On Habits

Og Mandino, “sales guru” and the author of the bestselling book The Greatest Salesman in the World:

“Good habits are the key to all success.”

Samuel Johnson, 18th century British poet, essayist, and literary critic:

“The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.”

Dr. Frank Crane, Presbyterian minister, speaker, and columnist:

Habits are safer than rules; you don’t have to watch them. And you don’t have to keep them, either. They keep you.

Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russian writer and existentialist philosopher:

“The second half of a man’s life is made up of nothing but the habits he has acquired during the first half.”

Confucius, 5th century Chinese teacher and social philosopher:

“Men’s natures are alike; it is their habits that separate them.”

Georges Gurdjieff, Greek-Armenian mystic and spiritual teacher of sacred dance:

“Every grown-up man consists wholly of habits, although he is often unaware of it and even denies having any habits at all.”

Unknown:

“A habit is something you can do without thinking – which is why most of us have so many of them.”

Jim Ryun, American politician and former track athlete:

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

Yiddish Proverb:

“Bad habits are easier to abandon today than tomorrow.”

Aristotle, seminal Greek naturalist and rationalist and father of Western philosophy. (Sidenote: I studied Aristotle extensively during my undergrad, and completed papers on Aristotle’s mathematics [pdf] and concept of justice.)

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.”

This entry was written by Josh Kaufman, posted on March 15, 2007 at 10:12 am, filed under Quotes. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

On Intelligence

Warren Buffett, master investor and second wealthiest person in the world:

“People with 160 IQs can say stupid things that sound good.”

This entry was written by Josh Kaufman, posted on March 6, 2007 at 5:46 pm, filed under Quotes. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

On Persistence

Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States:

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

This entry was written by Josh Kaufman, posted on March 3, 2007 at 9:53 pm, filed under Quotes. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.