Philanthropists From The United States

"The other boys at Yale came from wealthy families, and none of them were investing outside the United States, and I thought, 'That is very egotistical. Why be so shortsighted or near-sighted as to focus only on America? Shouldn't you be more open-minded?"

"The four most expensive words in the English language are "this time it’s different.""

"The objective of our religious foundations is to teach people that they are hurting themselves when they say they believe something. What we should realize is we know almost nothing about God and therefore we should be eager to search and to learn."

"The main focus in my life now is to open people's minds so no one will be so conceited that they think they have the total truth. They should be eager to learn, to listen, to research and not to confine, to hurt, to kill, those who disagree with them."

"The correct description is that we try every day to become more humble when we talk about divinity, we try to realize how little we know and how open minded we should be. It's self centered to think that human beings, as limited as we are, can describe divinity."

"Let's worship Divinity, but understand the divinity we worship is beyond our comprehension."

"In my 45-year career as an investment counselor, humility did show me the need for worldwide diversification to reduce risk. That career did help me to become more and more humble because statistics showed that when I advised a client to buy one stock to replace another, about one-third of the time the client would have done better to ignore my advice. In other endeavors, humility about how little I know has encouraged me to listen more carefully and more wisely."

"I'm really convinced that our descendants a century or two from now will look back at us with the same pity that we have toward the people in the field of science two centuries ago."

"If we become increasingly humble about how little we know, we may be more eager to search."

"I thought, I'm only going to be on this planet once, and only for a short time. What can I do with my life that will lead to permanent benefits?"

"I served for 42 years on the board of trustees of the largest Presbyterian seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, and we had brilliant people — teachers and students both — but they did not come up with many new concepts. They weren't invited to come up with new concepts. Anybody who had come up with a new concept would have been under suspicion for being out of step with the tradition or out of step with the teachings of the church."

"I have no quarrel with what I learned in the Presbyterian church — I am still an enthusiastic Christian. But why shouldn't I try to learn more? Why shouldn't I go to Hindu services? Why shouldn't I go to Muslim services? If you are not egotistical, you will welcome the opportunity to learn more."

"I focus on spiritual wealth now, and I'm busier, more enthusiastic, and more joyful than I have ever been."

"We are trying to persuade people that no human has yet grasped 1% of what can be known about spiritual realities. So we are encouraging people to start using the same methods of science that have been so productive in other areas, in order to discover spiritual realities."

"High ethics and religious principles form the basis for success and happiness in every area of life."

"No one does children's stories like Maurice Sendak … over a hundred books in all. He's won nearly every major prize for children's literature plus the national medal of arts. And no wonder. Just look at these titles: In the Night Kitchen; Higglety Pigglety Pop!; Outside Over There; Chicken Soup with Rice; and of course, the most loved and famous of all, Where the Wild Things Are. Our own tattered copy is a Moyers family keepsake. We read it to our children when it was first published forty years ago. We've read it to our grandchildren in the last decade and we fully expect that one day they will be reading it to their grandkids, too. But let me share a Sendak secret with you. A seven-year-old hearing this story couldn't have more fun than a 70-year-old reading it. Where the Wild Things Are is ageless and timeless."

"He’s one of the most important, if not the most important, writers and artists ever to work in children’s literature. In fact, he’s a significant writer and artist in literature. Period."

"He is, at heart, a curmudgeon, but a delightful one, with a vast range of knowledge, a wicked sense of humor and a talent for storytelling and mimicry. … He spends his days pondering his heroes: Mozart, Keats, Blake, Melville and Dickinson. He admires and yearns for their “ability to be private, the ability to be alone, the ability to follow some spiritual course not written down by anybody.” Mr. Sendak is quick to insist that a vast distance stands between his own accomplishments and theirs. “I’m not one of those people,” he said. “I can’t pretend to be.” Still, he has the feeling that “I will do something yet that is purely for me but will create for someone in the future that passion that Blake and Keats did in me.” What he has failed to consider, though, is that he may already have."

