‘Liked’ Quotes from an Unlikely

SourceDr Sanjoy Sanyal

Professor Neuroscience

Medical University of America, Nevis, St. Kitts-Nevis, W.I.

Sanyal.sanjoy8@gmail.com

Original Quotes

There are thousands of books of quotations from famous personalities. It is difficult to say whether their quotes made them famous or they began to be quoted after they became famous; probably a little of both.

The following are entirely the author’s original; smelted, forged and tempered in the white-hot foundry fires of life. Any resemblance to existing quotes is purely coincidental.

They were posted in Facebook over 8 months, mainly as inspiration for the author’s students, many of whom are his Facebook friends. Based on number of ‘Like’ responses by boys and girls, they have been categorized and reproduced .

First-order Favorites

Maximum (and also Girls’) Favorites – Loss, Beauty, Idealism

• Loss of something need not always be a bad thing; it may also mean one less thing to worry about in life.

• A little flaw in a beauty is good; it makes you appreciate the beauty even more.

• Idealists are dangerous; they are quick to find fault with you while the same idealism blinds them to their own faults

Most Favorites – Change, Good, Best

• Every instant you are changing the world in some way, and the world is changing you in some way.

• Just being good is not sufficient; make sure the people who matter know that you are good.

• Being the topper in mediocrity is like being a one-eyed man in a land of blind people; the best of the best is what counts.

Most Favorites – Success, Anger, Life journey

• When you achieve success be prepared for two things - a small band of ardent admirers and a large bunch of secretly jealous enemies.

• A little anger is good; it spurs you to greater heights.

• Journey of life is like driving on a road full of potholes. Our driving skill determines the smoothness of the ride.

Boys’ Maximum Favorites –Personality

• Don't try to change the world. It did fine for 4.6 billion years without you, thank you.

• Don't mind those who don't mind you; their mind is not in the right place.

• If you know what you are, you don't need to prove yourself.

• If you start loving the mirror too much you may miss the person behind the face.

Only Girls’ Favorites – Achievement, Appreciation, Other person

• Keep resetting the peak so that you never reach it; after the peak there is only downward slide.

• A small word of appreciation may be big enough to change somebody's world.

• When someone curses you, you are sure of that person. When someone says they like you, you are not sure of that person at all.

Only Girls’ Favorites – Lies, Deceit, Truth, Love

• You may lie through your words, actions and deeds, but the results of your words, actions and deeds will always deliver the truth.

• If you have a spare heart give it to a heartless person.

Predominantly Girls’ Favorites – Bravery, Perspective, Insight

• Everybody feels fear. The brave overcome theirs, cowards don't.

• In a given situation, thinking from the other person's perspective is more likely to give us valuable insight. Self-centered perspective, which is what most of us indulge in, is the wrong place to look for insight.

• Understanding anything is similar to looking at a diamond; the more facets you see the greater is its shining clarity.

Predominantly Boys’ Favorites – Knowledge, Perfection, Smartness

• Don't let the conceit of little knowledge blind you to the reality of your ignorance.

• True perfection is meant to be sought after but never achieved; the search itself is the achievement.

• You have become smart when it doesn't hurt anymore if people call you the opposite.

Mixed Favorites – Life, Time, Innocence

• Dont blame life for all your troubles; life didn't ask you to run your life the way you did.

• Life was originally designed by nature to be easy. We made it complicated.

• Time was never really yours to waste.• Excessive innocence is a mistake, can

be mistaken by others and can lead you to make a mistake.

Mixed Favorites – Inferiority complex, Blessings, Wisdom

• When people talk ill of you behind your back, they betray their inferiority complex.

• If you take the blessings for granted and dwell only on the curses, you will feel you are cursed more often than blessed.

• Get WISE, with Wit, Inspiration, a touch of Sarcasm, and a lot of Enthusiasm.

Mixed Favorites – Perspective, Achievement, Guilt

• If something doesn't seem right, try seeing it the reverse way. If it still doesn't seem right, it probably isn't worth looking at.

• If you need luck to achieve something, you have already lost it.

• If you try to run from your shadow it will eventually catch up with you and overtake you.

Second-order Favorites

Girls’ Favorites – Communication, Introspection

• Sometimes silence, gestures or symbols are better at conveying your thoughts than words.

• A good way to make somebody do something is to tell them NOT to do it.

• You have to be a rare kind of genius to sense that you are wrong even before others tell you that you are wrong.

Girls’ Favorites – Memories, Life challenges

• Memories are frozen snapshots of continuously unfolding timeline of life; make sure your photoalbum is filled with the best snapshots.

• A touch of common sense, a jolt of realism, a dash of effort; and you are all set to meet any of life's challenges - just don't lose it on the way to the pettiness of pessimism.

Girls’ Favorites – Interaction, Perseverance, Success

• Best way to stop people from being a nuisance is to give them a double-dose of their own medicine.

• When you can't find what you are looking for, it doesn't mean it isn't there.

• True success lies in turning the odds against you in your favor.

Girls’ Favorites – Beauty, Conceit, Perception

• Ultimate beauty is something that you can sense with your mind and savour with closed eyes.

• If you are too busy admiring yourself, you may fail to notice that nobody else is.

• There's nothing wrong with the world. It's exactly the way it was destined to be. It's our perception of it that matters.

