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 (71–80)
People deserve praise or blame solely based on whether they have the perseverance to see things through.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.
As you stretch yourself to broaden your horizons, it’s possible you’ll actually grow taller. That’s part of what makes life interesting.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.
Unless the whole world becomes happy, individual happiness is impossible.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.
It is the heart that makes a world without amusements into an interesting one.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.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.Yoshihide Suga
This is the motto of Yoshihide Suga, who served as Chief Cabinet Secretary and as Japan’s 99th Prime Minister.
It originally comes from the words of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States.
Lincoln had a strong desire to abolish the slave system that was widespread in America at the time.
Aiming to advance reforms against slavery, he sought public office, but he lost elections multiple times.
Nevertheless, he kept challenging himself without giving up, eventually won, and accomplished his goal of emancipating the slaves.
Mr.
Suga, too, did not come from a political family but from a farming household in a rural area, which gave him a strong commitment to policies such as regional revitalization.
Because he acted with such strong conviction toward politics, new paths opened up for him.
May we also engrave these words in our hearts and press forward.
If you admit defeat, you lose. Even if you acknowledge how bad the situation is, as long as you are determined to see it through to the end, a chance to win will emerge.
If you admit defeat, you lose…
If you read just that part, it gives the impression of being stubborn and unwilling to give up, but if you read on, you can understand what President Trump is trying to say.
Admitting defeat means giving up on that fight.
Once you give up the fight, the path that leads to the future is cut off.
But as long as you don’t give up, there may be a chance to turn the situation around.
It’s important to acknowledge failures and unfavorable circumstances while maintaining a strong, unwavering heart that doesn’t give up.
Strive not for success, but to become a person of value.Albert Einstein
Einstein: “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be a man of value.” #shorts
For most people who want to accomplish something, the goal is likely to be success.
However, Albert Einstein, regarded as the greatest physicist of the 20th century, stated in this famous quote that we should strive to become a person of value rather than to be successful.
Success generally refers to gaining wealth or fame, but becoming too fixated on it can at times lead to unnecessary conflicts and friction with others.
When that happens, we distance ourselves from happiness.
To avoid this, perhaps he is teaching us that our talents should be used not only for ourselves but to truly help others, and that we should find value in that.
The future is not something you predict; it’s something you make possible yourself.Saint-Exupéry
The future is not what you predict, but what you make possible yourself.
Saint-Exupéry, who was both a pilot and a novelist, is loved around the world for his book The Little Prince.
This famous quote carries a powerful message: the future is not something to be predicted and decided in advance, but something to be opened up and realized through our own efforts.
It’s important to consider “What will happen?”, but the results of predictions do not become the future as they are.
Because the future can change in countless ways depending on us, let’s take proactive action to get even a little closer to the future we envision.
