Undertakings Quotes

• Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.

  Samuel Johnson

  Life, Motivational, Confidence

  Samuel Johnson (1804). “The Lives of the Poets of Great Britain and Ireland: And a Criticism on Their Works”, p.500

  16 Copy quote

  Show source

• The beginnings and endings of all human undertakings are untidy.

  John Galsworthy

  New Beginnings, Self Help, Humans

  John Galsworthy (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of John Galsworthy (Illustrated)”, p.4361, Delphi Classics

  9 Copy quote

  Show source

• I finally figured out the only reason to be alive is to enjoy it.

  Rita Mae Brown

  Life, Eulogy, Alive

  Rita Mae Brown (1982). “Southern discomfort”, Harpercollins

  17 Copy quote

  Show source

• The fact is that writing, like any creative undertaking, carries with it both pain and great joy. The pain is often inherent in the most fertile subject matter; the joy lies in transforming that subject matter and thus moving through it in a way that helps us grow while we create something of value to others.

  Judith Barrington

  Pain, Lying, Moving

  Judith Barrington (2002). “Writing the Memoir”

  47 Copy quote

  Show source

• It is a precarious undertaking to say anything reliable about aims and intentions.

  Albert Einstein

  Say Anything, Statistics, Intention

  Albert Einstein (2016). “The Albert Einstein Collection: Essays in Humanism, The Theory of Relativity, and The World As I See It”, p.37, Open Road Media

  6 Copy quote

  Show source

• I think the Lewis and Clark Expedition was the greatest undertaking in American History. I think landing a man on the moon pales next to it.

  Kathryn Lasky

  Moon, Men, Thinking

  "An Interview with Kathryn Lasky about The Journal of Augustus Pelletier: The Lewis and Clark Expedition". Interview with Richard F. Abrahamson, www.scholastic.com.

  5 Copy quote

  Show source

• This position will not be disputed so long as it is admitted that the desire of reward is one of the strongest incentives of human conduct, or that the best security for the fidelity of mankind is to make their interest coincide with their duty. Even the love of fame, the ruling passion of the noblest minds... would on the contrary deter him from the undertaking, when he foresaw that he must quit the scene before he could accomplish the work.

  Alexander Hamilton

  Passion, Long, Mind

  "The Federalist: A Commentary on the Constitution of the United States".

  6 Copy quote

  Show source

• Clearly it is not reason that has failed. What has failed-as it has always failed-is the attempt to achieve certainty, to reach an absolute, to find the course of human events to a final end. It is not reason that has promised to eliminate risk in human undertakings; it is the emotional needs of men.

  Allen Wheelis

  Men, Emotional, Risk

  7 Copy quote

• There is something wonderful about a book. We can pick it up. We can heft it. We can read it. We can set it down. We can think of what we have read. It does something for us. We can share great minds, great actions, and great undertakings in the pages of a book.

  Gordon B. Hinckley

  Book, Thinking, Mind

  17 Copy quote

• We'll be there, Harry," said Ron "What?" "At your Aunt and Uncle's house," said Ron, "And then we'll go with you wherever you're going." "No-" said Harry quickly; he hadn't counted on this, he had meant them to understand that he was undertaking the most dangerous journey alone. "You said it once before," said Hermione quickly, "that there was time to turn back if we wanted to. We've had time, haven't we? We're with you whatever happens.

  J. K. Rowling

  Uncles, Aunt, Journey

  4 Copy quote

• Forgiving and being reconciled to our enemies or our loved ones are not about pretending that things are other than they are. It is not about patting one another on the back and turning a blind eye to the wrong. True reconciliation exposes the awfulness, the abuse, the hurt, the truth. It could even sometimes make things worse. It is a risky undertaking but in the end it is worthwhile, because in the end only an honest confrontation with reality can bring real healing. Superficial reconciliation can bring only superficial healing.

  Desmond Tutu

  Hurt, Real, Healing

  126 Copy quote

• Looking back now across fifteen years I could see with great clarity the fear I had lived in, which must mean that in the interval I had succeeded in a very important undertaking: I must have made my escape from it.

