Work finally begins when the fear of doing nothing exceeds the fear of doing it badly.
ALAIN DE BOTTONPeople only get really interesting when they start to rattle the bars of their cages.
More Alain de Botton Quotes
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I am in general a very pessimistic person with an optimistic, day to day take on things. The bare facts of life are utterly terrifying. And yet, one can laugh. Indeed, one has to laugh precisely because of the darkness: the nervous laughter of the trenches.
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To be shown love is to feel ourselves the object of concern: our presence is noted, our name is registered, our views are listened to, our failings are treated with indulgence and our needs are ministered to. And under such care, we flourish.
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The longing for destiny is nowhere stronger than in our romantic life.
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Most of what makes a book ‘good’ is that we are reading it at the right moment for us.
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It’s perhaps easier now than ever before to make a good living; it’s perhaps harder than ever before to stay calm, to be free of career anxiety.
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Insomnia is a glamorous term for thoughts you forgot to have in the day.
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The telephone becomes an instrument of torture in the demonic hands of a beloved who doesn’t call.
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Curiosity takes ignorance seriously – and is confident enough to admit when it’s in the dark. It is aware of not knowing. And then it sets out to do something about it.
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The company of certain people may excite our generosity and sensitivity, while that of others awakens our competitiveness and envy.
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Most victories are, in the best way, acts of revenge.
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Man seems merely dust postponed: the sublime as an encounter – pleasurable, intoxicating, even – with human weakness in the face of strength, age and size of the universe.
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Paying tax should be framed as a glorious civic duty worthy of gratitude – not a punishment for making money.
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After 40 (old age for most of man’s history), one should strive to be more or less packed and ready to go were the end call to come.
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In the works of Lucretius, we find two reasons why we shouldn’t worry about death. If you have had a successful life, Lucretius tell us, there’s no reason to mind its end. And, if you haven’t had a good time, “Why do you seek to add more years, which would also pass but ill?”
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We need objects to remind us of the commitments we’ve made. That carpet from Morocco reminds us of the impulsive, freedom-loving side of ourselves we’re in danger of losing touch with. Beautiful furniture gives us something to live up to. All designed objects are propaganda for a way of life.
ALAIN DE BOTTON