Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer, is better known to us as Mark Twain. He has a colorful life story and an inspiring one, yet again proving that excellence is not the exclusive domain of a select few.
To say I am a big fan of Mark Twainโs words would be an understatement.ย I love his witty sarcasm. My first introduction to his work was the classic โThe adventures of Tom Sawyerโ โone of my all-time favorite booksโand I absolutely love it. Who wouldnโt? This is one book I think every adult and child should read!
I have wonderful childhood memories reading the book with my uncle, who introduced me to some of the best books Iโve read. He enjoyed quoting from the classics, imprinting them in my memory.
Did you know that Mark Twainโs birth and death coincided with the appearance of Halleyโs Comet?
I came in with Halleyโs Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year (1910), and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I donโt go out with Halleyโs Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: โNow here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.โ
โย Mark Twain, a Biography
Today, Iโd like to share some of my favorite Mark Twain quotes โ inspiring, wise, and often with a healthy dash of humor, but always with a strong underlying message.
I looked for a featured image in keeping with my craze for watercolor images, but didnโt really find any. So I made my own. I hope you like my sketch!
Enjoy the quotes! And Iโd love to know which one(s) you liked the most!
50 Inspiring Quotes by Mark Twain That Will Make You Smile
- Our conscience takes no notice of pain inflicted on others until it reaches a point where it gives pain to us. In all cases without exception we are absolutely indifferent to another personโs pain until his sufferings make us uncomfortable.
- If you tell the truth, you donโt have to remember anything.
- Donโt go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
- Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didnโt do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover
- Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see
- Conscience, manโs moral medicine chest.
- Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you donโt mind, it doesnโt matter
- Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect
- Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words
- A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes
- A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.
- Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear โ not absence of fear.
- Donโt part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.
- Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.
- All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.
- We are always more anxious to be distinguished for a talent which we do not possess, than to be praised for the fifteen which we do possess.
- I can teach anybody how to get, what they want out of life. The problem is that I canโt find anybody who can tell me what they want.
- We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it โ and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove lid. She will never sit on a hot stove lid again โ and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore.
- Iโve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.
- An uneasy conscience is a hair in the mouth.
- When I was fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have him around. When I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.
- Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option.
- Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been.
- Itโs not the size of the dog in the fight, itโs the size of the fight in the dog.
- The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up.
- The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.
- Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it
- The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
- When angry, count four. When very angry, swear.
- To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.
- Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.
- Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.
- Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.
- The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.
- Itโs better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than open it and remove all doubt
- Worrying is like paying a debt you donโt owe.
- When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain.
- Write what you know.
- The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and starting on the first one.
- Good judgement is the result of experience and experience the result of bad judgement.
- Nothing that grieves us can be called little: by the eternal laws of proportion a childโs loss of a doll and a kingโs loss of a crown are events of the same size
- They did not know it was impossible so they did it
- There is no such thing as an ordinary life.
- Thunder is impressive, but it is lightning that does the work.
- Work and play are words used to describe the same thing under differing conditions.
- It is a good idea to obey all the rules when youโre young just so youโll have the strength to break them when youโre old.
- Life does not consist mainly, or even largely, of facts and happenings. It consists mainly of the storm of thought that is forever flowing through oneโs head.
- If you have nothing to say, say nothing.
- There is nothing so annoying as a good example
- How common it is to pass an old street corner beggar, then slacken your pace for two blocks, stop, turn, go back & settle with your conscience.
Which inspiring quote by Mark Twain did you like the most?
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12 comments
I loved each and every quote of this great man, Vidya! And, I have chosen one which I am planning on using in one of my forthcoming posts! ๐
Each quote speaks volumes on how you ought to live your life, isn’t it?
And, yes, I am SO glad you got down to sketching the portrait of the man instead of picking one from the net. I see so much character in this sketch you have made. As well as a maturity that I don’t find in my sketches!
And, now that you have started sketching, please don’t stop. Maybe, you could share them here, on your blog, under a new category…what say you?
<3
Thank you Shilpa! Coming from you, I treasure the compliment! I am contemplating a Saturday Sketch habit to motivate me. What do you think? Would you join me?
I eagerly look forward to seeing which quote you have chosen! Hugs! Thank you so much for your loving comment!
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You made that sketch, just because you couldnt find a watercolour image!! Wow!! Vidya, You are truly amazing! Love the sketch and love you too!!
Have read quite a few of Mark Twain’s quotes and all of them are so simple, witty and profound. Thanks for sharing ๐
Great quotes and reflection on Mark Twain Vidya. Tom Sawyer is one of my favorites and I still have it. I love all quotes and this one will sure push me, ‘Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didnโt do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover’ I will save the quotes on my laptop. Thank you for this amazing post.
I love Mark Twain because he was such a great watcher of human beings and our follies. My hubby goes with the swear part a lot…hahahaaaa. I love all of them but 8, 12, 25, 26 and the one about loneliness. All of these are so true and I wish more would know about these quotes
You actually made that sketch???? Thats awesome.. I havent read much of mark twain, except for a few lines here and there as part of my curriculum in my growing up years.. Hmmm teh secret of getting ahead is getting ahead.. Found this to be profound indeed
You know, anything you do makes me smile. The widest ๐
All 50 of them are so beautiful and so true. But my favorite – When angry, count four. When very angry, swear. ๐
Wow…beautiful sketch Vidya…another impressive side to you dear heart. I love Mark Twain too… I wish I had his way with words, so witty, so clear and to the point. Honestly it’s just too hard to pick a favourite… I know it’s the easy way out, but I love them all! ๐
I loved the story of coming in and going out with Haley’s comet! I like this quote: “Life does not consist mainly, or even largely, of facts and happenings. It consists mainly of the storm of thought that is forever flowing through oneโs head.” But I think there’s something we can do about that too!
Yes , very well said , They did not know it was impossible so they did it .
I love Mark Twain, too. Hard to pick a favorite, but nos. 25, 27 and 30 great life lessons to live by.
The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.
This is 1 of my most favorite. Loved reading rest of the quotes too.
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