“Move towards the next thing, not away from the last thing. Same direction. Completely different energy.” – James Clear

“Those who lack the courage will always find a philosophy to justify it.” – Albert Camus

“Fight for the things that you care about. But do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” – Calvin Coolidge

If You Have So Many Disagreeable Ideas, Why Write About Them? 

In response to either a personal email or something I wrote in this blog (as you know, I have no memory these days), AS sent me the following four quotes about writers and writing, saying “The one by Kingsley Amis was my favorite. And it made me think of you.”

I took that as a compliment. Here they are:

* “One reason the human race has such a low opinion of itself is that it gets so much of its wisdom from writers.” – Wilfrid Sheed

* “There are no dull subjects. There are only dull writers.” – H.L. Mencken

* “If you can’t annoy somebody, there’s little point in writing.” – Kingsley Amis

* “If I didn’t have writing, I’d be running down the street hurling grenades in people’s faces.” – Paul Fussell

AS’s list reminded me of another quote by Mencken that I like and wholeheartedly subscribe to:

* “The two main ideas that run through all of my writing, whether it be literary criticism or political polemic are these: I am strong in favor of liberty and I hate fraud.”

From AS: “Some fodder for your war on liberals”

AS is an old friend, independent thinker, and liberal-to-moderate on most issues, which makes these quips doubly appreciated. I thought it was particularly interesting that the great comedic philosophers Lenny Bruce and Dick Gregory are included.

“A liberal is a man who leaves a room when a fight begins.” – Heywood Broun

“The liberals can understand everything but people who don’t understand them.” – Lenny Bruce

“Liberal: a power worshiper without power.” – George Orwell

“A liberal is a person whose interests aren’t at stake at the moment.” – Willis Player

“A liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel.” – Robert Frost

“Hell hath no fury like a liberal scorned.” – Dick Gregory

“Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.” – Peter Ustinov

James Clear on Finding Happiness 

“You will never find one answer to what makes you happy. There are many answers, and they change based on your current state. People need to relax, but if all you do is sit on the beach, it gets old. People find meaning in work, but if all you do is work, it gets exhausting. People benefit from exercise, but if all you do is exercise, it gets unhealthy. Happiness will always be fleeting because your needs change over time. The question is: What do you need right now?”

“Wrong decisions are part of life. Being able to make them work anyway is one of the abilities of those who are successful.” – Warren Buffett

“I would rather…” 

The April 26 issue of Letters of Note presented a list of memorable quotations that began with, “I would rather…”

These are my favorites:

“I would rather fight a guy who had a knife and no talent with same than a guy with a good left hook.” (Ernest Hemingway, letter to Waldo Peirce, Oct. 1, 1928)

“I would rather tickle the cock of the English public than lick its arse, which is what even this small and comparatively unimportant piece of unjust censorship would have me do.” (Dylan Thomas, letter to John Davenport, Aug. 31, 1938, re a list of “objectionable” words that he was told had to be removed from the English edition of his short stories)

“I would rather be your captive than another woman’s king.” (Paul Laurence Dunbar, letter to Alice Ruth Moore, March 7, 1897)

“I would rather be a playwright than anything, mainly because playwrights are allowed to smoke backstage.” (Kurt Vonnegut, letter to José and Maria Pilar Donoso, Aug. 5, 1985)

“I would rather fail than sit idle.” (Vincent van Gogh, letter to his brother Theo, July 14, 1885)