No Rules Quotes

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Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
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Steve Jobs
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Make it a rule never to give a child a book you would not read yourself.
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George Bernard Shaw
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The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.
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Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird)
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If you obey all of the rules, you miss all of the fun.
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Katharine Hepburn
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There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.
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W. Somerset Maugham
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If I'd observed all the rules I'd never have got anywhere.
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Marilyn Monroe
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In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.
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Friedrich Nietzsche
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It is a good rule after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.
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C.S. Lewis
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Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college.
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Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (A Man Without a Country)
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The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.
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Plato
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If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week.
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Charles Darwin (The Autobiography of Charles Darwin, 1809โ€“82)
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Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.
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Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
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Youโ€™re dangerous,โ€ he says. โ€œWhy?โ€ โ€œBecause you make me believe in the impossible
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Simone Elkeles (Rules of Attraction (Perfect Chemistry, #2))
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I think there should be a rule that everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their lives.
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R.J. Palacio (Wonder (Wonder, #1))
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Learn the rules, break the rules, make up new rules, break the new rules.
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Marvin Bell
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For what itโ€™s worth: itโ€™s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. Thereโ€™s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life youโ€™re proud of. If you find that youโ€™re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.
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Eric Roth (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Screenplay)
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In new situations, all the trickiest rules are the ones nobody bothers to explain to you. (And the ones you can't Google.)
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Rainbow Rowell (Fangirl)
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They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions... but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.
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Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird)
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Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men, doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
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J.R.R. Tolkien
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Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.
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Pablo Picasso
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I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.
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Robert A. Heinlein
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Every true love and friendship is a story of unexpected transformation. If we are the same person before and after we loved, that means we haven't loved enough.
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Elif Shafak (The Forty Rules of Love)
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I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them
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Mark Haddon (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time)
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The heaviest penalty for declining to rule is to be ruled by someone inferior to yourself.
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Plato (The Republic)
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She is free in her wildness, she is a wanderess, a drop of free water. She knows nothing of borders and cares nothing for rules or customs. 'Time' for her isnโ€™t something to fight against. Her life flows clean, with passion, like fresh water.
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Roman Payne
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She was already learning that if you ignore the rules people will, half the time, quietly rewrite them so that they don't apply to you.
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Terry Pratchett (Equal Rites (Discworld, #3))
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If you truly want to be respected by people you love, you must prove to them that you can survive without them.
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Michael Bassey Johnson (The Infinity Sign)
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ุญูŠุงุชูƒ ุญุงูู„ุฉุŒ ู…ู„ูŠุฆุฉุŒ ูƒุงู…ู„ุฉุŒ ุฃูˆ ู‡ูƒุฐุง ูŠุฎูŠู„ ุฅู„ูŠูƒุŒ ุญุชู‰ ูŠุธู‡ุฑ ููŠู‡ุง ุดุฎุต ูŠุฌุนู„ูƒ ุชุฏุฑูƒ ู…ุง ูƒู†ุช ุชูุชู‚ุฏู‡ ุทูˆุงู„ ู‡ุฐุง ุงู„ูˆู‚ุช. ู…ุซู„ ู…ุฑุขุฉ ุชุนูƒุณ ุงู„ุบุงุฆุจ ู„ุง ุงู„ุญุงุถุฑุŒ ุชุฑูŠูƒ ุงู„ูุฑุงุบ ูู‰ ุฑูˆุญูƒุŒ ุงู„ูุฑุงุบ ุงู„ุฐู‰ ูƒู†ุช ุชู‚ุงูˆู… ุฑุคูŠุชู‡.
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Elif Shafak (The Forty Rules of Love)
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God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players [i.e. everybody], to being involved in an obscure and complex variant of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time.
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Terry Pratchett (Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch)
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A prude is a person who thinks that his own rules of propriety are natural laws.
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Robert A. Heinlein
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Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.
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Dalai Lama XIV
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Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.
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Stephen King
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Accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart.
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David Guterson (Snow Falling on Cedars)
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Yes!โ€ said Fang, punching the air. โ€œFreaks rule.
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James Patterson (The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, #1))
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People are stupid. They will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true.
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Terry Goodkind (Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth, #1))
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Life is like music, it must be composed by ear, feeling and instinct, not by rule.
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Samuel Butler
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I'm about to make a wild, extreme and severe relationship rule: the word busy is a load of crap and is most often used by assholes. The word "busy" is the relationship Weapon of Mass Destruction. It seems like a good excuse, but in fact in every silo you uncover, all you're going to find is a man who didn't care enough to call. Remember men are never to busy to get what they want.
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Greg Behrendt
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The major problemโ€”one of the major problems, for there are severalโ€”one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them. To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.
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Douglas Adams (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #2))
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He pulls me around and kisses me. "You're Mac," he says. "And I'm Jericho. And nothing else matters. Never will. You exist in a place that is beyond all rules for me. Do you understand that?" I do. Jericho Barrons just told me he loves me.
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Karen Marie Moning (Shadowfever (Fever, #5))
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I'm a sociopath. I look normal, but I'm not. I'm smarter, better, and freer, because I'm not bound by rules, law, emotion or regard for you.
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Lisa Scottoline (Every Fifteen Minutes)
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Recipes are just descriptions of one personโ€™s take on one moment in time. Theyโ€™re not rules.
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Mario Batali
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ู„ุง ุชุณูŠุฑูŠ ู…ุน ุงู„ุชูŠุงุฑุŒ ุจู„ ูƒูˆู†ูŠ ุฃู†ุชู ุงู„ุชูŠุงุฑ.
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Elif Shafak (The Forty Rules of Love)
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There is an odd synchronicity in the way parallel lives veer to touch one another, change direction, and then come close again and again until they connect and hold for whatever it was that fate intended to happen.
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Ann Rule
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ูˆ ู„ูˆ ุฃุฑุงุฏ ุงู„ู„ู‡ ุฃู† ู†ูƒูˆู† ู…ุชุดุงุจู‡ูŠู† ุŒู„ุฎู„ู‚ู†ุง ู…ุชุดุงุจู‡ูŠู† ุŒ ู„ุฐู„ูƒ ูุฅู† ุนุฏู… ุงุญุชุฑุงู… ุงู„ุงุฎุชู„ุงูุงุช ูˆูุฑุถ ุฃููƒุงุฑูƒ ุนู„ูŠ ุงู„ุขุฎุฑูŠู† ูŠุนู†ูŠ ุนุฏู… ุงุญุชุฑุงู… ุงู„ู†ุธุงู… ุงู„ู…ู‚ุฏุณ ุงู„ุฐูŠ ุฃุฑุณุงู‡ ุงู„ู„ู‡
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Elif Shafak (The Forty Rules of Love)
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Life, with its rules, its obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet: You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. - Mrs. Whatsit
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Madeleine L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet, #1))
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Fifty percent of all doctors graduate in the bottom half of their class - Hope your surgery went well!
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Simone Elkeles (Rules of Attraction (Perfect Chemistry, #2))
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The rules of capitalization are so unfair to words in the middle of a sentence.
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John Green (Paper Towns)
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ู„ุง ุชุญุงูˆู„ ุฃู† ุชู‚ุงูˆู… ุงู„ุชุบูŠูŠุฑุงุช ุงู„ุชูŠ ุชุนุชุฑุถ ุณุจูŠู„ูƒ ุŒ ุจู„ ุฏุน ุงู„ุญูŠุงุฉ ุชุนูŠุด ููŠูƒ. ูˆู„ุง ุชู‚ู„ู‚ ุฅุฐุง ู‚ู„ุจุช ุญูŠุงุชูƒ ุฑุฃุณุงู‹ ุนู„ู‰ ุนู‚ุจ. ููƒูŠู ูŠู…ูƒู†ูƒ ุฃู† ุชุนุฑู ุฃู† ุงู„ุฌุงู†ุจ ุงู„ุฐูŠ ุงุนุชุฏุช ุนู„ูŠู‡ ุฃูุถู„ ู…ู† ุงู„ุฌุงู†ุจ ุงู„ุฐูŠ ุณูŠุฃุชูŠุŸ
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ุฅู„ูŠู ุดูู‚ (The Forty Rules of Love)
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My grandma always said that God made libraries so that people didn't have any excuse to be stupid.
