Larry Hodges' Favorite Quotes

Some people think patriotism is blindly praising your country. Others believe patriotism is challenging your country to live up to its ideals.
-Larry Hodges

"The curse of intelligent people is they see the nuances in the world but are surrounded by those who do not."
-Larry Hodges

"A leader doesn't have to be the smartest person in the room as long as he has the smartest people in the room."
-Larry Hodges

"The definition of incompetence is when it's predictable."
-Larry Hodges

"When faced with evidence contrary to something they believe, the rational mind's belief goes down, the irrational mind becomes ever more fervent."
-Larry Hodges

"90% of thinking is done to rationalize acts that are done without thinking."
-Larry Hodges  

"The primary difference between smart people and dumb people is that smart people are better at rationalizing their dumb ideas."
-Larry Hodges

"Americans are divided into two groups. One is the 'Let's think this through' group. The other is the 'It is written/It's been said/We've been told' group, whose primary characteristic is absolute certainty."
-Larry Hodges

"Those who don't study history are doomed to make compellingly stupid arguments about it." 
-Larry Hodges

"If you have to lie to make your point, maybe your point is a lie."
-Larry Hodges

Fifty Writing Quotes by Larry Hodges

"It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument."
-William McAdoo

"Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."
-Neil Kendall

"The only difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."
-Albert Einstein 

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from those with mediocre minds."
-Albert Einstein

"If most of us are ashamed of shabby clothes and shoddy furniture, let us be more ashamed of shabby ideas and shoddy philosophies."
-Albert Einstein

"Make sure you're right, then go ahead."
-Davy Crockett

"Wise men speak when they have something to say. Fools speak when they have to say something."
-Plato

"You cannot reason a person out of a position he did not reason himself into in the first place."
-Jonathan Swift

"A rising tide lifts all boats."
-John F. Kennedy

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."
-John F. Kennedy

"No good deed goes unpunished."
-Claire Booth Luce

"Communication isn't something a leader does when he has time. Communication is the very essence of leadership."
-Unknown

"Lead, follow, or get out of the way."
-Unknown

"Never wrestle with a pig in mud. You get dirty, and the pig enjoys himself."
-Unknown

"Managers do things right; leaders do the right thing."
-Warren Bennis

"Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration."
-Thomas Edison

"Magnificent promises are always to be suspected."
-Theodore Parker

"You see things; and you say Why? But I dream things that never were; and I say Why not?"
-George Bernard Shaw (often misattributed to Robert F. Kennedy, who paraphrased this)

"It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow."
-Robert H. Goddard

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
-Confucious

"To avoid criticism......Do nothing...Say nothing...Be nothing!"
-Elbert Hubbard

"You miss 100% of the shots you never take."
-Wayne Gretzky

"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last."
-Winston Churchill

"The best argument against democracy is a five minute talk with the average voter."
-Winston Churchill

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject."
-Winston Churchill

"It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it."
-W. Somerset Maugham

"Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are that good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats."
-Howard Aiken

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."
-F. Scott Fitzgerald

"It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something."
-Franklin Roosevelt

"It is not the critic who counts; not the one who points out how the strong person stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself or herself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he or she fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his or her place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt

"Nine-tenths of wisdom consists in being wise in time."
-Theodore Roosevelt

"Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground."
-Theodore Roosevelt

"Actions speak louder than words."
-Theodore Roosevelt

"Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder."
-George Washington

"To err is nature, to rectify error is glory."
-George Washington

"Never confuse motion with action."
-Benjamin Franklin

"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do."
-Benjamin Franklin

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