Havelock Ellis

"The place where optimism most flourishes is the lunatic asylum."

- Havelock Ellis, psychologist

Fall Out Boy

"The poets are just kids who didn't make it, and never had it at all."

- Fall Out Boy, 'I've Got A Dark Alley And A Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth (Summer Song)'

Oscar Wilde

"Nowadays most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets are one's mistakes."

- Oscar Wilde, poet, novelist, dramatist, critic

Albert Einstein

"If A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut."

- Albert Einstein, physicist

Plato

"Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet."

- Plato, ancient Greek philosopher and author

Ronald Reagan

"Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music."

- Ronald Reagan, former US president

John Cage

"The first question I ask myself when something doesn't seem to be beautiful is why do I think it's not beautiful. And very shortly you discover that there is no reason."

- John Cage, composer, philosopher, poet, artist

Graham Greene

"In human relationships, kindness and lies are worth a thousand truths."

- Graham Greene, author, playwright, literary critic

Eurythmics

"Everybody's looking for something."

- Eurythmics, 'Sweet Dreams'

Dag Hammarskjold

"Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for."

- Dag Hammarskjold, diplomat, economist, author

Sue Monk Kidd

"That's what I told myself five hundred times: impossibility. I can tell you this much: the word is a great big log thrown on the fires of love."

- 'The Secret Life of Bees' by Sue Monk Kidd

Cicero

"Friendship makes prosperity more shining and lessens adversity by dividing and sharing it."

- Cicero, ancient Roman orator, politician and author

Abraham Lincoln

"I will prepare and someday my chance will come."

- Abraham Lincoln, former president of the USA

eastmountainsouth

"All the stars that fill the sky, they burn out before our eyes."

- eastmountainsouth, 'All The Stars'

Maya Angelou

"Determine to live life with flair and laughter."

- Maya Angelou, poet and author

The Beatles

"There will be an answer, let it be."

- The Beatles, 'Let It Be'

Amy Lowell

"Art is the desire of a man to express himself, to record the reactions of his personality to the world he lives in."

- Amy Lowell, poet

Friedrich Nietzsche

“Love is a state in which a man sees things most decidedly as they are not.”

– Friedrich Nietzsche, scholar, philosopher and developmental critic

Vincent Van Gogh

"Be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high. Then life seems almost enchanted after all" 

– Vincent Van Gogh, artist

Agatha Christie

"I don't think necessity is the mother of invention - invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness. To save oneself trouble."

- Agatha Christie, author and playwright

Noah Porter

"Remember that what you believe will depend very much on what you are."

- Noah Porter, philosopher, educator, clergyman

John Lilly

"In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true or becomes true."

- John Lilly, physician, scientist, philosopher, writer

Henry Miller

"Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself."

- Henry Miller, author and painter

Elbert Hubbard

"To avoid criticism do nothing, say nothing, be nothing."

- Elbert Hubbard, author, artist, philosopher

Brandi Carlile

"Life is not a looking glass,
Don't get tangled in your past
Like I am learning not to."

- Brandi Carlile, 'Pride And Joy'

Bob Dylan

"He not busy being born is busy dying."

- Bob Dylan, singer

Ambrose Bierce

"Absurdity, n.: A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion."

- "The Devil's Dictionary" by Ambrose Bierce, journalist, author and satirist

Jane Austen

"We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be."

- 'Mansfield Park' by Jane Austen

Ayn Rand

"The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it."

- "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand

Albert Camus

"Do not wait for the last judgment. It takes place every day."

- Albert Camus, author, philosopher, journalist

Josh Billings

"Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute."

- Josh Billings, author