William Arthur Ward
American author and motivational writer, 1921-1994
81 quotes.
Quotes by William Arthur Ward
- A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition.
- A friend is one who joyfully sings with you when you are on the mountaintop, and silently walks beside you through the valley.
- A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.
- A keen sense of humor helps us overlook the unbecoming, understand the unconventional, tolerate the unpleasant, overcome the unexpected, and outlast the unbearable.
- A life lived without forgiveness is a prison.
- A pint of effort is worth a gallon of excuses.
- A poor appetite for books eventually leads to intellectual malnutrition.
- A success is one who decided to succeed — and worked. A failure is one who decided to succeed — and wished. A decided failure is one who failed to decide — and waited.
- A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities.
- A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.
- A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life.
- Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.
- An attitude of gratitude is a never-ending prayer.
- An ounce of example is worth a pound of advice.
- An ounce of example is worth a pound of advice. A pint of effort is worth a gallon of excuses. An inch of cooperation is worth a yard of complaints.
- Begin while others are procrastinating. Work while others are wishing.
- Blessed is he who has learned to admire but not envy, to follow but not imitate, to praise but not flatter, and to lead but not manipulate.
- Blind conformity wears shackles of fear; originality grows wings of confidence.
- Budget your time and you will enrich your hours.
- Courage is fear turned inside out; it is caution that has learned to be brave.
- Courage is the quality it takes to look at yourself with candor, your adversaries with kindness and your setbacks with serenity.
- Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; it is also what it takes, on occasion, to sit down and listen.
- Difficulties are footholds toward maturity.
- Difficulties need not be disastrous; defeats need not be fatal; failures need not be final.
- Do more than belong: participate. Do more than care: help. Do more than believe: practice. Do more than be fair: be kind. Do more than forgive: forget. Do more than dream: work.
- Enthusiasm gives wings to our words, thrust to our thoughts, and momentum to our message.
- Express gratitude generously and sincerely; receive gratitude humbly and graciously; expect gratitude rarely, if ever.
- Failure is not fatal. Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. It should challenge us to new heights of accomplishments, not pull us to new depths of despair. From honest failure can come valuable experience.
- Failure is the first rung on the ladder of success… watch an infant learn to walk.
- Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.
- Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hate. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.
- Four steps to achievement: Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceed positively. Pursue persistently.
- God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say 'thank you?'
- Gratitude can transform common days into Thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.
- Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position, or prestige. It is discovered in goodness, humility, service, and character.
- Happiness is an inside job.
- If you are wise, you will slip away occasionally to the secret chambers of self-imposed seclusion. Four faithful friends await you there: Solitude, Stillness, Silence, and Serenity. Indeed, they are more than friends; they are cradles of creativity.
- If you can imagine it, you can possess it. If you can dream it, you can become it. If you can envision it, you can attain it. If you can picture it, you can achieve it.
- If you would be interesting, be interested... if you would be loved, be loveable; if you would be helped, be helpful.
- It is easy to mistake our prejudice for patriotism, our rationalization for reason, our littleness for logic, our theories for truth, and our fervor for fact.