Quotes About Standards

So they decided to consult a cousin who was a prominent psychiatrist. He examined Antonio—whom he knew well, anyway—and declared him insane, which of course he wasn't, even by Italian standards.

They have a saying, the French, that no woman, can be truly beautiful who is not also sometimes truly ugly.

We live in the Age of Comparison. Too often, we deem our own achievements worthless if they fall short of others' standards. Our best isn't good enough if it's not as good as someone else's best.

The importance of novels and short stories in our society is great. Fiction supplies the only philosophy that many readers know; it establishes their ethical, social, and material standards; it confirms them in their prejudices or opens their minds to a wider world. The movies have not undermined the influence of fiction. On the contrary, they have extended its field, carrying the ideas which are already current among reader to those too young, too impatient, or too uneducated to read.

The only way to do this successfully is to have a well-thought-out set of standards drawn up for each type of work that you do, and in advance. If you wait till anyone item is finished you may find yourself reasoning after the fact, defending the fact-accomplished, and perhaps blinding yourself to real insufficiencies in it.

If we would give, just once, the same amount of reflection to what we want out of life that we give to the question of what to do with a two weeks' vacation, we would be startled at our false standards and the aimless procession of our busy days.

I would rather have nothing than something that was only alright.

Some people's blameless lives are to blame for a good deal.

I require three things in a man: he must be handsome, ruthless, and stupid.

Marriage today is the outcome government imposing its standards on personal relationships, legislating a one-size-fits-all mandate for how people in sexual or domestic relationships ought to run their lives.

If a building looks better under construction than it does when finished, then it's a failure.

Any American who is prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be disqualified from ever doing so." —Gore Vidal

if gays have achieved the same rights as everyone else, should they be subjected to the same standards as everybody else? Or is there built into gay equality some kind of opt-out?

If we incorrectly think that measurement means meeting some nearly unachievable standard of certainty, then few things will be measurable even in the physical sciences.

Insecurity can also develop from a critical parent who focused on our weaknesses or failures or didn't feel we measured up to some unspoken standard.

They say real girls aint never perfect, perfect girls aint real.

if you were to lead successfully, whether a kingdom or a ship's company, the only standards worth bothering with were those you set yourself; those of others were—well, those of the mob; those who were led, who had neither the ability nor the courage to sit alone and make the decisions.

A true Christian, living an obedient life, is a constant rebuke to those who accept the moral standards of this world.

Acceptance of prevailing standards often means we have no standards of our own.

Some people's blameless lives are to blame for a good deal.

Excellence is the eternal quest. We achieve it by living up to our highest intellectual standards and our finest moral intuitions. In seeking excellence, take life seriously-but never yourself!

Who you spend time with is who you become! Change your life by consciously choosing to surround yourself with people with higher standards!

What I will no longer accept is the mediocre life of a modest little gentleman.

In business, I've discovered that my purpose is to do my best to my utmost ability every day. That's my standard. I learned early in my life that I had high standards.