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Purpose Quotes

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Purpose Quotes

“One may not always know his purpose until his only option is to monopolize in what he truly excels at. He grows weary of hearing the answer 'no' time and time again, so he turns to and cultivates, monopolizes in his one talent which others cannot possibly subdue. Then, beyond the crowds of criticism and rejection, the right people recognize his talent - among them he finds his stage.”

PeopleKnowsMayPurposeTurnsGrowsAnswersStageTalentCriticismCrowdsHearingRejectionBullyingWeary
Book:Killosophy
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“Those who, animal-like, live solely according to the senses... misuse God's creation in order to indulge the passions. They do not understand the principle of that wisdom which is revealed to all: that we should know and praise God through His creation and that by means of the visible world we should understand whence we came, what we are, for what purpose we were made and where we are going. On the contrary, they travel through this present age in darkness... with... ignorance of God.”

KnowsWorldShouldMeanMadeAgeChristianPurposeOrderPassionAnimalPrinciplesDarknessCreationIgnorancePraiseContrarySensesVisibleOrthodoxIndulgeMisusePraise GodGod's Creation
Author:Maximus the Confessor
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“The search for truth is, as it always has been, the noblest expression of the human spirit. Man's insatiable desire for knowledge about himself, about his environment and the forces by which he is surrounded, gives life its meaning and purpose, and clothes it with final dignity.... And yet we know, deep in our hearts, that knowledge is not enough.... Unless we can anchor our knowledge to moral purposes, the ultimate result will be dust and ashes- dust and ashes that will bury the hopes and monuments of men beyond recovery.”

KnowsMenLifeGivingHumansHeartHas BeensEnoughSpiritDesirePurposeForceResultsMoralEnvironmentExpressionTruth IsClothesDignityUltimateFinalsRecoveryDustAshesHuman SpiritMonumentAnchorsInsatiableSearch For TruthDesire For Knowledge
Author:Raymond B. Fosdick
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“Prescription for Life-long Happiness: Purpose enough for satisfaction; Work enough for sustenance; Sanity enough to know when to play and rest; Wealth enough for basic needs; Affection enough to like many and love a few; Self-respect enough to love yourself; Charity enough to give to others in need; Courage enough to face difficulties; Creativity enough to solve problems; Humor enough to laugh at will; Hope enough to expect an interesting tomorrow; Gratitude enough to appreciate what you have; Health enough to enjoy life for all its worth.”

KnowsInspirationalNeedsGivingLongSelfEnoughPlayProblemFacesPurposeEnjoyWealthInterestingCreativityLaughingLove YouTomorrowGratitudeAppreciateAnd LoveDifficultyCharityAffectionSatisfactionSolveSelf RespectSanityLove YourselfEnjoy LifeLong LifePrescriptionsSustenanceBasic NeedsAppreciate What You Have
Author:Ernie J Zelinski
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“I believe one of our souls' major purposes is to know, love, and express our authentic selves. To live the life and be the person we were created to be. However, our true selves only emerge when it's safe to do so. Self-condemnation, shame, and guilt send your true nature into hiding. It's only in the safety of gentle curiosity, encouragement, and self-love that your soul can bloom as it was created to do.”

KnowsBelievePersonsSoulSelfPurposeI BelieveSelf LoveSafeMajorsEncouragementShameSafetyGuiltCuriosityAuthenticityYour SoulLive LifeGentleHidingTrue SelfTrue NatureCondemnationAuthentic SelfShame And Guilt
Author:Sue Thoele
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“I would warn against too much of a radical devotion to rationality. Rationality is an illusion, an invented concept, a construct from the mind of man. It is not a property of the universe. Rationality may be a useful tool when it suits our purposes, however, it is merely a measuring stick, calibrated against what we know of the nature of the universe - all of which may or may not be completely inaccurate.”

KnowsMenLifeMindMayPurposeUniverseToo MuchIllusionConceptsToolsPropertySticksDevotionSuitsRadicalRationalityConstructsMeasuring
Author:Derek R. Audette
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“During the first half of the present century we had an Alexander von Humboldt, who was able to scan the scientific knowledge of his time in its details, and to bring it within one vast generalization. At the present juncture, it is obviously very doubtful whether this task could be accomplished in a similar way, even by a mind with gifts so peculiarly suited for the purpose as Humboldt's was, and if all his time and work were devoted to the purpose.”

IfsKnowsWayMindFirstsAbleSciencePurposeHalfKnowledgeCenturyTasksDetailsAccomplishedDevotedDoubtfulGeneralizationScientific KnowledgeJuncture
Author:Hermann von Helmholtz
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“When watching men of power in action it must be always kept in mind that, whether they know it or not, their main purpose is the elimination or neutralization of the independent individual- the independent voter, consumer, worker, owner, thinker- and that every device they employ aims at turning men into a manipulable animated instrument which is Aristotle's definition of a slave.”

