RAG Music - Quote Wonderful words from great and famous people that... give us encouragement Beautiful words by great and famous people that illuminate life 10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminder kepiko 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 for 10 years as a kindergarten teacher and for 7 years as an after-school childcare instructor, then took a post as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I also engaged in activities that shared Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational play, working with many children. Afterwards, through freelance writing, planning, and editing work at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and conveying ideas. Leveraging the perspective cultivated in educational settings and my experience as an editor, I aim to deliver practical information—focusing on fields related to music and children—that values both input and output. Hobbies include instruments, singing, handcrafts, toys, drawing, traditional play, the outdoors, books, DIY, and crafts. Special skill: spinning-top tricks.
We all get stuck sometimes, feel like our hearts are about to break, and stumble often in life.
Even when you’ve decided to move forward, you may still find yourself worrying and wavering.
In those moments, remember the wonderful words from the great and famous figures we’re introducing today.
These are quotes you’ll want to recall in many situations—dreams, love, relationships, and more.
They’re also perfect words to share with a friend or someone who’s feeling down, so be sure to check them out!
Table of Contents Beautiful words by great and famous people that illuminate life If it doesn’t get dark, you can’t see the stars. Charles Beard If you can’t love yourself, how can you love someone else? Dewi Sukarno Happiness is always decided by your own heart. Mitsuo Aida Even if everything is lost, the future still remains. Christian Nestell Bovee You can’t shake hands with a clenched fist. Mahatma Gandhi Because we dream, life shines. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart It’s okay, it’s okay—someday the day will come when we’ll get out of here. Banana Yoshimoto If you worry about what you don’t have, you’ll waste what you do have. Ken Keyes Jr. The most important thing is to find what you love. Kobe Bryant There are no solutions in life. What exists in life is only a force in motion. We have to create that force. The solutions will follow afterward. Saint-Exupéry Don’t listen to others’ expectations. Live your own life and meet your own expectations. Tiger Woods Always be yourself, express yourself, and believe in yourself. Don’t imitate some successful person’s example. Bruce Lee What matters is not practice, but the passion for practice. Pelé Life isn’t for curling; curling is one of the things that make life shine. Mari Motohashi Since we are being kept alive, let’s simply feel grateful. We are kept alive because our lives are worth living. Jakuchō Setouchi I wonder what truly matters to me. Who are the people who are truly important to me? I feel like just sincerely pondering these two things is enough to lead a good life. Shigesato Itoi We read “failure” as “success.” Katsuya Nomura There is no retirement from making people happy. Colonel Sanders Happiness is always decided by your own heart. Mitsuo Aida It is better to walk with a friend in the dark than to walk alone in the light. Helen Keller What matters is not who you’ve been up to now, but who you’ll be from here on. Ella Fitzgerald Spring comes to all living beings. Keep hope. Solid Snake At times, leave the beaten path and venture into the forest. There, you will surely discover something new that you have never seen before. Alexander Graham Bell If there were no winter, spring would not be so pleasant. Sometimes, without adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. Anne Bradstreet If you think you can, you can; if you think you can’t, you can’t. This is an unshakable, absolute law. Pablo Picasso In this world, there is a unique path that only you can walk. Do not ask where that path will lead. Simply press on. Friedrich Nietzsche If you have a clear dream and a clear goal, the path will surely open up. Mahatma Gandhi No matter how many times you fall, you can start over as many times as it takes. “Failure” isn’t falling down; it’s not getting back up. Mary Pickford Youth is the freshness of the heart. As long as one is filled with conviction and hope, brimming with courage, and continues ever-renewed activity day by day, youth will be theirs forever. Konosuke Matsushita If you do not love, you cannot learn how to love. Iris Murdoch A woman who has cried enough tears to wash her eyes gains a wider field of vision. Dorothea Dix Only the weak are unable to forgive; forgiveness is a sign of strength. Gandhi I believe that the true turning point for growth is whether you can keep moving forward step by step—without anxiety, without fear, and without hesitation—especially when you’re not seeing results. Yoshiharu Habu If you keep looking down, you won’t be able to find a rainbow. Charles Chaplin Your happiness in life depends on the quality of your thoughts. