Words of Wisdom

Do you ever wonder where those words of wisdom come from that you hear people saying? There is an endless supply of quotes and advice that will help you be wise and happy. Let’s look at some of them and some of their sources.

How to Acquire Wisdom

Many philosophers and wise people throughout the years have explained how to gain wisdom. You can find words of wisdom in books, plays, speeches, and sermons. If you want to know how to acquire wisdom, here is a sampling of advice:

• The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind. - Kahlil Gibran 
• I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday. - Abraham Lincoln
• Good people are good because they've come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know. - William Saroyan
• It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err. - Mohandas K. Gandhi
• It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. - Albert Einstein
• I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing. - Socrates

How to Be Happy

Do you want to know the key to being happy? There are a lot of people who can tell you. There are no real “secrets” to happiness; you have to figure out what makes you happy. Maybe you want to find your soul mate or just want to know how to get the most out of life. Following are some words of wisdom from famous people, and some not so famous.   

• Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it. - Groucho Marx 
• If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes. - Andrew Carnegie
• Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude. - Denis Waitley
• Happiness comes when your work and words are of benefit to yourself and others. - Buddha
• Happiness cannot come from without. It must come from within. It is not what we see and touch or that which others do for us which makes us happy; it is that which we think and feel and do, first for the other fellow and then for ourselves. - Helen Keller 

Words of Wisdom for Business

Zig Ziglar is a well-known motivational speaker who wrote See You at the Top. He mixes religion with self-help ideas to create wisdom for everybody. His message can help you in all areas; from help with your business goals to managing your personal life. Here are some of his more useful quotes related to business:

• Money isn't the most important thing in life, but it's reasonably close to oxygen on the "gotta have it" scale.
• I don't care how much power, brilliance or energy you have, if you don't harness it and focus it on a specific target, and hold it there you're never going to accomplish as much as your ability warrants.
• Unless you have a definite, precise, clearly set goals, you are not going to realize the maximum potential that lies within you.
• It is your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude.
• Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business.
• People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing... that's why we recommend it daily.