Happiness Is a By-Product

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) wrote this short but insightful line about how we achieve happiness.

“Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities.”

What to Aim For

Logan Pearsall Smith (1865 - 1946) wrote the following about the order in which we should set our goals. 

“There are two things to aim at in life; first to get what you want, and after that to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind has achieved the second.”

What Failure Teaches

Samuel Smiles (1812-1904) wrote the following pithy quote about how we can figure out our way in life.

“We learn wisdom from failure much more than success. We often discover what we will do, by finding out what we will not do.”

The Greatest Results

In the 1600’s Owen Feltham wrote about the two human qualities that can produce the greatest results. His observation still rings true today.

“The greatest results in life are usually attained by simple means and the exercise of ordinary qualities. These may for the most part be summed in these two: common-sense and perseverance.”

The Law of Destiny

The following quote by George Dana Boardman traces how the formation of our character leads eventually to our legacy. I think one could apply this law equally to everyone from Adolf Hitler to Mother Teresa.

“The law of the harvest is to reap more than you sow. Sow an act, and you reap a habit; sow a habit, and you reap a character; sow a character, and you reap a destiny.”

The Key to Success

The following quote from Albert Schweitzer explains the relationship between happiness and success.

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

The Extra Mile

The following quote by Gary Ryan Blair sums up how we can achieve our goals.

“Do more than is required. What is the distance between someone who achieves their goals consistently and those who spend their lives and careers merely following? The extra mile.”

The Happiness of Life

Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote the following about what he thought made up the happiness of life.

“The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions—the little soon-forgotten charities of a kiss, a smile, a kind look, a heartfelt compliment in the disguise of a playful raillery, and the countless other infinitesimals of pleasurable thought and genial feeling.”

What We Think We Want

Charles Caleb Colton wrote this about how to find what you really want.

“We are ruined, not by what we really want, but by what we think we do; therefore never go abroad in search of your wants; if they be real wants, they will come home in search of you; for he that buys what he does not want, will soon want what he cannot buy.”

The Symphony of Being

William Henry Channing offers this inspirational piece on what makes up his own personal spiritual symphony.

“To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common - this is my symphony.

How Far You Go

George Washington Carver gives a great summary of what it takes to be a good human being.

“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because some day in life you will have been all of these.”

Do You Want What You Have?

The following quote is by Dr. David G. Myers, a professor of psychology at Michigan’s Hope College. It is from an essay about what affect wealth has on well being.

“Wealth is like health: Its utter absence can breed misery, but having it doesn’t guarantee happiness. Happiness seems less a matter of getting what we want than of wanting what we have.”

Related Reading:

Throwing Starfish

Throwing Starfish

I have mentioned Loren Eiseley in passing on this blog before as being one of my favorite writers. Here he shares a lesson he learned on putting into perspective how one can make a difference.

"While wandering a deserted beach at dawn, stagnant in my work, I saw a man in the distance bending and throwing as he walked the endless stretch toward me. As he came near, I could see that he was throwing starfish, abandoned on the sand by the tide, back into the sea. When he was close enough I asked him why he was working so hard at this strange task. He said that the sun would dry the starfish and they would die. I said to him that I thought he was foolish. There were thousands of starfish on miles and miles of beach. One man alone could never make a difference. He smiled as he picked up the next starfish. Hurling it far into the sea he said, "It makes a difference for this one." I abandoned my writing and spent the morning throwing starfish."

Healthy Self-Esteem

“Productive achievement is a consequence and an expression of healthy self-esteem, not its cause.”

– Nathaniel Brandon -

The Cause of Shadows

I think Ralph Waldo Emerson described well what we today might call self-defeating behavior when he said, “Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.”

Put On Your Seven League Boots

I am currently reading a biography of the almost supernaturally gifted inventor Nikola Tesla. Most of the devices he invented he would envision fully functioning in his mind before he built them. In this passage he describes one of his visions and his formula for success.

“The pieces of apparatus I conceived were to me absolutely real and tangible in every detail, even to the minutest marks and signs of wear. I delighted in imagining the motors running…When natural inclination develops into a passionate desire, one advances toward his goal in seven-league boots.”

What We Could Become

The following quote by Charles DuBois is a powerful, one sentence reminder of the potential that is in all of us.

“The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.”

What Does Money Follow?

I like the following quote because it’s bold and it makes you think. While pondering the meaning of it various names came to mind, such as Henry Ford, Thomas J. Watson and Bill Gates. Paul Hawken could have been describing any of their careers when he said:

“Money follows ideas. Money does not create anything at all, much less ideas. Money goes where ideas are.”

What Is Wealth?

Some would answer that question with having lots of money, or good health, or family and friends. While I would agree with all of those answers, Robert G. Allen offers an interesting take on what wealth is:

“Wealth is knowledge, confidence, attitude. It has nothing to do with the accumulation of money. You can take away my cash, my credit, my statements at the bank – everything the world considers wealth. But I’ll always have the only thing that really counts: my own resources.”

Remember The Cost of Freedom

“Let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower