Words Worth Pondering ...  "Be aware of wonder. Live a balanced life — learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some." – Robert Fulghum About Robert Fulghum American author Robert Fulghum is best known for his book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, which dominated the New York Times best-seller list for nearly two years. He was born in 1937 in Texas. In his youth he worked at odd jobs, including ditchdigger, ranch hand, and singing cowboy. After a short career at IBM, he became a Unitarian minister. He has written seven best-selling books of essays. His anecdotes of everyday life encapsulate his down-home philosophy. He lives in Seattle and Crete.

~ Words Worth Archives ~ "Choices are the hinges of destiny." – Pythagoras About Pythagoras:  Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras, called the Father of Numbers, is best known for developing the Pythagorean Theorem. He was born on the Greek island of Samos in 582 BC and moved to Italy, where he founded a religious school preaching vegetarianism and reincarnation. He believed that everything could be explained by mathematics and measured in rhythmic cycles. He wrote nothing down; some theories ascribed to Pythagoras may have been discovered by his followers. He died around 500 BC.      "I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it." – Pablo Picasso About Pablo Picasso: Pablo Picasso, the Spanish painter at the forefront of Cubism, is perhaps best known for his painting Guernica, which depicts the hopelessness and violence of war. The masterpiece hung in the Museum of Modern Art in New York until democracy was restored in Spain; the painting was then sent home, where it hangs now at Reina Sofí a, Spain's national museum of modern art. Born in Spain in 1881, Picasso spent his adult life in France. Although he's known for his abstract paintings, his realistic work, particularly his Blue Period, was equally accomplished. He loved to be surrounded by friends and had multiple love affairs. He died in 1973. "If no one ever took risks, Michelangelo would have painted on the Sistine floor." – Neil Simon About Neil Simon Neil Simon, the Tony award–winning American playwright, is known for his humorous plays including The Odd Couple and Chapter Two. He was born in 1927 in New York City. With his brother Danny, he wrote for the seminal Your Show of Shows. Critical success came with the autobiographical trilogy: Brighton Beach Memoirs, about his childhood, Biloxi Blues, about his stint in the army, and Broadway Bound, about his early days in TV. He has also written several successful screenplays.  "When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." – Helen Keller About Helen Keller American author and activist Helen Keller was born in Alabama in 1880; she became blind and deaf after a childhood fever. When Helen was seven, her teacher, Annie Sullivan, coaxed her out of her sullen, angry shell and taught her to communicate. From then on, Keller took on the world. She graduated from Radcliffe, traveled the world visiting sweatshops and speaking out for the powerless, helped to found the ACLU, and wrote 11 books. She died in 1968.  "Parties who want milk should not seat themselves on a stool in the middle of the field in hope that the cow will back up to them." – Elbert Hubbard About Elbert Hubbard Elbert Hubbard, the successful American writer, printer, and businessman, is best known for his inspirational essay, "A Message to Garcia." He was born in Illinois in 1856. He retired at age 35 from a successful job selling soap to found Roycroft, an artist's colony in East Aurora, New York, where he wrote and printed his own books and magazines while other artisans created Arts and Crafts furniture. He died on the ship Lusitania when it was sunk by a German submarine in 1915.   "Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions." – Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. About Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., one of the greatest American jurists of the twentieth century, was called the Great Dissenter because of the brilliance of his dissenting opinions. He was born in Boston in 1841 and was named for his father, the author and doctor. He was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1902 and became known for his pithy, quotable opinions. He stood strong on free-speech rights and was an advocate of judicial restraint and objectivity. He died in 1935. "Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." – Steve Jobs About Steve Jobs Steve Jobs, the American computer pioneer who cofounded Apple, is known for his intensity, his brashness, and his focus on elegant design. He was born in 1955 in Los Altos. At age 21, he and Steve Wozniac built the first Apple computer in his garage. Its successor, the Macintosh, introduced the mouse. After Jobs was ousted from Apple, he bought Pixar Animation, creator of Toy Story and Finding Nemo. On his return to Apple, he introduced the iMac and iPod, restoring the company's luster. "In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted." – Bertrand Russell About Bertrand Russell British philosopher Bertrand Russell was greatly responsible for the shift toward logical analysis among philosophers; he introduced rigorous scientific methodology to the field and was best known for his books Principia Mathematica and The Principles of Mathematics. He was born in 1872 to an aristocratic English family but raised by a strict paternal grandmother after his parents died young. