Quotessence
Home / Topics / Impossible Quotes

Impossible Quotes

Browse 5414 quotes about Impossible.

Related topics

IfsPeopleThinkingMenWorldKnowsWayBelieveTryingWantSeemsShouldWould BeDifficultMindHumansMayFeelsMadeDreamGivingHas BeensNeedsLooksFirstsHardWritingDoneMeanPersonsKindIdeasFactsLongDoeLittlesTwoNothing Is ImpossibleSometimesRealYearsHeartMatterImpossible ThingsReasonWellsStatesProblemStillsArtInspirationalSaidEasyWholeHappensImpossibilityMomentsEnoughImagineEndsSelfWarLawCertainMightBookFoundPossibilityCountryChildrenTasksTodayBodyCoursesEyeFormAchieveDesireLifeCan DoBeliefRealityHandsPlayGovernmentShowsSoulUseCharacterChristianFeelingsI CanImportantLoveSituationFacesPoliticalHelpingOrderMovingmore

Impossible Quotes

“The free-trade idea, logically applied, will abolish usury; and with usury will disappear the chief bone of contention between labor and capital. But, just at this point, free-traders go over to the enemy; and many writers on political economy, in flat contradiction of the essential principles of that science, have made elaborate arguments to prove self-government in finance, impossible! What shall we think of men who, having dethroned kings, demolished popes, destroyed slave oligarchies and assailed tariff monopoly, advise submission to the most oppressive and dishonest of despotisms, Usury?”

ThinkingMenMadeIdeasSelfGovernmentPoliticalEnemyPrinciplesEconomyImpossibleKingsProveEssentialsArgumentLaborTradeSlaveBonesDisappearFinanceDestroyedChiefsContradictionFlatsPopeSubmissionMonopolyAdviseDespotismAbolishThink Of MeContentionFree TradeTradersOligarchySelf-governmentTariffsPolitical EconomyUsuryLabor And Capital
Author:Ezra Heywood
Create image

“We must strive for freedom if we strive for self-knowledge. The task of self-knowledge and of further self-development is of such importance and seriousness, it demands such intensity of effort, that to attempt it any old way and amongst other things is impossible. The person who undertakes this task must put it first in his life, which is not so long that he can afford to squander it on trifles.”

IfsWayFirstsPersonsLongSelfEffortImpossibleDevelopmentDemandTasksImportanceStriveIntensitySelf KnowledgeSelf DevelopmentSeriousnessTriflesOld Ways
Author:G. I. Gurdjieff
Create image

“The vigor of a mass movement stems from the propensity of its followers for united action and self-sacrifice. When we ascribe the success of a movement to its faith, doctrine, propaganda, leadership, ruthlessness and so on, we are but referring to instruments of unification and to means used to inculcate a readiness for self-sacrifice. It is perhaps impossible to understand the nature of a mass movement unless it is recognized that their chief preoccupation is to foster, perfect and perpetuate a facility for united action and self-sacrifice.”

MeanSelfActionUsedPerfectUnitedImpossibleSacrificeSocietyMovementMassInstrumentsDoctrineChiefsPropagandaFollowersStemFacilityReadinessSelf SacrificeVigorReferringPreoccupationPropensityUnificationRuthlessness
Book:THE TRUE BELIEVER
Create image

“The one quality which sets one man apart from another- the key which lifts one to every aspiration while others are caught up in the mire of mediocrity- is not talent, formal education, nor intellectual brightness - it is self-discipline. With self-discipline all things are possible. Without it, even the simplest goal can seem like the impossible dream.”

MenSelfDreamSeemsGoalQualityImpossibleTalentKeysDisciplineIntellectualAll ThingsCaughtLiftsAspirationOne ManMediocrityFormalSelf DisciplineCaught UpSimplestBrightnessFormal EducationImpossible Dream
Author:Theodore Roosevelt
Create image

“We lost not only through death, but also by leaving and being left, by changing and letting go and moving on. And our losses include not only our separations and departures from those we love, but our conscious and unconscious losses of romantic dreams, impossible expectations, illusions of freedom and power, illusions of safety -- and the loss of our own younger self, the self that thought it would always be unwrinkled and invulnerable and immortal.”

