Great Throughts Treasury

"Man, like the bridge, was designed to carry the load of the moment, not the combined weight of a year at once."

"What appears to be a fully earthly relationship between two human individuals is at the same time a path toward far deeper experiences of the soul."

"We always expect love to be healing and whole, and then are astonished to find that it can create hollow gaps and empty failures... Our love and our high expectations that it will somehow make life complete seem to be an integral part of the experience. Love seems to promise that life's gaping wounds will close up and heal. It makes little difference that in the past love has shown itself to be painful and disturbing. There is something self-renewing in love."

"Worry distorts our thinking, disrupts our work, disquiets our soul, disturbs our body, disfigures our face, destroys our poise, depresses our friends, demoralizes our life, defeats our faith and debilitates our energy."

"Who gives a good book gives more than cloth, paper, and ink... more than leather, parchment and words. He reveals a foreword of his thoughts, a dedication of his friendship, a page of his presence, a chapter of himself, an index of his love."

"Recipe for success: Study while others are sleeping; work while others are loafing; prepare while others are playing; and dream while others are wishing."

"A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities."

"The experienced mountain climber is not intimidated by a mountain - he is inspired by it. The persistent winner is not discouraged by a problem--he is challenged by it. Mountains are created to be conquered; adversities are designed to be defeated; problems are sent to be solved. It is better to master one mountain than a thousand foothills."

"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings."

"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails."

"A pinch of praise is worth a pound of scorn. A dash of encouragement is more helpful than a dipper of pessimism. A cup of kindness is better than a cupboard of criticism."

"A life lived without forgiveness is a prison."

"A friend is one with whom you are comfortable, to whom you are loyal, through whom you are blessed, and for whom you are grateful."

"A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition."

"A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your step as you walk the tightrope of life."

"A warm smile is the universal language of kindness."

"A second-class effort is a first-class mistake."

"A Winner's Blueprint for Achievement BELIEVE while others are doubting. PLAN while others are playing. STUDY while others are sleeping. DECIDE while others are delaying. PREPARE while others are daydreaming. BEGIN while others are procrastinating. WORK while others are wishing. SAVE while others are wasting. LISTEN while others are talking. SMILE while others are frowning. COMMEND while others are criticizing. PERSIST while others are quitting."

"Adversity cause some men to break; others to break records."

"And the realist adjusts the sails."

"Another fresh new year is here . . . Another year to live! To banish worry, doubt, and fear, to love and laugh and give! This bright new year is given me to live each day with zest . . . To daily grow and try to be my highest and my best! I have the opportunity once more to right some wrongs, to pray for peace, to plant a tree, and sing more joyful songs!"

"As the valley gives height to the mountain, so can sorrow give meaning to pleasure; as the well is the source of the fountain, deep adversity can be a treasure."

"Before you speak, listen. Before you write, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you invest, investigate. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try. Before you retire, save. Before you die, give."

"Better to master one mountain than a thousand foothills."

"Change, like sunshine, can be a friend or a foe, a blessing or a curse, a dawn or a dusk."

"Before you act, listen. Before you react, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try."

"Blessed is he who has learned to admire but not envy, to follow but not imitate, to praise but not flatter, and to lead but not manipulate."

"Character is always lost when a high ideal is sacrificed on the altars of conformity and popularity."

"Each of us will one day be judged by our standard of life -- not by our standard of living; by our measure of giving -- not by our measure of wealth; by our simple goodness -- not by our seeming greatness."

"Enthusiasm is the match that lights the candle of achievement."

"?Do more than belong: participate. Do more than care: help. Do more than believe: practice. Do more than be fair: be kind. Do more than forgive: forget. Do more than dream: work."

"Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning."

"Committing a great truth to memory is admirable; committing it to life is wisdom."

"Every person has the power to make others happy. Some do it simply by entering a room others by leaving the room. Some individuals leave trails of gloom; others, trails of joy. Some leave trails of hate and bitterness; others, trails of love and harmony. Some leave trails of cynicism and pessimism; others trails of faith and optimism. Some leave trails of criticism and resignation; others trails of gratitude and hope. What kind of trails do you leave?"

"Every great person has first learned how to obey, whom to obey, and when to obey."

"Failure is delay, but not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead-end street."

"Failure is not fatal. Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. It should challenge us to new heights of accomplishments, not pull us to new depths of despair. From honest failure can come valuable experience."

"Faith is knowing there is an ocean because you have seen a brook."

"Faith sees a beautiful blossom in a bulb, a lovely garden in a seed, and a giant oak in an acorn."

"Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you."

"Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting."

"Flying off the handle sometimes causes hammers and humans to lose their heads, as well as their effectiveness."

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it."

"Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hate. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness."

"Freedom's enemies are waste, lethargy, indifference, immorality, and the insidious attitude of something for nothing."

"God gave you a gift of 84,600 seconds today. Have you used one of them to say thank you?"

"Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position, or prestige. It is discovered in goodness, humility, service, and character."

"Friendship flourishes at the fountain of forgiveness."

"Happiness is an inside job"

"Humanity either makes, or breeds, or tolerates all its afflictions."