  John Knowles

  Mean, Years, Important

  John Knowles (2014). “A Separate Peace”, p.174, Simon and Schuster

  7 Copy quote

  Show source

• Writing is a solitary occupation. Family, friends, and society are the natural enemies of the writer. He must be alone, uninterrupted, and slightly savage if he is to sustain and complete an undertaking.

  Jessamyn West

  Friendship, Being Alone, Writing

  Jessamyn West (1973). “Hide and Seek: A Continuing Journey”, Harcourt

  15 Copy quote

  Show source

• Our greatest lack is not money for any undertaking, but rather ideas, If the ideas are good, cash will somehow flow to where it is needed.

  Robert H. Schuller

  Ideas, Cash, Flow

  16 Copy quote

• The best chess-player in Christendom may be little more than the best player of chess; but proficiency in whist implies capacity for success in all those more important undertakings where mind struggles with mind.

  Edgar Allan Poe

  Struggle, Player, Mind

  Edgar Allan Poe (2008). “Edgar Allan Poe's Annotated Short Stories”, p.352, Bottletree Books LLC

  70 Copy quote

  Show source

• Before embarking on important undertakings sit quietly calm your senses and thoughts and meditate deeply. You will then be guided by the great creative power of Spirit.

  Paramahansa Yogananda

  Creative, Meditation, Important

  Paramahansa Yogananda (2011). “The Law of Success: Using the Power of Spirit to Create Health, Prosperity, and Happiness”, p.19, BookBaby

  43 Copy quote

  Show source

• When undertaking marriage, everyone must be the judge of his own thoughts, and take counsel from himself.

  Francois Rabelais

  Marriage, Judging

  4 Copy quote

• To venture upon an undertaking of any kind, even the most insignificant, is to sacrifice to envy.

  Emile M. Cioran

  Sacrifice, Envy, Venture

  "History and Utopia". Book by Emile M. Cioran, 1960.

  6 Copy quote

  Show source

• It's a massive undertaking putting an album together... It's not light weight at all.

  Lupe Fiasco

  Light, Together, Weight

  6 Copy quote

• Yes, young men, Italy owes to you an undertaking which has merited the applause of the universe. You have conquered and you will conquer still, because you are prepared for the tactics that decide the fate of battles.

  Giuseppe Garibaldi

  Fate, Men, Battle

  22 Copy quote

• For men to plunge headlong into an undertaking of vast change, they must be intensely discontented yet not destitute, and they must have the feeling that by the possession of some potent doctrine, infallible leader or some new technique they have access to a source of irresistible power.

  Eric Hoffer

  Men, Leader, Feelings

  Source: www.psychologytoday.com

  5 Copy quote

  Show source

• The Hercules' was a monumental undertaking. It is the largest aircraft ever built... I put the sweat of my life into this thing.

  Howard Hughes

  Sweat, Aviator, Built

  37 Copy quote

• No, absolutely not, writing doesn't have to be like a jigsaw puzzle, it can be a very linear undertaking.

  Guillermo Cabrera Infante

  Writing, Jigsaw Puzzles, Literature

  8 Copy quote

• I can honestly say that I was never affected by the question of the success of an undertaking. If I felt it was the right thing to do, I was for it regardless of the possible outcome.

  Golda Meir

  Inspirational, Leadership, Motivation

  "Way of Valor: A Biography of Golda Myerson". Book by Marie Syrkin, 1955.

  12 Copy quote

  Show source

• To fight for one's country, to offer one's very life to promote the well being of the United States, is truly a noble undertaking. But so is the vigilance of the citizen who carefully examines our leaders to see if political problems are being solved by wars simply because this seems to be the easiest solution.

  Walter Dean Myers

  Country, War, Fighting

  "An Interview With Walter Dean Myers About The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins". Interview with Richard F. Abrahamson and Linda M. Pavonetti, www.scholastic.com.

  10 Copy quote

  Show source