Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you ready or not, to put this plan into action.
– Napolean Hill

The most difficult thing is the decision to act; the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do.”
– Amelia Earhart

An undefined problem has an infinite number of solutions.
–Robert A. Humphrey

To try and fail is at least to learn. To fail to try is to suffer the loss of what might have been.
– Benjamin Franklin

Success comes to the man who grits his teeth, squares his jaw and says, “There is a way for me and, by jingo, I’ll find it.”
– Clifford Sloan

Every artist was first an amateur.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.
– George Patton

Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open.
– Alexander Graham Bell

It isn’t where you came from; it’s where you’re going that counts.
– Ella Fitzgerald

Small differences in your performance can lead to large differences in your results.
– Brian Tracy

I was taught that the way of progress is neither swift nor easy.
– Marie Curie

Silence is one of the great arts of conversation, as allowed by Cicero himself, who says, ‘there is not only an art, but an eloquence in it.’ A well bred woman may easily and effectually promote the most useful and elegant conversation without speaking a word. The modes of speech are scarcely more variable than the modes of silence.
– Tom Blair

I love acting. It is so much more real than life.
– Oscar Wilde

One of the many lessons that one learns in prison is, that things are what they are and will be what they will be.
– Oscar Wilde

If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
– John Kenneth Galbraith

A marriage is always made up of two people who are prepared to swear that only the other one snores.
– Terry Pratchett

Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to reform.
– Mark Twain

Truth is more of a stranger than fiction.
– Mark Twain

After two years in Washington, I often long for the realism and sincerity of Hollywood.
– Fred Thompson

You cannot make a man by standing a sheep on its hind legs. But by standing a flock of sheep in that position you can make a crowd of men.
– Max Beerbohm

People seem to enjoy things more when they know a lot of other people have been left out of the pleasure.
– Russell Baker

Real generosity towards the future lies in giving all to the present.
– Albert Camus

The world has achieved brilliance without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants.
– Edward Roscoe Murrow

Compassion is not weakness, and concern for the unfortunate is not socialism.”
– Hubert Horathio Humphrey

When things go wrong they like to blame the President, and that’s one of the things that Presidents are paid for.”
– John F. Kennedy

Humor is just another defense against the universe.
– Mel Brooks

If at first you don’t succeed, find out if the loser gets anything.
– Bill Lyon

I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
– Bill Cosby

History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives.
– Abba Eban

The best car safety device is a rear-view mirror with a cop in it.
– Dudley Moore

“People will not bear it when advice is violently given, even if it is well founded. Hearts are flowers; they remain open to the softly falling dew, but shut up in the violent downpour of rain.”
– John Paul Richter

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heav’n of hell and a hell of a heav’n.”
– John Milton, poet

“It’s the little things that make the big things possible. Only close attention to the fine details of any operation makes the operation first class.”
– J. Willard Marriot

“Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible.”
– Mary Bethune, educator

“The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability.”
– Henry Ford, carmaker

“It is not enough to fight. It is the spirit that we bring to the fight that decides the issue. It is morale that wins the victory.”
– George Marshall, general

“The most important thing about goals is… having one.”
– Geoffry F. Abert

“Without ambition, one starts nothing. Without work, one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson, Poet

“The majority of men meet with failure because (they don’t create) new plans to take the place of those that fail.”
– Napoleon Hill, motivational expert

“The barrier (to) success is not something which exists in the real world; it is composed purely and simply of doubts about ability.”
– Franklin Roosevelt, 32nd U.S. President

“As long as you’re going to be thinking anyway, think big.”
– Donald Trump, Real Estate Magnate

“When you find yourself stressed, ask yourself one question: Will this matter five years from now? If yes, then do something about the situation. If no, then let it go.”
– Catherine Pulsifer, writer

“Once men are caught up in an event, they cease to be afraid. Only the unknown frightens men.”
– Antoine de Saint-Exupery, aviator

“The measure of a man is the way he bears up under misfortune.”
– Plutarch, historian

