Great Throughts Treasury

"If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it."

"If you would be interesting, be interested, if you would be pleased, be pleasing, if you would be loved, be lovable, if you would be helped, be helpful."

"In the face of unjust criticism we can become bitter or better; upset or understanding; hostile or humble; furious or forgiving."

"Interruptions can be viewed as sources of irritation or opportunities for service, as moments lost or experience gained, as time wasted or horizons widened. They can annoy us or enrich us, get under our skin or give us a shot in the arm. Monopolize our minutes or spice our schedules, depending on our attitude toward them."

"It is wise to direct your anger towards problems -- not people; to focus your energies on answers -- not excuses."

"Lose yourself in generous service and every day can be a most unusual day, a triumphant day, an abundantly rewarding day!"

"Love is more than a noun -- it is a verb; it is more than a feeling -- it is caring, sharing, helping, sacrificing."

"Is fear preventing you from taking a necessary risk today?"

"Leadership is based on inspiration, not domination; on cooperation, not intimidation."

"Learn and grow all you can; serve and befriend all you can; enrich and inspire all you can."

"Lone eagles, soaring in the clouds, fly with silent, peaceful poise, while turkeys, in their earth-bound crowds, fill the atmosphere with noise."

"Men never plan to be failures; they simply fail to plan to be successful."

"Nothing limits achievement like small thinking; nothing expands possibilities like unleashed imagination."

"Obedience to our Heavenly Father starts with our loving service to a needy brother."

"Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them."

"Opportunity is often difficult to recognize; we usually expect it to beckon us with beepers and billboards."

"Optimism is a seed sown in the soil of faith; pessimism is a seed hoarded in the vault of doubt."

"Risks - To laugh is to risk appearing a fool, to weep is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach out to another is to risk involvement, to expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self. To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss. To love is to risk not being loved in return, to live is to risk dying, to hope is to risk despair, to try is to risk failure. But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or live. Chained by his servitude he is a slave who has forfeited all freedom. Only a person who risks is free."

"Skillful listening is the best remedy for loneliness, loquaciousness, and laryngitis."

"Study while others are sleeping; work while others are loafing; prepare while others are playing; and dream while others are wishing."

"Optimists enrich the present, enhance the future, challenge the improbable and attain the impossible."

"Teaching is more than imparting knowledge, it is inspiring change. Learning is more than absorbing facts, it is acquiring understanding."

"The greatest failure is the failure to try."

"The adventure of life is to learn. The purpose of life is to grow. The nature of life is to change. The challenge of life is to overcome. The essence of life is to care. The opportunity of like is to serve. The secret of life is to dare. The spice of life is to befriend. The beauty of life is to give."

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."

"The greatest hazard in life is to risk NOTHING."

"The optimist expects it to change;"

"The optimist lives on the peninsula of infinite possibilities; the pessimist is stranded on the island of perpetual indecision."

"The optimist pleasantly ponders how high his kite will fly; the pessimist woefully wonders how soon his kite will fall."

"The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or live. Chained by his servitude he is a slave who has forfeited all freedom. Only a person who risks is free."

"The price of excellence is discipline. The cost of mediocrity is disappointment."

"The winner persistently programs his pluses; the loser mournfully magnifies his minuses."

"The winner asks, May I help? The loser asks, Do you expect me to do that?"

"Three keys to more abundant living: caring about others, daring for others, sharing with others."

"To bear defeat with dignity, to accept criticism with poise, to receive honors with humility -- these are marks of maturity and graciousness."

"To laugh is to risk appearing a fool. To weep is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach out for another is to risk involvement. To expose feelings is to risk revealing your true self. To place you ideas, your dreams, before a crowd is to risk rejection. To love is to risk not being loved in return. To live is to risk dying. To hope is to risk disappointment. To try is to risk failure. But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. Those who risk nothing, do nothing, have nothing, and become nothing. They may avoid present suffering and sorrow, but they will not learn, feel, change, grow, love, or live. Chained by their fear, they are slaves who have forfeited their freedom. Only a person who risks is free. The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; and the realist adjusts the sails."

"There is one thing we can do better than anyone else: we can be ourselves."

"To make mistakes is human; to stumble is commonplace; to be able to laugh at yourself is maturity."

"Today is a most unusual day, because we have never lived it before; we will never live it again; it is the only day we have."

"Truths for Living: The more generous we are, the more joyous we become. The more cooperative we are, the more valuable we become. The more enthusiastic we are, the more productive we become. The more serving we are, the more prosperous we become. The more outgoing we are, the more helpful we become. The more curious we are, the more creative we become. The more patient we are, the more understanding we become. The more persistent we are, the more successful we become."

"Vow to be valiant; resolve to be radiant; determine to be dynamic; strive to be sincere; aspire to be attuned."

"Today is a most unusual day, because we have never lived it before; we will never live it again; it is the only day we have. Today can be a healthy unusual day for you -- and for others -- if you take time to give someone a smile . . . to express a word of kindness . . . to lend a helping hand to someone in need . . . to write a note of gratitude . . . to give a word of encouragement to someone who is temporarily overcome with problems . . . to share a portion of your material possessions with others."

"Today's patience can transform yesterday's discouragements into tomorrow's discoveries. Today's purposes can turn yesterday's defeats into tomorrow's determination."

"We are more than what we do . . . much more than what we accomplish . . . far more than what we possess."

"We can choose to throw stones, to stumble on them, to climb over them, or to build with them."

"We can learn much from wise words, little from wisecracks, and less from wise guys."

"We can throw stones, complain about them, stumble on them, climb over them, or build with them."

"We are more than what we do, much more than what we accomplish, far more than what we possess."

"We must be silent before we can listen. We must listen before we can learn. We must learn before we can prepare. We must prepare before we can serve. We must serve before we can lead."

"When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves."