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Archive for the ‘Inspirational quotes’ Category

“The Tragedy of Hamlet” is one of those plays that hovers around a thousand on the quotability meter. “To be, or not to be” and the ensuing inner debate on suicide is one of the earliest and most important moments of existentialism in Western literature. Hamlet’s soliloquy is so good, in fact, that sometimes one forgets how brilliant the rest of the play is.

In fact, Prince Hamlet is arguably at his best when he’s in the room with other people. Never has the description “crazy smart” been more applicable; pretending to have lost his mind, Hamlet manages to squeeze in serious accusations and veiled threats amidst his ramblings, which the court stupidly assumes are meaningless. Take, for example, the scene where he reminds Claudius that worms democratically eat beggars and kings alike:

Hamlet: “A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm.”

King Claudius: “What dost thou mean by this?”

Hamlet: “Nothing but to show you how a king may go a progress through the guts of a beggar.”

There’s crazy, and then there’s threatening-the-leader-of-your-country-with-indirect-cannibalism crazy.

Another highlight is when Hamlet infamously barks at his poor ex-girlfriend, “Get thee to a nunnery.” What really irks people on either side of the Did They / Didn’t They debate is that since nunnery was slang for brothel when Shakespeare wrote “Hamlet,” the young prince is either calling Ophelia an ice queen or a whore. So much for putting that one to bed. Er, rest.

And then there’s “to thine own self be true,” of course, which is probably the most feel-good of the Hamlet quotes. What we forget, however, is that this line is not only spoken by Polonius, the play’s least intelligent character, but also followed by the lines, “And it must follow, as the night the day, / Thou canst not then be false to any man” – which is laughable, considering that Polonius is also one of the play’s most deceptive characters. There goes that affirmation.

If you’re looking for quotes a little more on the uplifting side, look no farther than Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, whose courtroom speech alone has a reputation for inspiring young idealists to study law. Atticus famously declares, “I’m no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system—that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality.” Right before getting his ass handed to him, of course, but you get the idea.

Actually, the fact that Atticus never stood a chance is precisely what makes him so awesome; according to his philosophy, courage is “when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” No wonder Scout thinks her dad is “the bravest man who ever lived.”

Scout is another great source of To Kill a Mockingbird quotes. Her level-headedness allows her to spout off some true gems of 8-year old wisdom, like this criticism of school: “I could not help receiving the impression that I was being cheated out of something. Out of what I knew not, yet I did not believe that twelve years of unrelieved boredom was exactly what the state had in mind for me.” Good on ya’, Harper Lee, for making those years just a little bit brighter.

Shmoop is an online study guide for English Literature like Hamlet and character summaries like To Kill a Mockingbird quotes. Its content is written by Ph.D. and Masters students from top universities, like Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, and Yale who have also taught at the high school and college levels. Teachers and students should feel confident to cite Shmoop.

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When times get tough and you think your dreams of success are far away, you need some special tools to keep you motivated. I find that posting inspirational quotations on the refrigerator and computer monitor reminds me that no matter what happens, I can keep working toward my dreams. My favorite one is this:

*Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it; Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. (Goethe)

This quote has been with me all my life. It has often kept me going when my dreams and goals seemed too hard to get to or too remote in time. But once started toward those dreams, stepping out boldly to achieve the next level, I have found time and again that the power you need is right there in that process of doing the things you need to do to get the job done. This is true not only for the things you know you are able to do right now, but also for the dreams you have that will stretch your mind and your heart ever upward.Success is never as elusive as we fear. Take that bold first step—–even one small step can move you forward into a new life. There! You have begun it!

In high school, I wanted more than anything to become a teacher. I did everything I could to learn about teaching and volunteered to tutor disadvantaged children in reading on Saturday mornings. I was dedicated. But I was also one of seven children, and while we never lacked for any necessities and my parents did their very best to give us as many advantages as they could, there was not a lot of money available for college educations. When my older brother got into Princeton (as was my mother’s dream), all monetary efforts went there. My older sister lived on campus at Kutztown. I knew early on as number three that if I was going to get to college and live my dream, I would have to do it, for the most part, by myself.