KnowsMenMindActionPurposeIndividualAimIndependentInstrumentsSlaveWorkersDefinitionsConsumersOwnersDevicesVotersThinkerAnimatedEliminationIndependent Voters
Book:Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer
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“The great purpose is to set aside a reasonable part of the vanishing wilderness, to make certain that generations of Americans yet unborn will know what it is to experience life on undeveloped, unoccupied land in the same form and character as the Creator fashioned it... It is a great spiritual experience. I never knew a man who took a bedroll into an Idaho mountainside and slept there under a star-studded summer sky who felt self-important that next morning. Unless we preserve some opportunity for future generations to have the same experience, we shall have dishonored our trust.”

KnowsMenImportantSelfCharacterSpiritualFormPurposeCertainNextOpportunityStarsFeltMorningGenerationsSkyLandSummerCreatorPreservesReasonableWildernessFuture GenerationUnbornVanishingSpiritual ExperienceIdahoGreat Spiritual
Author:Frank Church
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“If you don't love where you are right now, you won't love where you are going. Here is what I know: People who are passionate about what they do every day and love where they are in life are the fortunate ones. They have discovered their purpose. They are the difference makers who fully understand the gift of adding value, and yes, they can't help but love where they are going on their journey.”

PeopleIfsKnowsHelpingPurposeValuesDifferencesJourneyRight NowAnd LovePassionateFortunateWhere You AreMakersWhere You Are GoingAdding ValueDifference Makers
Author:John C. Maxwell
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“There is something in the character of every man which cannot be broken in--the skeleton of his character; and to try to alter this is like training a sheep for draught purposes. GEORG CHRISTOPH LICHTENBERG, The Reflections of Lichtenberg We become familiar with the outsides of men, as with the outsides of houses, and think we know them, while we are ignorant of so much that is passing within them.”

ThinkingKnowsMenTryingCharacterPurposeHouseBrokenTrainingReflectionEvery ManPassingIgnorantFamiliarPassingsSheepSkeletonsDraught
Author:Christian Nestell Bovee
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“Unless we realize that the essence of Nazism is also an attempt to solve a universal problem of Western civilization - that of the industrial society - and that the basic principles on which the Nazis base this attempt are also in no way confined to Germany, we do not know what we fight for or what we fight against... The war is being fought for the structure of industrial society - its basic principles, its purposes, and its institutions.”

KnowsWayWarProblemPurposeFightingRealizingPrinciplesCivilizationEssenceUniversalInstitutionsStructureWesternSolveGermanyNaziConfinedNazismWestern CivilizationBasic Principles
Author:Peter Drucker
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“I never did, nor do I believe I ever shall, give advice to a woman who is setting out on a matrimonial voyage; first, because I never could advise one to marry without her own consent; and, secondly, I know it is to no purpose to advise her to refrain when she has obtained it. A woman very rarely asks an opinion or requires advice on such an occasion, till her resolution is formed; and then it is with the hope and expectation of obtaining a sanction, not that she means to be governed by your disapprobation, that she applies.”

KnowsGivingFirstsBelieveMeanPurposeAsksI BelieveMarriageOpinionAdviceExpectationsSettingSettingsOccasionsResolutionConsentAdviseSanctionsVoyagesRefrainObtainingHopes And Expectations
Book:Writings
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“Much indeed to be regretted, party disputes are now carried to such a length, and truth is so enveloped in mist and false representation, that it is extremely difficult to know through what channel to seek it. This difficulty to one, who is of no party, and whose sole wish is to pursue with undeviating steps a path which would lead this country to respectability, wealth, and happiness, is exceedingly to be lamented. But such, for wise purposes, it is presumed, is the turbulence of human passions in party disputes, when victory more than truth is the palm contended for.”

KnowsHumansCountryPoliticalPurposePassionWishDifficultWealthPartyStepsPathWiseVictoryTruth IsDifficultyPursueLengthSoleRepresentationPalmsPolitical PartiesDisputesMistRespectabilityPartisanshipTurbulenceWealth And Happiness
Book:The Writings of George Washington: Being His Correspondence, Addresses, Messages, and Other Papers, Official and Private, Selected and Published from the Original Manuscripts; with a Life of the Author, Notes and Illustrations
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“Things don't have purposes, as if the universe were a machine, where every part has a useful function. What's the function of a galaxy? I don't know if our life has a purpose and I don't see that it matters. What does matter is that we're a part. Like a thread in a cloth or a grass-blade in a field. It is and we are. What we do is like wind blowing on the grass.”

IfsKnowsDoeMatterPurposeUniverseOur LivesFieldsWindMachinesFunctionGrassThreadGalaxyBladesWind Blowing
Author:Ursula K. Le Guin
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“In science men have learned consciously to subordinate themselves to a common purpose without losing the individuality of their achievements. Each one knows that his work depends on that of his predecessors and colleagues, and that it can only reach its fruition through the work of his successors. In science men collaborate not because they are forced to by superior authority or because they blindly follow some chosen leader, but because they realize that only in this willing collaboration can each man find his goal.”

