was one of the most successful inventors of all times.

  17. My Granny always said “Two wrongs dont make a right” and “Look for the good in people”. I think that has always kept me on the straight and narrow but the look for the good in people has sometimes kept me from truly looking at the not so good in people.

    I have heard this one as i got older”- Dont get mad, get even”. then the two wrongs dont make a right kicks in!

    “You are the same person today as you’ll be in five years time except for two things, the books you read and the people you meet”. Charlie Jones- World Famous Speaker.

  18. Another favourite from a story book and not sure if its from my time or my children’s but has always helped me to keep trying when things seem difficult or too hard. “The Little Red Engine, I think i can, i think i can” although somewhere i have changed the words to the Little Red Choo Choo Train. 🙂

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