What counts most in the long haul of adult life

“What counts most in the long haul of adult life is not brilliance or charisma or derring-do, but rather the quality the Romans called ‘gravitas’: patience, stamina and weight of judgment..The prime virtue is courage, because it makes all other virtues possible.” Eric Sevareid 1971


"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." - Abraham Lincoln

 
  "Be not the first by whom the new are tried, Nor yet the last to lay the old aside." - Alexander Pope


 "In this new, hyper competitive age, none of us, none of us can afford to be complacent." - Barack Obama

"Be modest! It is the kind of pride least likely to offend." - Jules Renard

 "The great thing about a computer notebook is that no matter how much you stuff into it, it doesn't get bigger or heavier. - Bill Gates

  "Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go much further than people with vastly superior talent." - Sophia Loren

"One day the factory sports coach, who was very strict, pointed at four boys, including me, and ordered us to run in a race. I protested that I was weak and not fit to run, but the coach sent me for a physical examination and the doctor said that I was perfectly well. So I had to run, and when I got started I felt I wanted to win. But I only came in second. That was the way it started." - Emil Zatopek


 "Eliminate something superfluous from your life. Break a habit. Do something that makes you feel insecure." - Piero Ferrucci


 "Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company." - George Washington

 "One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other." - Jane Austen

 "Consult your friend on all things, especially on those which respect yourself. His counsel may then be useful where your own self-love might impair your judgment." - Seneca

"Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time." - Mark Twain

"If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself, tell yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches." - Rainer Maria Rilke

"Success is counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed." - Emily Dickinson

"There's no easy way out. If there were, I would have bought it. And believe me, it would be one of my favorite things!"- Oprah Winfrey

 "In order for people to be happy, sometimes they have to take risks. It's true these risks can put them in danger of being hurt." - Meg Cabot

"Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man." - Sir Francis Bacon

 "Say not, when I have leisure I will study; you may not have leisure." - The Mishnah

"Health is not valued till sickness comes." - Dr. Thomas Fuller


"The truth that many people never understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering the more you suffer because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you in proportion to your fear of being hurt." - Thomas Merton

  "The truth is the kindest thing we can give folks in the end." - Harriet Beecher Stowe

  "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." - Abraham Lincoln