Above Average Quotes

• The healthiest competition occurs when average people win by putting above average effort.

  Colin Powell

  Success, Military, Winning

  Colin L. Powell (1995). “My American Journey”, Random House Incorporated

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• Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.

  Garrison Keillor

  Strong Women, Children, Parenting

  A Prairie Home Companion (radio series) (1974 - 1987)

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• The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion or ethnic background, is that we all believe we are above-average drivers.

  Dave Barry

  Inspirational, Birthday, Believe

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• The average estimate themselves by what they do, the above average by what they are.

  Friedrich Schiller

  Inspirational, Success, Self Esteem

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• Basically, if you have above-average intelligence, you have common sense and you can speak in front of a camera and to a crowd, you can govern the state.

  Jerry Brown

  Average, Common Sense, Cameras

  "Late Edition" with Wolf Blitzer, www.cnn.com. August 10, 2003.

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• Every American should have above average income, and my Administration is going to see they get it.

  William J. Clinton

  Average, Should Have, Political

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• Wal-Mart hires average people but squeezes above average performance and results out of them.

  Michael Bergdahl

  Average, People, Results

  Michael Bergdahl (2004). “What I Learned From Sam Walton: How to Compete and Thrive in a Wal-Mart World”, p.131, John Wiley & Sons

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• There is no such thing as an average runner. We are all above average.

  Hal Higdon

  Inspirational, Sports, Running

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• If a man's got talent and guts to buck society, he's obviously above average. You want to hold on to him. You straighten him out and turn him into a plus value. Why throw him away? Do that enough and all you've got left are the sheep.

  Alfred Bester

  Men, Sheep, Average

  Alfred Bester (1996). “The Demolished Man”, Vintage

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• While the other guy's sleeping?
  I'm working.
  While the other guy's eatin'?
  I'm working.

  Will Smith

  Sleep, Guy, Other Guys

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• The real beauty of democracy is that the average man believes he is above average.

  Morrie Brickman

  Real, Believe, Men

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• The average detective story is probably no worse than the average novel, but you never see the average novel. It doesn't get published. The average -- or only slightly above average -- detective story does.... Whereas the good novel is not at all the same kind of book as the bad novel. It is about entirely different things. But the good detective story and the bad detective story are about exactly the same things, and they are about them in very much the same way.

  Raymond Chandler

  Book, Average, Doe

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• In a high school, the norms act to hold down the achievements of those who are above average, so that the school's demands will be at a level easily maintained by the majority.

  James S. Coleman

  School, Average, Achievement

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• You know, my boy, he said, it's impossible to love men such as they are. And yet we must. So try to do good to men by doing violence to your feelings, holding your nose, and shutting your eyes, especially shutting your eyes. Endure their villainy without anger, as much as possible; try to remember that you're a man too. For, if you're even a little above average intelligence, you'll have the propensity to judge people severely. Men are vile by nature and they'd rather love out of fear. Don't give in to such love: despise it always.

  Fyodor Dostoevsky

  Love, Eye, Boys

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• I'm pretty happy. I obviously have complaints about things, but for the most part, I'm on the above-average side of happy people.

  David Cross

  Average, People, Sides

  Interview with Josh Modell, www.avclub.com. September 02, 2009.

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• I asked many friends if Australian anti-intellectualism was still a living force and they all told me it was. If you are above average intelligence, hide this embarrassing fact.

  George Mikes

  Funny, Humor, Average

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• I'm not sure I'm the only savant with high IQ or with an above average IQ. Again, it may just be that we don't know very many of the others.

  Daniel Tammet

  Average, May, Not Sure

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• Addicts, as a group, generally score far above average o intelligence tests. Why? You tell me. I guess maybe we're smart enough to have figured out how shitty things are and we decide addiction is the only way to deal with it.

  James Frey

  Smart, Average, Addiction

  James Frey (2004). “A Million Little Pieces”, p.208, Anchor

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• By definition, it is not possible to everyone to be above the average.

  James C. Collins

  Average, Definitions, Good To Great

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• Anecdotally his fitness reports rated him well above average in the classroom, excellent in the field, fluently bilingual in English and French, passable in Spanish, outstanding on all man-portable weaponry, and beyond outstanding at hand-to-hand combat. Susan knew what that last rating meant. Like having a running chainsaw thrown at you

  Lee Child

  Running, Men, Average

  Lee Child (2015). “The Essential Jack Reacher, Volume 2, 6-Book Bundle: 61 Hours, Worth Dying For, The Affair, A Wanted Man, Never Go Back, Personal”, p.175, Delacorte Press

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• Most of us form estimates of our intelligence, wisdom, and moral fiber that are considerably higher than an objective estimate would warrant; no doubt 90 percent of us think ourselves well above average along these lines.

  Alvin Plantinga

  Thinking, Moral Fiber, Average

  Alvin Plantinga (2000). “Warranted Christian Belief”, p.149, Oxford University Press

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• I don't know what the average income of Muslim-Americans is, but Muslim-American immigrants of recent vintage, I bet they have a very above-average representation in professional and business occupations.

  Thomas Friedman

  Average, Vintage, Income

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• Hay fever suffers tend to be above average in intelligence.

  Andrew Tobias

  Hay Fever, Average, Suffering

  "The Invisible Bankers, Everything The Insurance Industry Never Wanted You To Know". Book by Andrew Tobias, 1982.

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• It just seems logical that sticking to investing in only a small number of companies that you understand well, rather than moving down the list to your thirtieth or fiftieth favorite pick, would create a much greater potential to earn above-average investment returns.

  Joel Greenblatt

  Moving, Small Numbers, Average

  Joel Greenblatt (2011). “The Big Secret for the Small Investor: A New Route to Long-Term Investment Success”, p.60, John Wiley & Sons

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• I've never really viewed myself as particularly talented. I've viewed myself as slightly above average in talent. And where I excel is ridiculous, sickening, work ethic. You know, while the other guy's sleeping? I'm working. While the other guy's eatin'? I'm working. While the other guy's making love, I mean, I'm making love, too. But I'm working really hard at it.

  Will Smith

  Mean, Sleep, Average

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