Great Throughts Treasury

"It has been my observation that being beaten up is often a temporary condition; giving up is what makes it permanent."

"Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses."

"To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe."

"Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent."

"There's plenty of intelligence in the world, but the courage to do things differently is in short supply."

"A good idea will keep you awake during the morning, but a great idea will keep you awake during the night."

"A good leader needs to stand behind his or her followers as often as he or she needs to stand in front of them."

"Be able to cite three good qualities of every relative or acquaintance that you dislike."

"A fool is someone whose pencil wears out before its eraser does."

"Although spoken English doesn't obey the rules of written language, a person who doesn't know the rules thoroughly is at a great disadvantage."

"A 45-year old looks a lot like a 25-year old who's been out all night. And feels just as good about having survived the experience."

"A person who learns to juggle six balls will be more skilled than the person who never tries to juggle more than three."

"At first, I only laughed at myself. Then I noticed that life itself is amusing. I've been in a generally good mood ever since."

"An error becomes a mistake when we refuse to admit it."

"Attention-deficit disorders seem to abound in modern society, and we don't know the cause."

"Be able to back up a car for a considerable distance in a straight line and back out of a driveway."

"Avoid using cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs as alternatives to being an interesting person."

"Be able to analyze statistics, which can be used to support or undercut almost any argument."

"Be able to blow out a dinner candle without sending wax flying across the table."

"Be able to correctly pronounce the words you would like to speak and have excellent spoken grammar."

"Be able to decline a date so gracefully that the person isn't embarrassed that he or she asked."

"Be able to defend your arguments in a rational way. Otherwise, all you have is an opinion."

"Be able to describe anything visual, such as a street scene, in words that convey your meaning."

"Be able to confide your innermost secrets to your mother and your innermost fears to your father."

"Be able to go shopping for a bathing suit and not become depressed afterward."

"Be able to draw an illustration as least well enough to get your point across to another person."

"Be able to keep a secret or promise when you know in your heart that it is the right thing to do."

"Be able to hiccup silently; or at least without alerting neighbors to your situation. The first hiccup is an exception."

"Be able to identify the most common breeds of dogs and cats on sight."

"Be able to live alone, even if you don't want to and think you will never find it necessary."

"Be able to notice all the confusion between fact and opinion that appears in the news."

"Be able to meet any deadline, even if your work is done less well than it would be if you had all the time you would have preferred."

"Be able to recognize many of the major constellations and know the stories behind them."

"Be able to sneeze without sounding ridiculous. That means neither stifling yourself or spraying your immediate vicinity."

"Be able to read blueprints, diagrams, floorplans, and other diagrams used in the construction process."

"Be able to recognize the dangerous snakes, spiders, insects, and plants that live in your area of the country."

"Be able to recognize when you're reading or hearing material biased to your own side."

"Be able to tell whether garments that look good on the hanger actually look good on you."

"Be in the habit of experimenting with your clothing so that you don't get stuck for life with a self-image developed over the course of high school."

"Be able to suffer wearing a necktie or slightly high heels for an entire evening without complaint or early removal."

"Email, instant messaging, and cell phones give us fabulous communication ability, but because we live and work in our own little worlds, that communication is totally disorganized."

"Be in the habit of getting up bright and early on the weekends. Why waste such precious time in bed?"

"Capital punishment is the source of many an argument, both good and bad."

"Everybody loves an accent. If you've been unlucky in love, consider pulling up stakes and moving to another country. Then you'll be the one with a neat foreign accent."

"Have enough sense to know, ahead of time, when your skills will not extend to wallpapering."

"Evolution has long been the target of illogical arguments that use presumption."

"I believe that love--not imitation--is the sincerest form of flattery. Your imitator thinks that you can be duplicated; your lover knows you can't."

"Feeling is what you get for thinking the way you do."

"Experts say you can't concentrate on more than one task at a time."

"Have you ever noticed that when you must struggle to hear something, you close your eyes?"