Hubbard Quotes

A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.

God will not look you over for medals, degrees or diplomas but for scars.

To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.

Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit.

He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words.

Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.

Never explain―your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway.

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.

America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but its people are mainly poor, and poor Americans are urged to hate themselves. To quote the American humorist Kin Hubbard, 'It ain’t no disgrace to be poor, but it might as well be.' It is in fact a crime for an American to be poor, even though America is a nation of poor. Every other nation has folk traditions of men who were poor but extremely wise and virtuous, and therefore more estimable than anyone with power and gold. No such tales are told by the American poor. They mock themselves and glorify their betters. The meanest eating or drinking establishment, owned by a man who is himself poor, is very likely to have a sign on its wall asking this cruel question: 'if you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?' There will also be an American flag no larger than a child’s hand – glued to a lollipop stick and flying from the cash register. Americans, like human beings everywhere, believe many things that are obviously untrue. Their most destructive untruth is that it is very easy for any American to make money. They will not acknowledge how in fact hard money is to come by, and, therefore, those who have no money blame and blame and blame themselves. This inward blame has been a treasure for the rich and powerful, who have had to do less for their poor, publicly and privately, than any other ruling class since, say Napoleonic times. Many novelties have come from America. The most startling of these, a thing without precedent, is a mass of undignified poor. They do not love one another because they do not love themselves.

There is no failure except in no longer trying.

It does not take much strength to do things, but it requires a great deal of strength to decide what to do.

The object of teaching a child is to enable him to get along without a teacher.

The love we give away is the only love we keep.

I believe in the hands that work, in the brains that think, and in the hearts that love...I believe in sunshine, fresh air, friendship, calm sleep, beautiful thoughts.

If men could only know each other, they would neither idolize nor hate.

The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can't be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it.

Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.

No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me With just a pocketful of soap.

What you love the most is what you have to fight the hardest to keep.

I would rather be able to appreciate things I cannot have than to have things I am not able to appreciate.

The best way to prepare for life is to begin to live.

No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one.

I do not read a book; I hold a conversation with the author.

The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure criticism without resentment.

You can't control the past, but you can control where you go next.

Happiness is a habit—cultivate it.

Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.

True life lies in laughter, love and work.

You can't truly hate someone until you've cared about them. Until you've loved them.

Envy is when you want what someone else has. Jealousy’s when you also don’t want them to have it.

Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer the goal.

Ideas and not battles mark the forward progress of mankind.

Wanderlust is like itchy feet. It’s when you can’t settle down. But Wanderlove is much deeper than that . . . it’s a compulsion. It’s the difference between lust and love.

Even when life turns out different than what you've planned, it's always better to try and fail than to wonder what could have been.

The line between failure and success is so fine. . . that we are often on the line and do not know it.

You got to find your own places. The places you get, girl, the ones that stick in your heart. And if you’re lucky, you find people to share them with.

Folks who never do any more than they get paid for, never get paid for any more than they do

Art is not a thing; it is a way.

This will never be a civilized country until we expend more money for books than we do for chewing gum.

One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.

To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe.

We are traveling down a path with no happy ending, and it's too late to turn around.

Hearing about vacations is like hearing about dreams -- no one cares except the person who's experienced them.

So long as governments set the example of killing their enemies, private individuals will occasionally kill theirs.

There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.

You don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion.

The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: Be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge.

If put to the pinch, an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness. (Get Out or Get in Line, 1928)

Wanderlove is about forgetting the bad things and focusing on the good. Out with the old and in with the new... The only way to escape the past is to keep moving forward.

If you can not answer a man's argument, all is not lost; you can still call him vile names.

When reading a book, be very certain that you never go past a word you do not fully understand. The only reason a person gives up a study or becomes confused or unable to learn is because he or she has gone past a word that was not understood.

It is easy to get everything you want, provided you first learn to do without the things you cannot get.

Constant effort and frequent mistakes are the stepping stones to genius.

