When it becomes a bloody reality, we have to come together and look at what can be done to return to the order of peace, ... There is no alternative to it.
Shimon PeresRead
The most important thing in life is to dare. The most complicated thing in life is to be afraid. The smartest thing in the world is to try to be a moral person.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life requires courage to take risks, while fear complicates our decisions. Striving to be moral is a sign of intelligence.
In this quote, Shimon Peres emphasizes the dual nature of existence where taking risks and daring to venture beyond comfort zones is essential for a fulfilling life. He juxtaposes this with the notion that fear complicates our choices, suggesting that a life lived in fear limits our potential. Furthermore, he defines true intelligence as the pursuit of morality, indicating that a wise individual not only seeks success but strives to do so ethically and with integrity.
Themes
LifeDareFearMoralityIntelligence
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about pursuing dreams, I would reference this quote to highlight the importance of bravery.
More from Shimon Peres
All quotes →I didn't plan to be a politician. The founder of our country, David Ben-Gurion, called me from the kibbutz to serve in the underground. We were short of manpower, short of arms. I was 24 years old. I was supposed to serve my country for one or two years. I am 89 years old this year, and I keep going.
Shimon PeresRead
The United States is the only power in history that became great by giving and not by taking. I think the crisis was when the United States had more money than ideas. Money doesn't produce money. Ideas produce money.
Shimon PeresRead
The problem of the Middle East is poverty more than politics.
Shimon PeresRead
The Iranian regime suppresses its own people as well as others in the region. It prevents peace by sponsoring terror globally. With the ultimate weapon that it is deceptively developing, the regime aims to gain hegemony over the entire Middle East and hold the world's economy hostage.
Shimon PeresRead
Early in the morning, I fell in love with the girl that later on became my wife. At that time, we were so naive. I wanted to charm her, so I read her Capital by Marx. I thought somehow she would be convinced by the strength of his criticism about capital.
Shimon PeresRead
Similar quotes
Whenever you are angry or afraid, nervous or worried or resentful, repeat the mantram until the agitation subsides. The mantram works to steady the mind, and all these emotions are power running against you, which the mantram can harness and put to work for you.
Eknath EaswaranRead
A bend in the road is not the end of the road…Unless you fail to make the turn.
Helen KellerRead
Living consciously reflects the conviction that sight is preferable to blindness; that respecting the facts of reality is more satisfying than denying them; that evasion does not make the unreal real or the real unreal; that it is better to correct your mistakes that to pretend they do not exist; and that the more conscious you are of facts bearing on your life and goals, the more wisely and effectively you can act.
Nathaniel BrandenRead
No doubt another may also think for me; but it is not therefore desirable that he should do so to the exclusion of my thinking for myself.
Henry David ThoreauRead
In my mind, numbers and words are far more than squiggles of ink on a page. They have form, color, texture and so on. They come alive to me, which is why as a young child I thought of them as my 'friends.'
Daniel TammetRead
'Tis healthy to be sick sometimes.
Henry David ThoreauRead