Quotations of William Arthur Ward

William Arthur Ward

(1921 – March 30, 1994)

William Arthur Ward, author of Fountains of Faith, is one of America's most quoted writers of inspirational maxims.
More than 100 articles, poems and meditations written by Ward have been published in such magazines as Reader's Digest, This Week, The Upper Room, Together, The Christian Advocate, The Adult Student, The Adult Teacher, The Christian Home, The Phi Delta Kappan, Science of Mind, The Methodist Layman, Sunshine, and Ideals.
His column Pertinent Proverbs has been featured in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and in numerous service club publications throughout the United States and abroad. He is one of the most frequently quoted writers in the pages of Quote, the international weekly digest for public speakers.

He was a professional member of Sigma Delta Chi, American College Public Relations Association, Religious Public Relations Council and Phi Delta Kappa. In Fort Worth he was on the Board of Directors of numerous organizations including Rotary, Red Cross and Boy Scouts of America.His biography appears in Who's Who in American Education, Who's Who in Public Relations, and Who's Who in the South and Southwest. He was a member of the International Platform Association.Also by William Arthur Ward: For This One Hour, Thoughts of a Christian Optimist, Prayer Is

Quotations of William Arthur Ward

• Flatter me, and I may not believe you.
  Criticize me, and I may not like you.
  Ignore me, and I may not forgive you.
  Encourage me, and I will not forget you.
  Love me and I may be forced to love you.
• A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities.
• Friendship flourishes at the fountain of forgiveness.
• A friend is one with whom you are comfortable, to whom you are loyal, through whom you are blessed, and for whom you are grateful.
• Love is more than a noun -- it is a verb; it is more than a feeling -- it is caring, sharing, helping, sacrificing.
• Before you speak, listen.
  Before you write, think.
  Before you spend, earn.
  Before you invest, investigate.
  Before you criticize, wait.
  Before you pray, forgive.
  Before you quit, try.
  Before you retire, save.
  Before you die, give.
• Today's patience can transform yesterday's discouragements into tomorrow's discoveries. Today's purposes can turn yesterday's defeats into tomorrow's determination.
• Men never plan to be failures; they simply fail to plan to be successful.
• Study while others are sleeping; work while others are loafing; prepare while others are playing; and dream while others are wishing.
• The adventure of life is to learn. The purpose of life is to grow. The nature of life is to change. The challenge of life is to overcome. The essence of life is to care. The opportunity of like is to serve. The secret of life is to dare. The spice of life is to befriend. The beauty of life is to give.
• Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hate. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.
• Wise are they who have learned these truths: Trouble is temporary. Time is tonic. Tribulation is a test tube.
• Three keys to more abundant living: caring about others, daring for others, sharing with others.
• Another fresh new year is here...
  Another year to live!
  To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
  To love and laugh and give!
  
  This bright new year is given me
  To live each day with zest...
  To daily grow and try to be
  My highest and my best!
  
