Quotes about Excellence

Young—never settle for less than the spiritual and moral grandeur of which you're capable, with the help of God's grace.

No man was ever great without a touch of divine afflatus.

It is the characteristic excellence of the strong man that he can bring momentous issues to the fore and make a decision about them. The weak are always forced to decide between alternatives they have not chosen themselves.

The maxim "Nothing avails but perfection" may be spelled "Paralysis."

There is always a best way of doing everything, if it be only to boil an egg. Manners are the happy ways of doing things.

Shall a man go and hang himself because he belongs to the race of pygmies, and not be the biggest pygmy that he can?

If a man is called to be a streetsweep-er, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well.

If a Christian is not willing to rise early and work late, to expend greater effort in diligent study and faithful work, that person will not change a generation. Fatigue is the price of leadership. Mediocrity is the result of never getting tired.

The deal is that I hold myself to an extremely high standard, and it's a standard that can never be... it's unattainable. But it drives me to be the very best in everything I do.

Wisdom is knowing. Skill is know how to do it. Virtue is doing it.

No doubt those who really founded modern science were usually those whose love of truth exceeded their love of power.

Wisdom is what separates average people from extraordinary people.