Tag Archives: Motivation Quotes

The Best Motivational Quotes

Shortest Graduation Speech in 12 Economic Concepts

No graduation speech comes as concise and straight to the point as the following speech delivered by Thomas J.Sargent. It is organized into 12 economic concepts that every graduate and student should know before they dive into the working world.


University of California at Berkeley graduation speech
Thomas J. Sargent
May 16, 2007

Shortest Graduation Speech in 12 Economic Concepts - Thomas J.Sargent

I remember how happy I felt when I graduated from Berkeley many years ago. But I thought the graduation speeches were long. I will economize on words.
Economics is organized common sense. Here is a short list of valuable lessons that our beautiful subject teaches.

  1. Many things that are desirable are not feasible.
  2. Individuals and communities face trade-offs.
  3. Other people have more information about their abilities, their efforts, and their preferences than you do.
  4. Everyone responds to incentives, including people you want to help. That is why social safety nets don’t always end up working as intended.
  5. There are trade-offs between equality and efficiency.
  6. In an equilibrium of a game or an economy, people are satisfied with their choices. That is why it is difficult for well-meaning outsiders to change things for better or worse.
  7. In the future, you too will respond to incentives. That is why there are some promises that you’d like to make but can’t. No one will believe those promises because they know that later it will not be in your interest to deliver. The lesson here is this: before you make a promise, think about whether you will want to keep it if and when your circumstances change. This is how you earn a reputation.
  8. Governments and voters respond to incentives too. That is why governments sometimes default on loans and other promises that they have made.
  9. It is feasible for one generation to shift costs to subsequent ones. That is what national government debts and the U.S. social security system do (but not the social security system of Singapore).
  10. When a government spends, its citizens eventually pay, either today or tomorrow, either through explicit taxes or implicit ones like inflation.
  11. Most people want other people to pay for public goods and government transfers (especially transfers to themselves).
  12. Because market prices aggregate traders’ information, it is difficult to forecast stock prices and interest rates and exchange rates.

    334 Words!!! In this case, less is definitely more 🙂

Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill

Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill
Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill

Napoleon Hill (October 26, 1883 – November 8, 1970) was an American author in the area of the new thought movement who was one of the earliest producers of the modern genre of personal-success literature. He is widely considered to be one of the great writers on success. His most famous work, Think and Grow Rich (1937), is one of the best-selling books of all time. Hill’s works examined the power of personal beliefs, and the role they play in personal success. He became an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 to 1936. “What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve” is one of Hill’s hallmark expressions. How achievement actually occurs, and a formula for it that puts success in reach of the average person, were the focal points of Hill’s books.


Below are some famous quotes by Napoleon Hill and some can be found from his book – Think and Grow Rich
“Dreams are the seedlings of reality.”
“A quitter never wins and a winner never quits.”
“Opinions are the cheapest commodities on earth.”
“We refuse to believe that which we don’t understand.”
“One sound idea is all that one needs to achieve success.”
“If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.”
“Both success and failure are largely the results of habit!”
“The only limitation is that which one sets up in one’s own mind.”
“The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.”
Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe it can achieve.”

What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve
What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve

“You’ve got to be sure of yourself before you can ever win a prize.”
“More gold had been mined from the mind of men than the earth itself”
“No one ever is defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality.”
“Neglecting to broaden their view has kept some people doing one thing all their lives.”
“Awake, arise, and assert yourself, you dreamers of the world. Your star is now in ascendancy.”
“Set your mind on a definite goal and observe how quickly the world stands aside to let you pass.”
“Every man is what he is, because of the dominating thoughts which he permits to occupy his mind.”
“Every adversity, every failure, every heartbreak, carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”
“In every adversity lies the seed of an equal or greater opportunity” – Napoleon Hill
“In every adversity lies the seed of an equal or greater opportunity” – Napoleon Hill

“The cause of the depression is traceable directly to the worldwide habit of trying to reap without sowing.”
“Remember that it is not the lawyer who knows the most law, but the one who best prepares his case, who wins.”
“One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat.”
“The oak sleeps in the acorn. The bird waits in the egg, and in the highest vision of the soul, a waking angel stirs.”
“There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge; both poverty and riches are the offspring of thought”
“Put your foot upon the neck of the fear of criticism by reaching a decision not to worry about what other people think, do, or say.”
“TELL THE WORLD WHAT YOU INTEND TO DO, BUT FIRST SHOW IT. This is the equivalent of saying “deeds, and not words, are what count most.”
“First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning as you will observe is in your imagination.” – Napoleon Hill
“First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning as you will observe is in your imagination.” – Napoleon Hill

