By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest, second, by imitation, which is easiest, and third, by experience, which is the most bitter.

—Confucius, Chinese philosopher and teacher (557?—479 b.c.)

Nothing can bring you happiness but yourself.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, philosopher, and poet (1803–1882)

To be prepared is half the victory.

—Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Spain’s greatest literary figure, author of Don Quixote (1547–1616)

Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.

—Aristotle, Greek philosopher, pupil of Plato (384–322 b.c.)

—Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist, poet, and essayist (1850–1894)

—Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, philosopher, and poet (1803–1882)

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

—Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher (600–531 b.c.)

The master of pleasure is not he who abstains from it but he who uses it without being carried away by it.

—Aristippus, Greek philosopher (435?–356? b.c.)

Happiness doesn’t depend on any external conditions, it is governed by our mental attitude.

—Dale Carnegie, American writer and lecturer (1888–1955)

They can because they think they can.

—Virgil, Roman poet (70—19 b.c.), The Aeneid

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

—Confucius, Chinese philosopher and teacher (557?—479 b.c.)

We often live life as if the present were merely our means to the future.

—Blaise Pascal, French mathematician and philosopher (1623–1662)

Self-esteem isn’t everything; it’s just that there’s nothing without it.

—Gloria Steinem, American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist (1934- )

Hell is to drift, heaven is to steer.

—George Bernard Shaw, Nobel Prize-winning Irish dramatist and critic (1856–1950), Don Juan in Hell

We shall never know all the good things that a simple smile can do.

—Mother Teresa, Nobel Peace Prize winner (1910-1997)

Gratitude is the secret to life.

—Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Prize-winning German/French physician and philosopher (1875–1965)

—Plato, Greek philosopher (427–347 b.c.)

Acting extroverted makes people happier.

—William Fleeson, Associate Professor of Psychology, Wake Forest University

To err is human, to forgive, divine.

—Alexander Pope, English poet (1688–1744)

In the writing of [Tolstoy’s] books, there had to be such ecstasy as few men ever know—the pleasure of artistic genius in full command of its powers. As in Mozart’s composition, Socrates’ philosophizing, Michelangelo’s painting and sculpture and poetry and architecture, there is a potency that makes it possible to speak of a man as being godlike.

—Martine de Courcel, Tolstoy biographer

Mens sana in corpore sano (a sound mind in a sound body)

—Famous Latin maxim

All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.

—Blaise Pascal, French mathematician and philosopher (1623–1662)

To do great work, a man must be very idle as well as very industrious.

—Samuel Butler, English novelist (1835–1902)

It is in silence, and not in commotion, in solitude and not in crowds, that God best likes to reveal himself.

—Thomas Merton, American Catholic writer (1915–1968)

We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.

—Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

—Albert Einstein, Nobel Prize-winning physicist (1879–1955)

—André Malraux, French novelist, adventurer, and statesman (1901–1976)

We must be our own before we can be another’s.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, philosopher, and poet (1803–1882)

If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.

—Abraham Maslow, American psychologist (1903–1982)

—Harold S. Kushner, author and prominent American Rabbi

If you live to be a hundred, I hope I live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you.

—A. A. Milne (in the voice of Winnie the Pooh), English playwright, novelist, and writer of children’s books (1882–1956)

In fact, there are few stronger predictors of happiness than a close, nurturing, equitable, intimate, lifelong companionship with one’s best friend.

—David G. Myers, author of The Pursuit of Happiness

—Leo Rosten, American writer

The great elixir of life is to be thoroughly worn out before being discarded on the scrap heap—a force of nature, instead of a feverish, selfish clod of ailments and grievances.

—George Bernard Shaw, Nobel Prize-winning Irish dramatist and critic (1856–1950)

Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life’s deepest joy.

—Mother Teresa, Nobel Peace Prize winner

He who wishes to secure the good of others has already secured his own.

—Confucius, Chinese philosopher and teacher (557?–479 b.c.)

This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one.

—George Bernard Shaw, Nobel Prize-winning Irish dramatist and critic (1856–1950)

—Leonardo Da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, architect, scientist, musician, and natural philosopher (1452—1519)

—Aristotle, Greek philosopher, pupil of Plato (384–322 b.c.)

—Aristotle, Greek philosopher, pupil of Plato (384–322 b.c.)

—Daniel Kahneman, Princeton psychologist

—Jonathan Freedman, American research psychologist and author