Quotes About Wisdom

Mistakes and failures are precisely your means of education.

Perfect economy, then, does not mean hoarding your resources. That is not economy but stinginess—deadly in war. Perfect economy means finding a golden mean, a level at which your blows count but do not wear you out.

you must be careful not to let it annoy or distress you, but to look upon it merely as an addition to your knowledge

En Japón hay un dicho popular que reza: "Tada yori takai mono wa nai", que significa: "Nada es más caro que algo que se da gratis". The Unspoken Way, MICHIHIRO MATSUMOTO, 1988

There are very few men—and they are the exceptions—who are able to think and feel beyond the present moment.

It is occasionally wiser to imitate the court jester, who plays the fool but knows he is smarter than the king.

In dealing with fools you must adopt the following philosophy: they are simply a part of life, like rocks or furniture.

Conoce  a tu presa,  y  elígela con cuidado. No pier- das tiempo en la caza menor: los conejos que caen en la trampa, el visón preso en el cepo perfumado. Desafío es placer.

Actually, your past successes are your biggest obstacle: every battle, every war, is different, and you cannot assume that what worked before will work today. You must cut yourself loose from the past and open your eyes to the present. Your tendency to fight the last war may lead to your final war.

As Bismarck once said, "Fools say that they learn by experience. I prefer to profit by others' experience.

Los errores suelen perdo- narse, pero el desprecio nunca. Nues- tro orgullo lo recuerda para siem- pre. (Lord Chesterfield, 1694-1773)

frente a los agresivos, retírate, déjalos conseguir sus pequeñas victorias.

Related to mastering your emotions is the ability to distance yourself from the present moment and think objectively about the past and future.

There is much to be known, life is short, and life is not life without knowledge. It is therefore an excellent device to acquire knowledge from everybody. Thus, by the sweat of another's brow, you win the reputation of being an oracle. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)

patience is the supreme virtue of the gods, who have nothing but time.

Character is destiny. —Heraclitus

Da Vinci había seguido fielmente su guía hasta el final y, habiendo completado su curso, era hora de morir. Quizá en ese momento regresaron a él estas palabras, escritas años atrás en su libreta: "Así como un día rebosante trae consigo dulces sueños, una vida bien empleada procura una muerte dulce".

In fact it is often wise to choose the most innocent victim possible as a sacrificial goat.

Las ostras se abren por completo en luna llena; y cuando el cangrejo ve una, arroja en ella una piedra o alga marina y la ostra no puede volver a cerrarse, así que sirve de alimento al cangrejo. Tal es el destino de quien abre demasiado la boca y se pone de ese modo a merced del oyente. LEONARDO DA VINCI, 1452-1519

It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.

Some 2,600 years ago the ancient Greek poet Pindar wrote, "Become who you are by learning who you are.

La verdad suele verse, rara vez oírse".

This is a lesson that the stars in the sky teach us—they may be related to the sun, and just as brilliant, but they never appear in her company. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)

Sigue la ciega Fortuna / a la audacia ciega y loca, / y muchas veces los cuerdos / lo son haciendo las cosas / sin dar tiempo a la cordura / de examinarlas juiciosa.