“I have known men who could see through the motivations of others with the skill of a clairvoyant; only to prove blind to their own mistakes. I have been one of those men.”

Gold has worked down from Alexander’s time… When something holds good for two thousand years I do not believe it can be so because of prejudice or mistaken theory.

There is something about inside information which seems to paralyze a man’s reasoning powers.

Peace is never long preserved by weight of metal or by an armament race.

We are here today to make a choice between the quick and the dead.

Government is not a substitute for people, but simply the instrument through which they act. And if the individual fails to do his duty as a citizen, government becomes a very deadly instrument indeed.

Science has taught us how to put the atom to work. But to make it work for good instead of for evil lies in the domain dealing with the principles of human dignity. We are now facing a problem more of ethics than of physics.

All economic movements, by their very nature, are motivated by crowd psychology.

Creativity: Take the obvious, add a cupful of brains, a generous pinch of imagination, a bucketful of courage and daring, stir well and bring to a boil.

In a period scarcely twice my own lifetime it has risen from nothingness to become the world’s greatest power. It has become the ark of the covenant of freedom.

We are living in a highly organized state of socialism. The state is all; the individual is of importance only as he contributes to the welfare of the state. His property is only his as the state does not need it. He must hold his life and his possessions at the call of the state.

None of us can be free of conflict and woe. Even the greatest men have had to accept disappointments as their daily bread. … The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing with them.

“The king may die, or I may die, or the horse may die. Furthermore, in a year, who knows? Maybe the horse will learn to fly.” My philosophy is like that man’s. I take the long-range view.

One of the secrets of a long and fruitful life is to forgive everybody everything everynight before you go to bed.

You can overcome anything if you don’t bellyache.

Never pay the slightest attention to what a company president ever says about his stock.

The essence of any plan for financing old age is saving-to put aside some part of today’s earnings for the future.

There’s this really awesome theory of human motivation – that human beings all want three things. One is to be competent, one is to belong, and one is be free, as in to have choice: to not be told what to do but to choose what to do.

Motivation is something nobody else can give you. Others can help motivate you, but basically it must come from you and it must be a constant desire to do your very best at all times and under any circumstances.

I like a role where some of the character’s motivations are confusing or at least interesting.

For at least two thirds of our miseries spring from human stupidity, human malice and those great motivators and justifiers of malice and stupidity, idealism, dogmatism and proselytizing zeal on behalf of religious or political idols

Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal .

Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated.

Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.

I think sometimes I guess you see records, say you want to get there and use that as motivation. In a way, it’s kind of cool if there is a possibility to rewrite history and be up there with the greats of Olympic history.