I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious. – Albert Einstein What does that mean? In this quote, Einstein tries to explain his genius. He says that he has no special talents. While there are many theories on that portion of the quote, some of the leading explanations include how ‘folded’ his brain…
Education is that whole system of human training within and without the school house walls, which molds and develops men. – W. E. B. Du Bois What does that mean? Allowing for the anachronism of the generic term ‘men’ (he lived in a less politically correct time), this quote is about education of the people of the…
History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again. – Maya Angelou What does that mean? This quote reminds us that we cannot change the past. What has happened is done and gone, there is no changing it. However happy, however painful, it has happened and…
As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. – King Solomon What does that mean? In many other translations, this quote ends with “sharpens the countenance of a friend.” In this context, countenance is an antiquated word meaning character of a person. The first portion is interesting, when you consider the time of…
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. – John Quincy Adams What does that mean? Many people have a very narrow definition of what leadership is. In this quote, a great leader (read his bio for some of his accomplishments) reminds us that…
Buying books would be a good thing if one could also buy the time to read them in. – Arthur Schopenhauer What does that mean? The Twitter version of this quote is interesting enough, but the full version of the quote is, I believe, a bit more interesting: “Buying books would be a good thing…
To understand your parents’ love you must raise children yourself. – Chinese Proverbs What does that mean? This will be a challenge to explain. If you have kids, you already know what the quote is talking about. If you don’t have kids, it’s going to be hard to explain this to you. One of the…
You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him to find it within himself. – Galileo What does that mean? It’s kind of like the Old West saying “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” You can only go so far when attempting to help someone learn….
Experience is one thing you can’t get for nothing. – Oscar Wilde What does that mean? You might be able to bum a cigarette, invite yourself over to a friend’s house for a free lunch, or even get some free advice from a web site. But experience, it doesn’t come that cheap. Experience, by definition,…
If past history is all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians. – Warren Buffett What does that mean? Like the disclaimer says, past performance is not an indicator of future returns. The person who said this quote is considered one of the brightest guys on the planet when it comes…
I think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense. – Harold S. Kushner What does that mean? To me, it sounds like the story of my life. When I started out, I knew nothing. 8) Since then I’ve learned a few things about…
One change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others. – Niccolò Machiavelli What does that mean? While this quote is almost certainly about political change, and how a ruler might use this to their advantage, I believe it also works well for us as individuals. When you change one habit, what happens…
A large part of mankind is angry not with the sins, but with the sinners. – Seneca What does that mean? To me, this speaks of the envy and bitterness that is part of the lives of so many people. They aren’t so mad that you are doing something prohibited by law or societal values, they are…
Copy from one, it’s plagiarism; copy from two, it’s research. ~ Wilson Mizner What does that mean? Also quoted as “If you steal from one author, it’s plagiarism; if you steal from many, it’s research.” and sometimes attributed to John Burke. And with the right accent, it almost sounds Russian… This is the age old challenge…
Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for. – Socrates What does that mean? Everyone has experiences. Some write them down in a manner that is useful to others. Some write books about what happened. Others write books about how to achieve…
