This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.
"Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm, and enthusiasm can only be aroused by two things: first, an ideal which takes the imagination by storm, and second, a definite intelligible plan for carrying that ideal into practice." - Arnold J. Toynbee, fully Arnold Joseph Toynbee
"Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm, and enthusiasm can only be aroused by two things: first, an ideal, which takes the imagination by storm, and second, a definite intelligible plan for carrying that ideal into practice." - Arnold J. Toynbee, fully Arnold Joseph Toynbee
"Man must know what is his real, chief, and foremost object in life - what it is that he most wants in order to be happy…he must find out what, on the whole, his vocation really is - the part he has to play, his general relation to the world. If he maps out important work for himself on great lines, a glance at this miniature plan of his life will more than anything else stimulate, rouse, ennoble, and urge him on to action and keep him from false paths." - Arthur Schopenhauer
"To face the inevitable is to confront something sacred. As long as anything is uncertain, the roads are open in more than one direction, and right and wrong may have many aspects. But let the issue be determined, let the die be cast, and acceptance and adjustment become our immediate duty. Until God’s will be known, we may work and wrestle and pry to carry our point, to save the day, to win the prize, spurred only the more by the uncertainty; of the result. But let the result be known, however dark and disappointing, and we should view it in the light of God’s plan to make us His evident children, and ask what we are to learn, what next we are to do." - Author Unknown NULL
"Achievement flows from clear intent and focused effort over time. In order to achieve, we have to start where we are, find out what we need, have a plan and follow it through, persisting through difficulties and problems until we reach our goal." - Dan Millman, born Daniel Jay Millman
"A life that hasn't a definite plan is likely to become driftwood." - David Sarnoff
"The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don't define them, learn about them, or even seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them." - Denis E. Waitley
"You can never plan the future by the past." - Edmund Burke
"Nothing in progression can rest on its original plan. We may as well think of rocking a grown man in the cradle of an infant." - Edmund Burke
"Forgiveness is not a once-in-a-lifetime task, it is ongoing. It is our spiritual maintenance plan. Forgiveness helps to keep us at peace and in touch with our love. Our only task is to try to open our hearts again." - Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
"The key to patience is knowing that everything is going to be fine, developing the faith that there is a plan… The first step to becoming more patient is giving up the need to fix or change things." - Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
"A leader is above all things an animator. His thought and faith must be communicated to those he leads. He and they must form as one at the moment of executing a plan. That is the essential condition of success." - Ferdinand Foch
"The darkest hour of any man's life is when he sits down to plan how to get money without earning it." - Horace Greeley
"The darkest hour in any man's life is when he sits down to plan how to get money without earning it." - Horace Greeley
"Let no man presume to think that he can devise any plan of extensive good, unalloyed and unadulterated with evil." - James Bryant Conant
"The old life was attuned to nature’s rhythm – bound in mystical ties to the sun, moon and stars; to the waving grasses, flowing steams and whispering winds. It is not a question… of the white man “bringing the Indian up to his plan of thought and action.” It is rather a case where the white man had better grasp some of the Indian’s spiritual strength." - Luther Standing Bear, aka Ota Kte or Mochunozhin
"Any ideas, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought." - Napoleon Hill
"Reduce your plan to writing. The moment you complete this, you will have definitely given concrete form to the intangible desire." - Napoleon Hill
"Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether you're ready or not, to put it into action."" - Napoleon Hill
"The man who makes everything that leads to happiness depend upon himself, and not upon other men, has adopted the very best plan for living happily. This is the man of moderation, the man of manly character and of wisdom." - Plato NULL
"For the man who makes everything that leads to happiness, or near to it, to depend upon himself, and not upon other men, on whose good or evil actions his own doings are compelled to hinge, such a one, I say, has adopted the very best plan for living happily. This is the man of moderation; this is the man of manly character and of wisdom." - Plato NULL
"The fragmentary character of human life is not regarded as evil in Biblical faith because it is seen from the perspective of a center of life and meaning in which each fragment is related to the plan of the whole, to the will of God. The evil arises when the fragment seeks by its own wisdom to comprehend the whole or attempts by its own power to realize it." -
"Your temporal formlessness belies your spatial coherence. Only by asserting yourself in time can you achieve functional identity and become in fact what you seem to be in the mirror. And such an assertion is impossible without a plan of personal development which forcefully projects your character into the future." - Robert Grudin
