"The optimist lives on the peninsula of infinite possibilities; the pessimist is stranded on the island of perpetual indecision."
— William Arthur Ward
"Cultivate an optimistic mind, use your imagination, always consider alternatives, and dare to believe that you can make possible what others think is ..."
— Rodolfo Costa
"Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life."
— Mark Twain
"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope."
— Helen Keller
"Life must be understood backward. But it must be lived forward."
— Søren Kierkegaard
"May you live all the days of your life."
— Jonathan Swift
"Sometimes all you can do is laugh."
— M. Price
"In all beginnings dwells a magic force."
— Hermann Hesse
"To wish was to hope, and to hope was to expect."
— Jane Austen
"The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing."
— Voltaire (reflective theme)
"There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart."
"What we do now echoes in eternity."
— Marcus Aurelius (popular paraphrase of meditations)
"He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger."
— Confucius (English translations available)
"The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of."
— Blaise Pascal
"Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of them."
— Epictetus
"I say looking on the bright side of life never killed anybody."
— Jenny Han
"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."
"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses."
— Alphonse Karr
"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door."
— Milton Berle
"You are your best thing."
— Toni Morrison