Great Throughts Treasury

This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.

Related Quotes

Charles W. Eliot

Whatever deprives a man of personal individual motive for self-improvement and robust exertion will not make him free, but on the contrary more servile and in the long run less intelligent, industrious and free, for freedom is a matter of character and will power.

Character | Freedom | Improvement | Individual | Man | Power | Self | Self-improvement | Will |

Yechezkail Levenstein

Anyone who works on self-improvement will find faults. An honest look at ourselves will show we are not on as high a spiritual level as we thought. Do not be excessively upset about this for it is a universal experience and should not disturb your peace of mind to the degree it will prevent you from further growth.

Character | Experience | Growth | Improvement | Mind | Peace | Self | Self-improvement | Thought | Will |

Paul Pearsall

Self-acceptance is more important than self-improvement. There is no possibility of self-improvement without the prerequisite of self-acceptance... Interdependence is more important than independence.

Acceptance | Character | Important | Improvement | Self | Self-improvement |

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

The wellspring of courage and endurance in the face of unbridled power is generally a firm belief in the sanctity of ethical principles combined with a historical sense that despite all setbacks the condition of man is set on an ultimate course for both spiritual and material advancement. It is his capacity for self-improvement and self-redemption which most distinguishes man from the mere brute. At the root of human responsibility is the concept of perfection, the urge to achieve it, the intelligence to find a path towards it, and the will to follow that path if not to the end at least the distance needed to rise above individual limitations and environmental impediments. It is man's vision of a world fit for rational, civilized humanity which leads him to dare and to suffer to build societies free from want and fear. Concepts such as truth, justice and compassion cannot be dismissed as trite when these are often the only bulwarks which stand against ruthless power.

Belief | Capacity | Compassion | Courage | Endurance | Humanity | Individual | Intelligence | Justice | Man | Power | Principles | Responsibility | Self-improvement | Sense | Vision | Will | World |

Robert Burton

No one seriously doubts Socrates' maxim: The unexamined life isn't worth living. Self-assessment and attempts at self-improvement are essential aspects of "the good life." Yes, we should engage in ruthless self-reflection and harsh scrutiny, but we should simultaneously acknowledge that such introspection will, at best, only result in a partial view of our minds at work. Complete objectivity is not an option.

Good | Life | Life | Objectivity | Self-improvement | Worth |

W. D. Ross, fully Sir William David Ross

There is probably no act, for instance, which does good to anyone without doing harm to someone else, and vice versa.

Consideration | Duty | Gratitude | Justice | Need | People | Promise | Recompense | Self-improvement |

W. Edwards Deming, fully William Edwards Deming

It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and THEN do your best.

Control | People | Responsibility | Self-improvement | System |

Atharva Veda, or Atharvaveda

I am a sacrifice to my True Guru. He shall not abandon me; He shall surely carry me across.

Qualities | Self-improvement | Strength |