The Quotation IndexThe trusted reference for quotations and the sources behind them
Tag Tag Risk
In skating over thin ice, our safety is in our speed.
Ralph Waldo Emerson Prudence · 1841

Quotes

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”

Helen Keller · The Open Door, 1957 · Primary source

“Great estates may venture more; little boats must keep near shore.”

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

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Steve Jobs · Stanford Commencement Address, 2005 · Primary source

“‘This case isn’t ripe yet. Until it is, our policy with Mr Big is “live and let live’.
Bond looked quizzically at Captain Dexter.
‘In my job,’ he said, ‘when I come up against a man like this one, I have another motto. It’s 'live and let die'.’”

Ian Fleming · Live and Let Die, 1954 · Primary source

“Because people are very careful with the secrets of their own business doesn’t mean that they’ll be careful with the secrets of yours.”

Ian Fleming · Octopussy and The Living Daylights, 1966 · Primary source

“The greatest danger of all would be to do nothing.”

John F. Kennedy · Address During The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 · Primary source

“There never has been security. No man has ever known what he would meet around the next corner; if life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.”

Eleanor Roosevelt · Tomorrow is Now, 1963 · Primary source

“Flying might not be all plain sailing, but the fun of it is worth the price.”

Amelia Earhart · The Fun of It, 1932 · Primary source

“An egg today is better than a hen tomorrow.”

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

“Distrust and caution are the parents of security.”

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

“There is no little enemy.”

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

“To be intimate with a foolish friend, is like going to bed with a razor.”

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

“No, that is the great fallacy; the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful.”

Ernest Hemingway · A Farewell to Arms, 1929 · Primary source

“But life isn’t hard to manage when you’ve nothing to lose.”

Ernest Hemingway · A Farewell to Arms, 1929 · Primary source

“No catalogue of horrors ever kept men from war. Before the war you always think that it’s not you that dies. But you will die, brother, if you go to it long enough.”

Ernest Hemingway · Notes on the Next War, 1935 · Primary source

“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt · The Strenuous Life, 1900 · Primary source

“Above all, he liked it that everything was one’s own fault. There was only oneself to praise or blame. Luck was a servant and not a master. Luck had to be accepted with a shrug or taken advantage of up to the hilt. But it had to be understood and recognized for what it was and not confused with a faulty appreciation of the odds, for, at gambling, the deadly sin is to mistake bad play for bad luck. And luck in all its moods had to be loved and not feared.”

Ian Fleming · Casino Royale, 1953 · Primary source

“He was a secret agent, and still alive thanks to his exact attention to the detail of his profession.”

Ian Fleming · Casino Royale, 1953 · Primary source

“And people with obsessions, reflected Bond, were blind to danger.”

Ian Fleming · Moonraker, 1955 · Primary source

“But I am greedy for life. I do too much of everything all the time. Suddenly one day my heart will fail. The Iron Crab will get me as it got my father. But I am not afraid of The Crab. At least I shall have died from an honourable disease. Perhaps they will put on my tombstone. ‘This Man Died from Living Too Much’.”

Ian Fleming · From Russia, with Love, 1957 · Primary source

“Those whom the Gods wish to destroy, they first make bored.”

Ian Fleming · From Russia, with Love, 1957 · Primary source

“You never get real adventures without a bit of risk somewhere.”

Ian Fleming · Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, 1964 · Primary source

“If you don’t get elementary probability into your repertoire, you go through a long life like a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.”

Charlie Munger · Poor Charlie’s Almanack, 2005 · Primary source

“Trying to minimize taxes too much is one of the great standard causes of really dumb mistakes.”

Charlie Munger · Poor Charlie’s Almanack, 2005 · Primary source

“He who wishes to be rich in a day will be hanged in a year.”

Leonardo da Vinci · The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, 1888 · Primary source

“If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”

Mario Andretti · Driving With Mario Andretti, Who at 76, Still Refuses to Slow Down, 2016 · Secondary source

“Please know that I am aware of the hazards. I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be a challenge to others.”

Amelia Earhart · No reliable source

“Adventure is worthwhile in itself.”

Amelia Earhart · No reliable source

Related Tags

Decision-making 35 Judgement 31 Purpose 31 Experience 30 Mortality 30 Responsibility 27 Courage 25 Action 23 Trust 21 Uncertainty 20 Discipline 19 Accountability 18 Friendship 16 Freedom 15 Achievement 15 Wealth 13 Failure 12 Deterrence 12 Consequences 12 Self-awareness 10 Prudence 9 Resolve 9 Complacency 8 Adventure 7 Wisdom 7 Cuban Missile Crisis 7 Change 7 Preparedness 6 Acceptance 6 Practical judgement 6 Aviation 5 Exploration 5 Loss 5 Momentum 5 Incentives 5 Enjoyment 4 Certainty 4 Caution 4 Vulnerability 4 Vitality 4 Discretion 4 Probability 4 Speed 4 Enemies 3 Old age 3 Detachment 3 Professionalism 3 Excess 3 Confidentiality 3 Control 3 Performance 3 Limits 3 Reward 2 Security 2 Association 2 Personal choice 2 Luck 2 Conflict 2 Obsession 2 Self-destruction 2 Decisiveness 2 Inaction 2 Quantitative reasoning 2 Financial judgement 2 Greed 2 Dishonesty 2 Challenge 1 Women’s equality 1 Example to others 1 Intrinsic value 1 Immediate value 1 Future promise 1 Distrust 1 Financial resilience 1 Loss capacity 1 Underestimation 1 Foolishness 1 Combat 1 War casualties 1 False sense of immunity 1 Attention to detail 1 Professional ethos 1 Lethal force 1 Blind spots 1 Boredom 1 Restlessness 1 Information security 1 Tax planning 1 Quick wealth 1