Happy the man who early learns the wide chasm that lies between his wishes and his powers.
People are lucky and unlucky . . . according to the ratio between what they get and what they have been led to expect.
Good is not good, where better is expected.
To expect life to be tailored to our specifications is to invite frustration.
The quality of our expectations determines the quality of our actions.
He that will have a perfect brother must resign himself to remaining brotherless.
Have a high standard for yourself and a medium one for everyone else.
Hope for a miracle. But don’t depend on one.
If you want a place in the sun, you’ve got to put up with a few blisters.
Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.
When nobody around you seems to measure up, it’s time to check your yardstick.
Life guarantees a chance—not a fair shake.
The whole point of getting things done is knowing what to leave undone.
The more we have, the more we want. And for this reason, we never have it all.
The man with insight enough to admit his limitations comes nearest to perfection.
To dream of the person you would like to be is to waste the person you are.
Learn to . . . be what you are, and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not.
It is only fools who keep straining at high C all their lives.
Happy the man who early learns the wide chasm that lies between his wishes and his powers.
Better is the enemy of the good.
To expect life to be tailored to our specifications is to invite frustration.
The greatest and most important problems in life are all in a certain sense insoluble. They can never be solved, but only outgrown.
Don’t spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.
Wisdom never kicks at the iron walls it can’t bring down.
Prospect is often better than possession.
Too many people miss the silver lining because they’re expecting gold.
My expectations-which I extended whenever I came close to accomplishing my goals-made it impossible ever to feel satisfied with my success.
I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do.
Truly nothing is to be expected but the unexpected.