“Failure is a trickster with a keen sense of irony and cunning. It takes great delight in tripping one when success is almost within reach.”
“When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.”
“You are the master of your destiny. You can influence, direct and control your own environment. You can make your life what you want it to be.”
“The most practical of all methods for controlling the mind is the habit of keeping it busy with a definite purpose, backed by a definite plan.”
“Perhaps we shall learn, as we pass through this age, that the ‘other self” is more powerful than the physical self we see when we look into a mirror.”
“If you are ready for the secret, you already possess one half of it, therefore, you will readily recognize the other half the moment it reaches your mind.”
“The starting point of all achievement is DESIRE. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat.”
“Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.” – Napoleon Hill
“Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.” – Napoleon Hill

“Those who succeed in an outstanding way seldom do so before the age of 40. More often, they do not strike their real pace until they are well beyond the age of 50.”
“The great leaders of business, industry, finance, and the great artists, musicians, poets, and writers became great, because they developed the faculty of creative imagination.”
“Knowledge is power. It is nothing of the sort! Knowledge is only potential power. It becomes power only when, and if, it is organized into definite plans of action, and directed to a definite end.”
“There is no substitute for persistence. The person who makes persistence his watch-word, discovers that “Old Man Failure” finally becomes tired, and makes his departure. Failure cannot cope with persistence.”
“A man whose mind is filled with fear not only destroys his own chances of intelligent action, but he transmits these destructive vibrations to the minds of all who come in contact with him, and destroys, also, their chances.”
“That is one of the tricks of opportunity. It has a sly habit of slipping in by the back door, and often it comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat. Perhaps this is why so many fail to recognize opportunity.”
“Opinions are the cheapest commodities on earth. Everyone has a flock of opinions ready to be wished upon anyone who will accept them. If you are influenced by “opinions” when you reach DECISIONS, you will not succeed in any undertaking.”
“There is a difference between WISHING for a thing and being READY to receive it. No one is ready for a thing, until he believes he can acquire it. The state of mind must be BELIEF, not mere hope or wish. Open-mindedness is essential for belief.”
“If you must be careless with your possessions, let it be in connection with material things. Your mind is your spiritual estate! Protect and use it with the care to which Divine Royalty is entitled. You were given a will-power for this purpose.”
“Everyone faces defeat. It may be a stepping-stone or a stumbling block, depending on the mental attitude with which it is faced.” – Napoleon Hill
“Everyone faces defeat. It may be a stepping-stone or a stumbling block, depending on the mental attitude with which it is faced.” – Napoleon Hill

“In parting, I would remind you that “Life is a checkerboard, and the player opposite you is time. If you hesitate before moving, or neglect to move promptly, your men will be wiped off the board by time. You are playing against a partner who will not tolerate decisions!”
“I will eliminate hatred, envy, jealousy, selfishness, and cynicism, by developing love for all humanity, because I know that a negative attitude toward others can never bring me success. I will cause others to believe in me, because I will believe in them, and in myself.”
“Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you ready or not, to put this plan into action.” – Napoleon Hill
“Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you ready or not, to put this plan into action.” – Napoleon Hill

“Helen Keller became deaf, dumb, and blind shortly after birth. Despite her greatest misfortune, she has written her name indelibly in the pages of the history of the great. Her entire life has served as evidence that no one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as reality.”
“Remember, too, that all who succeed in life get off to a bad start, and pass through many heartbreaking struggles before they ‘arrive’. The turning point in the lives of those who succeed usually comes at some moment of crisis, through which they are introduced to their ‘other selves’.”
“To win the big stakes in this changed world, you must catch the spirit of the great pioneers of the past, whose dreams have given to civilization all that it has of value, the spirit that serves as the life-blood of our own country – your opportunity and mine, to develop and market our talents.”
“One who has loved truly, can never lose entirely. Love is whimsical and temperamental. Its nature is ephemeral, and transitory. It comes when it pleases, and goes away without warning. Accept and enjoy it while it remains, but spend no time worrying about its departure. Worry will never bring it back.”
“I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store.
For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid.”
I bargained with Life for a penny, And Life would pay no more.
I bargained with Life for a penny, And Life would pay no more.

“Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do. More than five hundred of the most successful men this country has ever known told the author their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them.”
“FORD SAID, “I’LL BELT THE EARTH WITH DEPENDABLE MOTOR CARS,” AND HE DID! His decision to trust his own judgment has already piled up a fortune far greater than the next five generations of his descendents can squander. For the benefit of those seeking vast riches, let it be remembered that practically the sole difference between Henry Ford and a majority of the more than one hundred thousand men who work for him, is this – FORD HAS A MIND AND CONTROLS IT, THE OTHERS HAVE MINDS WHICH THEY DO NOT TRY TO CONTROL.”
“If you think you are beaten, you are, if you think you dare not, you don’t. If you like to win, but you think you can’t, it is almost certain you won’t. If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost, for out in the world we find, success begins with a fellow’s will – it’s all in the state of mind. If you think you’re outclassed, you are, you’ve got to think high to rise, you’ve got to be sure of yourself before you can ever win a prize. Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man but sooner or later the man who wins is the man who thinks he can!”
You can read the whole book in pdf format here
Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill

 

The Breakfast Club

 

Dear Mr. Vernon,
We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you’re crazy to make an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us – in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question?
Sincerely yours,
The Breakfast Club

Spend a little more time trying to make something of yourself and a little less time trying to impress people.
Spend a little more time trying to make something of yourself and a little less time trying to impress people.

We are all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that’s all.
We are all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that’s all.

Do not let society decide what is best for you. Follow your heart and intuition, stay true to your course, and you will eventually find happiness and fulfilment through discovering who you want to be. A creepy weirdo can always find someway to make the world a better place despite how small his/her contribution is.
And also, don’t you forget about your friends, family, and people who have helped you along the way. They often are the pillars for you when the going gets tough and easily forgotten when everything is rosy.

Mencius – 孟子《生于忧患,死于安乐》

故天将降大任于斯人也,必先苦其心志,劳其筋骨,饿其体肤,空乏其身,行拂乱其所为,所以动心忍性,曾益其所不能。
故天将降大任于斯人也,必先苦其心志,劳其筋骨,饿其体肤,空乏其身,行拂乱其所为,所以动心忍性,曾益其所不能。

 
 
 
 
 
生于忧患,
One thrives and survives under suffering and hardships,
死于安乐。
and withers if left overly-protected and contented with current situation.
孟子曰:
故天将降大任于斯人也,必先苦其心志,劳其筋骨,饿其体肤,空乏其身,行拂乱其所为,所以动心忍性,曾益其所不能。
解:上天将要降落重大责任在这样的人身上,一定要道先使他的内心痛苦,使他的筋骨劳累,使他经受饥饿,以致肌肤消瘦,使他受贫困之苦,使他做的事颠倒错乱,总不如意,通过那些来使他的内心警觉,使他的性格坚定,增加他不具备的才能。
故天将降大任于斯人也,
When Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on man,
必先苦其心志,
it will first fill his heart with suffering,
劳其筋骨,
toil his sinews and bones,
饿其体肤,
exposes his body to hunger,
空乏其身,
subjects him to extreme poverty.
行拂乱其所为,
confounds his journey with setbacks and troubles.
所以动心忍性,
so as to stimulate his alertness, toughen his nature,
曾益其所不能。
eventually bridging his incompetence gap and prepare him for the task.
For every hardships and adversities you are facing now, you should treat it as Life is preparing you for some larger responsibility that requires a more matured and upgraded version of you so as to not screw up later 😀

Compilation of The Best of Socrates – Wisdom of Ages

Below are 114 timeless quotes by Socrates. His ideology is exemplified by his students, Plato and Xenophon , through their writings and dialogues. Quotes are sorted by increasing length count in characters and are not ranked in order of popularity.

Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people - Socrates
Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people – Socrates

001. Know thyself.
002. To be is to do.
003. Be as you wish to seem.
004. Wisdom begins in wonder.
005. Be true to thine own self.
006. Envy is the ulcer of the soul.
007. Beauty is a short-lived tyranny.
To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge - Socrates
To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge – Socrates

008. An honest man is always a child.
009. Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.
010. Through your rags I see your vanity.
011. To find yourself, think for yourself.
 
012. The hottest love has the coldest end.
013. Beware the barrenness of a busy life.
014. There is no solution; seek it lovingly.
015. The unexamined life is not worth living.
The unexamined life is not worth living - Socrates
The unexamined life is not worth living – Socrates

