A Look Through Others' Eyes

I taught college for 25 years, which led me to recognizing the same type of questions that came up in nearly every class, nearly every semester, sometime during the term. The thing is, so many of those questions were not simply about getting a college education, but lifelong learning and self-improvement. I sometimes gave advice until I was blue in the face, only to hear the same question again.

So here is another approach: the advice of others in response to those common questions.

Coping with Failure and Learning from Mistakes

“Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value.” ― Albert Einstein

“I’m a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn’t have the heart to let him down.” ― Abraham Lincoln

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” ― Winston Churchill

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” ― Henry David Thoreau

Love Yourself

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." ― Martin Luther King Jr.

"Everyone of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves." — Diana, Princess of Wales

“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! Shout loud, ‘I am lucky to be what I am!...’” — Dr. Seuss

“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” — Mark Twain

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Be a Good Person

“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” ― Nelson Mandella

“When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion.” ― Abraham Lincoln

“An honest, sensible, humane man, above all the littleness of vanity and extravagances of imagination, laboring to do good rather than be rich, to be useful rather than make a show, living in modest simplicity clearly within his means and free from debts and obligations, is really the most respectable man in society, makes himself and all about him most happy.” ― John Adams

“The most important thing is that you be a good person and you live by the golden rule of do unto others. If you live by that, that’s all I care about.” — Rob Reiner

Know the Keys to Success

“Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives ― choice, not chance, determines your destiny.” ― Aristotle

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” — Albert Schweitzer

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” — Alexander Graham Bell

“Remember, success is a journey, not a destination. Have faith in your ability. You will do just fine.” — Bruce Lee

Find Your Passion

“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” — George Bernard Shaw

“I know of no single formula for success. But over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their inspiration to work together.” — Queen Elizabeth II

“Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still.” — Henry David Thoreau

“Success is a terrible thing and a wonderful thing. If you can enjoy it, it’s wonderful. If it starts eating away at you, and they’re waiting for more from me, or what can I do to top this, then you’re in trouble. Just do what you love. That’s all I want to do.” — Gene Wilder

Slow Down

“One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a horse master. He told me to go slow to go fast. I think that applies to everything in life. We live as though there aren’t enough hours in the day but if we do each thing calmly and carefully we will get it done quicker and with much less stress.” — Viggo Mortensen

“Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hand of time.” — Voltaire

“Slow but steady wins the race.” — Aesop

“Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.” — William Shakespeare

Be a Lifelong Learner

“We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.” — Peter Drucker

“When I make a film, I am hoping to reinvent the genre a little bit. I just do it my way. I make my own little Quentin versions of them... I consider myself a student of cinema. It's almost like I am going for my professorship in cinema, and the day I die is the day I graduate. It is a lifelong study.” — Quentin Tarantino

“Learning never exhausts the mind.” — Leonardo da Vinci

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” ― John F. Kennedy

Listen

“Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.” ― Robert Frost

“When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.” — Dalai Lama

“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” — Epictetus

“I believe there’s an inner power that makes winners or losers. And the winners are the ones who really listen to the truth of their hearts.” — Sylvester Stallone

Ask Questions and Be Curious

“It’s a crazy world out there. Be curious.” ― Stephen Hawking

“There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” ― Robert F. Kennedy

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” — Walt Disney

“Be curious, not judgmental.” — Walt Whitman

Persevere

“Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages.” ― George Washington

“Perseverance, secret of all triumphs.” — Victor Hugo

“I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature.” — John D. Rockefeller

“Perseverance is more prevailing than violence; and many things which cannot be overcome when they are together, yield themselves up when taken little by little.” — Plutarch

READ, READ, and READ

“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” ― Mark Twain

“Let us dare to read, think, speak and write.” ― John Adams

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” ― Albert Einstein

“Read not to contradict and confute, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider.” ― Francis Bacon

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