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Joan Bauer (Rules of the Road (Rules of the Road, #1))
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The gods rule us still. They have come down from the stars. And they are no longer kind.
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Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen (Red Queen, #1))
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I've come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies: 1. Anything that is in the world when youโ€™re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. 2. Anything that's invented between when youโ€™re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. 3. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things.
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Douglas Adams (The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time)
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The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are.
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Marcus Aurelius (Meditations)
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Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.
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Mark Haddon (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time)
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The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules but by people following the rules. It's people who follow orders that drop bombs and massacre villages.
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Banksy (Wall and Piece)
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The three rules of the Librarians of Time and Space are: 1) Silence; 2) Books must be returned no later than the last date shown; and 3) Do not interfere with the nature of causality.
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Terry Pratchett (Guards! Guards! (Discworld, #8; City Watch, #1))
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Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet. That would mean that security is out of the question. The words "make" and "stay" become inappropriate. My love for you has no strings attached. I love you for free.
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Tom Robbins (Still Life with Woodpecker)
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Go and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here.
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Neil Gaiman (Make Good Art: Inspiration for Creative People)
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The intelligence of that creature known as a crowd is the square root of the number of people in it.
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Terry Pratchett (Jingo (Discworld, #21; City Watch, #4))
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Those who tell the stories rule society.
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Plato
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I don't care if I pass your test, I don't care if I follow your rules. If you can cheat, so can I. I won't let you beat me unfairly - I'll beat you unfairly first. - Ender
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Orson Scott Card (Enderโ€™s Game (Ender's Saga, #1))
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Nice people don't necessarily fall in love with nice people.
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Jonathan Franzen (Freedom)
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Lex malla, lex nulla. A bad law is no law.
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Cassandra Clare (Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices, #1))
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She bent most of the rules. She broke the rest.
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V.E. Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
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The first rule of hurricane coverage is that every broadcast must begin with palm trees bending in the wind.
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Carl Hiaasen
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Ever since Iโ€™ve met you, Iโ€™ve wanted to break every rule.โ€ Aiden turned away, the muscles in his neck tensing. He sighed. โ€œYouโ€™ll become the centre of someoneโ€™s world one day. And heโ€™ll be the luckiest son of a bitch on this earth.
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Jennifer L. Armentrout (Pure (Covenant, #2))
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...and for a moment I thought I loved her. But I am slow-thinking and full of interior rules that act as brakes on my desires
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F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby)
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ุฃุจุญุซ ุนู† ุญูŠุงุฉ ุฌุฏูŠุฑุฉ ุจุงู„ุญูŠุงุฉ
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ุฅู„ูŠู ุดูู‚ (The Forty Rules of Love)
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If you retain nothing else, always remember the most important rule of beauty, which is: who cares?
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Tina Fey (Bossypants)
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It is a good rule in life never to apologize. The right sort of people do not want apologies, and the wrong sort take a mean advantage of them.
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P.G. Wodehouse (The Man Upstairs and Other Stories)
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Any fool can make a rule And any fool will mind it.
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Henry David Thoreau (Journal #14)
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Mackenzie raises her hand proudly. โ€œI have a bagina.โ€ I smirk. โ€œYes, you do sweetheart. And someday, itโ€™s gonna help you rule the world.
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Emma Chase (Tangled (Tangled, #1))
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Rule number one: Don't fuck with librarians.
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Neil Gaiman
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The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins.
