Echoes

Now the time is most precious. Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.

There is a limit to the time assigned you, and if you don't use it to free yourself it will be gone and never return.

Even as we speak, envious time is running away from us. Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in tomorrow.

To-morrow's action! Can that hoary wisdom, Borne down with years, still doat upon tomorrow! That fatal mistress of the young, the lazy, The coward, and the fool, condemn'd to lose A useless life in waiting for to-morrow, To gaze with longing eyes upon to-morrow, Till interposing death destroys the prospect Strange! that this general fraud from day to day Should fill the world with wretches undetected. The soldier, labouring through a winter's march, Still sees to-morrow drest in robes of triumph; Still to the lover's long-expecting arms To-morrow brings the visionary bride. But thou, too old to hear another cheat, Learn, that the present hour alone is man's.

Thou oughtest in every deed and thought so to order thyself, as if thou wert to die this day.

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

In the words of the ancients, one should make his decisions within the space of seven breaths. It is a matter of being determined and having the spirit to break right through to the other side.

What dost thou fear? Strike, man, strike!

The present moment contains past and future. The secret of transformation, is in the way we handle this very moment.

It is better by noble boldness to run the risk of being subject to half of the evils we anticipate than to remain in cowardly listlessness for fear of what might happen.

We have a given problem to solve. If we undertake the solution, there is, of course, always danger that we may not solve it aright; but to refuse to undertake the solution simply renders it certain that we cannot possibly solve it aright.

It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them.

I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply.

...why did we wait for any thing? — why not seize the pleasure at once? — How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!

You may never know what results come of your actions. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.

Do the thing, and you shall have the power; but they who do not do the thing have not the power.

Not to live as if you had endless years ahead of you. Death overshadows you. While you're alive and able—be good.

Assert your right to your own time, and gather together and save the time which up till lately has been either taken from you or filched away or has simply passed by unused.

Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.

Do not act as if thou wert going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over thee. While thou livest, while it is in thy power, be good.

Life is too short to waste The critic bite or cynic bark, Quarrel, or reprimand; ’Twill soon be dark; Up! mind thine own aim, and God speed the mark!

The best way to predict the future is to invent it.

There is surely nothing other than the single purpose of the present moment. A man's whole life is a succession of moment after moment. If one fully understands the present moment, there will be nothing else to do, and nothing else to pursue. Live being true to the single purpose of the moment. Everyone lets the present moment slip by, then looks for it as though he thought it were somewhere else.

We cannot avoid meeting great issues. All that we can determine for ourselves is whether we shall meet them well or ill.

Do the duty which lies nearest thee, which thou knowest to be a duty! Thy second duty will already have become clearer.