37 of My Favorite Quotes of 2014

I’m not a huge quote person. I keep a couple of Marcus Aurelius quotes taped to my desk at work and I capture a handful that resonate on note cards that make up my commonplace book.

Beyond that, I don’t obsessively pore over them or scribble them on the back of my trapper keeper. That said, I do think that quotes are interesting in that a few words can encapsulate entire thoughts and feelings.

Quotes can shed light on big ideas, they can illuminate, enlighten and magnify things that matter to us. Below are 37 that resonated with me this year.

Most were said this year, but some were said long ago and I just stumbled across them this year. I tried to break them out by topic to make them easier for consumption. enjoy!

On Life:

“If you view crossing the finish line as the measure of your life, you’re setting yourself up for a personal disaster.” — Chris Hadfield

“For paranoia about ‘what other people think’ : remember that only some hate, a very few love — and almost all just don’t care.” — Alain de Botton

“If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you!” — Alexandra Russell

“Two kinds of days worth living: Days of inspiration & of perspiration. If not having the former, make sure to have the latter.” Skinner Layne

“Most people who have privilege let it go to waste, and there’s nothing honorable or compassionate about that.” — David Cain

On Taking Action:

“A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” — Herbert Simon

“Information isn’t what’s scarce; it’s the willingness to do something with it.” — Tyler Cowen

“Losers wait for the world to give them permission to do something. Winners do it anyway.” — Ramit Sethi

“Ideas are cheap. I have more ideas now than I could ever write up. To my mind, it’s the execution that is all-important.” — George RR Martin

On Marketing:

“Here’s what our product can do’ and ‘Here’s what you can do with our product’ sound similar, but they are completely different approaches.” — Jason Fried

“Impressions without transactions is popularity without a date to the dance.” –Olivier Blanchard

On Entrepreneurship:

“Complexity may be cool, but it’s hard to create, market and sell. The simplest solutions are the most successful.” — Nicole Fallon

“Competition validates the market. Don’t fear it, be better than it.” — Meredith Perry

“I’m optimistic arguably to a fault, especially in terms of new ideas. My presumptive tendency, when I’m presented with a new idea, is not to ask, ‘Is it going to work?’ It’s, ‘Well, what if it does work?’” — Marc Andreesen

On Writing:

“To a writer, an open browser tab is like a glass of whiskey. 1 or 2 can help the work. Too many ensures that nothing gets done.” — Andy Ihnatko

On Mindset:

“A lot of space opens up in your brain when you stop filling it with other people’s thoughts.” — Paraphrased from Emily Gould

“Mind your mind; guard it resolutely. Since it is the mind that confuses the mind, don’t let your mind give in to your mind.” — Suzuki Shosan

“Successful people see an example and think ‘How can I do that my way?’ Others say ‘That’s different because of x, y, and z, so I can’t.’” — Brian Clark

On Work:

“You will not always be working on something that makes you proud, but you will always learn something out of it.” — Sebastien Gabriel

“Acknowledging that your employees might leave is how you build the relationships that convinces great people to stay.” — @reidhoffman

“The amount of hysteria one demonstrates isn’t at all related to how much work is being done (or how much we care).” — Seth Godin

“Hiring managers rely on data points like pedigree and years of irrelevance exactly because that’s all they can do. No subject matter skill.” — David Heinemeir Hansson

On Time:

“We all only have 1440 minutes a day. Accept you can’t do it all, focus on what’s important and do that well.” — Eric Barker

“Money you lose you can always make back. But even five minutes of time lost is gone forever.” — James Altucher

“Schedule life & defend it as you would an important business meeting. Never tell yourself ‘I’ll just get it done this weekend.’” — Tim Ferriss

On Smart People:

“You can recognize genuinely smart people by their ability to say things like ‘I don’t know’ ‘Maybe you’re right’ and ‘I don’t understand’” — Paul Graham

On Fear:

“So many of us choose our path out of fear disguised as practicality.” — Jim Carrey

“Anger is just a mutation of fear.” — James Altucher

On Leadership:

“Leadership is more than just bravery and intellect. It also requires vulnerability and compassion.” — Jonathan Taplin

“A boss who micromanages is like a coach who wants to get in the game. Leaders guide & support…then sit back & cheer from the sidelines.” — Simon Sinek

On Mentorship:

“A good mentor teaches you how to think, not what to think.” — Vala Afshar

Miscellaneous:

“True will is quiet humility, resilience, and flexibility; the other kind of will is weakness disguised by bluster and ambition.” — Ryan Holiday

“Most people don’t want advice, they wan’t validation.” — Amber Naslund

“People respect perfection, but they fall in love with imperfection.” — Derek Shanahan

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” — Mark Twain

“Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.” — St. Francis

Ryan Stephens wants people to stop faking their life for Facebook friends and to put down their cell phone long enough to help others, to think, to do important work and to savor life. Follow him on Twitter @ryanstephens.