The way to gain a good reputation, is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.

Socrates The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can. Robert Cushing The searching-out and thorough investigation of truth ought to be the primary study of man. Cicero The only journey is the journey within. Rainer Maria Rilke Know thyself means this, that you get acquainted with what you know, and what you can do. Menander Yes, know thyself: in great concerns or small, Be this thy care, for this, my friend, is all. Juvenal Men soon the faults of others learn A few their virtues, too, find out; But is there oneI have a doubt Who can his own defects discern? Sanskrit Proverb Collect as precious pearls the words of the wise and virtuous. Abd-el-Kadar If we do not plant knowledge when young, it will give us no shade when we are old. Lord Chesterfield If you have an hour, will you not improve that hour, instead of idling it away? Lord Chesterfield Follow your honest convictions, and stay strong. William Thackeray He that will not reflect is a ruined man. Asian Proverb Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow. Doug Firebaugh Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still. Chinese Proverb God ever works with those who work with will. Aeschylus

Insist on yourself. Never imitate. Ralph Waldo Emerson Heaven never helps the man who will not act. Sophocles Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. Aristotle Our ideas, like orange-plants, spread out in proportion to the size of the box which imprisons the roots. Edward Bulwer Lytton We are sometimes as different from ourselves as we are from others. Francois de La Rochefoucauld In learning to know other things, and other minds, we become more intimately acquainted with ourselves, and are to ourselves better worth knowing. Philip Gilbert Hamilton What progress, you ask, have I made? I have begun to be a friend to myself. Hecato, Greek philosopher We are either progressing or retrograding all the while; there is no such thing as remaining stationary in this life. James Freeman Clarke To conquer oneself is the best and noblest victory; to be vanquished by one's own nature is the worst and most ignoble defeat. Plato Everybody wants to be somebody; nobody wants to grow. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The happiest life is that which constantly exercises and educates what is best in us. Hamerton We only become what we are by the radical and deep-seated refusal of that which others have made of us. Jean-Paul Sartre Change and growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with experimenting with his own life. Herbert Otto Heed the still small voice that so seldom leads us wrong, and never into folly. Marquise du Deffand

Your real influence is measured by your treatment of yourself. A. Bronson Alcott Energy and persistence conquer all things. Benjamin Franklin If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves. Thomas Edison A man who finds no satisfaction in himself will seek for it in vain elsewhere. La Rochefoucauld Fear less, hope more, eat less, chew more, whine less, breathe more, talk less, say more, hate less, love more, and good things will be yours. Swedish Proverb Make it thy business to know thyself, which is the most difficult lesson in the world. Miguel de Cervantes The best rules to form a young man are: to talk little, to hear much, to reflect alone upon what has passed in company, to distrust one's own opinions, and value others that deserve it. Sir William Temple Exert your talents, and distinguish yourself, and don't think of retiring from the world, until the world will be sorry that you retire. Samuel Johnson