I worked hard in school and received some small scholarships and grants. I worked in the delicatessen of a local A&P food store, clerked at a department store, and worked odd jobs and babysat to put together as much money as I could. I still had to get loans. I commuted. My father gave me his old “puddle jumper” so I could shuttle myself back and forth to work, college, and home. My junior year, my parents lent me the $250.00 I needed to live on campus for one semester, saving me over an hour driving to add some study time to my day. I owed them a great debt of gratitude for teaching me independence, hard work, sacrifice, and dedication. I would never have appreciated my education as much if it had been handed to me.

And I did it. I had a delay of three years between my junior and senior years, but that is a story for another day. After we married and had our first child, my husband (who was in ROTC at Rutgers) and I were sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. We were far from home, and I still remember how my fingers froze as I hung my husband’s uniforms and the baby’s diapers out to dry in the bitterly cold wind that swept through the plains in winter. We counted out pennies to buy milk for the baby at the end of the month. But we believed in what we were doing and where we were headed. We were blessed. He survived Vietnam as a helicopter pilot, receiving medals for his heroic service. I got my teaching certificate that same year, living at home in New Jersey where I had started out. When we left the military, I taught while my husband went to law school. Later I started law school the same year we added two children to our family. Later still, we had to deal with the aftermath of a serious auto accident, a story for another day. Challenge upon challenge presented itself to us, yet we believed we could do it all.

Time and again I have felt the message that I was not done yet. Those of you who have known adversity as we have–lean times, injury, lost jobs, the nearly unbearable loss of our second child, suicides in the family, all of the painful things life can send, take hope from this. When you have dreams, you are empowered to take bold action to do the things you feel called to do. Your spirit rises up when you need it the most. You will know the deep joy and satisfaction in what you can accomplish. There is the magic of it: whatever life hands you, you can get through to reach success. Inspiration is all around you during hard times. Your mind will be uplifted and your action inspired. Begin it. And keep going no matter what. Your dreams will become your reality.

Celia Ann Rooney is a writer, teacher, and attorney in Philadelphia. She has published many articles in legal publications over the years. She is the author of a series of eBooks which examine the science and art of success in the success stories of real people and articles on the subjects of achieving business success and self-improvement. She is co-founder and CFO of A New Success, LLC, http://www.anewsuccess.com.
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Here are 20 famous quotes on friendship inspiration. Some of these quotes are by famous personalities and philosophers and some from the Holy Bible.

• “A friend loves at all times.”

— The Bible: Proverbs 17, 17.

• One who looks for a friend without faults will have none.

— Hasidic Saying

• What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.

— Aristotle

• Remember, the greatest gift is not found in a store nor under a tree, but

in the hearts of true friends.

— Cindy Lew

• We got friends to make up for our relatives

— Anonymous

• A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.

— Walter Winchell

• The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.

— Abraham Lincoln

• Friends are needed both for joy and for sorrow.

— Samuel Paterson

• Who finds a faithful friend, finds a treasure.

— Jewish Saying

• “A faithful friend is the medicine of life.”

— Apocrypha

• “The best mirror is an old friend.”

–George Herbert

• “A companion loves some agreeable qualities which a man may possess, but a

friend loves the man himself.”

— James Boswell (1763)

• “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor.

For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe unto him

that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.”

— The Bible: Ecclesiastes 4:9-10.

• “The rain may be falling hard outside,

But your smile makes it all alright.

I’m so glad that you’re my friend.

I know our friendship will never end.”

— Robert Alan

• A friend hears the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory

fails.

— Anonymous

• “The only way to have a friend is to be one.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

• A friend is one who knows us, but loves us anyway.

— Fr. Jerome Cummings

• Friendship is the golden thread that ties the heart of all the world.

— John Evelyn

• “Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow-ripening

fruit.”

— Aristotle (4th century B.C.)

• “Friendship is a strong and habitual inclination in two persons to promote

the good and happiness of one another.”

— Eustace Budgell (1711)

Jennifer is a reputed search marketing professional and specializes in organic as well as paid search marketing campaigns. She has worked as an online marketing consultant for 123Greetings.com . She is passionate about reading, driving, golf and blogging. She currently owns blogs on Friendship Greeting Cards and Friendship Forever Greetings
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