  I have the opportunity
  Once more to right some wrongs,
  To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
  And sing more joyful songs!
• Optimism is a seed sown in the soil of faith; pessimism is a seed hoarded in the vault of doubt.
• Every person has the power to make others happy.
  Some do it simply by entering a room - others by leaving the room.
  Some individuals leave trails of gloom; others, trails of joy.
  Some leave trails of hate and bitterness; others, trails of love and harmony.
  Some leave trails of cynicism and pessimism; others trails of faith and optimism.
  Some leave trails of criticism and resignation; others trails of gratitude and hope.
  What kind of trails do you leave?
• A second-class effort is a first-class mistake.
• If you would be interesting, be interested, if you would be pleased, be pleasing, if you would be loved, be lovable, if you would be helped, be helpful.
• The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
• Failure is not fatal. Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. It should challenge us to new heights of accomplishments, not pull us to new depths of despair. From honest failure can come valuable experience.
• To make mistakes is human; to stumble is commonplace; to be able to laugh at yourself is maturity.
• Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting.
• The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.
• Blessed is he who has learned to admire but not envy, to follow but not imitate, to praise but not flatter, and to lead but not manipulate.
• Failure is delay, but not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead-end street.
• There is one thing we can do better than anyone else: we can be ourselves.
• Do more than belong: participate.
  Do more than care: help.
  Do more than believe: practice.
  Do more than be fair: be kind.
  Do more than forgive: forget.
  Do more than dream: work.
• We must be silent before we can listen.
  We must listen before we can learn.
  We must learn before we can prepare.
  We must prepare before we can serve.
  We must serve before we can lead.
• Faith is knowing there is an ocean because you have seen a brook.
• If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it.
• A life lived without forgiveness is a prison.
• To bear defeat with dignity, to accept criticism with poise, to receive honors with humility - these are marks of maturity and graciousness.
• Today can be a healthy unusual day for you - and for others - if you take time to give someone a smile... to express a word of kindness... to lend a helping hand to someone in need... to write a note of gratitude... to give a word of encouragement to someone who is temporarily overcome with problems... to share a portion of your material possessions with others.
•  Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position, or prestige. It is discovered in goodness, humility, service, and character.
• Faith sees a beautiful blossom in a bulb, a lovely garden in a seed, and a giant oak in an acorn.
• Freedom's enemies are waste, lethargy, indifference, immorality, and the insidious attitude of something for nothing.
• A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.
• The experienced mountain climber is not intimidated by a mountain - he is inspired by it. The persistent winner is not discouraged by a problem - he is challenged by it. Mountains are created to be conquered; adversities are designed to be defeated; problems are sent to be solved. It is better to master one mountain than a thousand foothills.
• It is wise to direct your anger towards problems - not people; to focus your energies on answers - not excuses.
• The price of excellence is discipline. The cost of mediocrity is disappointment.
• The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.
  He may avoid suffering and sorrow,
  But he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or live.
  Chained by his servitude he is a slave who has forfeited all freedom.
  Only a person who risks is free.
• Lone eagles, soaring in the clouds, fly with silent, peaceful poise,
  While turkeys, in their earth-bound crowds, fill the atmosphere with noise.
• Teaching is more than imparting knowledge, it is inspiring change.
  Learning is more than absorbing facts, it is acquiring understanding.
• The optimist pleasantly ponders how high his kite will fly; the pessimist woefully wonders how soon his kite will fall.
• Four steps to achievement: Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceed positively. Pursue persistently.
• A pinch of praise is worth a pound of scorn. A dash of encouragement is more helpful than a dipper of pessimism. A cup of kindness is better than a cupboard of criticism.
• The optimist lives on the peninsula of infinite possibilities; the pessimist is stranded on the island of perpetual indecision.
• Leadership is based on inspiration, not domination; on cooperation, not intimidation.
• Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning.
• Skillful listening is the best remedy for loneliness, loquaciousness, and laryngitis.
• As the valley gives height to the mountain, so can sorrow give meaning to pleasure; as the well is the source of the fountain, deep adversity can be a treasure.
• God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say 'thank you?'
• Change, like sunshine, can be a friend or a foe, a blessing or a curse, a dawn or a dusk.
• The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.
• Today is a most unusual day, because we have never lived it before; we will never live it again; it is the only day we have.
• Optimists enrich the present, enhance the future, challenge the improbable and attain the impossible.
• Each of us will one day be judged by our standard of life - not by our standard of living; by our measure of giving - not by our measure of wealth; by our simple goodness - not by our seeming greatness.
• Nothing limits achievement like small thinking; nothing expands possibilities like unleashed imagination.
• Committing a great truth to memory is admirable; committing it to life is wisdom.
• Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them.
• Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.
• To laugh is to risk appearing a fool.
  To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
  To reach out to another is to risk involvement.
  To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
  To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.
  To love is to risk not being loved in return.
  To hope is to risk pain.
  To try is to risk failure.
  But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
• In the face of unjust criticism we can become bitter or better; upset or understanding; hostile or humble; furious or forgiving.
• Opportunity is often difficult to recognize; we usually expect it to beckkon us with beepers and billboards.
• When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.
• The more generous we are, the more joyous we become. The more cooperative we are, the more valuable we become. The more enthusiastic we are, the more productive we become. The more serving we are, the more prosperous we become.
• The winner asks, "May I help?"
  The loser asks, "Do you expect me to do that?"
• A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life.
• We can throw stones, complain about them, stumble on them, climb over them, or build with them.
• Interruptions can be viewed as sources of irritation or opportunities for service, as moments lost or experience gained, as time wasted or horizons widened. They can annoy us or enrich us, get under our skin or give us a shot in the arm. Monopolize our minutes or spice our schedules, depending on our attitude toward them.
•  The winner persistently programs his pluses; the loser mournfully magnifies his minuses.

