A collection of quotes to make your motto—brief words from great figures that can change your life

Let those who wish to leave, leave.Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great, monarch of the Kingdom of Macedon, one of the empires of ancient Greece.

Often called one of the most successful military commanders in history, Alexander the Great left behind numerous famous sayings.

Among them, this short yet resolute quote was addressed to the many soldiers who were exhausted by the long campaign.

It conveys the meaning: let those who wish to leave, leave; even if our numbers are few, we will continue the campaign with those who still have the will to fight.

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What I’m doing is by no means something big, but it is something necessary.Che Guevara

This is one of the famous quotes left by Che Guevara, a revolutionary from Argentina.

Do you have any goals right now? Whether it’s work, your future, hobbies, or dreams, there are many challenges on the way to achieving big goals.

By overcoming those small challenges and accumulating experience, you move closer to your goal.

The road to achieving your goal can be long, and at times you may feel like your spirit is breaking.

However, those daily challenges are also necessary to reach your goal.

When you feel lost or come to a halt, try to remember these words.

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Find a way. If there isn’t one, make one.Hannibal Barca

Hannibal Barca, renowned as Carthage’s great general who defeated the Roman army at the Battle of Cannae.

This famous quote is undeniably the powerful words of a true commander.

In 221 BCE, at the young age of twenty-six, he became the army’s commander and achieved numerous victories.

Perhaps this was because, as the quote suggests, he constantly sought ways to win, and if none could be found, he would create them himself.

His lofty ambition and unwavering resolve elevated him to a great general and made him a figure remembered and spoken of to this day.

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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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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.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.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.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.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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