Quotes: Winston Churchill

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."

–– Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British Prime Minister 1940-1945; 1951-1955

via Commonplace Book 2006-2009, 2007, p. 121.

Quotes: Kate Morton

"Someone I used to know a long time ago told me once that fear is the doorway to opportunity." 

–– Kate Morton, Australian novelist 

Source: Kate Morton. Homecoming. Toronto: Simon & Schuster, 2023; p. 46.

 via: Commonplace Book 2022, 2022, p. 105.

Quotes: Will Rogers

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. Opportunity rarely knocks on your door. Knock rather on opportunity's door if you ardently wish to enter."  

–– Will Rogers (1879-1935), American Cherokee actor, writer, cowboy 

Source: Faire Magazine Issue 9, July 2023, p. 61.

via: Aboveground Art Supplies Sketchbook 2020, 2024, p. 32. 

Quotes: Pico Iyer

"The Dalai Lama ... reminds us that the only way to live in a world of constant change is not to pretend that it might be otherwise. We may have little control over external circumstances, but we have a lot of control over how we respond to them, and how much we choose to take loss to be fresh opportunity. [...]

"But the ever-more-visible precariousness of our homes – and the places we love – is telling us, every hour, not to waste a moment or assume that everything will remain the same."

–– Pico Iyer (b. 1957) British-born novelist and essayist 

Source: Pico Iyer. 'The Vanishing.' The Globe and Mail, Saturday, August 26, 2023, p. O3; 

Quotes: Chinese proverb

"When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills." 

–– Chinese proverb 

via: Sketchbook 29, 2016, p. 91.

Quotes: unknown

"So never lose an opportunity of urging a practical beginning, however small, for it is wonderful how often in such matters the mustard-seed germinates and roots itself." 

–– unknown 

via Sketchbook 19, 2012, p. 27