CURATED COLLECTION

Facing Uncertainty

The future has never been knowable — and the people who did great things knew it and went anyway.

50 quotes found

“
Hope is not the conviction that things will go well, but that they are worth doing.

—Václav HavelPlaywright, Essayist & President

Late Modern ERA • Eastern Europe

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History has never been made by happy people.

—Boris PilnyakNovelist

Early Modern ERA • Eastern Europe

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Leave the past behind, and let the dead bury their dead.

—Dante AlighieriPoet & Author

Medieval ERA • Southern Europe

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You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

—Marcus AureliusEmperor & Philosopher

Ancient World ERA • Southern Europe

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Courage is not the absence of fear. It is acting in spite of it.

—Ousmane SembèneNovelist

Post-War ERA • West Africa

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Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.

—Margaret MeadCultural Anthropologist

Post-War ERA • North America

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I have learned to use the word impossible with the greatest caution.

—Eunice de SouzaPoet

Late Modern ERA • South Asia

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I decided, very early on, just to accept life unconditionally.

—Audrey HepburnActress & Humanitarian

Post-War ERA • Western Europe

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Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.

—Ruth Bader GinsburgLawyer

Digital Age ERA • North America

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A great country knows its past. A greater country faces its future.

—Pramoedya Ananta ToerNovelist & Writer

Post-War ERA • Southeast Asia

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We must adapt our strategies, not abandon our goal of freedom.

—Njinga MbandeQueen

Renaissance ERA • Southern Africa

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It is never too late to be what you might have been.

—George EliotScholar & Thinker

Industrial Age ERA • Western Europe

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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

—Samuel BeckettNovelist & Playwright

Late Modern ERA • Western Europe

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The future of the Māori people lies in adapting, yet retaining their culture.

—Māui PōmareDoctor & Politician

Early Modern ERA • Oceania

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History is a great teacher. Men who ignore it are condemned to repeat it.

—Haile SelassieEmperor

Post-War ERA • East Africa

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It's the little things citizens do. That's what will make the difference.

—Wangari MaathaiActivist

Contemporary ERA • East Africa

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I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become.

—Yemi AladeScholar & Thinker

Digital Age ERA • West Africa

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The future is unwritten, waiting for the brave to dream and act upon it.

—Gioconda BelliPoet & Novelist

Late Modern ERA • Latin America

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One is happy as a result of one's own efforts once one knows the necessary ingredients of happiness.

—George SandNovelist

Industrial Age ERA • Western Europe

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The people who were trying to make this world worse are not taking a day off. Why should I?

—Bob MarleyMusician

Post-War ERA • Caribbean

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