"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."
Leah Hall
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If you’re anything like us, you’ve no doubt found yourself in this familiar scenario: Talking with friends or in a teaching moment with your kids, you pull out a famous quote like a boss and are immediately asked, “Wait, who said that?” And you draw a blank, because, for the life of you, you can't remember! You’ve heard and used it so often and yet, you don’t actually know who originally said it. Well, be in doubt no further, friends. We’ve compiled a list of the best quotes of all time from some of the best and the brightest folks from culture, politics, spirituality, and sports of the past and present. (You should also check out our list of Mr. Roger’s Quotes, because there are too many gems from our favorite neighbor to just single out just one for this list.) If you're thinking of something to write in a greeting card, impress your friends with a birthday quote, thankful quotes, or sympathy quote. Or just read the quotes and be inspired! Let folks like Oprah, Eleanor Roosevelt, Wayne Gretzky, and Walt Disney move you to deeper compassion, embolden you to share your creativity, and motivate you to impact the world for good.
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1
John Lennon
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"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."
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2
Nelson Mandela
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"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
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3
Eleanor Roosevelt
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"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
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4
Jesse Owens
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"The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself—the invisible battles inside all of us—that's where it's at."
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5
Benjamin Franklin
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"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."
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6
Abraham Lincoln
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"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."
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7
Oprah Winfrey
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“If you look at what you have in life, you'll always have more. If you look at what you don't have in life, you'll never have enough.”
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8
Babe Ruth
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"Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game."
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9
Helen Keller
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"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all."
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10
Booker T. Washington
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“Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him."
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11
Robert Frost
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“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”
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12
Wayne Gretzky
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“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
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13
Maya Angelou
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“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”
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14
Confucius
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“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
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15
Dalai Lama
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“Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.”
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16
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
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17
Gloria Steinem
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“Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.”
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18
Grandma Moses
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“Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be.”
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19
Steve Jobs
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“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”