016. To move the world we must move ourselves.
017. May the inward and outward man be as one.
018. Understanding a question is half an answer.
019. Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat.
020. To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.
021. Every action has its pleasures and its price.
022. The misuse of language induces evil in the soul.
023. The poets are only the interpreters of the Gods.
024. Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.
025. Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued.
026. The mind is everything; what you think you become.
027. It is not living that matters, but living rightly.
028. I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within.
029. Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior.
030. The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms.
031. Let him who would move the world first move himself.
032. Let him that would move the world first move himself.
033. We cannot live better than in seeking to become better.
034. From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate.
035. True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing.
036. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
037. Living well and beautifully and justly are all one thing.
038. The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance.
039. I was really too honest a man to be a politician and live.
040. There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.
041. I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.
042. Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.
043. I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world.
044. Do not do to others what angers you if done to you by others.
045. When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser.
046. It is better to change an opinion than to persist in a wrong one.
047. Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.
048. Beauty is the bait which with delight allures man to enlarge his kind.
049. There is no greater evil one can suffer than to hate reasonable discourse.
050. Prefer knowledge to wealth, for the one is transitory, the other perpetual.
051. The end of life is to be like God, and the soul following God will be like Him.
052. Give me beauty in the inward soul; may the outward and the inward man be at one.
053. False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.
054. Be slow to fall into friendship, but when you are in, continue firm and constant.
055. The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.
056. He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.
057. The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.
058. The greatest way to live with honour in this world is to be what we pretend to be.
059. He is not only idle who does nothing, but he is idle who might be better employed.
060. Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant.
061. Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.
062. All men’s souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine.
063. Be nicer than necessary to everyone you meet. Everyone is fighting some kind of battle.
064. Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us.
065. The greatest blessing granted to mankind come by way of madness, which is a divine gift.
066. Worthless people live only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live.
067. The easiest and noblest way is not to be crushing others, but to be improving yourselves.
068. What screws us up the most in life is the picture in our head of what it’s supposed to be.
069. As to marriage or celibacy, let a man take which course he will, he will be sure to repent.
070. If a man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it.
071. In all of us, even in good men, there is a lawless wild-beast nature, which peers out in sleep.
072. Life contains but two tragedies. One is not to get your heart’s desire; the other is to get it.
073. When you want wisdom and insight as badly as you want to breathe, it is then you shall have it.
074. He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.
075. He who is not contended with what he has, would not be contended with what he would like to have.
076. Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down.
077. He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy.
078. If you want to be a good saddler, saddle the worst horse; for if you can tame one, you can tame all.
079. The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.
080. Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions; but those who kindly reprove thy faults.
081. The secret to happiness, you see, is not in gaining more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.
082. One should never do wrong in return, nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by him.
083. To express oneself badly is not only faulty as far as the language goes, but does some harm to the soul.
084. I know you won’t believe me, but the highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others.
085. The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.
086. The highest realms of thought are impossible to reach without first attaining an understanding of compassion.
087. Children nowadays are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannise their teachers.
088. My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you’ll be happy; if not, you’ll become a philosopher.
089. By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you’ll become happy; if you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.
090. Virtue does not come from wealth, but. . . wealth, and every other good thing which men have. . . comes from virtue.
091. By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you’ll become happy; if you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.
092. We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.
093. True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.
094. Be of good cheer about death, and know this of a truth, that no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death.
095. He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god.
096. Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for.
097. Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for.
098. I only wish that ordinary people had an unlimited capacity for doing harm; then they might have an unlimited power for doing good.
099. The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our separate ways, I to die, and you to live. Which of these two is better only God knows.
100. If all misfortunes were laid in one common heap whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be contented to take their own and depart.
101. If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart.
102. Where there is reverence there is fear, but there is not reverence everywhere that there is fear, because fear presumably has a wider extension than reverence.
103. A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true.
104. The really important thing is not to live, but to live well. And to live well meant, along with more enjoyable things in life, to live according to your principles.
105. No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.
106. Ordinary people seem not to realize that those who really apply themselves in the right way to philosophy are directly and of their own accord preparing themselves for dying and death.
107. One who is injured ought not to return the injury, for on no account can it be right to do an injustice; and it is not right to return an injury, or to do evil to any man, however much we have suffered from him.
108. I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean.
109. If a man comes to the door of poetry untouched by the madness of the Muses, believing that technique alone will make him a good poet, he and his sane compositions never reach perfection, but are utterly eclipsed by the performances of the inspired madman.
110. To fear death, gentlemen, is no other than to think oneself wise when one is not, to think one knows what one does not know. No one knows whether death may not be the greatest of all blessings for a man, yet men fear it as if they knew that it is the greatest of evils.
111. Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company; gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers.
112. Esteemed friend, citizen of Athens, the greatest city in the world, so outstanding in both intelligence and power, aren’t you ashamed to care so much to make all the money you can, and to advance your reputation and prestige – while for truth and wisdom and the improvement of your soul you have no care or worry?
113. Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of – for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.
114. If you don’t get what you want, you suffer; if you get what you don’t want, you suffer; even when you get exactly what you want, you still suffer because you can’t hold on to it forever. Your mind is your predicament. It wants to be free of change. Free of pain, free of the obligations of life and death. But change is law and no amount of pretending will alter that reality.
Compilation of The Best of Socrates – Wisdom of Ages