Have a nice day with Quotations! 
White Stone

Quotations of Albert Einstein

 

Albert Einstein

(14/3/1879 – 18/4/1955)

Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist. He developed the general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics). He is best known for his mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2 (which has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation"). He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect". The latter was pivotal in establishing quantum theory. 

Quotations of Albert Einstein

• Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
• The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.  
• The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.
• It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.  
• Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.
• I am convinced that He (God) does not play dice.
• Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction. 
• Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.  
• A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy? 
• To the extent math refers to reality, we are not certain; to the extent we are certain, math does not refer to reality.
• Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.
• The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.
• Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.
• We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.
• The important thing is not to stop questioning.
• God always takes the simplest way.
• Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. 
• Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. 
• Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking. 
• I am a deeply religious nonbeliever - this is a somewhat new kind of religion.       
• Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish. 
• The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. 
• Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.
• The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest.
• I never think of the future. It comes soon enough.
• The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.
• The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.
• All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.
• Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.
• You can't blame gravity for falling in love.
• If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?
• Equations are more important to me, because politics is for the present, but an equation is something for eternity.
• I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
• Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.
• When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking.
• I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right. 
• I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity. 
• If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
• Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty. 
• Force always attracts men of low morality.  
• The environment is everything that isn't me.
• Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.
• All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual.  
• A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. 
• Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.  
• If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts. 
• The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears, for there's no risk of accident for someone who's dead.  
• Information is not knowledge.
• t was the experience of mystery - even if mixed with fear - that engendered religion.  
• Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater. 
• God may be subtle, but he isn't plain mean.
• The attempt to combine wisdom and power has only rarely been successful and then only for a short while.  
• I am not only a pacifist but a militant pacifist. I am willing to fight for peace. Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war. 
• Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.  
• It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. 
• It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.  
• The only source of knowledge is experience. 
• Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools.  
• As far as I'm concerned, I prefer silent vice to ostentatious virtue.
• As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.  
• Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them. 
• Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized.  
• A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be. 
• Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.  
• Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind. 
• Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.  
• Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism - how passionately I hate them! 
• Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.  
• Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts. 
• It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.  
• In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same. 
• Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
• Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.  
• One may say the eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility. 
• Memory is deceptive because it is colored by today's events.  
• Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift. 
• Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.  
• Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves. 
• Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler.  
• Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it.
• The devil has put a penalty on all things we enjoy in life. Either we suffer in health or we suffer in soul or we get fat.  
• Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.
• Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing.
• I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind. 
• I do not believe that civilization will be wiped out in a war fought with the atomic bomb. Perhaps two-thirds of the people of the earth will be killed.  
• It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder. 
• He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.  
• Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. 
• The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.
• Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.
• When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, it seems like two minutes. When you sit on a hot stove for two minutes, it seems like two hours that's relativity.
• A theory is something nobody believes, except the person who made it. An experiment is something everybody believes, except the person who made it.
•  If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.

Have a nice day with Quotations! 

White Stone