SelfDreamMovingLostLeftLossImpossibleLetting GoIllusionExpectationsConsciousSafetyLeavingSeparationUnconsciousImmortalDepartureThose We LoveLetting Go And Moving OnConscious And UnconsciousYounger SelfIllusion Of Freedom
Author:Judith Viorst
Create image

“In conscious life, we achieve some sense of ourselves as reasonably unified, coherent selves, and without this action would be impossible. But all this is merely at the 'imaginary' level of the ego, which is no more than the tip of the iceberg of the human subject known to psychoanalysis. The ego is function or effect of a subject which is always dispersed, never identical with itself, strung out along the chains of the discourses which constitute it.”

HumansSelfWould BeActionLevelsKnownImpossibleAchieveSubjectsEffectsEgoConsciousFunctionChainsImaginaryDiscourseIdenticalPsychoanalysisUnifiedIcebergTip Of The Iceberg
Book:Literary Theory: An Introduction
Create image

“[T]he individual in whom the will for the light is strong and clear finds his heart inextricably bound up with the struggle of the forces of light in his native place and time. Much as he may long for the opportunity of fuller self- expression in a happier world, he knows that for him self-expression is impossible save in the world in which his mind is rooted. The individual in whom the will for the light is weak soon persuades himself that his opportunity lies elsewhere.”

KnowsWorldMindHeartMayLongSelfLightLyingOpportunityIndividualStrongForceStruggleClearImpossibleExpressionWeakBoundsNativeElsewhereRootedSelf ExpressionPlace And TimeNative Place
Book:Darkness and the light
Create image

“I had looked forward to old age as a time of quietness, a time to draw my horizons about me, to watch memories ripening in the sunlight of a walled garden. But there is the void over my head and the distance within that the tireless signals come from. And astronaut on impossible journeys to the far side of the self I return with messages I cannot decipher.”

SelfAgeSidesMemoriesWatchesImpossibleJourneyReturnMessagesDrawsGardenDistanceOld AgeHorizonVoidSunlightSignalsAstronautQuietnessWatch MeDecipherRipeningFar Side
Author:R. S. Thomas
Create image

“Science is showing us that there are neurological (brain) factors that contribute to self-control and willpower, along with learning and upbringing. And when these brain systems are functioning improperly or become damaged, normal levels of self-control and willpower are impossible.”

SelfLevelsBrainImpossibleNormalFactorsSelf ControlWillpowerUpbringing
Book:Taking Charge of ADHD, Revised Edition: The Complete, Authoritative Guide for Parents
Create image

“Though an inheritance of acres may be bequeathed, an inheritance of knowledge and wisdom cannot. The wealthy man may pay others for doing his work for him; but it is impossible to get his thinking done for him by another, or to purchase any kind of self-culture.”

ThinkingMenKindMaySelfDoneCulturePayImpossibleWealthyInheritanceAcresKnowledge And Wisdom
Book:Self-help; with Illustrations of Character, Conduct, and Perseverance
Create image

“It has often been argued that absolute scepticism is self-contradictory; but this is a mistake: and even if it were not so, it would be no argument against the absolute sceptic, inasmuch as he does not admit that no contradictory propositions are true. Indeed, it would be impossible to move such a man, for his scepticism consists in considering every argument and never deciding upon its validity; he would, therefore, act in this way in reference to the arguments brought against him.”

IfsMenWayDoeSelfWould BeMovingMistakeImpossibleArgumentAbsolutesSkepticismConsideringPropositionsContradictoryValidityScepticismSceptic
Book:The Essential Peirce, Volume 1: Selected Philosophical Writings? (1867–1893)
Create image

“Plunge into the world, and then, after a time, when you have suffered and enjoyed all that is in it, will renunciation come; then will calmness come. So fulfill your desire for power and everything else, and after you have fulfilled the desire, will come the time when you will know that they are all very little things; but until you have fulfilled this desire, until you have passed through that activity, it is impossible for you to come to the state of calmness, serenity, and self-surrender.”

KnowsWorldLittlesSelfStatesDesireImpossibleActivitySurrenderEnjoyedLittle ThingsSerenityFulfilledCalmnessPlungeRenunciationDesire For Power
Book:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
Create image

“The entrance into Zen is the grasping of one's essential nature. It is absolutely impossible, however, to come to a clear understanding of our essential nature by any intellectual or philosophical method. It is accomplished only by the experience of self-realization through zazen.”

