"The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude."
"When a thing was new people said ‘It is not true’. Later, when its truth became obvious, people said, ‘Anyway, it is not important’, and when its importance could not be denied, people said, ‘Anyway, it is not new’."
"To change one's life: 1. Starte immediately, 2. Do it flamboyantly, 3. No exceptions."
"Acceptance of what happened is the first step to overcoming the consequence of any misfortune."
"The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902), Lectures XIV,XV, ‘Saintliness’ If WE claim only reasonable probability, it will be as much as men who love the truth can ever at any given moment hope to have within their grasp."
"The community stagnates without the impulse of the individual. The impulse dies away without the sympathy of the community."
"Whenever two people meet there are really six people present. There is each man as he sees himself, each man as the other person sees him, and each man as he really is."
"in Lord Ritchie Calder ‘Leonardo’ (1970) A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices."
"The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902), Lecture XX, ‘Conclusions’ There is no worse lie than a truth misunderstood bu those who hear it."
"The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook."
"There is only one thing a philosopher can be relied upon to do, and that is to contradict other philosophers."
"The best use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts life."
"There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision."
"It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence."
"If this life be not a real fight, in which something is eternally gained for the universe by success, it is no better than a game of private theatricals from which one may withdraw at will. But it feels like a real fight."
"A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices."
"Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me."
"Only necessity understood, and bondage to the highest is identical with true freedom."
"The ideas gained by men before they are twenty-five are practically the only ideas they shall have in their lives."
"If you want a quality, act as if you already had it."
"The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated."
"Let everything you do be done as if it makes a difference."
"If you want a quality, act as if you already had it. Try the as if technique."
"The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude."
"Human beings, by changing the inner attitude of their minds, can change the outer aspect of their lives."