💬 Quotes

"A plague is a formidable enemy which it is scarce possible for a great city to bear up under; and though it cannot be said that all the inhabitants died, yet the greater part of them died morally, by their abandoning all care of themselves."

"Selfishness is a vice so hateful that no man will acknowledge it in himself, and few will recognize it in other people unless they are entirely blinded by personal animosity."

"There are strings in the human heart that had better not be vibrated."

"Things that are meant for our general good are sometimes exceedingly uncomfortable."

"Do other men, for they would do you, that's the true business precept."

"Hope is an expensive species of amusement, which costs a great deal of money and brings in very little return."

"The memory of innocent happiness is a good thing to carry into the grave."

"Ceux qui n'ont jamais eu de moulin ne savent pas ce que c'est que la vie, l'indépendance, la joie de respirer à plein poumons sur une colline."

"La chèvre de M. Séguin s'est battue toute la nuit avec le loup... Au matin, le loup l'a mangée."

"Jemand musste Josef K. verleumdet haben, denn ohne dass er etwas Böses getan hätte, wurde er eines Morgens verhaftet."

"Das Gericht will nichts von dir. Es nimmt dich auf, wenn du kommst, und entlässt dich, wenn du gehst."

"Die Logik ist zwar unerschütterlich, aber einem Menschen, der leben will, widersteht sie nicht."

"The secret to closing isn’t in the sales pitch; it’s in the silence that follows the question. Whoever speaks first loses the leverage."

"In the world of high-stakes deals, trust is a currency that must be earned in small denominations before you can spend it on the big ones."

"A deal is never just about the money. It is about the vision, the alignment, and the human story that makes the numbers make sense."

"Never mistake movement for progress. You can work eighteen-hour days and still be running in circles if you aren't focused on the one outcome that moves the needle."

"The hardest part of any negotiation is knowing when the best deal is the one you walk away from."

"Persistence is a professional trait, but obsession is a competitive advantage. You have to want the deal more than the other guy, but you have to care about the details more than anyone else."

"The greatest danger you face is your irrationality—your tendency to be governed by moods and emotions that prevent you from seeing the world as it is."

"We are all narcissistic, but we are not all aware of it. The key to social intelligence is to transform that narcissism into empathy."