W Quotes
Browse famous quotes beginning with W. This page is a child index of the full Popular Quotes A-Z directory.
“When people say that animal rescuers are crazy, what they really mean is that animal rescuers share a number of fundamental beliefs that makes them easy to marginalize. Among those is the belief that Rene Descartes was a jackass.”
Source: A Small Furry Hope: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life
“When people say that college isn't worthwhile and paying all this money isn't worthwhile, I really disagree. I think those experiences and those classes that may not necessarily seem applicable in the moment end up coming back to you time and time again.”
“When people say that compassion goes a long way, it’s true. It’s embedded in memories that remain at the forefront of thought in the person on the receiving end. Those pay it forward moments can become paying it back. How will you treat your opportunities to render compassion?”
“When people say that entertainers should "know your place," they might as well say the same thing about plumbers and teachers and cab drivers. We all should be able to express our views.”
“When people say that German or any other language is romantic... all they really mean is that they've enjoyed a past in the language”
“When people say that kids change your life, it's no small feat what they do. I've stressed about competition my whole life, but the minute I held my son Blaise in my arms for the first time, those stresses diminished.”
“When people say that L.A. doesn't have a culture, I think it really does: a very old culture, and very specific. There's streets named after entertainers, and statues of entertainers, and it's great. Entertainment is still art, even if it makes billions of dollars. So it's like a city built on entertainment, and art in a way.”
“When people say that meditation makes them calm, they are often referring to this stability of the mind. A stable mind creates the foundation for a happier and more contented person.”
Source: Running with the Mind of Meditation: Lessons for Training Body and Mind
“When people say the word "convention," they are usually referring to large gatherings of the employees of companies and corporations who attend a mass assembly, usually in a big hotel somewhere, for the purpose of pretending to learn stuff when they are in fact enjoying a free trip somewhere, time off work, and the opportunity to flirt with strangers, drink, and otherwise indulge themselves. The first major difference between a business convention and a fan-dom convention is that fandom doesn’t bother with the pretenses. They’re just there to have a good time. The second difference is the dress code— the ensembles at a fan convention tend to be considerably more novel.”
Source: Proven Guilty
“When people say there is too much violence in my books, what they are saying is there is too much reality in life.”
“When people say they are atheists they don’t mean they can’t prove that there are no gods. Strictly speaking, it’s impossible to prove that something does not exist. We don’t positively know there are no gods, just as we can’t prove that there are no fairies or pixies or elves or hobgoblins or leprechauns or pink unicorns; just as we can’t prove that Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy don’t exist. There’s a billion things you can imagine and nobody can disprove.”
Source: Outgrowing God: A Beginner’s Guide to Atheism
“When people say they are happy for you it may mean they are sad for themselves.”
Source: The Fireman's Fair
“When people say they are looking for happiness, I ask, What are you giving to the world?”
“When people say they do not care what others think of them, for the most part they deceive themselves. Generally they mean only that no one will know their vulgarities; and at the utmost only that they are willing to act contrary to the opinion of the majority because they are supported by the approval of their neighbours. It is not difficult to be unconventional in the eyes of the world when your unconventionality is but the convention of your set.”
Source: Moon and Sixpence
“When people say they do not care what others think of them, for the most part they deceive themselves. Generally they mean only that no one will know their vulgarities; and at the utmost only that they are willing to act contrary to the opinion of the majority because they are supported by the approval of their neighbours. It is not difficult to be unconventional in the eyes of the world when your unconventionality is but the convention of your set. It affords you then an inordinate amount of self-esteem. You have the self-satisfaction of courage without the inconvenience of danger.”
Source: Moon and Sixpence
“When people say they do not care what others think of them, for the most part they deceive themselves. Generally they mean only that they will do as they choose, in the confidence that no one will know their vagaries; and at the utmost only that they are willing to act contrary to the opinion of the majority because they are supported by the approval of their neighbours. It is not difficult to be unconventional in the eyes of the world when your unconventionality is but the convention of your set.”
“When people say they don't want to get into a relationship, it should never be taken into face value because it is never really the whole truth. It is usually a vast collection of issues and fears and complications, forced to conceal one tiny hope lurking underneath it all: that someday, somebody will come along to discover, accept and understand and strengthen that feeble hope.”
Source: Every Girl's Guide to Flings
“When people say they laugh often together, it could indicate an easy feeling between the connection of their energies. Or it could simply indicate that there are no serious issues to discuss.”
“When people say they love you, you just have to decide to believe them, because you'll never know for sure.”
Source: Zigzag
“When people say they're too busy, ask them If they'll have time to die, and see If dead's gonna give a damn.”
“When people say they write for themselves, that's probably what they do. I will admit that I don't write for myself; I write to be read. I've got the reader in my mind all the time.”
“When people say things about you jokingly, most of the time, there’s nothing funny about it
Pay attention!”
“When people say things are a lot more complicated than that, they means they're getting worried that they won't like the truth.”
Source: Carpe Jugulum: (Discworld Novel 23)
“When people say things like "don't let this moment pass without acting on gun control," what they're really saying is our arguments are so unpersuasive that they can only succeed when people aren't thinking clearly.”