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus People deserve praise or blame solely based on whether they have the perseverance to see things through. Leonardo da Vinci No success for those without dreams. Yoshida Shōin 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 Let others take the credit; the fragrance of the flower will linger on you. Shigeta Saitō That’s fine—people should live their own way. Tarō Asō Without passion, no energy is born. Without energy, it’s the same as having nothing. In life, there is no such thing as being frozen forever. Winter will inevitably turn into spring, and when the time comes, beautiful flowers will bloom. Joseph Murphy In the new year, even small things are fine—let’s set tasks for ourselves one by one and keep to them. Isn’t that the shortcut to building what we call our true selves? Kazuko Watanabe No dream is too big, and no challenge is too great. The future is not something you predict; it’s something you make possible yourself. Saint-Exupéry Life is about finding someone more important than your mother. Shinsuke Shimada Memories themselves aren’t sad. They become sad because we idealize them. Yasushi Akimoto Beyond the clouds, the sky is always blue. Louisa May Alcott We do not laugh because we are happy; we are happy because we laugh. William James What matters is getting back up every time you fail. Winston Churchill You only realize your own strength once you’ve overcome your anxieties and concerns. Serena Williams Even if a race happens only once, horse racing always leads to the next, and there are clues to be found in defeat. Yutaka Take If we were just one minute earlier, we could save one more person. Calvin Coolidge There are no coincidences in life. Don’t run away by blaming others or luck—let’s keep building our strength little by little. Kazu Miura Beneath mud and earth lies solid rock; above clouds and mist shines the sun. At the height of discontent, there is still fortune, nor is hope absent. Kanzo Uchimura Nature is an impartial and merciless enemy. Society is an unjust enemy with human sentiment. Soseki Natsume Natural disasters strike when we least expect them. Torahiko Terada Earthquakes will strike again and again. To prevent severe damage, we will build parks and roads. Shinpei Gotō If you endure, you will surely become a strong person. Senichi Hoshino What Japan gained after losing everything was hope… It planted the seeds of hope within us, who had been captivated by wealth. Ryu Murakami Prepare pessimistically, act optimistically. Kazuo Inamori Humans will end up happy anyway. Kazlaser No matter how many times a person fails, as long as they don’t lose the courage to try once more, they will surely make something of themselves. Konosuke Matsushita With the sunlight and a cloudless blue sky, as long as I can gaze at them, how could I possibly feel sad? Anne Frank In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity. Albert Einstein In this world, there is a unique path that no one but you can walk. Friedrich Nietzsche You can just be yourself. Mother Teresa The only people who don’t make mistakes are those who do nothing. Theodore Roosevelt I’m not interested in the fact that you stumbled; I’m concerned with whether you rise from it. Abraham Lincoln Just because you failed once doesn’t mean everything is a failure. Marilyn Monroe If you don’t give up on yourself, there’s no such thing as “losing” in life. Shigeta Saitō Love is not about gazing at each other, but about looking together in the same direction. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry As long as you don’t lose to yourself, it isn’t defeat. Eleanor Roosevelt It’s hope and confidence that make things happen. Helen Keller Do not be conceited, do not compare yourself with others, and live with a light heart, finding things amusing. Kirin Kiki It doesn’t matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop. Confucius Love the life you live. Live the life you love. Bob Marley Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Abraham Lincoln Rather than follow a paved path, forge your own way where there is none and move forward. Ralph Waldo Emerson You were born into this world with a single precious life—you are someone invaluable. Jakuchō Setouchi Life changes greatly when we choose gratitude over expectation. Anthony Robbins Everyone has the right to determine their own destiny. Bob Marley Whether you are happy or not depends on yourself. Aristotle You can’t change other people or the past, but you can change yourself and the future. Eric Berne The longest-lived person isn’t the one who has aged the most, but the one who has enjoyed life the most. Jean-Jacques Rousseau Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans. John Lennon People stumble their way toward success. Mary Kay Ash A good life is one where what you can enjoy increases more than what you can do. Shigeta Saitō There’s no need to look back. There are countless paths ahead of you. Lu Xun One secret to living a happy life is to keep up small joys. Iris Murdoch If you can dream it, you can achieve it. Walt Disney It’s just a bad day, not a bad life. Johnny Depp Don’t hesitate to be happy. John Lennon No matter how dark it is, the stars are shining. Ralph Waldo Emerson If you keep chasing your dreams and never give up, even the darkest path will begin to shine with light. Naoko Takahashi It’s never too late to become the person you wanted to be. George Eliot Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Charles Dederich The goddess of fate favors those who act boldly. Niccolò Machiavelli If you have no failures in life, you fail at life. Shigeta Saitō Only by living desperately does one’s life shine. Oda Nobunaga ...to be continued Beautiful words by great and famous people that illuminate life (31–40) A woman who has cried enough tears to wash her eyes gains a wider field of vision. Dorothea Dix Dorothy Dix, who made her mark as a journalist in the United States, is known as a pioneer of the advice column.
These words, spoken by someone who has walked alongside people through their lives, express a view on how suffering can broaden one’s perspective.
With the humorous image of “washing your eyes with tears to widen your field of vision,” it conveys that sorrow can make a person stronger.
It also feels like a call not to dwell on suffering, but to learn from it and move forward.
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Only the weak are unable to forgive; forgiveness is a sign of strength. Gandhi Gandhi, who achieved India’s independence through nonviolence and civil disobedience.
This famous quote of his teaches us what true strength in a person really is.
Forgiving someone is not easy.
Especially when the other person is at fault, we tend to attack or hurl insults out of hatred.
Yet even in such situations, there are people who can put themselves in the other person’s shoes and choose to forgive.
They surely possess a broad and gentle heart, as well as the strength to believe in others.
Let’s strive to always keep a compassionate heart.
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I believe that the true turning point for growth is whether you can keep moving forward step by step—without anxiety, without fear, and without hesitation—especially when you’re not seeing results. Yoshiharu Habu These are words from the shogi player Yoshiharu Habu.
It’s frustrating when you’re working hard but not seeing results, isn’t it? You start to feel like you’re in the dark and lose sight of what to do.
But it’s precisely at times like these that you should keep steadily building your efforts, one step at a time.
Rushing ahead blindly out of impatience won’t lead to good outcomes.
Stay calm and keep moving forward, even little by little, along the path you believe in.
That very experience and strength will help you grow yet another step.
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If you keep looking down, you won’t be able to find a rainbow. Charles Chaplin Charles Chaplin, who flourished in the United Kingdom as a film actor and director, had a profound influence on later cinema.
This is a famous quote from the beloved “King of Comedy” that speaks to the importance of maintaining a positive outlook.
When we’re feeling down, our gaze naturally drops, and in that state we overlook the simple happiness around us—like a rainbow arcing across the sky.
It reminds us to first lift our eyes and broaden our view; happiness exists in everyday life.
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Your happiness in life depends on the quality of your thoughts. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, one of the Five Good Emperors and the 16th Roman emperor.
He is also known for leaving behind his work Meditations, and can be regarded as a model of a philosopher-king who preferred learning over war.
He was also a thinker within Stoic philosophy.
The happiness of life changes according to the quality of one’s own thoughts.
Controlling the mind and emotions through thought also affects how we ultimately interpret things.
In other words, a single way of thinking can make you happy—or unhappy.
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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.
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No success for those without dreams. Yoshida Shōin Yoshida Shoin was a samurai of the Edo period and also an educator.
He founded the Shoka Sonjuku and is known for having mentored figures such as Ito Hirobumi and Takasugi Shinsaku.
His saying “Those without dreams cannot succeed” is actually part of a longer passage: “Those without dreams have no ideals; those without ideals have no plans; those without plans have no execution; those without execution have no success.
Therefore, those without dreams have no success.” These words teach us that to achieve our goals, we must first set them and then carry out the plans to accomplish them.
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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. 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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Let others take the credit; the fragrance of the flower will linger on you. Shigeta Saitō Shigeta Saito, who was also active as a psychiatrist and essayist, was affectionately known as “Mota-san” and left behind many words that resonate with the heart.
Among Mota-san’s sayings, this one highlights the importance of respecting others and how that, in turn, affects oneself.
Building on the idea of “letting someone save face” or “giving them the spotlight,” it conveys that respecting others leads to one’s own joy and a sense of fulfillment.
It encourages us to respect others with the understanding that good things will come back to ourselves as well.
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That’s fine—people should live their own way. Tarō Asō It gently untangles the hearts of modern people who tend to be swayed by others’ values.
Everyone has their own environment and experiences, so it’s only natural that our ways of life differ.
There’s no meaning in judging someone’s choices as right or wrong; what matters most is whether that person is convinced and walking their own path.
If you keep conforming to the voices around you, you can lose sight of your own life.
Respecting others also leads to affirming your own way of living.
It’s a quote characteristic of Taro Aso, a longtime politician, showing the breadth to embrace diversity.
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