The desire of power in excess caused the angels to fall; the desire of knowledge in excess caused man to fall.

A burning desire is the greatest motivator of every human action. The desire for success implants ''success consciousness'' which, in turn, creates a vigorous and ever-increasing ''habit of success.''

A desire to be observed, considered, esteemed, praised, beloved, and admired by his fellows is one of the earliest as well as the keenest dispositions discovered in the heart of man.

It is hard to fight desire; but to control it is the sign of a reasonable man.

The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential…these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.

Your radiance shines in every atom of creation yet our petty desires keep it hidden.

Desires are only the lack of something: and those who have the greatest desires are in a worse condition than those who have none, or very slight ones.

No matter who you are or what your position you must keeping fighting for whatever it is you desire to achieve.

I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is the victory over self.

All cravings are the mind seeking salvation or fulfillment in external things and in the future as a substitute for the joy of Being.

If you have overcome your inclination and not been overcome by it, you have reason to rejoice.

There are two ways to get enough: One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.

The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.

One cannot conceive anything so strange and so implausible that it has not already been said by one philosopher or another.

There is a wisdom in this beyond the rules of physic. A man’s own observation, what he finds good of and what he finds hurt of, is the best physic to preserve health.

Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance.

No power and no treasure can outweigh the extension of our knowledge.

The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery.

There is nothing so absurd or ridiculous that has not at some time been said by some philosopher.

When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.

They [the Americans] have all a lively faith in the perfectibility of man, they judge that the diffusion of knowledge must necessarily be advantageous, and the consequences of ignorance fatal; they all consider society as a body in a state of improvement, humanity as a changing scene, in which nothing is, or ought to be, permanent; and they admit that what appears to them today to be good, may be superseded by something better tomorrow.

Music has healing power. It has the ability to take people out of themselves for a few hours.

Conceit spoils the finest genius… and the great charm of all power is modesty.

Never complain of that of which it is at all times in your power to rid yourself.

The man who acquires the ability to take full possession of his own mind may take possession of everything else to which he is justly entitled.

The resources, advantages, and the powers of the American people are very great, and they have, consequently, succeed to equally great responsibilities.

The primary imagination I hold to be the living power and prime agent of all human perception, and as a repetition in the finite mind of the eternal act of creation in the infinite I am.