It does not take much strength to do things, but it requires a great deal of strength to decide what to do. —Elbert Hubbard

American humorist Kin Hubbard said , "It ain't no disgrace to be poor, but it might as well be". The meanest eating or drinking establishment, owned by a man who is himself poor, is very likely to have a sign on its wall asking this cruel question: "If you're so smart, why ain't you rich?" Americans, like human beings everywhere, believe many things that are obviously untrue... Their most destructive untruth is that it is very easy for any American to make money. They will not acknowledge how in fact hard money is to come by, and, therefore, those who have no money blame and blame and blame themselves. This inward blame has been a treasure for the rich and powerful, who have had to do less for their poor, publicly and privately, than any other ruling class since, say, Napoleonic times. Many novelties have come from America. The most startling of these, a thing without precedent is a mass of undignified poor. They do not love one another because they do not love themselves.

I've come to realize that sometimes, what you love most is what you have to fight the hardest to keep.

We awaken in others the same attitude of mind we hold toward them.

How many a man has thrown up his hands at a time when a little more effort, a little more patience would have achieved success?

Read to your heart's content. Though if you are a reader, the heart is never content.

But who bothers looking beyond the surface? Who even knows anything about Cinderella's Prince Charming - other than he's a handsome prince?

The supernatural is the natural not yet understood.

You don't have to sleep, you don't have to dream, to have nightmares.

I know what it's like. To sabotage yourself. Nothing makes you hate yourself more than that.

Many a man's reputation would not know his character if they met on the street.

Men are punished by their sins, not for them.

A conservative is a man who is too cowardly to fight and too fat to run.

Nothing Stays Secret Forever

Laughter is higher than all pain.

When you're three, you don't draw what you see--you draw upon your imagination. Nobody tells you to stop putting wings on people, unless you have a most unfortunate preschool teacher. You are intoxicated by your own magic.

The stronger a man is, the more gentle he can afford to be

It's a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test.

You can appreciate the good things all around you, but the best part is imminent, just out of reach. Like... perpetual anticipation.

Responsibility is the price of freedom.

I wish to live without hate, whim, jealousy, envy, and fear. I wish to be simple, honest, frank, natural . . to face any obstacle and meet every difficulty unabashed and unafraid.

Sometimes, almost getting what you want is worse than never coming close.

I used to wonder what it would look like if all my footsteps were painted red: all the steps I'd ever taken in all the places I'd ever been.

A retentive memory may be a good thing, but the ability to forget is the true token of greatness.

The sculptor produces the beautiful statue by chipping away such parts of the marble block as are not needed - it is a process of elimination.

Nothing is permanent but change.

A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamed by artists.

We will not be dictated to by men with less intelligence, energy, initiative and ambition than we ourselves possess.

Men are only as great as they are kind.

Football: A sport that bears the same relation to education that bullfighting does to agriculture.

Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation.

We work to become, not to acquire.

Why do yo keep doing this?" "Because I've wanted to be with you for three years, okay? That's why.

We are punished by our sins, not for them.

Next to a circus there ain't nothing that packs up and tears out any quicker than the Christmas spirit

Every saint has a bee in his halo.

Because - admit it - there's something perversely appealing about sitting all alone, feeling sorry for yourself, especially when the scenery's stunning and there's a party going on behind you.

Little minds are interested in the extraordinary; great minds in the commonplace.

You're not big on people, are you?" "I wouldn't say that. Just ... when faced with the choice between small talk with strangers and peace and quiet, I'll choose the latter every time. You know?

Life is a checkerboard, and the player opposite you is time. If you hesitate before moving, or neglect to move promptly, your men will be wiped off the board by time. You are playing against a partner who will not tolerate indecision!

Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe.

Choice is the keynote of self-determinism. To determine anything, you must have the choice to determine. Choice to determine means that you must have the power of decision. Decision and time have a lot in common. When we have clean, clear decision, we have clean, clear time. And when we have indecision, there is an unclarity about time.

