CURATED COLLECTION

Balancing Ambition and Contentment

The tension between wanting more and appreciating what you have is one of the oldest human problems.

50 quotes found

“
He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.

—LaoziPhilosopher & Author

Ancient World ERA • East Asia

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Rest satisfied with doing well, and leave others to talk of you as they will.

—PythagorasPhilosopher & Mathematician

Ancient World ERA • Southern Europe

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First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.

—EpictetusPhilosopher

Ancient World ERA • Southern Europe

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You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but not to the fruits of your actions.

—Bhagavad GitaAuthor & Thinker

Ancient World ERA • South Asia

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One must be hard and truthful and without self‑indulgence to be a writer.

—V.S. NaipaulNovelist

Post-War ERA • Caribbean

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With every passing year, the education you have becomes more valuable.

—Lee Kuan YewScholar & Thinker

Digital Age ERA • Southeast Asia

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I would rather have a lot of something than a little of everything.

—Richard FeynmanPhysicist & General

Late Modern ERA • North America

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Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.

—Johann Wolfgang von GoetheWriter, Scientist & Statesman

Enlightenment ERA • Western Europe

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There is no greater wealth than to be free from fault.

—TiruvalluvarPoet, Philosopher & Author

Ancient World ERA • South Asia

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Badness you can get easily, in quantity; the road is smooth and near. But goodness comes with effort.

—HesiodEpic Poet

Ancient World ERA • Southern Europe

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If you find an opponent, a man of power who is your superior, bow.

—PtahhotepPharaoh

Pre-Ancient ERA • North Africa

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The tree that wants to grow must send its roots deep into the earth.

—Sundiata KeitaKing

Medieval ERA • West Africa

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To be truly free is to be free from concern for outcomes.

—ZhuangziPhilosopher

Ancient World ERA • East Asia

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Divide each difficulty into as many parts as possible and feasible.

—René DescartesPhilosopher & Mathematician

Renaissance ERA • Western Europe

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To live for virtue, and to die for fame.

—Torquato TassoPoet

Renaissance ERA • Southern Europe

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In the battlefield of life, wisdom is your sharpest sword, discretion your shield.

—Bayram KhanPoet

Renaissance ERA • Central Asia

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When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everyone will respect you.

—LaoziPhilosopher & Author

Ancient World ERA • East Asia

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Progress is simply a function of how much energy you apply to a problem.

—Elon MuskEntrepreneur & Engineer

Digital Age ERA • North America

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.

—AristotlePhilosopher & Scientist

Ancient World ERA • Southern Europe

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Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see.

—Arthur SchopenhauerPhilosopher

Industrial Age ERA • Western Europe

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