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

“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

“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

Aviation 5 Enjoyment 3 Challenge 1 Reward 2 Women’s equality 1 Courage 23 Failure 11 Example to others 1 Adventure 7 Exploration 5 Experience 28 Intrinsic value 1 Certainty 4 Prudence 9 Immediate value 1 Future promise 1 Caution 4 Distrust 1 Security 2 Wealth 13 Financial resilience 1 Loss capacity 1 Enemies 3 Underestimation 1 Vulnerability 4 Friendship 16 Foolishness 1 Judgement 29 Association 2 Wisdom 7 Old age 3 Loss 5 Detachment 3 Freedom 15 Mortality 30 Combat 1 War casualties 1 False sense of immunity 1 Personal choice 2 Purpose 30 Responsibility 27 Luck 2 Accountability 15 Attention to detail 1 Professionalism 3 Discipline 18 Preparedness 6 Professional ethos 1 Lethal force 1 Resolve 6 Conflict 2 Obsession 2 Blind spots 1 Self-awareness 10 Vitality 3 Acceptance 5 Excess 3 Boredom 1 Restlessness 1 Self-destruction 2 Complacency 8 Uncertainty 19 Confidentiality 3 Trust 20 Information security 1 Discretion 4 Decisiveness 2 Momentum 5 Practical judgement 6 Cuban Missile Crisis 7 Inaction 2 Decision-making 30 Deterrence 12 Probability 2 Quantitative reasoning 2 Tax planning 1 Financial judgement 2 Incentives 5 Greed 2 Quick wealth 1 Dishonesty 2 Consequences 12 Change 7