Confucius on success

He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.

I do not want a friend who smiles when I smile, who weeps when I weep, for my shadow in the pool can do better than that.

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.

I came, I saw, I conquered.

Julius Caesar100–44 BCInscription on the triumphal wagon reported in The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, as translated by Robert Graves (1957).

For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost; for the want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for the want of a horse the rider was lost, being overtaken and slain by the enemy, all for the want of care about a horseshoe nail.

Benjamin Franklin1706–1790Poor Richard’s Almanack

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.