I guess that’s just the life of an inventor: what people do with your ideas takes you totally by surprise.
Stephanie Kwolek,
inventor of industrial fibers used in Kevlar
I went to all the big names that you could think of and they said, ‘We don’t need it — no woman has asked us for that.’ So I went into manufacturing myself.
Marion Donovan,
inventor of Pampers diapers
I wish to avail myself of all that is already known and then if possible add my mite to help on the future worker who will attain final success.
Wilbur Wright,
co-inventor of the first successful airplane
My idea of an agreeable person is a person who agrees with me.
Benjamin Disraeli,
former British prime minister
I’ve never really taken anything very seriously. I enjoy life because I enjoy making other people enjoy it.
Tim Conway,
comedian, actor, writer and director
One of the things that attracted me to economics was its importance in improving people’s lives.
Alice Rivlin,
economist
If you’re aware and you’re high-energy, the ball will eventually bounce your way and you’ll be able to make plays.
Jeremy Lin,
professional basketball player
All creative people want to do the unexpected.
Hedy Lamarr,
actress and inventor of spread spectrum communication technology
It’s so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don’t say it.
Sam Levenson,
humorist
The present enables us to understand the past, not the other way round.
A.J.P. Taylor,
historian
When you’re working with your friends, it doesn’t feel like it’s work.
Ken Jeong,
actor, comedian and physician
It can be very expensive to try to convince the markets you are right.
Ed Seykota,
system trading pioneer
The universe is keeping us on our toes.
Patrick Brady,
physicist, after the collision of two neutron stars and potential merger of three black holes
Confidence and doubt are at two ends of the scale, and you need both. They balance each other out.
Barbra Streisand,
singer
[We] thought that once we’d climbed the mountain, it was unlikely anyone would ever make another attempt.
Sir Edmund Hillary,
mountaineer who, with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, was the first climber to reach Mount Everest’s summit
Feed the soul, starve the ego.
Adam Goldstein,
DJ known as DJ AM
I always say you should be very careful with the voices you listen to. And my closest voices have always told me, “You can.”
Becky Hammon,
assistant NBA coach
Once you’ve weighed the possibilities, you have to take that final leap of faith.
Ted Turner,
media magnate and philanthropist
Men and women are like right and left hands; it doesn’t make sense not to use both.
Jeannette Rankin,
politician and first woman to hold federal office in the US
Every small cyclone or tsunami teaches you how to deal with the bigger ones. If you don’t learn from the past experiences, you will drown.
Krishan Kumar,
municipal sustainability director in India
There’s no other country in the world that has a system where someone [who’s been fired and is broke] could turn a simple idea and hard work into a company that employs more than 400,000 people and has created thousands of successful millionaires.
Bernard Marcus,
businessman
What would life be like if we only did what is necessary?
Andreas Nikolaus “Niki” Lauda,
three-time Formula 1 racing champion
I like the idea of showing that you can go through a lot and still be on your feet, still be working, and still be positive about life. And that you can still think that the best thing is around the corner.
Gloria Vanderbilt,
fashion designer and artist
To take myself too seriously is the gentle kiss of death.
Leon Redbone,
jazz and blues singer-songwriter and guitar player
