“If we do not discipline ourselves the world will do it for us.”

Most of us regard good luck as our right, and bad luck as a betrayal of that right.

Concentrate on your job and you will forget your other troubles.

The prizes go to those who meet emergencies successfully. And the way to meet emergencies is to do each daily task the best we can.

We always admire the other person more after we’ve tried to do his job.

The reward of energy, enterprise and thrift is taxes.

Next to a sincere compliment, I think I like a well-deserved and honest rebuke.

If people really liked to work, we’d still be plowing the land with sticks and transporting goods on our backs.

The tragedy is that so many have ambition and so few have ability.

The philosophy behind much advertising is based on the old observation that every man is really two men – the man he is and the man he wants to be.

One of the many things nobody ever tells you about middle age is that it’s such a nice change from being young.

Every social injustice is not only cruel, but it is economic waste.

The good deed is usually done by somebody on whom I have no claim.

Not a tenth of us who are in business are doing as well as we could if we merely followed the principles that were known to our grandfathers.

Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.

One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure.

Some of us might find happiness if we quit struggling so desperately for it.

If people all over the world…would do this, it would change the earth.

When I get sick of what men do, I have only to walk a few steps in another direction to see what spiders do. Or what the weather does. This sustains me very well indeed.

Substituting nuance for novelty is what experts do, and that is why they are never bored.

As an actor, it’s very interesting to make the audience love you while you are doing horrendous things.

What we need to do in this PC world is forget about unanimity of speech and unanimity of thought and we need to concentrate on being respectful of those people with whom we disagree.

Sentiment is for those who don’t know what to do next.

The nature of competition is such that any number of people invariably have their eyes on the same prize you do. Recognize your assets and employ them to the best of your ability.

I think it’s so interesting which ways your career can go. I would have been a completely different actor doing a completely different story, and I would have missed ‘Lady Macbeth.’