"Demanding security and certainty prevents peace of mind. No human has the omniscience to foresee everything. Always realize the unexpected can occur. Plan as much as is appropriate, but realize that regardless of how much you plan there will always be difficulties that you had previously not imagined. By expecting there will always be unexpected occurrences and accepting them, you will have much greater peace of mind than if you have unrealistic expectations of complete control. A person would be making a big mistake if he felt that the way to peace of mind is to obtain complete security from all risks... Uncertainty is inevitable... The demand for success is detrimental to peace of mind... Keep your focus on trying to accomplish with the best of your ability." - Zelig Pliskin
"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe."" - Anatole France, pen name of Jacques Anatole Francois Thibault
"The despotism of will in ideas is styled plan, project, character, obstinacy; its despotism in desires is called passion." - Antoine de Rivarol, also known as Comte de Rivarol
"Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised." - Denis E. Waitley
"Since the mind is a specific biocomputer, it needs specific instructions and directions. The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don't define them, learn about them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them." - Denis E. Waitley
"Develop a definite plan for turning over your requests or desires to your subconcious mind." - Joseph Murphy
"Happy is the person who knows what to remember of the past, what to enjoy in the present, and what to plan for in the future. " - Arnold Henry Glasgow
"Humans have the ability to act consciously, and collectively, [exercising foresight to] choose their own evolutionary path. In our crucial epoch we cannot leave the selection of the next step in the evolution of human society and culture to chance. We must plan for it, consciously and purposefully." - Ervin László
"The fundamental qualities for good execution of a plan is first; intelligence; then discernment and judgment, which enable one to recognize the best method as to attain it; the singleness of purpose; and, lastly, what is most essential of all, will-stubborn will." - Ferdinand Foch
"No plan of battle ever survives contact with the enemy. " - Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, fully Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Molke
"Four steps to achievement: plan purposefully, prepare prayerfully, proceed positively, pursue persistently." - Henry Ward Beecher
"Great effort is required to arrest decay and restore vigor. One must exercise proper deliberation, plan carefully before making a move, and be alert in guarding against relapse following a renaissance. " - Horace, full name Quintus Horatius Flaccus NULL
"Great effort is required to arrest decay and restore vigor. One must exercise proper deliberation, plan carefully before making a move, and be alert in guarding against relapse following a renaissance." - I Ching, Book of Changes or Zhouyi NULL
"Love alone can bring about a radical revolution or transformation in relationship; and love is not a thing of the mind. Thought can plan and formulate magnificent structures of hope, but thought will only lead to further conflict, confusion and misery. Love is when the cunning, self-enclosing mind is not." - Jiddu Krishnamurti
"Branches or types are characterized by the plan of their structure,Classes, by the manner in which that plan is executed, as far as ways and means are concerned, Orders, by the degrees of complication of that structure, Families, by their form, as far as determined by structure, Genera, by the details of the execution in special parts, and Species, by the relations of individuals to one another and to the world in which they live, as well as by the proportions of their parts, their ornamentation, etc. " - Louis Agassiz, fully Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz
"A plan is a real thing, and things projected are experienced." - John Steinbeck, fully John Ernst Steinbeck
"We can plan a roadtrip or a workday down to the last detail but the unexpected will always arise. If we are not malleable, we will get left behind." - John Wooden, fully John Robert Wooden
"Seven Steps to Success 1) Make a commitment to grow daily. 2) Value the process more than events. 3) Don't wait for inspiration. 4) Be willing to sacrifice pleasure for opportunity. 5) Dream big. 6) Plan your priorities. 7) Give up to go up." - John C. Maxwell
"It doesn't matter how hard or long you work if you're not accomplishing what needs to be done. Plan and execute your first failure so that you no longer have to fear it. If the size of a task causes you to procrastinate or completely shy away, break it into smaller, more manageable tasks. Often people fail to start or complete a task because they don't see any connection between what they're doing and what they really want to accomplish in life." - John C. Maxwell
"The method of the enterprising is to plan with audacity and execute with vigor." - John Christian Bovee
"The Torah, we are told, is both concealed and revealed, and so is the nature of all reality. All things are both known and unknown, plan and enigmatic, transparent and impenetrable… The world is both open and concealed, a matter of fact and a mystery. We know and do not know – this is our condition." - Abraham Joshua Heschel
"We always plan too much and always think too little. " - Joseph Schumpeter