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. Albert Einstein collaborated with him on a manifesto calling for nuclear disarmament. He died in 1970. "Always do the things you fear the most. Courage is an acquired taste, like caviar." – Erica Jong About Erica Jong Erica Jong, the American author who made a splash with the sexual frankness of her first novel, Fear of Flying, has written several works of fiction as well as nonfiction books, including the autobiographical Fear of Fifty. She was born in New York in 1942 and now splits her time between New York City and Weston, Connecticut. She has been married four times and has one daughter. "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." – Mohandas Gandhi About Mohandas Gandhi Mohandas Gandhi, known by the honorific title Mahatma ("great souled"), embodied the power of nonviolent protest to achieve great change. He was born in India in 1896 and awoke to discrimination while practicing law in South Africa. He brought the struggle for equality back to India, rousing the population to demand self-rule from the British. He was profoundly religious, spending one day a week in complete silence; he was also a devout vegetarian. He was assassinated in 1948. "Be aware of wonder. Live a balanced life — learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some."  – Robert Fulghum About Robert Fulghum American author Robert Fulghum is best known for his book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, which dominated the New York Times best-seller list for nearly two years. He was born in 1937 in Texas. In his youth he worked at odd jobs, including ditchdigger, ranch hand, and singing cowboy. After a short career at IBM, he became a Unitarian minister. He has written seven best-selling books of essays. His anecdotes of everyday life encapsulate his down-home philosophy. He lives in Seattle and Crete.    "Don't carry a grudge. While you're carrying a grudge, the other guy's out dancing." – Buddy Hackett About Buddy Hackett Buddy Hackett, the bawdy American comedian known for his high spirits and expressive face, primarily played comic roles in film and television but shined in his dramatic role in the 1979 TV movie Bud and Lou, about Abbott and Costello. He was born Leonard Hacker in Brooklyn in 1924. He made his reputation performing at nightclubs in the borscht belt of the Catskills resorts. His television work includes the sitcom Stanley, which costarred a young Carol Burnett. He died in 2003.  "When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this — you haven't." – Thomas Edison About Thomas Edison Thomas Edison, the American inventor who made his early fortune with the stock ticker and the phonograph record, is credited with inventing the light bulb — although he simply improved upon the original idea by making the bulb burn longer. Edison was born in 1847 in Ohio. He was a dreamer in school; his teacher called him "addled," and his mother taught him at home. He used the money from his inventions to set up a lab with a number of employees; he held a record 1,093 patents in his name. He died in 1931.   "When thinking won't cure fear, action will." – William Clement Stone About William Clement Stone American businessman William Clement Stone overcame an impoverished childhood to head an insurance empire. He was born in 1902 in Chicago. His father died when he was three, leaving the family in debt. Stone dropped out of school to help his mother sell insurance. He called cold calls "gold calls," and started each day saying, "I feel happy! I feel healthy! I feel ter-r-r-ific!" He cowrote the book Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude with Napoleon Hill. He died in 2002 at age 100. "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." – Mohandas Gandhi About Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Gandhi, known by the honorific title Mahatma ("great souled"), embodied the power of nonviolent protest to achieve great change. He was born in India in 1896 and awoke to discrimination while practicing law in South Africa. He brought the struggle for equality back to India, rousing the population to demand self-rule from the British. He was profoundly religious, spending one day a week in complete silence; he was also a devout vegetarian. He was assassinated in 1948.   "It has been my philosophy of life that difficulties vanish when faced boldly." – Isaac Asimov About Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov, the American author known as one of the top writers of science fiction's golden age, penned nearly 500 fiction and nonfiction books, including the Foundation trilogy and I, Robot. Born in 1920 in Russia, he moved to the US with his parents at age three. As a teen, he would read pulp magazines in his parents' candy store and became inspired to write his own stories. His fiction frames interesting ideas in a bare-bones narrative. He died in 1992. "Could we change our attitude, we should not only see life differently, but life itself would come to be different." – Katherine Mansfield About Katherine Mansfield Katherine Mansfield was the pen name of short story writer Katherine Beauchamp, who is best known for her collection The Garden Party. Born in New Zealand in 1888, she moved to England as a young woman and became friends with writers such as Virginia Woolf and D.H. Lawrence. Her writing style was influenced by Anton Chekhov; like him, she focused on intimate moments that revealed character. She in turn influenced a generation of short story writers. She died in 1923 of tuberculosis.   "Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained." – Marie Curie About Marie Curie Marie Curie, the pioneering Polish-born French chemist, was the first person to win Nobel Prizes in two different fields. She was born in Warsaw in 1867. No Polish school would admit a woman, so she worked as a governess, sending her sister through medical school in France. Her sister, in turn, sent her to the Sorbonne, where she met her husband, Pierre Curie. Together they studied radiology, discovering two new chemical elements and inventing the term "radioactivity." She died in 1934. "I have learned, as a rule of thumb, never to ask whether you can do something. Say, instead, that you are doing it. Then fasten your seat belt. The most remarkable things follow." – Julia Cameron About Julia Cameron American author Julia Cameron has become an icon in the creative community for her best-selling self-help book, The Artist's Way, which guides people through a series of simple but profound exercises to awaken their creativity. She grew up in Chicago and has been writing seriously since age 18. In addition to her 19 books, she has written plays, screenplays, and songs, and is currently writing musicals. She was married to film director Martin Scorsese and has one daughter. "Let me listen to me and not to them." -- Gertrude Stein About Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein, the expatriate American author known for her clever wordplay, was an ardent collector of Cubist art and tried in her stream-of-consciousness prose to capture that immediacy and sense of play. She was born in 1874 near Pittsburgh and moved to Paris in 1903. She and her partner, Alice B. Toklas, volunteered for hospitals during World War I. In the 1920's, her salon attracted many great writers and painters; she coined the term Lost Generation for the post–World War I expatriates. She died in 1946. "Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him." – Aldous Huxley About Aldous Huxley Aldous Huxley, the cerebral English writer and social critic, is best known for his dystopian novel Brave New World, about a theoretically ideal society that stamps out individuality. He was born in Surrey in 1894. His teen years were difficult: His mother and sister died when he was 14 and a few years later, he became nearly blind. After early success with fiction, he switched to essays and screenplays, moving to California and becoming a kind of guru for the 60's counterculture movement. He died in 1963. "Think it more satisfactory to live richly than die rich." – Sir Thomas Browne About Sir Thomas Browne The erudite English doctor Sir Thomas Browne, who wrote a number of books on science and religion, was known for his baroque prose style and his controversial opinions. He was born in 1605 in London and settled in Norwich to practice medicine. He wrote his most famous book, Religio Medici (The Religion of a Physician), an intellectual autobiography, in 1635. A friend published it in 1642 without his permission, embarrassing him, but the book's popularity encouraged him to write more. He died in 1682. "It is necessary to try to surpass oneself always; this occupation ought to last as long as life." -- Queen Christina About Queen Christina Queen Christina of Sweden was the most famous woman of her time, outshining Queen Elizabeth of England. She was born in Stockholm in 1626 during a rare astrological conjunction. Her father insisted that she be raised as a boy and changed the law so she could become his heir. She became the reigning queen at age five. She helped end the Thirty Years War but abdicated her throne in 1654, converting to Catholicism and moving to Rome, where she became a patron of the arts. She died in 1689. "It is only by following your deepest instinct that you can lead a rich life." – Katherine Butler Hathaway About Katherine Butler Hathaway Katherine Butler Hathaway's memoir, The Little Locksmith, earned glowing reviews and was a best seller when it was published in 1943, just after the author's death. She was born in Massachusetts in 1890. After coming down with spinal tuberculosis at age five, she was strapped to a board for ten years to prevent hunchback, but the arduous treatment didn't work. She soared despite her body's limitations, attending Radcliffe, making friends, and buying a house in Maine as a refuge for friends and lovers. She died in 1942.   "The tragedy in life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach." -- Benjamin May About Benjamin Mays - African-American minister Benjamin Mays laid the foundation for the civil rights movement with his books and speeches and as a mentor to Martin Luther King. He was born in 1894 in South Carolina to tenant farmer parents. His study, The Negro's Church, co-written with Joseph Nicholson, was a groundbreaking look at the black religious experience. Mays served as president of Morehouse College from 1940 to 1967. His work emphasized the inherent dignity in all people. He died in 1984.         "I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be."   – Groucho Marx About Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was the wisecracking central figure of the Marx Brothers comedy team, waggling his eyebrows in movies like Duck Soup and A Night at the Opera. He was born in New York in 1890. His mother organized the family into a vaudeville act, which didn't become successful until Groucho began ad-libbing jokes and insults. In the forties and fifties, he hosted the wildly successful radio and TV quiz show You Bet Your Life. He died in 1977.   "Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, but only saps today of its strength." – A. J. Cronin About A. J. Cronin -- Archibald Joseph Cronin, the Scottish novelist who wrote as A. J. Cronin, had a full career as a doctor before turning to fiction. He was born in 1896, worked as a Royal Navy surgeon during World War I, and later was appointed Medical Inspector of Mines in Wales. Some of his most famous books are The Citadel, The Keys of the Kingdom, and Pocketful of Rye. His works were known to reflect both his religious beliefs as a Roman Catholic and his medical training. He died in 1981.   "Choices are the hinges of destiny." – Pythagoras About Pythagoras -- Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras, called the Father of Numbers, is best known for developing the Pythagorean Theorem. He was born on the Greek island of Samos in 582 BC and moved to Italy, where he founded a religious school preaching vegetarianism and reincarnation. He believed that everything could be explained by mathematics and measured in rhythmic cycles. He wrote nothing down; some theories ascribed to Pythagoras may have been discovered by his followers. He died around 500 BC. "Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: 'I'm with you kid. Let's go.'" – Maya Angelou About Maya Angelou American poet and author Maya Angelou is best known for her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She was born in St. Louis in 1928 and grew up in rural Arkansas. Due to her activism, Martin Luther King asked her to take a leadership position in his organization. In 1993, at President Clinton's request, she wrote and performed a poem at his inauguration. She has also directed films and appeared on television. She teaches at Wake Forest University. "In every person who comes near you look for what is good and strong; honor that; try to imitate it, and your faults will drop off like dead leaves when their time comes."  --  John Ruskin About John Ruskin John Ruskin was an English art critic who influenced the attitude of a whole generation toward art and architecture. He was born in 1819 in London. His career began with an essay defending his friend, artist J.M.W. Turner, from critics. His book Modern Painters made Turner popular and gave stature to the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Leo Tolstoy called him one of those rare men who think with their heart. When Ruskin inherited wealth, he gave most of the money away. He died in 1900. "Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald About F. Scott Fitzgerald -  Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, who wrote as F. Scott Fitzgerald, is best known for his novel The Great Gatsby. He was born in St. Paul in 1896. Fear of mortality spurred him to write the novel This Side of Paradise while in the Army. It was rejected twice by Scribner's before they finally published it. His wife Zelda's schizophrenia was the basis for his novel Tender Is the Night. After they separated, he moved to Los Angeles and wrote screenplays for studio films. He died in 1940. top of page

