Quotes About Influence

My definition of literature would be just this: words that have become deeds.

There are two kinds of teachers—the kind that fill you with so much quail shot that you can't move, and the kind that just gives you a little prod behind and you jump to the skies." (I hope I am remembered as a prodder.)

Lenea este mama tuturor viciilor, dar fiind o mam? ea trebuie respectat?

Never, ever regret or apologize for believing that when one man or one woman decides to risk addressing the world with truth, the world may stop what it is doing and hear. There is too much evidence to the contrary.

I am a fragment of a mirror whose whole design and shape I do not know. Nevertheless, with what I have - I can reflect light into the dark places of this world - into the black places in the hearts of men - and change somethings in some people. Perhaps others may see and do likewise. This is what I am about. This is the meaning of my life.

Every person passing through this life will unknowingly leave something and take something away.

Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.

You know, without realizing it we fill important places in each other's lives.

Teachers want to know what difference they made in the lives of their pupils, and reunions are a great place to find out.

To succeed in the game of power, you have to master your emotions. But even if you succeed in gaining such self-control, you can never control the temperamental dispositions of those around you. And this presents a great danger.

Do not fight them. Instead think of them the way you think of children, or pets, not important enough to affect your mental balance

The key to power, then, is the ability to judge who is best able to further your interests in all situations. Keep friends for friendship, but work with the skilled and competent.

The human tongue is a beast that few can master.

Hide your intentions not by closing up (with the risk of appearing secretive, and making people suspicious) but by talking endlessly about your desires and goals-just not the real ones.

Most people are perpetually locked in the present. Their decisions are overly influenced by the most immediate event; they easily become emotional and ascribe greater significance to a problem than it should have in reality.

LAW 9 WIN THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS, NEVER THROUGH ARGUMENT JUDGMENT Any momentary triumph you think you have gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory: The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate.

Your greatest power in seduction is your ability to turn away, to make others come after you, delaying their satisfaction.

Learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations. Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.

The most important of these skills, and power's crucial foundation, is the ability to master your emotions. An emotional response to a situation is the single greatest barrier to power, a mistake that will cost you a lot more than any temporary satisfaction you might gain by expressing your feelings.

real action and true helpfulness are perhaps the ultimate charm.

If the world is like a giant scheming court and we are trapped inside it, there is no use in trying to opt out of the game. That will only render you powerless, and powerlessness will make you miserable. Instead of struggling against the inevitable, instead of arguing and whining and feeling guilty, it is far better to excel at power. In fact, the better you are at dealing with power, the better friend, lover, husband, wife, and person you become.

Our continual connection to social media makes us prone to new forms of viral emotional effects. These are not media designed for calm reflection.

For what the leaders are, that, as a rule, will the men below them be. —Xenophon (430?–355? B.C.)

Such is the fate, in some form or other, of all those who unbalance the master's sense of self, poke holes in his vanity, or make him doubt his pre-eminence.