Catherine the Great

One does not always do the best there is. One does the best one can. – Catherine the Great

The laws ought to be so framed as to secure the safety of every citizen as much as possible. … Political liberty does not consist in the notion that a man may do whatever he pleases; liberty is the right to do whatsoever the laws allow. … The equality of the citizens consists in that they should all be subject to the same laws.

I beg you take courage; the brave soul can mend even disaster.

Power without a nation’s confidence is nothing.

For to tempt and to be tempted are things very nearly allied – whenever feeling has anything to do in the matter, no sooner is it excited than we have already gone vastly farther than we are aware of.

I have no way to defend my borders but to extend them.

There were no role models, there were no other people I knew who were dealing with the same issues that I was dealing with. I had no idea if this was a stage I was going through or not. But I go to the draft board in Brooklyn and I fill out the form and there was a question that said ‘Do you have homosexual tendencies?’ and I check yes. But where-ever I was on line I’d see people I went to high school with and I was afraid of anyone knowing this about me so I kept on falling back into line and falling back into line. If you said you had homosexual tendencies they sent you to a psychiatrist. He said ‘I see here you’ve checked the box?’ And I said ‘yup’. He said ‘So do you think you’d have a problem serving in the armed forces?’ I said well you know ‘So many men.’ And I was out of the service.

Flops are a part of life’s menu and I’ve never been a girl to miss out on any of the courses.

You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when you looked at it in the right way, did not become still more complicated.

I seldom read anything that is not of a factual nature because I want to invest my time wisely in the things that will improve my life. Don’t misunderstand; there is nothing wrong with reading purely for the joy of it. Novels have their place, but biographies of famous men and women contain information that can change lives.

Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow.

Your biggest risk isn’t failing, it’s getting too comfortable.

Let your mind wander in the pure and simple. Be one with the infinite. Let all things take their course.

Every human has four endowments- self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom… The power to choose, to respond, to change.

Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have.

The coward dies a thousand deaths, the brave man…only five hundred.

I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.

Moving from survival to stability, from stability to success, from success to significance.

Only men of character are trusted.

I’m constantly amazed that owners and managers of all businesses don’t train their people to call the person who pays by credit card by name. It definitely makes the customer feel good and will be a factor in bringing them back to your place of business.