Girls’ Favorites – Expectations, Hands-off, Ideas

• The higher the expectation, the greater the likelihood of disappointment. Sacrificing planning and preparation on the altar of expectation only feeds disappointment.

• Don't mess with something / someone that is not doing anything to you.

• Great ideas often stem from innocuous, even pedestrian, events.

Girls’ Favorites – Criticism, Faking, Freedom

• Before you make a critical comment about somebody make sure you have a strong stomach; you may have to eat your words later.

• When you fake a smile you spend more energy than a natural smile.

• Freedom gives you the ability to choose - provided you are ready to pay the price.

Girls’ Favorites – Uncertainty, Charity, Life lessons

• Not knowing what lies in the future is what makes us tick. If we knew the future life would become worthless.

• While distributing charity, be sure to keep some for those who never ask for it or expect it, but deserve it.

• Life made me a good actor... to cover the cynicism it taught me.

Girls’ Favorites – Expressions, Anticipation, Inner beauty

• Expressed words can be faked; spontaneous gestures are always genuine.

• Anticipation is the spice that adds taste to the actual event.

• What you can see is only skin deep. What you can't see is fathomless.

• If you want to see the true beauty of a person, look for the person within the person.

Boys’ Favorites – Practicality, Certainty, Decision

• Rave and rant all you want; after that get the work done.

• It is easier to face a horde of devils if you know their agenda, rather than a bevy of angels whose agenda you don't know.

• In order to make up your mind, first you need to have the mind to make up.

Boys’ Favorites – Striving, Life’s lessons, Perspective

• When you are absolutely down and out and just cannot go on anymore, That is the time to get up and get going once more.

• Life can be distilled down to a series of mistakes; some brilliant ones, some less so. It is the stupid mistakes that teach us the most.

• When you get tired of seeing the same thing, try seeing it from a reverse perspective.

Mixed Favorites – Self, Expectation, Luck

• Ego issues arise when we understand the least about that one person we are supposed to know most about; ourselves.

• When things don't go as expected, determining what went wrong is often the hardest part.

• Don't keep cursing your luck; luck has got nothing to do with it.

Mixed Favorites – Mistakes, Objectives, Decisiveness

• Easy way to learn is from others' mistakes, hard way is from your own mistakes; most people learn the hard way.

• If in a day you claim you have achieved all objectives, it means you did not set enough objectives for the day.

• 'Yes' or 'No' are perfectly logical and valid answers for everything in this world. 'Maybe' is a creation of our confused minds.

Mixed Favorites – Realism, Leadership, Stupidity

• Don't use idealism as an umbrella to shield yourself from reality.

• Blazing a new path may not guarantee a safe haven but will definitely get you followers.

• Beware of stupid people. They can cause more damage than a herd of rampaging elephants.

Mixed Favorites – Grouchiness, Victory, Silence

• If you want to reduce suffering in this world, start by not adding yours to it.

• The day you stop blaming everybody / everything else for your failure, you have already taken the first big step towards victory.

• Always speak the truth, provided you know when NOT to speak it.

Mixed Favorites – Introspection, Reflection, Understanding

• If you look hard enough, you will definitely find yourself; you will have to work at it though, both before and after.

• When you are not sure of which step to take next, take the next most obvious one – forward.

• When listening to an impassioned speech try to hear what the person is not saying.

Mixed Favorites – Decision, Reflection, Achievement

• When you can't decide, put the decision on hold and come back to it later; this time it will be easier.

• After connecting the dots if a picture emerges, it means you have connected them right; the picture may not be immediately apparent though.

• The way to be far ahead of everybody is to make tomorrow seem like yesterday.

Mixed Favorites – Purpose, Anticipation, Publicity, Introspection

• Boredom is a reflection of your own purposelessness.

• Prepone tomorrow's thoughts to today and the going will get much easier.

• When you do somebody a good turn, make sure they know about it.

• No need to feel sorry for yourself; nobody else is.

Mixed Favorites – Purpose, Help, Achievement

• Try to leave a place a shade brighter than when you entered it.

• When you extend a hand to someone, remember you receive one also.

• You have exactly 24 hours in a day to do what you have to do.

• The only way to face a problem is, well, to face it.

Mixed Favorites – Life, Goodness

• Do not bemoan the down phase of life; the next phase cannot be anywhere alse but up.

• If you have worked really hard for something, it WILL bear fruit; it is a given. Though what, when, where and how may not be immediately obvious.

• A genuinely good person sees only the goodness in others.

Mixed Favorites – Joy, Sorrow, Life, Decisiveness

• When you are dancing with joy, take a moment to ask yourself, "Is it at somebody's else's expense?"

• Tough boys and men do cry. Only, it doesn't show.

• Life can be half full or half empty. Entirely depends on your perspective.

• If you don't know when to start, try the most obvious - now.

Mixed Favorites – Life, Stress, Reflection

• How can you say life has given you a raw deal? Have you seen all of it?

• Stress happens when we postpone something for tomorrow that we should have done today, and instead do something today that we shall regret tomorrow.

• I use your eyes to see myself. Coz what you think and feel about me is reflected in your eyes.

Mixed Favorites – Self vs. Others

• When you know something and think you are the only one who knows, chances are the other person also knows the same thing, knows that you know, and thinks the same as you.