Top 96 Wise Quotes

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There have been many smart and wise people who have come before us. Check out the top 96 wise quotes to help give you insight in how you can improve your life.

#96 – 90. Wise Quotes

96. “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” ― Aristotle, Metaphysics

95. “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

94. “The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That’s the day we truly grow up.” John C. Maxwell

93. “The best index to a person’s character is how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and how he treats people who can’t fight back.” ― Abigail Van Buren

92. “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” ― Socrates

91. “Think before you speak. Read before you think.” ― Fran Lebowitz, The Fran Lebowitz Reader

90. “Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all.” Helen Keller

#89 – 80. Wise Quotes

89. “Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.” —Dalai Lama

88. “Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.” Brian Tracy

87. “In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.” ― Mark Twain

86. “The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” Vince Lombardi

85. “There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.” ― Patrick Rothfuss, The Wise Man’s Fear

84. “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” —Aristotle

83. “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” ― Aristotle

82. “Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

81. “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” ― William Shakespeare, As You Like It

80. “Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.” Dalai Lama

#79 – 70. Wise Quotes

79. “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” John F. Kennedy

78. “Life is not about how fast you run or how high you climb, but how well you bounce.” Vivian Komori

77. “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” Albert Einstein

76. “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” Jim Rohn

75. “The unexamined life is not worth living.” ― Socrates

74. “Lost time is never found again.” —Benjamin Franklin

73. “There is more to life than increasing its speed.” Mahatma Gandhi

72. “You can never plan the future by the past.” —Edmund Burke

71. “Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.” ― Isaac Asimov, Foundation

70. “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” —Robert Frost

#69 – 60. Wise Quotes

69. “Don’t take life too seriously. You’ll never get out of it alive.” Elbert Hubbard

68. “When someone loves you, the way they talk about you is different. You feel safe and comfortable.” ― Jess C. Scott, The Intern

67. “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect).” ― Mark Twain

66. “When life is too easy for us, we must beware or we may not be ready to meet the blows which sooner or later come to everyone, rich or poor.” Eleanor Roosevelt

65. “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, You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.” Amelia Earhart

64. “My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose–somehow we win out.” Ronald Reagan

63. “The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” Scott Hamilton

62. “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

61. “What we think determines what happens to us, so if we want to change our lives, we need to stretch our minds.” Wayne Dyer

60. “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?” Martin Luther King, Jr.

#59 – 50. Wise Quotes

59. “Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” ― Albert Einstein

58. “Singleness of purpose is one of the chief essentials for success in life, no matter what may be one’s aim.” —John D. Rockefeller

57. “The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.” Aristotle

56. “There is no passion to be found playing small–in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” Nelson Mandela

55. “People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.” Eleanor Roosevelt

54. “Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” —Henry Van Dyke

53. “Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.” William James

52. “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them–that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” Lao Tzu

51. “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” —Abraham Lincoln

50. “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” Robert Frost

#49 – 40. Wise Quotes

49. “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” Confucius

48. “You do not write your life with words…You write it with actions. What you think is not important. It is only important what you do.” ― Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls

47. “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” Maya Angelou

46. “Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits.” Thomas Jefferson

45. “Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission.” —Eleanor Roosevelt

44. “He that respects himself is safe from others.” —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

43. “Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget, that until the day God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these two words, ‘Wait and Hope.” ― Alexandre Dumas

42. “There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.” —Franklin D. Roosevelt

41. “We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

40. “May you live every day of your life.” ― Jonathan Swift

#39 – 30. Wise Quotes

39. “When a thing is done, it’s done. Don’t look back. Look forward to your next objective.” —George C. Marshall

38. “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” —Mark Twain

37. “There are three constants in life…change, choice and principles.” Stephen Covey

36. “God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.” Voltaire

35. “Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.” Soren Kierkegaard

34. “Transformation is a process, and as life happens there are tons of ups and downs. It’s a journey of discovery–there are moments on mountaintops and moments in deep valleys of despair.” Rick Warren

33. “Each life is made up of mistakes and learning, waiting and growing, practicing patience and being persistent.” Billy Graham

32. “Turn your wounds into wisdom.” ― Oprah Winfrey

31. “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt, This is My Story

30. “The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” ― Isaac Asimov

#29 – 20. Wise Quotes

29. “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” Winston Churchill

28. “By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” ― Confucious

27. “Live life to the fullest, and focus on the positive.” Matt Cameron

26. “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” Oprah Winfrey

25. “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” —Nelson Mandela

24. “The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you’re in control of your life. If you don’t, life controls you.” Tony Robbins

23. “It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.” —Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

22. “Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.” Lou Holtz

21. “The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.” ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

20. “The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.” ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

#19 – 10. Wise Quotes

19. “Life takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an unstoppable manner.” Les Brown

18. “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” —Friedrich Nietzsche

17. “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” Henry Ford

16. “Each person must live their life as a model for others.” Rosa Parks

15. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” George Bernard Shaw

14. “Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours.” —C. S. Lewis

13. “Don’t take life too seriously. You’ll never get out of it alive.” —Elbert Hubbard

12. “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” Michael Jordan

11. “Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” ― John Lennon

10. “Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure.” Paulo Coelho

#9 – 1. Wise Quotes

9. “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” Abraham Lincoln

8. “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Thomas A. Edison

7. “Today is life–the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto.” Dale Carnegie

6. “Angry people are not always wise.” ― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

5. “Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.” C. S. Lewis

4. “Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life.” John F. Kennedy

3. “It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it.” ― Maurice Switzer

2. “Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.” ― Martin Luther King Jr., A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

1.”Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” Leo Buscaglia

Ideas for the top 96 wise quotes were taken from the following sources.^[1]Success – 19 Wise Quote for a Better Life^[2]Inc. – 50 Wise Quote That Will Inspire You to Success in Life^[3]goodreads – Wisdom Quotes