Life Lesson Quotes

In my youth I had three teachers: friends, enemies, and books. In my adulthood I had three professors: God, nature, and life.

The poorest man you can marry is not the one who lacks money, but the one who lacks character.

A sailor is not defined as much by how many seas he has sailed than by how many storms he has overcome.

If you stop tending to flowers when they lose a few petals, you will never grow a garden.

The world sees you for what you are, but the universe sees you for what you can be.

If you want your inner light to shine brighter, illuminate someone else’s.

Knowledge is the path, understanding is the way, wisdom is the highway, and enlightenment is the destination.

The cleanest feet in the universe are positive thoughts walking through your mind.

A beautiful rose with an ugly soul wilts quickly.

A beautiful gift does not decrease in value because it is wrapped in ugly paper.

A virtuous spouse adds years to your life, a wise one adds decades, but a loving one adds an eternity to your life.

The most difficult door to open is the entrance to an ignorant mind.

When hunting a lion it is wise to remind yourself that you too are being hunted.

Skill follows the rules, talent breaks the rules, mastery shatters the rules, but genius makes its own rules.

If seeds waited for perfect conditions to grow, there would be no plants in the desert.

One who thinks for himself is a threat to his enemies, a refuge to his acquaintances, a prize to his friends, and a gift to the world.

As only dead leaves allow the wind to blow them to and fro, never allow yourself to be swayed by popular opinion.

Don’t climb a mountain to look down on people below, but to get a clearer view of the stars above.

If you were able to fall a hundred times as a child and rise, you are able to fall a thousand times as a grown up and soar.

If a lion invites you home for dinner, it is you he wants to serve as a meal to his guests.

A rough diamond is still worth more than a polished pebble.

The greater the number of fish a river bears the greater the number of fishermen that patronize it.

The ignorant learn from none, the simple learn from some, the intelligent learn from many, but the enlightened learn from all.

Ignorance is your opponent, fear is your enemy, vice is your adversary, virtue is your friend, and wisdom is your helper.

Words let you know what is in someone’s mind, deeds let you know what is in someone’s heart, and character lets you know what is in someone’s soul.

If your present thoughts do not lift you higher than your previous ones, rid yourself of them.

True riches belong to those who shun false ones.

A lion does not become king of the jungle hunting mice.

It is in vain to try and stop a star from rising, even with a ladder.

Seeds, not doubting their potential, rise and become forests.

If you shake a tree, fruit must fall, no matter how reluctant it is.

In a world full of pebbles dare to be a diamond.

Learn like an amateur. Train like a champion. Fight like a warrior. Triumph like a conqueror.

Don’t waste time watering a weed hoping to transform it into a flower.

Confuse them with your intelligence, baffle them with your excellence, bewilder them with your brilliance, and perplex them with your transcendence.

A small sharp axe can cut down more trees than a big dull one.

If you fail a thousand times, find a thousand and one ways to succeed.

If the road to your dreams is full of potholes, take the highway.

A wolf can only mock a lion thousands of miles away.

Happy is he who marries the woman he wants, happier is he who marries the woman he needs, and happiest is he who marries the woman he wants and needs.

Cheerfulness will help you draw strangers, cleverness will help gain acquaintances, faithfulness will help you keep companions, and kindness will help you multiply friends.

Make your wife happier, children wiser, yourself kinder, and you will make your life better.

One who conquers the sea today is ready to conquer the ocean tomorrow.

When you count your blessings, count life twice.

If you have never walked a mile in someone’s shoes, do not mock the soars on his feet.

A tree is honored for the size of its fruit, not the size of its leaves.

One who fishes in shallow waters limits the kind of fish he can catch.

Helping yourself is common sense, helping others is virtue, helping yourself and others is enlightenment.

Ears for wisdom, hands for work, eyes for opportunities, and a mouth for thanks.

A bird will only eat from a hand it trusts.