I guess I work in small ways. It's kind of like this story someone told me, about a guy on the beach in Mexico throwing starfish in the sea. Thousands had washed ashore. Someone asked him why - 'Why are you wasting your time, when there are so many? You can't possibly make a difference.'" "I know that story! The man threw another one back, and said -" "'Made a difference to that one!'" Rowan finishes.

One's attitude toward life makes every possible difference in one's living. You know, you don't have to study a thousand ancient books to discover that fact. But sometimes it needs to be pointed out again that life doesn't change so much as you. ... The day when you stop building your own environment, when you stop building your own surroundings, when you stop waving a magic hand and gracing everything around you with magic and beauty, things cease to be magical, things cease to be beautiful. Well, maybe you've just neglected somewhere back in the last few years to wave that magic hand.

Ma was heavy, but not fat; thick with child-bearing and work. She wore a loose Mother Hubbard of gray cloth in which there had once been colored flowers, but the color was washed out now, so that the small flowered pattern was only a little lighter gray than the background. The dress came down to her ankles, and he strong, broad, bare feet moved quickly and deftly over the floor. Her thin, steel-gray hair was gathered in a sparse wispy knot at the back of her head. Strong, freckled arms were bare to the elbow, and her hands were chubby and delicate, like those of a plump little girl. She looked out into the sunshine. Her full face was not soft; it was controlled, kindly. Her hazel eyes seemed to have experienced all possible tragedy and to have mounted pain and suffering like steps into a high calm and a superhuman understanding. She seemed to know, to accept, to welcome her position, the citadel of the family, the strong place that could not be taken. And since old Tom and the children could not know hurt or fear unless she acknowledged hurt and fear, she had practiced denying them in herself. And since, when a joyful thing happened, they looked to see whether joy was on her, it was her habit to build up laughter out of inadequate materials. But better than joy was calm. Imperturbability could be depended upon. And from her great and humble position in the family she had taken dignity and a clean calm beauty. From her position as healer, her hands had grown sure and cool and quiet; from her position as arbiter she had become as remote and faultless in judgment as a goddess. She seemed to know that if she swayed the family shook, and if she ever really deeply wavered or despaired the family would fall, the family will to function would be gone.

Whenever you go out-of-doors, draw the chin in, carry the crown of the head high, and fill the lungs to the utmost; drink in the sunshine; greet your friends with a smile, and put soul into every handclasp. Do not fear being misunderstood and do not waste a minute thinking about your enemies. Try to fix firmly in your mind what you would like to do; and then, without veering off direction, you will move straight to the goal. Keep your mind on the great and splendid things you would like to do, and then, as the days go gliding away, you will find yourself unconsciously seizing upon the opportunities that are requiered for the fulfillment of your desire, just as the coral insect takes from the running tide the element it needs. Picture in your mind the able, earnest, useful person you desire to be, and the thought you hold is hourly transforming you into that particular individual... Thought is supreme. Preserve a right mental attitude - the attitude of courage, frankness, and good cheer. To think rightly is to create. All things come through desire and every sincere prayer is answered. We become like that on which our hearts are fixed. Carry your chin in and the crown of your head high. We are good in the chrysalis.

But all that's hugely unlikely -- with the exception of mosquito bites and sunburn. And yet even experienced travelers are still afraid. "What everyone forgets -- even me -- is the people who actually live here. In places like Central America, I mean. Southeast Asia. India. Africa. Millions, even billions, of people, who live out their whole lives in these places -- the places so many people like us fear. Think about it: they ride chicken buses to work every day. Their clothes are always damp. Their whole lives, they never escape the dust and the heat. But they deal with all these discomforts. They have to. "So why can't travelers? If we've got the means to get here, we owe it to the country we're visiting not to treat it like an amusement park, sanitized for our comfort. It's insulting to the people who live here. People just trying to have the best lives they can, with the hands they've been dealt.