"Most people are so busy knocking themselves out trying to do everything they think they should do, they never get around to do what they want to do." – Kathleen Winsor About Kathleen Winsor American author Kathleen Winsor is best known for the racy historical novel, Forever Amber, which made a huge splash when it was first published in 1944, selling 100,000 copies the first week. It was banned in 14 states for its sexual content. The ensuing debate contributed to the loosening of restrictions that allowed works by D. H. Lawrence and Henry Miller to be published in the US. Winsor wrote a number of other novels, none as successful. She was born in 1919 and died in 2003.   Put your heart, mind, intellect, and soul even to your smallest acts. This is the secret of success." – Swami Sivananda Saraswati About Swami Sivananda Saraswati - Swami Sivananda Saraswati, born Kuppuswamy, was an Indian doctor and Yoga guru. He was born in 1887 in India. When he set up a clinic in Malaysia, he became known for his kind heart and charitable work. He left a successful medical practice to go on a pilgrimage to India, where he took monastic vows. As a spiritual leader, he attracted many disciples, including Krishnamurti. He called his discipline the Yoga of synthesis. He wrote more than 300 books on Yoga and spirituality. He died in 1963.   "Man must be arched and buttressed from within, else the temple wavers to dust." – Marcus Aurelius About Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius was the last of the "Five Good Emperors" of Rome who reigned during the prosperous Pax Romana period. He was born in Rome in the year 121. When his uncle Emperor Antoninus Pius died, Aurelius refused to take the throne unless his brother Lucius could corule with him. While on military campaigns, Aurelius wrote the philosophical work Meditations. He was a champion of the poor and of children, especially orphans. He died in 180. "Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor." – Truman Capote About Truman Capote The flamboyant American author Truman Capote is best known for his book In Cold Blood,the true story of the murder of a wealthy Kansas family. Written in a literary style, it spawned the creative nonfiction genre. Born in New Orleans in 1924 and raised by relatives in Alabama, Capote moved to New York when he was nine to live with his mother. He was a larger-than-life personality, known for his colorful attire, his lisping voice, and his outrageous statements. He died in 1984. "It is necessary to try to surpass oneself always; this occupation ought to last as long as life." – Queen Christina About Queen Christina Queen Christina of Sweden was the most famous woman of her time, outshining Queen Elizabeth of England. She was born in Stockholm in 1626 during a rare astrological conjunction. Her father insisted that she be raised as a boy and changed the law so she could become his heir. She became the reigning queen at age five. She helped end the Thirty Years War but abdicated her throne in 1654, converting to Catholicism and moving to Rome, where she became a patron of the arts. She died in 1689.   "When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." – Franklin Delano Roosevelt About Franklin Delano Roosevelt Four-term American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, known as FDR, pulled America out of the Great Depression and led the country during World War II. He was born in New York in 1882. His political career halted when a bout of polio paralyzed him from the waist down, but after learning to walk with leg braces, he became governor of New York and then president. His New Deal initiatives included Social Security, jobs programs, and collective bargaining. He died in 1945. "A bad habit never disappears miraculously; it's an undo-it-yourself project." – Abigail Van Buren About Abigail Van Buren Pauline Phillips, better known as Abigail Van Buren, wrote the syndicated "Dear Abby" column for 46 years. She was born in 1918 in Iowa. She had never written professionally when she contacted the San Francisco Chronicle's editor and said she could do better than their current advice maven. Her version was an instant success. Her twin sister, Esther Lederer, became an advice columnist under the name Ann Landers. Phillips retired in 2002; her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, took over her column.   "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." – Thomas Edison  About Thomas Edison Thomas Edison, the American inventor who made his early fortune with the stock ticker and the phonograph record, is credited with inventing the light bulb — although he simply improved upon the original idea by making the bulb burn longer. Edison was born in 1847 in Ohio. He was a dreamer in school; his teacher called him "addled," and his mother taught him at home. He used the money from his inventions to set up a lab with a number of employees; he held a record 1,093 patents in his name. He died in 1931. "You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face." – Eleanor Roosevelt About Eleanor Roosevelt Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was a powerful political figure in her own right, crusading tirelessly for humanist causes. She was born in New York in 1884 and was orphaned young. After Franklin was struck by polio, she acted as his eyes and ears. She was central to the creation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which she considered her crowning achievement, and wrote numerous essays, including a long-running column called "My Day." She died in 1962. "You can't build a reputation on what you're GOING to do. " -- Japanese Proverb    "Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." – Steve Jobs About Steve Jobs Steve Jobs, the American computer pioneer who cofounded Apple, is known for his intensity, his brashness, and his focus on elegant design. He was born in 1955 in Los Altos. At age 21, he and Steve Wozniac built the first Apple computer in his garage. Its successor, the Macintosh, introduced the mouse. After Jobs was ousted from Apple, he bought Pixar Animation, creator of Toy Story and Finding Nemo. On his return to Apple, he introduced the iMac and iPod, restoring the company's luster. "Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best." – Henry Van Dyke About Henry Van Dyke Henry Van Dyke, the American clergyman and author, is best known for the Christmas story, "The Other Wise Man." He was born in Pennsylvania in 1852. He was pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York, taught literature at Princeton, and was U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands. His love of nature influenced his spirituality, and he fought to preserve Yellowstone Park. He wrote poetry and essays as well as fiction. Helen Keller called him an architect of happiness. He died in 1933.   "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." – Mohandas Gandhi About Mohandas Gandhi Mohandas Gandhi, known by the honorific title Mahatma ("great souled"), embodied the power of nonviolent protest to achieve great change. He was born in India in 1896 and awoke to discrimination while practicing law in South Africa. He brought the struggle for equality back to India, rousing the population to demand self-rule from the British. He was profoundly religious, spending one day a week in complete silence; he was also a devout vegetarian. He was assassinated in 1948.   "Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits." – Thomas A. Edison About Thomas A. Edison Thomas Edison, the American inventor who made his early fortune with the stock ticker and the phonograph record, is credited with inventing the light bulb — although he simply improved upon the original idea by making the bulb burn longer. Edison was born in 1847 in Ohio. He was a dreamer in school; his teacher called him "addled," and his mother taught him at home. He used the money from his inventions to set up a lab with a number of employees; he held a record 1,093 patents in his name. He died in 1931. "You miss 100% of the shots you never take." – Wayne Gretsky About Wayne Gretsky Wayne Gretsky, the Canadian hockey champion known as the Great One, held 61 NHL records when he retired in 1999. He was born in Brantford, Ontario, and was a prodigy on the ice, competing with ten-year-olds when he was six and playing professionally by 16. He hit the big time playing for the Edmonton Oilers. When he was traded to the L.A. Kings in 1988, Canadians burned the Oilers' owner in effigy. In 1999, ESPN named Gretsky the fifth-greatest athlete of the 20th century.   "The highest reward for a person's toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it." – John Ruskin About John Ruskin John Ruskin was an English art critic who influenced the attitude of a whole generation toward art and architecture. He was born in 1819 in London. His career began with an essay defending his friend, artist J.M.W. Turner, from critics. His book Modern Painters made Turner popular and gave stature to the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Leo Tolstoy called him one of those rare men who think with their heart. When Ruskin inherited wealth, he gave most of the money away. He died in 1900.   "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." – T.S. Eliot   About T.S. Eliot T.S. Eliot, the Nobel Prize–winning poet, is perhaps best known today for a light book of rhymes that became the Broadway hit Cats. He penned such weightier poems as "The Waste Land," "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," and "Four Quartets." His work is rich with deeply felt religious meditations, but he never wanted to be perceived as a religious poet. He was born in 1888 in St. Louis and made his adult home in England, where he worked as an editor at the publisher Faber & Faber. He died in 1965. "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing." – Albert Einstein About Albert Einstein The brilliant physicist Albert Einstein became an international icon for his groundbreaking theory of