SelfUnderstandingNatureClearImpossibleEssentialsIntellectualExperiencePhilosophicalMethodSelf RealizationRealizationAccomplishedEntrancesGrasping
Book:The Gateless Gate: The Classic Book of Zen Koans
Create image

“But not forgiving yourself often becomes the root of severe self-loathing extreme self hatred and intense inhibitions. It will be next to impossible to truly start over when you feel unforgivable.”

FeelsSelfNextImpossibleRootsHatredForgivingExtremesIntenseSevereStarting OverLoathingSelf LoathingSelf HatredForgive YourselfInhibitionsUnforgivableNot Forgiving
Book:When Your Past Is Hurting Your Present: Getting Beyond Fears That Hold You Back
Create image

“I went to extreme measures to achieve my goals, from strapping heavy sandbags on my ankles, hopping on one leg, up and down four flights of stairs at 5 am to practice my turns in front of the candle light when others are asleep. I felt like that I had climbed many tall mountains and made so many impossible dreams come true through sheer determination, perseverance, passion, self conviction and belief.”

MadeSelfDreamLightTurnsPassionBeliefFeltGoalPracticeFourImpossibleAchieveFrontsMountainDeterminationPerseveranceConvictionHeavyExtremesLegsFlightTallCandleSheerDreams Come TrueUp And DownStairsAnklesDetermination PerseveranceImpossible DreamHoppingCandle Lights
Author:Li Cunxin
Create image

“If you set goals for yourself, and you're like a lot of other people, you probably realize it's not that your goals are physically impossible that's keeping you from achieving them; it's that you lack the self-discipline to stick to them. It's physically possible to lose weight. It's physically possible to exercise more.”

PeopleIfsSelfGoalRealizingLosesImpossibleAchieveDisciplineExerciseWeightSticksSelf DisciplineSetting GoalsLose Weight
Author:Daniel Goldstein
Create image

“Nowadays theologians aren't quite so straightforward as Paley. They don't point to complex living mechanisms and say that they are self-evidently designed by a creator, just like a watch. But there is a tendency to point to them and say 'It is impossible to believe' that such complexity, or such perfection, could have evolved by natural selection. Whenever I read such a remark, I always feel like writing 'Speak for yourself' in the margin.”

FeelsWritingBelieveSelfSpeakNaturalWatchesImpossiblePerfectionComplexesCreatorTendenciesComplexityMechanismSelectionTheologianRemarksMarginsStraightforwardNatural Selection
Book:The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design
Create image

“Imagination is a valuable asset in business and she has a sister, Understanding, who also serves. Together they make a splendid team and business problems dissolve and the impossible is accomplished by their ministrations.... Imagination concerning the world's wants and the individual's needs should be the Alpha and Omega of self-education.”

WorldWantNeedsShouldSelfProblemTogetherIndividualUnderstandingImaginationBusinessImpossibleTeamValuableAccomplishedAssetsSplendidSelf EducationAlphasAlpha And OmegaBusiness Problems
Author:Alice Foote MacDougall
Create image

“Those who have overcome self-will and become instruments to do God's work can accomplish tasks which are seemingly impossible, but they experience no feeling of self achievement. I now know myself to be a part of the infinite cosmos, not separate from other souls or God. My illusory self is dead; the real self controls the garment of clay and uses it for God's work.”

KnowsRealSoulSelfUseFeelingsImpossibleAchievementTasksOvercomingInfiniteInstrumentsAccomplishCosmosSelf ControlClayGarmentsIllusoryReal SelfSelf Will
Book:Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words
Create image

“When you're in a two-shot together, you can't be the same as when you're both in singles. Try as you will, it cannot be the same as when you're in the shot together. It simply cannot be. It's physically impossible. You're behind the camera desperately wanting to help your colleague. When it's just you, on your own, it can be self-conscious in a way that you're not when we're just talking, you and I, and then all of a sudden it's me and then it's you. The two-shots were probably more natural.”

WayTryingTwoSelfHelpingTogetherNaturalBehindsTalkingImpossibleConsciousShotsCamerasColleaguesSelf ConsciousSingles
Author:Tom Courtenay
Create image

“Never say that you can't do something, or that something seems impossible, or that something can't be done, no matter how discouraging or harrowing it may be; human beings are limited only by what we allow ourselves to be limited by: our own minds. We are each the masters of our own reality; when we become self-aware to this: absolutely anything in the world is possible”

WorldMindHumansMaySelfMatterDoneRealitySeemsHuman BeingsImpossibleMastersDiscouragingChastisement
Author:Mike Norton
Create image