Thinking Quotes - Page 367

I know from experience that to one who thinks much and feels deeply, it often seems that he has only to put down his thoughts and feelings in order to produce something altogether out of the common; yet as soon as he sets to work he falls into a certain mannerism of style and common phraseology; his thoughts do not come spontaneously, and one might almost say that it is not the mind that directs the pen, but the pen leads the mind into common, empty artificiality.

Men in authority will always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find criticism subversive.

You can't control how other people see you or think of you. But you have to be comfortable with that.

We betray ourselves into smallness when we think the little choices of each day are trivial.

I think no more of taking another wife than I do of buying a cow.

I think we should stop using nuclear power plants because it's an old system that we can't control.

If you don't believe in God, all you have to believe in is decency. Decency is very good. Better decent than indecent. But I don't think it's enough.

If the ability to tell right from wrong should have anything to do with the ability to think, then we must be able to 'demand' its exercise in every sane person no matter how erudite or ignorant.

I wake up every day and think about what I am to other people. What I am to the people I employ, who depend on me to wake up and do my job that day and keep this career going? I think about what I am to the kids who listen to my music and all the other people involved in this project.

Remember that nearly all extraordinary accomplishments began by overcoming a series of challenges that discourage and tempt us to quit, before we succeed. Those that maintain faith, stay committed, follow through and keep moving forward are the few that achieve everything they want in life. Be one of the few.

When we talk of flood control, we usually think of dams and deeper river channels, to impound the waters or hurry their run-off. Yet neither is the ultimate solution, simply because floods are caused by the flow of water downhill. If the hills are wooded, that flow is checked. If there is a swamp at the foot of the hills, the swamp sponges up most of the excess water, restores some of it to the underground water supply and feeds the remainder slowly into the streams. Strip the hills, drain the boglands, and you create flood conditions inevitably. Yet that is what we have been doing for years.

Dishonesty is like a boomerang. About the time you think all is well, it hits you in the back of the head.

I've learned a lot about genuinely not caring what strangers think about me. It's very liberating.

People might think you can turn creativity on and off, but it's not like that. It just kind of comes out. A mash up of all these things you collect in your mind. You never know when it's gonna happen, but when it does ... it's like magic. It's just that simple and it's just that hard.

I think you've got something there, but I'll wait outside until you clean it up.

If you tell someone you're doing something innovative, they'll think you're doing something innovative.

Football needs its roots, it needs its connection with the supporters. But those in charge seem to think they can do without them.

I think that testosterone is a rare poison.

If I were to disclose all their rituals, I think that it would be easy to prove that witches are not diabolists; but the oaths are solemn and the witches are my friends. I would not want to hurt their feelings. They have secrets which to them are sacred. They have good reason for their secrecy.

Proper preparation is the key to our success. Our acts can be no wiser than our thoughts. Our thinking can be no wiser than our understanding.

I think a lot of people really have religious overtones of having come from somewhere. I mean, even the whole concept of religion is kind of alien.

People who say they don't care what people think are usually desperate to have people think they don't care what people think.

To my way of thinking and working, the greatest service a piece of fiction can do any reader is to leave him with a higher ideal of life than he had when he began. If in one small degree it shows him where he can be...gentler, saner, cleaner, kindlier...it is a wonder-working book. If it opens his eyes to one beauty in nature he never saw for himself and leads him one step toward the God of the Universe, it is a beneficial book.

Don't let small thinking cut your life down to size. Think big, aim high, act bold. And see just how big you can blow up your life.

Okay, let's talk about cartoon labels for half a second - some people think anything with a dog or a car or a colorful alien is garbage, which is not true. Look at Big Moose Red. It's, like, a $6 wine with a cheesy label, and it's actually a solid wine.