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Sรธren Kierkegaard (The Journals of Kierkegaard)
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This is a team of gay dudes, isn't it?" What gave it away? The pink shirts, or half our team drooling over you?
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Simone Elkeles (Rules of Attraction (Perfect Chemistry, #2))
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Here is a rule to remember in future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not "This is misfortune," but "To bear this worthily is good fortune.
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Marcus Aurelius (Meditations)
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Youโ€™ll learn, as you get older, that rules are made to be broken. Be bold enough to live life on your terms, and never, ever apologize for it. Go against the grain, refuse to conform, take the road less traveled instead of the well-beaten path. Laugh in the face of adversity, and leap before you look. Dance as though EVERYBODY is watching. March to the beat of your own drummer. And stubbornly refuse to fit in.
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Mandy Hale (The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass)
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Want to keep Christ in Christmas? Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted, care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have done unto you.
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Steve Maraboli (Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience)
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It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.
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J.R.R. Tolkien (The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, #3))
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I don't know many rules to live by,' he'd said. 'But here's one. It's simple. Don't put anything unnecessary into yourself. No poisons or chemicals, no fumes or smoke or alcohol, no sharp objects, no inessential needles--drug or tattoo--and...no inessential penises either.' 'Inessential penises?' Karou had repeated, delighted with the phrase in spite of her grief. 'Is there any such thing as an essential one?' 'When an essential one comes along, you'll know,' he'd replied.
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Laini Taylor (Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1))
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We kiss all the time." I clear my throat, then add, "We just...do it in private." "A smug expression crosses his face. "I don't buy it for a second, 'cause if you were my girlfriend and a stud like me was livin' in your house, I'd kiss you in front of the guy every chance I got as a reminder." "A reminder of w-w-what?" "That you were mine.
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Simone Elkeles (Rules of Attraction (Perfect Chemistry, #2))
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First, let no one rule your mind or body. Take special care that your thoughts remain unfettered... . Give men your ear, but not your heart. Show respect for those in power, but don't follow them blindly. Judge with logic and reason, but comment not. Consider none your superior whatever their rank or station in life. Treat all fairly, or they will seek revenge. Be careful with your money. Hold fast to your beliefs and others will listen.
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Christopher Paolini (Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle, #1))
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Passion. It lies in all of us. Sleeping... waiting... and though unwanted, unbidden, it will stir... open its jaws and howl. It speaks to us... guides us. Passion rules us all. And we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments. The joy of love... the clarity of hatred... the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion, maybe we'd know some kind of peace. But we would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank. Without passion, we'd be truly dead.
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Joss Whedon
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For what itโ€™s worth... itโ€™s never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be. Thereโ€™s no time limit. Start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things youโ€™ve never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life youโ€™re proud of, and if youโ€™re not, I hope you have the courage to start over again.
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F. Scott Fitzgerald
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If every person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary - the world really would be a better place. And if you do this, if you act just a little kinder than is necessary, someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God.
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R.J. Palacio (Wonder (Wonder, #1))
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Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And donโ€™t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: โ€œItโ€™s not where you take things from - itโ€™s where you take them to." [MovieMaker Magazine #53 - Winter, January 22, 2004 ]
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Jim Jarmusch
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You have these lines you wonโ€™t cross. But then you cross them. And suddenly you possess the very dangerous information that you can break the rule and the world wonโ€™t instantly come to an end. Youโ€™ve taken a big, black, bold line and youโ€™ve made it a little bit gray. And now every time you cross it again, it just gets grayer and grayer until one day you look around and you think, There was a line here once, I think.
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Taylor Jenkins Reid (Daisy Jones & The Six)
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Even if there is only one possible unified theory, it is just a set of rules and equations. What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe? The usual approach of science of constructing a mathematical model cannot answer the questions of why there should be a universe for the model to describe. Why does the universe go to all the bother of existing?
