'The true measure of all our actions is how long the good in them lasts.'

'One man can make a difference and every man should try.'

- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929-1994)

'At every moment, we always have a choice, even if it feels as if we don’t. Sometimes that choice may simply be to think a more positive thought.'

- Singer Tina Turner (1993–2023)

A Quote by Sandra Day O'Connor

"Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time."

'Reputation is what others think about you. What’s far more important is character, because that is what you think about yourself.'

- Tennis champion Billie Jean King (1943-present)

'Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.'

- Judy Garland

'Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.'

- Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)

Queen Elizabeth's 70-year pen-pal in North Dakota

Adele Hankey, 96, a resident of Park River, North Dakota, has exchanged letters with the late Queen Elizabeth II for 70 years on their shared birthday.

'All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.'

- "The Lord of the Rings" author JRR Tolkien (1892-1973)

'Life's short. Anything could happen, and it usually does, so there is no point in sitting around thinking about all the ifs, ands, and buts.'

'If the time is not ripe, we have to ripen the time.'

- Activist Dorothy Height (1912-2010)

'Her own thoughts and reflections were habitually her best companions.'

- Legendary author Jane Austen (1775 -1817)

'I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself.'

- Actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992)

'Don’t try to be young. Just open your mind. Stay interested in stuff. There are so many things I won’t live long enough to find out about, but I’m still curious about them.'

- Actress Betty White (1922-2021)

'In life, unlike chess, the game continues after checkmate.'

- Isaac Asimov

'How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.' - Anne Frank

'I've come to the conclusion that life is for the taking and just too short to dwell on the negative.'

- Cranberries lead singer Dolores O'Riordan (1971-2018)

'The bounty of nature is also one of the deep needs of man.'

- Lady Bird Johnson (1912-2007)

'In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.'

-Poet Robert Frost (1874-1963)

'You don't get to choose how you're going to die or when. You can only decide how you're going to live. Now.'

- Musician and activist Joan Baez (1941-present)

'Don't gain the world and lose your soul; wisdom is better than silver or gold.'

-Reggae pioneer Bob Marley (1945-1981)

'Success has brought me world idolization and millions of pounds. But it's prevented me from having the one thing we all need: A loving, ongoing relationship.'

- Queen frontman Freddie Mercury (1946-1991)

'Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.'

- Senator Robert F. Kennedy (1925–1968)

'Keep working on a plan. Make no little plans. Make the biggest one you can think of, and spend the rest of your life carrying it out.'

- President Harry Truman (1884-1972)

'You only go around once, but if you play your cards right, once is enough.'

- Frank Sinatra (1915–1998)

'I have learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.'

- Martha Washington (1731-1802)

A quote from Robin Williams

"There’s no shame in failing. The only shame is not giving things your best shot."

'Sometimes opportunities float right past your nose. Work hard, apply yourself, and be ready. When an opportunity comes you can grab it.'

- Actress Julie Andrews (1935 - present)

'Action indeed is the sole medium of expression for ethics.'

- Jane Addams (1860-1935)

'The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.'

- Marine biologist and environmentalist Rachel Carson (1907-1964)

'To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.'

- Diplomat Kofi Annan (1938-2018)

'Too often we participate in the globalization of indifference. May we strive instead to live global solidarity.'

- Pope Francis (1936 - 2025)

Queen Elizabeth II ordered the US national anthem played at Buckingham Palace in the days after 9/11.

'The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.'

- American musician BB King (1925-2015)

'No one has ever become poor by giving.'

- Anne Frank (1929-1945)

'I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot ... The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.'

- Author Jack London (1876 - 1916)

'In the past, people were born royal. Nowadays, royalty comes from what you do.'

- Fashion designer Gianni Versace (1946–1997)

'A word after a word after a word is power.'

- Author Margaret Atwood (1939-present)

'Happiness depends more upon the internal frame of a persons own mind—than on the externals in the world.'

- George Washington (1732-1799)

'Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul—and sings the tunes without the words—and never stops at all.'

- Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

'I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse.'

- Modern nursing innovator Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)

'Most of man's problems upon this planet, in the long history of the race, have been met and solved either partially or as a whole by experiment based on common sense and carried out with courage.'

-Frances Perkins (1880-1965), first female member of US Cabinet

'We are more fulfilled when we are involved in something bigger than ourselves.'

- Astronaut John Glenn (1921–2016)

'Voices ought not be measured by how pretty they are. Instead they matter only if they convince you that they are telling the truth.'

- Iconic singer Sam Cooke (1931–1964)

'The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.'

- Boxing champion Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)

A quote by Lucille Ball

"Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world."

Jane Austen remains a literary force 250 years later

Both her books and adaptations of them for film continue to sell, with 2025 seeing the highest book sales since 2009. Critics claim her deep, witty exploration of relationships and social norms are the basis of her enduring relevance.

A quote by Magic Johnson

"Celebrate the life you had, not the life you could've had."

A quote by award-winning actor Tom Hanks

"We are still in the position of waking up and having a choice. Do I make the world better today somehow, or do I not bother?"

'When you're climbing Mount Everest, nothing is easy. You just take one step at a time, never look back and always keep your eyes glued to the top.'

- Author Jacqueline Susann (1918-1974)

A quote by Whitney Houston

"I believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside."