Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice.
Woodrow WilsonRead
I am not sure that it is of the first importance that you should be happy. Many an unhappy man has been of deep service to himself and to the world.
Interpretation
Happiness is not the only measure of a person's value; even unhappy individuals can contribute significantly.
This quote suggests that the pursuit of happiness should not overshadow the importance of one's contributions to oneself and society. It emphasizes that even those who may struggle with personal happiness can have a profound impact and serve meaningful roles, highlighting the complexity of human experience and value beyond superficial joy.
In practice
A keynote speaker could use this quote to inspire an audience at a personal development seminar.
Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice.
Since trade ignores national boundaries and the manufacturer insists on having the world as a market, the flag of his nation must follow him, and the doors of the nations which are closed against him must be battered down. Concessions obtained by financiers must be safeguarded by ministers of state, even if the sovereignty of unwilling nations be outraged in the process. Colonies must be obtained or planted, in order that no useful corner of the world may be overlooked or left unused.
The history of liberty is the history of limitations on the power of government, not the increase of it. When we resist, therefore, the concentration of power, we are resisting the processes of death, because concentration of power is what always precedes the destruction of human liberties.
We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers.
The way to stop financial joyriding is to arrest the chauffeur, not the automobile.
Once lead this people into war, and they'll forget there ever was such a thing as tolerance. To fight, you must be brutal and ruthless, and the spirit of ruthless brutality will enter into the very fiber of our national life, infecting Congress, the courts, the policeman on the beat, the man in the street.
beware the average man the average woman beware their love, their love is average seeks average but there is genius in their hatred there is enough genius in their hatred to kill you to kill anybody not wanting solitude not understanding solitude they will attempt to destroy anything that differs from their own not being able to create art they will not understand art they will consider their failure as creators only as a failure of the world
The mind that is wise mourns less for what age takes away; than what it leaves behind.
Diligence is a very great help even to a mediocre intelligence. -Diligentia maximum etiam mediocris ingeni subsidium
If I had read as much as other men I would have known no more than they.
Pride deafens us to the advice or warnings of those around us.
Temptations, of course, cannot be avoided, but because we cannot prevent the birds from flying over our heads, there is no need that we should let them nest in our hair.
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