Wonderful quotes and sayings

Quotes from great figures that give us the power to live

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.

There are many people in the world called “great figures” who have astonished others, created useful technologies, and moved people’s hearts.

In this article, we carefully select and introduce famous quotes spoken by such great figures.

We’ve gathered quotes from a variety of perspectives—ones that give you the strength to face forward when you feel like giving up, ones that help you take one more step, and ones that let you feel love and dreams.

You might even come across a quote that supports your days—and your life.

Quotes from great figures that give us the strength to live (11–20)

People deserve praise or blame solely based on whether they have the perseverance to see things through.NEW!Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci, a master artist of the Renaissance known for The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa.

From this quote he left behind, we can sense the importance of perseverance.

The ability to carry through without abandoning what you have decided to do is essential for success.

By continuing to make efforts without giving up until the end, people earn praise and etch their names into history.

Leonardo da Vinci is known as a remarkably versatile figure, even called a “universal genius.” Perhaps it was precisely because he possessed this power of perseverance.

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If you try, you can achieve; if you don’t try, you won’t. Whatever fails to be accomplished fails because people do not attempt it.NEW!Uesugi Yōzan

Uesugi Yōzan was a mid-Edo period feudal lord and the 9th daimyō of the Yonezawa Domain in Dewa Province.

These words are said to be a lesson he composed and gave to his retainers.

Both “為す” (nasu) and “成す” (nasu) are pronounced the same.

“為す” means to take action; “成す” means to accomplish something.

In other words, if you try, you can do it.

You can’t do anything if you don’t try.

If something can’t be done, it’s because the person doesn’t attempt it.

These words teach the importance of effort and taking action.

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As you stretch yourself to broaden your horizons, it’s possible you’ll actually grow taller. That’s part of what makes life interesting.NEW!Saburō Shiroyama

This quote left by the novelist Saburō Jōyama teaches us the importance of taking on challenges.

Don’t you sometimes find yourself thinking with a narrow perspective? It’s easy to let yourself be carried along without broadening your view or attempting anything new.

But if you widen your perspective just a little, you may realize that what you face is easier to overcome than you thought.

When you stretch yourself to take on a challenge, you begin to see a different landscape—as if you’ve actually grown taller.

When you want to take that first step, remember these words.

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Unless the whole world becomes happy, individual happiness is impossible.NEW!Kenji Miyazawa

These are words by Kenji Miyazawa, the poet and writer of children’s stories famous for the poem “Be Not Defeated by the Rain.” Kenji Miyazawa is also known for works such as Night on the Galactic Railroad, The Restaurant of Many Orders, and Matasaburo of the Wind.

All humans live by supporting one another.

Even if we feel as though we live on our own, it’s hard to completely separate ourselves from others.

In other words, unless those around us are happy and the entire world becomes happy, our own happiness cannot truly exist.

Not only do we want our own happiness, but we also want the people around us and people across the world to be happy—these are words to keep close to heart.

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It is the heart that makes a world without amusements into an interesting one.NEW!Shinsaku Takasugi

“Make an unamusing world amusing”…

It is said that Shinsaku Takasugi composed only this upper line.

Shinsaku Takasugi was a feudal retainer of the Choshu domain at the end of the Edo period and is known as the founder of the Kiheitai militia.

He fell ill before fulfilling his ambitions, and this is the verse he composed at that time.

The lower line, “It is the heart that makes a place livable,” is said to have been composed by Nomura Botoni, who was nursing him.

Takasugi wrote that whether one lives amusingly in a world that is, by nature, not amusing depends on one’s state of mind, while Nomura Botoni answered that whether the world feels unamusing or not also depends on one’s own feelings.

It’s a verse through which you can enjoy the differing values of Shinsaku Takasugi and Nomura Botoni.

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To learn is to enrich one’s life.Albert Einstein

These are the words of Albert Einstein, who established the theory of relativity and greatly transformed the scientific outlook of the 20th century.

He valued the worth that learning brings to life more than the mere acquisition of knowledge.

Studying is not something done solely for exams or evaluations; it has the power to broaden our perspectives and deepen our way of living.

As understanding grows, the world becomes more three-dimensional, and we begin to find meaning even in everyday events.

The idea that a commitment to lifelong learning enriches our lives reaffirms the significance of effort.

It is a memorable quote that turns intellectual curiosity into a positive force.

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Quotes from great figures that give us the strength to live (21–30)

Please stay alive. I want to put an end to a world that makes you want to die.NEW!Taro Yamamoto

Stay alive / Reiwa Beginners #Reiwa Shinsengumi #Taro Yamamoto #I want to make you happy #Best Speech #Reiwa Beginners

Please stay alive. I want to put an end to a world that makes you want to die. NEW! Taro Yamamoto

Watch “Please stay alive. I want to put an end to a world that makes you want to die. NEW! Taro Yamamoto” on YouTube

These words express a strong desire to somehow change a world that robs people of their confidence and makes them feel like giving up on life.

They convey the idea that the suffering people endure is largely caused by the structure of society and the politics that shape it, and that by changing politics, society itself can be transformed into a world where everyone can live more easily.

A key point is the powerful appeal to those who have given up to choose life, which clearly conveys a sense of solidarity and support.

These words are filled with a wish to reduce suffering and create a world where everyone can feel happiness.

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