The Quotation IndexThe trusted reference for quotations and the sources behind them
Tag Tag Agency
A life which does not go into action is a failure.
Arnold J. Toynbee A Study of History · 1934-1961

Quotes

“Who will let you? That’s not the point. The point is, who will stop me?”

Ayn Rand · The Fountainhead, 1943 · Primary source

“They rushed into it with their eyes open because they could not resist the bait.”

Arnold J. Toynbee · The Western Question in Greece and Turkey, 1922 · Primary source

“It is better to be making the news than taking it; to be an actor rather than a critic.”

Winston Churchill · The Story of the Malakand Field Force, 1898 · Primary source

“This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · The American Scholar, 1837 · Primary source

“All successful men have agreed in one thing—they were causationists.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · Power, 1860 · Primary source

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life and the procedure. The process is its own reward.”

Amelia Earhart · No reliable source

“Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything good in the world.”

Helen Keller · No reliable source

Works

John Carmack · 2026
Message on X (Agency Over Intelligence)

A speculation on how AI assistance could shift the relative importance of intelligence, agency, trust, and decision-making in human achievement.

Read summary·Explore 1 quotes

Related Tags

Decision-making 30 Tenacity 3 Fear 10 Persistence 18 Political manipulation 1 Self-interest 4 Temptation 3 Great-power rivalry 1 Action 21 Purpose 30 Commitment 15 Failure 11 Independence 29 Initiative 18 Self-determination 2 Defiance 4 Participation 1 Criticism 9 Opportunity 14 Present moment 4 Self-reliance 48 Cause and effect 2 Success 7 Practical judgement 6 Determinism 1 Self-pity 1 Resilience 28 Responsibility 27 Constructive action 1 Artificial intelligence 6 Intelligence 3 Human-AI collaboration 1