relativity. He was born in Germany in 1897 and began his seminal work while at the Swiss Patent Office. He later fled the Nazi regime, moving to the United States to teach at Princeton. In 1921, he won the Nobel Prize. He declined Israel's invitation to become its president, saying he lacked the necessary people skills. He died in 1955. "Map out your future, but do it in pencil." – Jon Bon Jovi About Jon Bon Jovi Jon Bon Jovi, the popular American musician and actor, rose to fame as the lead singer for the hard-rock band Bon Jovi, best known for their 1986 chart-topping album Slippery When Wet. He was born John Francis Bongiovi in New Jersey in 1962. After two years as a janitor at his uncle's recording studio, he persuaded a producer to record a demo, which became the surprise hit "Runaway." His film roles include Pay It Forward and Moonlight and Valentino. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and four children. "There are no shortcuts to any place worth going." – Beverly Sills About Beverly Sills Beverly Sills, the talented American opera coloratura, became an international superstar in 1966 with her performance in Handel's Guilio Cesare. She was born Belle Miriam Silverman in 1929 in New York. The New York City Opera rejected her repeatedly before they hired her in 1955. She left singing briefly in the 1960's to devote herself to her young children: One is largely deaf, the other is mentally retarded. After retirement, she took the reins of the New York City Opera, turning it into a viable operation. "People in life who are happiest, don't have the best of everything, they make the best of everything they have." -- Abraham Lincoln About Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln, the American president remembered as Honest Abe, is renowned for his strong leadership during the Civil War and for ending slavery in the United States. He was born in a Kentucky cabin in 1809. He taught himself law and passed the Illinois bar in 1837, the same year he first spoke out against slavery. The Southern states seceded in response to his election to the presidency in 1860. Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, mere days after General Robert E. Lee surrendered to end the war. "I have learned, as a rule of thumb, never to ask whether you can do something. Say, instead, that you are doing it. Then fasten your seat belt. The most remarkable things follow." – Julia Cameron About Julia Cameron American author Julia Cameron has become an icon in the creative community for her best-selling self-help book, The Artist's Way, which guides people through a series of simple but profound exercises to awaken their creativity. She grew up in Chicago and has been writing seriously since age 18. In addition to her 19 books, she has written plays, screenplays, and songs, and is currently writing musicals. She was married to film director Martin Scorsese and has one daughter.   "Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself." – Harvey Fierstein About Harvey Fierstein Harvey Fierstein, the raspy-voiced American actor, playwright, and gay activist, is best known for his semiautobiographical play, Torch Song Trilogy, which garnered Tony Awards for writing and acting. He was born in Brooklyn in 1954. His onstage debut as a female impersonator at age 16 led to a role in a 1971 Andy Warhol play. He adapted the French show La Cage aux Folles into a Broadway musical and, later, the movie The Birdcage. He has appeared in such varied movies as Independence Day and Mrs. Doubtfire.  "The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will." – Vincent Lombardi About Vincent Lombardi American football coach Vincent Lombardi is famed for turning the Green Bay Packers from a losing team to two-time Super Bowl champions. He was born in 1913 in Brooklyn. He initially wanted to be a priest, but changed his mind after he became the star fullback on his high school team. When he began coaching the Packers, he set up intensive training camps and demanded absolute dedication but promised them the championship. The NFL named him "Man of the Decade" in the 1960's. He died in 1970.   "If you must begin then go all the way, because if you begin and quit, the unfinished business you have left behind begins to haunt you all the time." – Chogyam Trungpa  About Chogyam Trungpa Tibetan Buddhist leader Chogyam Trungpa was instrumental in bringing Buddhism to the West. He was born in 1940 in Tibet and was recognized as the reincarnation of a Rinpoche (enlightened teacher) at 13 months old. After moving to England, he abandoned his monk garb: He wanted his Western students to perceive the Buddhist teachings without becoming distracted by exotic trappings. He founded Naropa University in Colorado and wrote several books. He died in 1987.    "True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment." – William Penn  About William Penn William Penn is remembered as the founder of Pennsylvania; the democratic government he set up became the model for the United States Constitution. He was born in 1644 in England. After he was arrested several times for preaching Quaker ideals, he decided to found a settlement in America. He drew up the "Great Treaty" with the Delaware Indians to ensure they were paid fairly for their land and toured Europe marketing the new colony. He died in 1718.  "When one's expectations are reduced to zero, one really appreciates everything one does have." – Stephen Hawking About Stephen Hawking British scientist Stephen Hawking, best known for his book A Brief History of Time, which did much to popularize physics, is a leading theoretical physicist who used Einstein's general theory of relativity to prove the big bang theory. He was born in 1942 in Oxford. He was diagnosed with severe amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at 21 and was not expected to live more than three years. Over time he has become more disabled, but he continues to lecture, speaking through a computer-controlled voice box. "Man's main task in life is to give birth to himself." – Erich Fromm   "I searched through rebellion, drugs, diet, mysticism, religion, intellectualism, and much more, only to find that truth is basically simple and feels good, clear and right." – Armando "Chick" Corea "The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything." -- William Connor Magee  "Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him." – Aldous Huxley "To think is easy. To act is difficult. To act as one thinks is the most difficult." – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." – Mark Twain "The highest type of heroism is not the courage and nerve of the warrior facing the foe, but the courage to face the daily issues of life, opposing wrong and upholding right." -- Roswell C. Long "Nothing shows a man's character more than what he laughs at." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe "Think it more satisfactory to live richly than die rich." – Sir Thomas Browne "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -- Henry Ford "I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do!. That is character." – Theodore Roosevelt "True love does not come by finding the perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly."   -- Jason Jordan "Man can only become what he is able to consciously imagine." – Dane Rudhyar "Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat." – F. Scott Fitzgerald "Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it." – Madeleine L'Engle "The man who views the world at fifty the same as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life." - Muhammad Ali "When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." – Helen Keller "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." – Sir Winston Churchill When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." – Franklin Delano Roosevelt "You will not find poetry anywhere unless you bring some of it with you." – Joseph Joubert "Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told:  'I'm with you kid. Let's go." – Maya Angelou "We are made to persist. That's how we find out who we are." – Tobias Wolff   "If people only knew how hard I work to gain my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all." – Michelangelo "Most people are so busy knocking themselves out trying to do everything they think they should do, they never get around to do what they want to do." – Kathleen Winsor "They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." – Andy Warhol   "Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are." - Malcolm Forbes (sent in by Ms. Judy Klimek) "Inspiration is a guest that does not willingly visit the lazy." – Pyotr Tchaikovsky "Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor." -- Alexis Carrel     "Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will" – George Bernard Shaw "The Noah rule: Predicting rain doesn't count; building arks does." – Warren Buffett top of page

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." -- Aristotle  "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." – Mahatma Gandhi "Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome." – Samuel Johnson "He who laughs, lasts." -- Mary Poole "Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson "To fight fear, act. To increase fear—wait, put off, postpone." -- David J. Schwartz   "He who forgives ends the quarrel." -- African Proverb       "Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it." -- Soren Kierkegaard "Good people are good because they've come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know." -- William Saroyan "Too many people spend money they haven't earned to buy things they don't want to impress people they don't like." -- Will Rogers "We can do no great things, only small things with great love." -- Mother Teresa "Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don't." -- Pete Seeger   "Most persons would succeed i