KnowsMenPurposeGoalRealizingCommonLeaderWillingDependsAuthorityAchievementLosingIndividualityChosenSuperiorsCollaborationColleaguesSubordinatesPredecessorsSuccessorsFruitionCommon Purpose
Author:John Desmond Bernal
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“You know I've had people come up and ask me to sign their guns. Sign my name on gun handles and holsters and stuff. I've done it once or twice for law enforcement officials, but when people do that -- and there have been quite a few of them lately -- I always tell them no. I don't want to do that. I don't want my name on that and I hope you use this gun, whatever its purpose is, I hope it's used wisely.”

PeopleKnowsWantHas BeensDoneUseLawUsedPurposeAsksNamesStuffGunCome UpHandleAsk MeOfficialsLaw EnforcementEnforcement
Author:Clint Eastwood
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“Know that the difficulties which lead to confusion in the question what is the purpose of the Universe or of any of its parts, arise from two causes: first, man has an erroneous idea of himself, and believes that the whole world exists only for his sake; secondly, he is ignorant both about the nature of the sublunary world, and about the Creator's intention to give existence to all beings whose existence is possible, because existence is undoubtedly good.”

KnowsMenWorldGivingFirstsBelieveTwoIdeasWholePurposeUniverseCausesExistenceDifficultyIntentionSakeCreatorAriseWhole WorldIgnorantConfusion
Book:The Guide for the Perplexed
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“There is no such thing as a secret among our leaders; communication is very open and honest, and if it's not, then it can become seemingly brutal. You've heard my arguments for love, friends, and authenticity, but there are the deceivers, the manipulators, the control freaks, and the self-appointed teachers in the Body who would love to use our system for their own selfish purposes. We all know the realities of the old sin nature.”

IfsKnowsSelfUseBodyRealityPurposeSinSecretLeaderTeacherHeardHonestCommunicationArgumentSelfishAuthenticityFreakBrutalControl FreakDeceiverManipulator
Author:Ted Haggard
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“The fisherman has a harmless, preoccupied look; he is a kind of vagrant, that nothing fears. He blends himself with the trees and the shadows. All his approaches are gentle and indirect. He times himself to the meandering, soliloquizing stream; he addresses himself to it as a lover to his mistress; he woos it and stays with it till he knows its hidden secrets. Where it deepens his purpose deepens; where it is shallow he is indifferent. He knows how to interpret its every glance and dimple; its beauty haunts him for days.”

KnowsLooksKindPurposeSecretKnow HowTreeSeaLoversApproachShadowRiversFishesBoatGentleStreamsAddressesLakesFishingIndifferentShallowGlancesMistressFishermanIndirectVagrantsDimplesHidden Secrets
Author:John Burroughs
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“Nothing can be rightly known, if God be not known; nor is any study well managed, nor to any great purpose, if God is not studied. We know little of the creature, till we know it as it stands related to the Creator.”

IfsKnowsWellsLittlesPurposeKnownStudyCreaturesCreatorRelated
Book:The Reformed Pastor ... Revised and Abridged by the Rev. William Brown ... With an Introductory Essay, by the Rev. Daniel Wilson. [With a Portrait.]
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“When we do not know the truth of a thing, it is good that there should exist a common error which determines the mind of man, as, for example, the moon, to which is attributed the change of seasons, the progress of diseases, etc. For the chief malady of man is a restless curiosity about things which he cannot understand; and it is not so bad for him to be in error as to be curious to no purpose.”

KnowsMenShouldMindTruthPurposeCommonProgressExampleMoonDiseaseSeasonsErrorsCuriosityDetermineCuriousChiefsMotiveEtcRestlessMaladySeasons Change
Book:Pascal's Pensees
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“It has been said that genius is only the power of making continuous effort. The line between failure and success is so fine that we scarcely know when we pass it. We are told that there is no failure, except in no longer trying - no defeat, except from within, no really insurmountable barrier save our own weakness of purpose.”

KnowsTryingHas BeensSaidPurposeLinesEffortFineGeniusWeaknessDefeatBarriersSuccess And FailureInsurmountableNo FailureContinuous Effort
Author:Kate Smith
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“For hundreds of years the use of the word 'man' has troubled critical scholars, careful translators, and lawyers. Difficulties occur whenever and wherever it is important for truth-seeking purposes to know what is being talked about and the context gives no intimation whether 'man' means just a human being irrespective of sex or means a masculine being and none other.”

KnowsMenGivingYearsHumansMeanImportantUsePurposeSexHuman BeingsDifficultyCarefulSeekingCriticalLawyerScholarMasculineTranslators
Author:Mary Ritter Beard
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