“When people say things that we find offensive, civic charity asks that we resist the urge to attribute to immorality or prejudice views that can be equally well explained by other motives. It asks us to give the benefit of doubts, the assumption of goodwill, and the gift of attention. When people say things that agree with or respond thoughtfully to our arguments, we acknowledge that they have done so. We compliment where we can do so honestly, and we praise whatever we can legitimately find praiseworthy in their beliefs and their actions.
When we argue with a forgiving affection, we recognize that people are often carried away by passions when discussing things of great importance to them. We overlook slights and insults and decline to respond in kind. We apologize when we get something wrong or when we hurt someone's feelings, and we allow others to apologize to us when they do the same.
When people don't apologize, we still don't hold grudges or hurt them intentionally, even if we feel that they have intentionally hurt us. If somebody is abusive or obnoxious, we may decline to participate in further conversation, but we don't retaliate or attempt to make them suffer. And we try really hard not to give in to the overwhelming feeling that arguments must be won - and opponents destroyed - if we want to protect our own status or sense of worth. We never forget that our opponents are human beings who possess innate dignity and fellow citizens who deserve respect.”
Source: We Must Not Be Enemies: Restoring America's Civic Tradition
“When people say ‘This guy is crazy!’, I see people that cannot recognize genius.”
“When people say this isn't the America they grew up in, they're right. Nobody gets to grow old in the America they grew up in.”
“When people say to me don't the years go fast I have to be honest and say that whereas I don't realise where they go in the long term, I pack so much into a year it seems to take forever.”
“When people say to me less is more I reply, 'More is more'.”
“When people say to me, 'Why are you so good at writing at women?' I say, 'Why isn't everybody?' Obviously there are differences between men and women - that's what makes it all fun. But we're all people. There's a lot of good writers who are very humanist, but still manage to kind of skip fifty-five per cent of the race. And I just don't get that. Not to be able to write an entire gender? To me, the question isn't how do you do it? It's how can you possibly avoid doing it?”
“When people say to me, 'You hate America,' I don't hate America. I love America. I am just embarrassed that it has been taken over by people like evangelicals, by people who do not believe in science and rationality. It is the 21st century. And I will tell you, my friend. The future does not belong to the evangelicals. The future does not belong to religion.”
“When people say to me, 'You make us proud,' it's heartwarming to hear that.”
“When people say to me, 'You're like the Anna Kournikova who wins,' I definitely take it as a compliment, because she's quite gorgeous.”
“When people say to me: "Oh don't worry, if one door closes another one opens..." If one door closes for me, go through the window - I'm not interested in waiting around for people to give me opportunities. I try and make things happen and if I am given opportunities I take them and work harder.”
“When people say to me: would you rather be thought of as a funny man or a great boss? My answer's always the same, to me, they're not mutually exclusive.”
“When people say writers spend a lot of time staring, rather than writing, do not be fooled. A writer does not blankly stare. Instead, she sees everything before her. Millions of plotting paths, endless words to choose from, and every possible outcome. Writers see their world as it is, as it could be; as it will be. And in the end make it as it should be.”
“When people say you can't... prove them wrong and do!”
Source: Bullying Ben: How Benjamin Franklin Overcame Bullying
“When people say you can't do it - that it's impossible - never lose hope. Just because they couldn't doesn't mean you can't.”
“When people say, 'you're so young to be a writer,' I always reply, 'I started young because I've got a lot to write.”
“when people say you're charming you are in deep trouble.”
“When people say you're doing something radical in rock or dance music, I'm not sure how special that is. What we do is so old-fashioned. It's like trying to do something innovative in tap-dancing.”
“When people say you're going to be so different at 22 or 23, when you're 16, you're like, I'm so not! And then you change drastically.”
“When people say “clean as a whistle”, they forget that a whistle is full of spit.”
Source: Napalm & Silly Putty
“When people say, "God is love," I think they mean that love is extremely important, or that God really wants us to love. But in Christian conception, God really has love as his essence.”
Source: The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism
“When people say, "I have nothing to hide," what they're saying is, "My rights don't matter."”
“When people say, "I know God forgives me, but I can't forgive myself," they mean that they have failed an idol, whose approval is more important than God's.”
Source: Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters
“When people say, "I've told you fifty times," They mean to scold, and very often do; When poets say, "I've written fifty rhymes," They make you dread that they'll recite them too; In gangs of fifty, thieves commit their crimes; At fifty love for love is rare, 't is true, but then, no doubt, it equally as true is, a good deal may be bought for fifty Louis.”
“When people say, "It can't be done," or "You don't have what it takes," it makes the task all the more interesting.”
“When people say, "Oh, she plays like a dude," it's usually dudes who are the ones saying it. They're saying, "Oh, she's as good as us." Of course, that's a stupid statement.”
“When people say, "Show your face, you're not ugly." I want to say, "I know. I'm not doing it because I think I'm ugly; I'm trying to have some control over my image. And I'm allowed to maintain some modicum of privacy. But also I'd like not to be picked apart or for people to observe when I put on ten pounds or I have a hair extension out of place." Most people don't have to be under that pressure, and I'd like to be one of them. I don't go on Twitter. Because when people say things like, I don't know, "I hope you get cancer and die," it hurts my feelings.”