William Lyon Phelps Quotes


"The belief that youth is the happiest time of life is founded on a fallacy. The happiest person is the person who thinks the most interesting thoughts, and we grow happier as we grow older."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Life, Time, Belief, Thoughts, Youth)

"Nature makes boys and girls lovely to look upon so they can be tolerated until they acquire some sense."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Nature, Boys, Girls, Sense)

"The final test of a gentleman is his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Gentleman, Respect, Service)

"The happiest people in this world are those who have the most interesting thoughts."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: People, Thoughts, World)

"There is a strange reluctance on the part of most people to admit they enjoy life."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Life, People)

"This is the final test of a gentleman: his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Respect, Service)

"Those who decide to use leisure as a means of mental development, who love good music, good books, good pictures, good plays, good company, good conversation - what are they? They are the happiest people in the world."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Love, Music, People, Development, Books, Company, Conversation, Leisure, World)

"Whenever it is possible, a boy should choose some occupation which he should do even if he did not need the money."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Money, Occupation)

"You can be deprived of your money, your job and your home by someone else, but remember that no one can ever take away your honor."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Home, Money, Honor, Job)

"The fear of life is the favorite disease of the 20th century."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Life, Fear, Disease, Favorite)

"If you develop the absolute sense of certainty that powerful beliefs provide, then you can get yourself to accomplish virtually anything, including those things that other people are certain are impossible."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: People, Beliefs, Certainty, Sense)

"You can learn more about human nature by reading the Bible than by living in New York."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Nature, Bible, Human nature, Living, Reading)

"If happiness truly consisted in physical ease and freedom from care, then the happiest individual would not be either a man or a woman; it would be, I think, an American cow."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Happiness, American, Care, Freedom, Man, Woman)

"In a start-up company, you basically throw out all assumptions every three weeks."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Company)

"A bibliophile of little means is likely to suffer often. Books don't slip from his hands but fly past him through the air, high as birds, high as prices."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Birds, Books, Past)

"A cat pours his body on the floor like water. It is restful just to see him."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Body, Water)

"A student never forgets an encouraging private word, when it is given with sincere respect and admiration."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Encouraging, Admiration, Respect, Word)

"A well-ordered life is like climbing a tower; the view halfway up is better than the view from the base, and it steadily becomes finer as the horizon expands."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Life)

"God speaks to me not through the thunder and the earthquake, nor through the ocean and the stars, but through the Son of Man, and speaks in a language adapted to my imperfect sight and hearing."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: God, Son, Hearing, Language, Man, Ocean, Sight, Stars)

"I divide all readers into two classes: those who read to remember and those who read to forget."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Forget)

"If at first you don't succeed, find out if the loser gets anything."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: First, Succeed)

"If I didn't start painting, I would have raised chickens."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Painting)

"If I were running the world I would have it rain only between 2 and 5 a.m. Anyone who was out then ought to get wet."
- William Lyon Phelps
(Related: Rain, Running, World)