“Riches don’t make a man rich, they only make him busier.”

Each day we understand better what the Indians say, and they us, so that very often we are intelligible to each other.

Goals are simply tools to focus your energy in positive directions, these can be changed as your priorities change, new one added, and others dropped.

These people are very unskilled in arms – with 50 men they could all be subjected and made to do all that one wished.

For the execution of the voyage to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps.

Gold is a treasure, and he who possesses it does all he wishes to in this world, and succeeds in helping souls into paradise.

My desire was not to pass any island without taking possession, so that, one having been taken, the same may be said of all.

Life has more imagination than we carry in our dreams.

It is hoped that by God’s assistance, some of the continents in the Ocean will be discovered for the Glory of God.

Tomorrow morning before we depart, I intend to land and see what can be found in the neighborhood.

Thus the eternal God, our Lord, gives victory to those who follow His way over apparent impossibilities.

By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination.

But in truth, should I meet with gold or spices in great quantity, I shall remain till I collect as much as possible, and for this purpose I am proceeding solely in quest of them.

Day and night, moment by moment, everyone should express their most devoted gratitude to God.

The air soft as that of Seville in April, and so fragrant that it was delicious to breathe it.

One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time. Variants include “You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore”.

No one should fear to undertake any task in the name of our Saviour, if it is just and if the intention is purely for His holy service.

Every Christian needs a half-hour of prayer each day, except when he is busy, then he needs an hour.

Day by day, case by case, the Supreme Court is busy designing a Constitution for a country I do not recognize.

Half an hour’s meditation each day is essential, except when you are busy. Then a full hour is needed.

A busy, vibrant, goal-oriented woman is so much more attractive than a woman who waits around for a man to validate her existence.

The world has been busy for some centuries in shutting and locking every door through which a woman could step into wealth, except the door of marriage.

While I am busy with little things, I am not required to do greater things.

Only after the Last Judgment will Mary get any rest; from now until then, she is much too busy with her children.

Being busy is a form of laziness – lazy thinking and indiscriminate action. Being busy is most often used as a guise for avoiding the few critically important but uncomfortable actions.