William James

Ranking: 64th
Biography of William James
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Quote	Categories	Rating	Rate
"A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices."	Excellence, Men, Monarchy
"Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune."	Acceptance
"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does."	Miscellaneous
"An act has no ethical quality whatever unless it be chosen out of several all equally possible."	Equality
"Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact."	Faith, Fear, Help
"Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact."	Faith, Help, Intelligence
"Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me."	Miscellaneous
"Genius means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way."	Genius, Habits
"How to gain, how to keep, how to recover happiness is in fact for most men at all times the secret motive of all they do, and of all they are willing to endure."	Change, Happiness, Intelligence
"I am done with great things and big plans, great institutions and big success. I am for those tiny, invisible loving human forces that work from individual to individual, creeping through the crannies of the world like so many rootlets, or like the capil"	Excellence, Men, Success
"If you want a quality, act as if you already had it. Try the 'as if' technique."	Desires, Reading, Technology
"Let everything you do be done as if it makes a difference."	Miscellaneous
"Most people live, whether physically, intellectually or morally, in a very restricted circle of their potential being. They make use of a very small portion of their possible consciousness, and of their soul's resources in general, much like a man who, out of his whole bodily organism, should get into a habit of using and moving only his lttle finger. Great emergencies and crises show us how much greater our vital resources are than we had supposed."	Excellence, Habits, Intelligence
"Of all the beautiful truths pertaining to the soul None is more gladdening or fruitful than to know You can regenerate and make yourself what you will."	Beauty, Honesty, Knowledge
"Only necessity understood, and bondage to the highest is identical with true freedom."	Age, Freedom, Honesty
"Our belief at the beginning of a doubtful undertaking is the one thing that assures the successful outcome of any venture."	Beginnings, Doubt, Faith
"Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered as much of our old knowledge, as many of our old prejudices and beliefs, as we can."	Age, Faith, Knowledge
"Religion is the monumental chapter in the history of human egotism."	History, Men, Religion
"Religion, whatever it is, is a man's total reaction upon life."	Life, Men, Religion
"The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook."	Art, Knowledge, Wisdom
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Browse William James quotes by category:

Ability	Acceptance	Accomplishment
Achievement	Age	Art
Attitude	Beauty	Beginnings
Change	Decision-Making	Desires
Doubt	Equality	Excellence
Faith	Fear	Freedom
Genius	Habits	Happiness
Help	History	Honesty
Intelligence	Joy	Knowledge
Learning	Liberty	Lies
Life	Men	Miscellaneous
Monarchy	Nature	Reading
Religion	Sin	Success
Technology	Time	Truth
Wants	Wisdom