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Ability Quotes

Browse 7450 quotes about Ability.

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Ability Quotes

“At Wal-Mart, a co-worker once advised me that, although I had a lot to learn, it was also important not to "know too much," or at least never to reveal one's full abilities to management, because "the more they think you can do, the more they'll use you and abuse you." My mentors in these matters were not lazy; they just understood that there are few or no rewards for heroic performance. The trick lies in figuring out how to budget your energy so there'll be some left over for the next day.”

ThinkingKnowsImportantMatterUseLyingNextEnergyLeftCan DoAbilityToo MuchUnderstoodPerformancesAbuseManagementRewardsWorkersTricksBudgetsLazyHeroicMentorNext DayCo Worker
Author:Barbara Ehrenreich
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“The issue here really is not whether international trade shall be free but whether or not it makes any sense for a country - or, for that matter, a region - to destroy its own capacity to produce its own food. How can a government, entrusted with the safety and health of its people, conscientiously barter away in the name of an economic idea that people's ability to feed itself? And if people lose their ability to feed themselves, how can they be said to be free?”

PeopleIfsSaidIdeasCountryMatterGovernmentNamesLosesAbilityIssuesEconomicProduceCapacitySafetyTradeInternationalRegionsInternational Trade
Author:Wendell Berry
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“I played sometimes about as dull as you can play it. I did things the right way, you know. I think I modeled my playing ability after one of the all time greats, Joe DiMaggio. You always found Joe, when he played, you know, he always threw to the right base. He ran, he caught the ball. He did all the right things. He was an idol of mine in the outfield. He played the game the way it was supposed to be played.”

ThinkingKnowsWaySometimesPlayFoundGamesAbilityMinesBallsCaughtAll TimeSupposed To BeRanRight ThingDullIdolsRight Way
Author:Hank Aaron
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“True leadership strengthens the followers. It is a process of teaching, setting an example, and empowering others. If you seek to lead, your ability will ultimately be measured in the successes of those around you.”

IfsProcessLeadershipAbilityTeachingExampleSettingSettingsEmpoweringFollowersTrue LeaderTrue LeadershipEmpowering OthersSetting An Example
Book:Simple secrets of success: what scientists have learned and how you can use it
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“The prerequisite of contrapuntal art, more conspicuous in the work of Bach than in that of any other composer, is an ability to conceive a priori of melodic identities which when transposed, inverted, made retrograde, or transformed rhythmically will yet exhibit, in conjunction with the original subject matter, some entirely new but completely harmonious profile.”

ArtMadeMatterAbilitySubjectsIdentityOriginalsComposerTransformedHarmoniousExhibitsSubject MatterProfilePrerequisitesConjunctionsInvertedRetrograde
Author:Glenn Gould
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“The ability of human beings to be creative depends fundamentally on the health and well-being of our biosphere, the few kilometres of air, water, and soil that surround our planet like the skin of an apple. Quite simply, they are the physical and spiritual bases of our lives, and the only source of materials and tools.”

HumansWellsEarthSpiritualWaterHuman BeingsAbilityCreativeOur LivesAirPlanetsMaterialsSourceDependsToolsSkinsBasesWell BeingApplesSoilSurroundBe CreativeOur PlanetBiosphere
Author:Freeman Patterson
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“I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education. It is the key to the survival of the human race. We have to plan for our collective future - and the first step begins with the social, emotional, and intellectual tools we provide to our children. As humans, our greatest tool for survival is our ability to think and to adapt - as educators, storytellers, and communicators our responsibility is to continue to do so.”

ThinkingFirstsHumansChildrenSocialWealthAbilityRaceResponsibilityStepsPlansEmotionalKeysSurvivalIntellectualToolsOur ChildrenMajorityHuman RaceCollectivesFirst StepsImprovingStorytellerEducatorCommunicators
Author:George Lucas
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“Jazz is really about the human experience. It’s about the ability of human beings to take the worst of circumstances and struggles and turn it into something creative and constructive. That’s something that’s built into the fiber of every human being. And I think that’s why people can respond to it. They feel the freedom in it. And the attributes of jazz are also admirable. It’s about dialogue. It’s about sharing. And teamwork. It’s in the moment, and it's nonjudgmental.”

PeopleThinkingFeelsHumansMomentsTurnsHuman BeingsAbilityStruggleCreativeWorstCircumstancesBuiltJazzDialogueTeamworkAttributesHuman ExperienceConstructiveAdmirableFiber
Author:Herbie Hancock
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“The intelligence and ability of a colored person are in pretty direct proportion to the amount of white blood he has, and … most of the positions of leadership, influence, and prominence in the Negro race are held not by real Negroes but by Mulattoes, many of whom have very little Negro blood.”

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Book:The Conquest of a Continent
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“Rational behavior ... depends upon a ceaseless flow of data from the environment. It depends upon the power of the individual to predict, with at least a fair success, the outcome of his own actions. To do this, he must be able to predict how the environment will respond to his acts. Sanity, itself, thus hinges on man's ability to predict his immediate, personal future on the basis of information fed him by the environment.”

MenAbleActionIndividualAbilityEnvironmentInformationDependsFutureBehaviorFairsFlowBasesRationalDataOutcomesFedsSanityHinges
Book:future shock
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“That's the difference between the serious artist and the craftsman--the craftsman can take material and because of his abilities do a professional job of it. The serious artist, like Proust, is like an object caught by a wave and swept to shore. He's obsessed by his material; it's like a venom working in his blood and the art is the antidote.”

ArtJobsArtistDifferencesAbilityBloodObjectsSeriousMaterialsArt IsWaveCaughtObsessedShoreAntidoteCraftsmanVenomProust
Book:Truman Capote: Conversations
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“Differences in political opinions are as unavoidable as, to a certain point, they may perhaps be necessary; but it is exceedingly to be regretted that subjects cannot be discussed with temper on the one hand, or decisions submitted to without having the motives, which led to them, improperly implicated on the other; and this regret borders on chagrin when we find that men of abilities, zealous patriots, having the same general objects in view, and the same upright intentions to prosecute them, will not exercise more charity in deciding on the opinions and actions of one another.”

MenMayHandsActionPoliticalCertainDifferencesAbilityDecisionViewsOpinionSubjectsObjectsRegretExerciseIntentionCharityBordersMotiveTemperPatriotPartisanshipZealousChagrinPolitical Opinions
Book:The real George Washington
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“There is something that is much more scarce, something finer far, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability. The sternest comment that can be made against employers as a class lies in the fact that men of Ability usually succeed in showing their worth in spite of their employer, and not with his assistance and encouragement.”

MenMadeFactsLyingAbilityClassSucceedEncouragementSpiteCommentAssistanceEmployersScarce
Book:A Message to Garcia and Thirteen Other Things: As Written
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“Needless to say, under either system [socialism or fascism], the inequalities of income and standard of living are greater than anything possible under a free economy -- and a man's position is determined, not by his productive ability and achievement, but by political pull and force. Under both systems, sacrifice is invoked as a magic, omnipotent solution in any crisis -- and "the public good" is the altar on which victims are immolated.”

MenPoliticalForceAbilityEconomyGreaterMagicSacrificePositionAchievementSolutionsStandardsCrisisVictimDeterminedIncomeSocialismInequalityProductiveFascismAltarsStandards Of LivingOmnipotentPublic GoodFree Economy
Book:The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z
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