WIST Quotations

Howland, Bette -- W-3 (1974)

Dave — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 16:26:39 +0000

For a long time it seemed to me that real life was about to begin, but there was always some obstacle in the way. Something had to be got through first, some unfinished business; time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.

Bette Howland (1937–2017) American writer and literary critic
W-3 (1974)

Townsend, Robert -- Further Up the Organization (1984)

Dave — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:38:41 +0000

When you get right down to it, one of the most important tasks of a manager is to eliminate his people’s excuse for failure.

Robert Townsend (1920–1998) American business executive and author
Further Up the Organization (1984)

Brecht, Bertholt -- “Quotation [Zitat]” (1930s) [tr. Morley]

Dave — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 14:30:15 +0000

Little changes are the enemies of great changes.

Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) German poet, playwright, director, dramaturgist
“Quotation [Zitat]” (1930s) [tr. Morley]

Kettering, Charles F. -- In “Looking ahead with Boss Ket,” Popular Mechanics (Feb 1935)

Dave — Fri, 26 Jun 2015 14:52:34 +0000

No one would have crossed the ocean if he could have gotten off the ship in the storm.

Charles F. Kettering (1876–1958) American inventor, engineer, researcher, businessman
In “Looking ahead with Boss Ket,” Popular Mechanics (Feb 1935)

Keller, Helen -- The Simplest Way to be Happy (1933)

Dave — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 12:30:24 +0000

A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.

Helen Keller (1880–1968) American author and lecturer
The Simplest Way to be Happy (1933)

Kennedy, Robert F. -- “Day of Affirmation,” address, University of Capetown, South Africa (6 Jun 1966)

Dave — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 13:43:49 +0000

The cruelties and the obstacles of this swiftly changing planet will not yield to obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans. It cannot be moved by those who cling to a present which is already dying, who prefer the illusion of security to the excitement and danger which comes with even the most peaceful progress. This world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.

Robert Francis Kennedy (1925–1968) American politician
“Day of Affirmation,” address, University of Capetown, South Africa (6 Jun 1966)

Butcher, Jim -- Turn Coat (2009)

Dave — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 13:06:56 +0000

There are bad things in the world. There’s no getting away from that. But that doesn’t mean nothing can be done about them. You can’t abandon life just because it’s scary, and just because sometimes you get hurt.

Jim Butcher (b. 1971) American author
Turn Coat (2009)

Huxley, T. H. -- “Address on University Education,” opening ceremonies of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (12 Sep 1876)

Dave — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:44:03 +0000

A man’s worst difficulties begin when he is able to do as he likes. So long as a man is struggling with obstacles he has an excuse for failure or shortcoming; but when fortune removes them all and gives him the power of doing as he thinks best, then comes the time of trial. There is but one right, and the possibilities of wrong are infinite.

T. H. Huxley (1825–1895) English biologist [Thomas Henry Huxley]
“Address on University Education,” opening ceremonies of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (12 Sep 1876)

Washington, Booker T. -- Up from Slavery, ch. 2 (1901)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.

Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) American educator, writer
Up from Slavery, ch. 2 (1901)