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Stephen Hawking (A Brief History of Time)
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Iโ€™ve become skeptical of the unwritten rule that just because a boy and girl appear in the same feature, a romance must ensue. Rather, I want to portray a slightly different relationship, one where the two mutually inspire each other to live - if Iโ€™m able to, then perhaps Iโ€™ll be closer to portraying a true expression of love.
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Hayao Miyazaki
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Do you want a cookie? - What? - A cookie. Like an Oreo. Do you want one? - No. - How can you not want a cookie? - I just don't. - Okay, fine,let's say you did want a cookie. Let's say you were dying for a cookie, and there were cookies in the cupboard. What would you do? - I'd eat a cookie? - Exactly. That's all I'm saying. - What are you saying? - That if people want cookies, they should get a cookie. It's what people do. - Let me guess. Dad won't let you have a cookie? - No. Even though I'm practically starving to death, he won't even consider it. He says I have to have a sandwich first. - And you don't think that's fair. - You just said you'd get a cookie if you wanted one. So why can't I? I'm not a little kid. I can make my own decisions. - Hmm. I can see why this bothers you so much. - It's not fair. If he wants a cookie, he can have one. If you want a cookie, you can have one. But if I want a cookie, the rules don't count. Like you said, it's not fair. - So what are you going to do? - I'm going to eat a sandwich. Because I have to. Because the world isn't fair to ten-year-olds.
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Nicholas Sparks (The Last Song)
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there are a few rules I know to be true about love and marriage: If you don't respect the other person, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you don't know how to compromise, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you can't talk openly about what goes on between you, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. And if you don't have a common set of values in life, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. Your values must be alike.
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Mitch Albom (Tuesdays with Morrie)
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I missed you,โ€ he said quietly, his gaze darting between her mouth and eyes. โ€œWhen I was in Wendlyn. I lied when I said I didnโ€™t. From the moment you left, I missed you so much I went out of my mind. I was glad for the excuse to track Lorcan here, just to see you again. And tonight, when he had that knife at your throat โ€ฆโ€ The warmth of his callused finger bloomed through her as he traced a path over the cut on her neck. โ€œI kept thinking about how you might never know that I missed you with only an ocean between us. But if it was death separating us โ€ฆ I would find you. I donโ€™t care how many rules it would break. Even if I had to get all three keys myself and open a gate, I would find you again. Always.
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Sarah J. Maas (Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, #4))
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Be silent and listen: have you recognized your madness and do you admit it? Have you noticed that all your foundations are completely mired in madness? Do you not want to recognize your madness and welcome it in a friendly manner? You wanted to accept everything. So accept madness too. Let the light of your madness shine, and it will suddenly dawn on you. Madness is not to be despised and not to be feared, but instead you should give it life...If you want to find paths, you should also not spurn madness, since it makes up such a great part of your nature...Be glad that you can recognize it, for you will thus avoid becoming its victim. Madness is a special form of the spirit and clings to all teachings and philosophies, but even more to daily life, since life itself is full of craziness and at bottom utterly illogical. Man strives toward reason only so that he can make rules for himself. Life itself has no rules. That is its mystery and its unknown law. What you call knowledge is an attempt to impose something comprehensible on life.
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C.G. Jung (The Red Book: A Reader's Edition)
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A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done. If a story seems moral, do not believe it. If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie. There is no rectitude whatsoever. There is no virtue. As a first rule of thumb, therefore, you can tell a true war story by its absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil.
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Tim O'Brien (The Things They Carried)
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I've come to believe that there exists in the universe something I call "The Physics of The Quest" โ€” a force of nature governed by laws as real as the laws of gravity or momentum. And the rule of Quest Physics maybe goes like this: "If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting (which can be anything from your house to your bitter old resentments) and set out on a truth-seeking journey (either externally or internally), and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared โ€“ most of all โ€“ to face (and forgive) some very difficult realities about yourself... then truth will not be withheld from you." Or so I've come to believe.
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Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)
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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 ainโ€™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 youโ€™re so smart, why ainโ€™t you rich?' There will also be an American flag no larger than a childโ€™s hand โ€“ 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.
