The Quotation IndexThe trusted reference for quotations and the sources behind them
Tag Tag Preparation
Diligence is the mother of good luck.
Benjamin Franklin Poor Richard’s Almanack · 1732-1758

Quotes

“In the field of observations, chance favors only the prepared mind.”

Louis Pasteur · Lecture, University of Lille, 1854 · Primary source

“The time to worry is three months before a flight. Decide then whether or not the goal is worth the risks involved. If it is, stop worrying. To worry is to add another hazard. It retards reactions, makes one unfit. Hamlet would have been a bad aviator. He worried too much.”

Amelia Earhart · Last Flight, 1937 · Primary source

“Anticipation, I suppose, sometimes exceeds realization.”

Amelia Earhart · Last Flight, 1937 · Primary source

“Preparation, I have often said, is rightly two-thirds of any venture.”

Amelia Earhart · Last Flight, 1937 · Primary source

“I felt as if I were walking with Destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial.”

Winston Churchill · The Second World War, 1948-1953 · Primary source

“A pint of sweat will save a gallon of blood!”

George S. Patton · War As I Knew It, 1947 · Primary source

“Have you something to do tomorrow; do it today.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1732-1758 · Primary source

“Time enough always proves little enough.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1732-1758 · Primary source

“I have no luck anymore. But who knows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.”

Ernest Hemingway · The Old Man and the Sea, 1952 · Primary source

“Bond didn’t defend the practice. He simply maintained that the more effort and ingenuity you put into gambling, the more you took out.”

Ian Fleming · Casino Royale, 1953 · Primary source

“It was the mistakes one made at the beginning of a case that were the worst. They were the irretrievable ones, the ones that got you off on the wrong foot, that gave the enemy the first game.”

Ian Fleming · Dr. No, 1958 · Primary source

“Life wastes itself while we are preparing to live.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · Prudence, 1841 · Primary source

Related Tags

Decision-making 35 Experience 30 Responsibility 27 Action 23 Initiative 21 Time 20 Discipline 19 Effort 18 Observation 17 Diligence 15 Opportunity 15 Execution 13 Procrastination 9 Leadership 9 Time management 8 Risk management 7 Success 7 Risk assessment 6 Anticipation 6 Composure 5 Delay 5 Mistakes 5 Momentum 5 Worry 4 Planning 4 Readiness 4 Skill 4 Present moment 4 Scientific discovery 4 Expectation 3 Gambling 3 Strategy 3 Luck 2 Prepared mind 2 Precision 1 Destiny 1 Political experience 1 Ingenuity 1 Early decisions 1 Serendipity 1 Training 1 Casualty prevention 1