The Quotation Index
Recent Additions
- 14 Nov Carol Dweck’s reminder to focus on improving yourself rather than repeatedly proving your abilities
- 11 Nov William Gibson’s observation that the future has already arrived but is spread unevenly
- 10 Nov Thomas Jefferson’s observation that knowledge is power
- 9 Nov Randy Pausch’s reminder, from his last lecture, that brick walls are there to let us prove how badly we want things
- 8 Nov Brian Armstrong’s advice to early-stage founders that action produces information, so keep doing things
- 7 Nov Rosa Parks’s reflection on how resolve can diminish fear
- 2 Nov F. Scott Fitzgerald’s observation that a first-rate intelligence can hold two opposing ideas at once and still function
- 1 Nov Jordan Ellenberg’s strategy of solving a simpler version of a hard problem, hoping it’s similar enough to lead to the real solution
- 31 Oct George S. Patton’s argument that a good plan executed now is better than a perfect plan next week
- 28 Oct Theodore Roosevelt’s advice on combining calm diplomacy with credible strength
- 27 Oct Alan Kay’s view that the best way to predict the future is to invent it
- 26 Oct Niels Bohr’s observation that expertise comes from discovering, often painfully, all the mistakes possible in a narrow field
- 25 Oct John T. Reed’s advice to understand a subject’s core principles rather than memorise countless separate facts
- 24 Oct William Bruce Cameron’s observation that not everything measurable matters, and not everything that matters can be measured
- 17 Oct Edsger Dijkstra’s observation that simplicity is the hallmark of truth, even though complexity often appears more impressive
- 16 Oct Steven Kerr’s observation that managers may be rewarding the very behaviours they wish to change
- 10 Oct Josh Billings’ reminder that playing a poor hand well matters more than winning the game of life
- 9 Oct Mario Andretti’s observation that if everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough
- 8 Oct Brad Pitt’s advice not to dwell on success or failure, but to keep going
- 7 Oct Scott Galloway’s advice that nothing is as good or as bad as it seems
- 6 Oct Geoffrey Blainey’s argument that wars begin when nations disagree about their relative strength and end when their assessments align
- 3 Oct John F. Kennedy’s compliment about Thomas Jefferson at a White House dinner for Nobel laureates
- 2 Oct Blaise Pascal’s apology for writing a long letter, saying he had no time to make it shorter