“Courage is like a muscle. We strengthen it with use.”
– Ruth Gordon, actress

“To be conscious that you are ignorant of the facts is a great step to knowledge.”
– Benjamin Disraeli, British prime minister

“Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.”
– Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, CEO

“When a man dies, if he can pass enthusiasm along to his children, he has left them an estate of incalculable value.”
– Thomas Edison, inventor

“It’s the little things that make the big things possible. Only close attention to the fine details of any operation makes the operation first class.”
– J. Willard Marriot

“If you don’t like the situation you’re in, you don’t have to settle for it. ”
– Macy Gray, Singer

“The ability to summon positive emotions during periods of intense stress lies at the heart of effective leadership.”
– Jim Loehr, psychologist

“Being miserable is a habit. Being happy is a habit. The choice is yours.”
– Tom Hopkins, sales trainer

The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.”
– Theodore Roosevelt, 26th U.S. president

“All glory comes from daring to begin.”
– Alexander Graham Bell, Inventor

“Believe you will be successful and you will.”
– Dale Carnegie, motivational speaker

“Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.”
– Malcolm Forbes, Publisher

“I’ve felt that dissatisfaction is the basis of progress. When we become satisfied in business, we become obsolete.”
– J. Willard Marriott Sr., hotel executive

“Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.”
– Erica Jong, Author

“The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson, Poet

“Seek to do good and you will find that happiness will run after you.”
– James Freeman Clarke

“Long-range goals keep you from being frustrated by short-term failures.”
– J.C. Penney, Retailer

“Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul.”
– Douglas MacArthur, General

“The making of friends who are real friends is the best token we have of a man’s success in life.”
– Edward Hale, theologian

“In playing ball, and in life, a person occasionally gets the opportunity to do something great. When that time comes, only two things matter: being prepared to seize the moment and having the courage to take your best swing.”
– Hank Aaron, Baseball Player

“I have always been driven to buck the system, to innovate, to take things beyond where they’ve been.”
– Sam Walton, Wal-Mart founder

“The majority of men meet with failure because (they don’t create) new plans to take the place of those that fail.”
– Napoleon Hill, motivational expert

“Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.”
– William Faulkner, Author

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Related Content

• Index to Great Quotes
• Trivia Index

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If you could invent something that has not been developed yet, what would you invent?

(Share your answers in the comments below.)

By: Brian Tracy

Creativity is your key to the future. All progress comes about as the result of finding better, faster, cheaper, easier or different ways to do things and this requires the continual honing of your creative thinking skills.

Your Key Job At Work
One of the key functions of the executive is problem solving, which takes up as much as 50 percent of executive time. It can be said with some confidence that your ability to deal with problems creatively and effectively is the key determinant of your success as a manager. It would be hard to imagine an effective executive who could not solve problems and make decisions with a high level of competence.

Step On Your Own Acceleration
I’ve studied and lectured on creative thinking for years and I’ve come to the conclusion that there is virtually no problem you cannot solve, no goal you cannot achieve, no obstacle you cannot overcome if you know how to apply the creative powers of your mind, like a laser beam, to cut through every difficulty in your life and your work.

Earn More, Faster
The benefits of functioning with more creativity can be enormous. Each of us wants to earn more money, be promoted faster, and enjoy greater status, prestige and recognition. In most cases however, we can only earn more by producing more or of better quality or cheaper or faster – and this requires doing things differently, using creativity.

Step On Your Own Acceleration
The good news is that creativity is a skill and a talent that can be learned and developed through practice. With this skill, you can dramatically accelerate your personal and professional growth. By sharpening your thinking skills and exercising your natural creative powers, you can multiply the value of your efforts and rapidly increase the quantity and quality of your rewards.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to be more creative.

First, see yourself as a professional problem-solver and look upon every difficulty or challenge as an opportunity to develop your creative powers.

Second, look for problems you can solve and obstacles you can overcome. The more you seek for answers and ideas, the smarter and more creative you become.