Wit & Wisdom

“Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

Abraham Lincoln, quoted in the Tampa Bay Times

“I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, ‘Where’s the self-help section?’ She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Steven Wright, quoted in The Wall Street Journal

“You never fail until you stop trying.”

Albert Einstein, quoted in The Cincinnati Enquirer

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in a moment of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

Martin Luther King Jr., quoted in the Syracuse, N.Y., Post-Standard

“It is the nature of all greatness not to be exact.”

Edmund Burke, quoted in the Associated Press

“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is a nobler art of leaving things undone.”

Writer Lin Yutang, quoted in O, the Oprah Magazine

“I think of the past as a little sister. I love her—but she could benefit from a couple more showers.”

Alanis Morissette, quoted in More