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Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (Slaughterhouse-Five)
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The acceptance of oneself is the essence of the whole moral problem and the epitome of a whole outlook on life. That I feed the hungry, that I forgive an insult, that I love my enemy in the name of Christ -- all these are undoubtedly great virtues. What I do unto the least of my brethren, that I do unto Christ. But what if I should discover that the least among them all, the poorest of all the beggars, the most impudent of all the offenders, the very enemy himself -- that these are within me, and that I myself stand in need of the alms of my own kindness -- that I myself am the enemy who must be loved -- what then? As a rule, the Christian's attitude is then reversed; there is no longer any question of love or long-suffering; we say to the brother within us "Raca," and condemn and rage against ourselves. We hide it from the world; we refuse to admit ever having met this least among the lowly in ourselves.
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C.G. Jung (Memories, Dreams, Reflections)
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Girls are taught a lot of stuff growing up. If a guy punches you he likes you. Never try to trim your own bangs and someday you will meet a wonderful guy and get your very own happy ending. Every movie we see, Every story we're told implores us to wait for it, the third act twist, the unexpected declaration of love, the exception to the rule. But sometimes we're so focused on finding our happy ending we don't learn how to read the signs. How to tell from the ones who want us and the ones who don't, the ones who will stay and the ones who will leave. And maybe a happy ending doesn't include a guy, maybe... it's you, on your own, picking up the pieces and starting over, freeing yourself up for something better in the future. Maybe the happy ending is... just... moving on. Or maybe the happy ending is this, knowing after all the unreturned phone calls, broken-hearts, through the blunders and misread signals, through all the pain and embarrassment you never gave up hope.
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Greg Behrendt
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How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property โ€“ either as a child, a wife, or a concubine โ€“ must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the faith: all know how to die but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome.
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Winston S. Churchill (The River War)
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Why Not You? Today, many will awaken with a fresh sense of inspiration. Why not you? Today, many will open their eyes to the beauty that surrounds them. Why not you? Today, many will choose to leave the ghost of yesterday behind and seize the immeasurable power of today. Why not you? Today, many will break through the barriers of the past by looking at the blessings of the present. Why not you? Today, for many the burden of self doubt and insecurity will be lifted by the security and confidence of empowerment. Why not you? Today, many will rise above their believed limitations and make contact with their powerful innate strength. Why not you? Today, many will choose to live in such a manner that they will be a positive role model for their children. Why not you? Today, many will choose to free themselves from the personal imprisonment of their bad habits. Why not you? Today, many will choose to live free of conditions and rules governing their own happiness. Why not you? Today, many will find abundance in simplicity. Why not you? Today, many will be confronted by difficult moral choices and they will choose to do what is right instead of what is beneficial. Why not you? Today, many will decide to no longer sit back with a victim mentality, but to take charge of their lives and make positive changes. Why not you? Today, many will take the action necessary to make a difference. Why not you? Today, many will make the commitment to be a better mother, father, son, daughter, student, teacher, worker, boss, brother, sister, & so much more. Why not you? Today is a new day! Many will seize this day. Many will live it to the fullest. Why not you?
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Steve Maraboli (Life, the Truth, and Being Free)
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I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor. That's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible; Jew, Gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone, and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost. The airplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men; cries out for universal brotherhood; for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women, and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me, I say, do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish. Soldiers! Don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you, enslave you; who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel! Who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men - machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines, you are not cattle, you are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts! You don't hate! Only the unloved hate; the unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers! Don't fight for slavery! Fight for liberty! In the seventeenth chapter of St. Luke, it is written that the kingdom of God is within man, not one man nor a group of men, but in all men! In you! You, the people, have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy, let us use that power. Let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfill that promise. They never will! Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people. Now let us fight to fulfill that promise. Let us fight to free the world! To do away with national barriers! To do away with greed, with hate and intolerance! Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness. Soldiers, in the name of democracy, let us all unite!
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Charlie Chaplin