"We've got a lot of young guys. A lot of good, young guys. But young guys can go out there and learn how to win quickly. I feel good about the guys behind me. I know that if I'm not in there, they'll do just as well as me."

"He's got great balance and great vision, and Emmitt has earned his starting spot."

"Emmitt Smith is in a position, in my opinion, where he should be the highest-paid running back in football. He's a guy who has gone out and led the league in rushing and been productive."

"Emmitt Smith is someone that I have great respect for - as a player, a competitor and a person. His contributions to the organization and the NFL speak for themselves."

"Football is a team sport, and there is no one individual who is bigger than the next person."

"It's nice to know that people are paying attention to you on the other side of the ball, but it's also kind of sad because you feel like you're a man that's being hunted down by some vicious animal. I feel they're going to come after me and do whatever they can to shut down the run, and that makes a difference with me in going out and doing my job."

"My idea, my dream, my goal, is to go out and legitimize this sport and compete at the Olympic Games with my peers in the football arena."

"I love to play bid whist as much as I love football."

"In order to achieve great things in your life, you have to be consistent in what you are doing."

"Your biggest fear is the transition from football to business. You feel inferior at the beginning. You don't have the knowledge to compete. But once you start focusing and understanding, then you start relating to things."

"History has never seen Emmitt Smith. I don't care what has come before me. That's why they call it history you create new history."

"What I accomplished definitely wasn't achieved by myself. Without others, none of this would have been possible."

"If your team is going to win, you need to play better than the other quarterback."

"I think Brady keeps a lucky piece of bacon in his girdle."

"I would not live alway: I ask not to stay Where storm after storm rises dark o’er the way."

"Religion should never be held to account for inferior scholarship."

"The head should not be furnished at the expense of the heart."

"That heavenly music! what is it I hear? The notes of the harpers ring sweet in mine ear. And, see, soft unfolding those portals of gold, The King all arrayed in his beauty behold!"

"If I had a brick for every time I’ve repeated the phrase Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value, I think I’d probably be able to bridge the Atlantic Ocean with them."

"O power of Love, O wondrous mystery! How is my dark illumined by thy light, That maketh morning of my gloomy night, Setting my soul from Sorrow's bondage free With swift-sent revelation! Yea, I see Beyond the limitation of my sight And senses, comprehending now, aright, Today's proportion to eternity. Through thee, my faith in God is made me sure, My searching eyes have pierced the misty veil; The pain and anguish which stern Sorrow brings Through thee become more easy to endure. Love-strong I mount, and heaven's high summit scale; Through thee, my soul has spread her folded wings."

"I have lost my beloved mother, and New York and the world have lost a great lady. She was one of a kind in every way. Her tombstone will be inscribed with the words she specifically asked for: 'I had a wonderful life.'"

"Money is like manure, it should be spread around."

"If I go up to Harlem or down to Sixth Street, and I’m not dressed up or I’m not wearing my jewelry, then the people feel I’m talking down to them."

"Today, we are all saddened by the loss of Brooke Astor, a quintessential New Yorker and one of the great philanthropists of our time. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers were the beneficiaries of Mrs Astor’s good will and kind nature, many unaware of the origins of the donations. Her contributions reached a wide variety of causes; The New York Public Library, and the entire city, would not be what they are today without her gracious support."

"Aging is human evolution in its pure form. Death, taxes and aging .... We are ALL going to age and soften and mellow and transition."

"We are all born worthy. Worthy of love, worthy of success."

"And it felt really good to be needed. And to be trusted. And to be special."

"I think happiness comes from self-acceptance. We all try different things, and we find some comfortable sense of who we are. We look at our parents and learn and grow and move on. We change."

"Getting older makes you more alive."

"Exchange the words ‘have to’ with ‘get to.’ Exchange the word ‘can’t’ with ‘unwilling.’"

"I don't think any woman wants to be known for being beautiful or busty. I think you want to be known for who you are."

"People get real comfortable with their features. Nobody gets comfortable with their hair. Hair trauma. It's the universal thing."