Quotes on purpose

What is the purpose of the giant sequoia tree? The purpose of the giant sequoia tree is to provide shade for the tiny titmouse.

Author: Edward Abbey

Success is not defined by wealth, but by the impact you leave on the world.

Author: Maya Patel

He too serves a certain purpose who only stands and cheers.

Author: Henry Adams

Above all be of single aim; have a legitimate and useful purpose, and devote yourself unreservedly to it.

Author: James Allen

I can't tell you where a poem comes from, what it is, or what it is for: nor can any other man. The reason I can't tell you is that the purpose of a poem is to go past telling, to be recognised by burning.

Author: A. Ammons

Three conditions are necessary for Penance: contrition, which is sorrow for sin, together with a purpose of amendment; confession of sins without any omission; and satisfaction by means of good works.

Author: Thomas Aquinas

Success is not defined by the number of followers you have, but by the impact you leave on those you encounter.

Author: Maya Angelou

I am not the only person who uses his computer mainly for the purpose of diddling with his computer.

Author: Dave Barry

Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.

Author: Cecil Beaton

A Christian is nothing but a sinful man who has put himself to school for Christ for the honest purpose of becoming better.

Author: Henry Beecher

The purpose of Plan Columbia was to deal with the increased cultivation and illegal activity associated with that cultivation concerning narco trafficking in Columbia.

Author: Rand Beers

The purpose of anthropology is to make the world safe for human differences.

Author: Ruth Benedict

Visualization is daydreaming with a purpose.

Author: Bo Bennett

All revolutions are spiritual at the source. All my activities have the sole purpose of achieving a union of hearts.

Author: Vinoba Bhave

Fork: An instrument used chiefly for the purpose of putting dead animals into the mouth.

Author: Ambrose Bierce

I was involved in the robbery for a purpose, and that was because I knew somebody who could drive a diesel train. I was responsible to take along this old guy who could drive the train.

Author: Ronald Biggs

It's never been my purpose to become an American icon, or more famous or richer.

Author: Juliette Binoche

In my view, far from deserving condemnation for their courageous reporting, the New York Times, the Washington Post and other newspapers should be commended for serving the purpose that the Founding Fathers saw so clearly.

Author: Hugo Black

The purpose of The Motherhood Manifesto is mothers really need to be given the ability to parent.

Author: Joan Blades

But what if I fail of my purpose here? It is but to keep the nerves at strain, to dry one's eyes and laugh at a fall, and baffled, get up and begin again.

Author: Robert Browning

I was hugely relieved to discover there was a purpose for girls with loud voices.

Author: Betty Buckley

It would seem, therefore, that this constitutional safeguard may no longer serve its original purpose, especially when, as we learned last year, some acts of perjury may now be acceptable - in this world, at least, if not the next.

Author: James Buckley

The Child Custody Protection Act makes it a federal crime to transport a minor across state lines for the purpose of obtaining an abortion.

Author: Ken Calvert

I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.

Author: George Carlin

Your purpose is to make your audience see what you saw, hear what you heard, feel what you felt. Relevant detail, couched in concrete, colorful language, is the best way to recreate the incident as it happened and to picture it for the audience.

Author: Dale Carnegie

But my method of the pillar, as it throws the horse yet more upon the haunches, is still more effectual to this purpose, and besides always gives him the ply to the side he goes of.

Author: William Cavendish

It is the purpose of the majority of the Immigration Committee to encourage assimilation, yet this bill has already done more than anything I know of to bring about discord among our resident aliens.

Author: Emanuel Celler

When I was a very young lawyer, I had a senior partner who advised me never to get mad, except on purpose.

Author: Warren Christopher

Justice is the set and constant purpose which gives every man his due.

Author: Marcus Cicero

I have the Pleasure to assure you Congress pay particular Attention to the Defence of New Jersey, and hitherto have denied us nothing which we have Asked for that Purpose.

Author: Abraham Clark

Success is not defined by how much money you make, but by how much happiness you create.

Author: Angela Davis

The danger of what's happening right now in terms of using reconciliation is, the purpose of the Senate is going to be defeated. And that is to bring consensus to big issues in this country so that we have a reasoned and thoughtful approach and that the American public buys into it.

Author: Tom Coburn

Parenthood is not an object of appetite or even desire. It is an object of will. There is no appetite for parenthood; there is only a purpose or intention of parenthood.

Author: Robin Collingwood

For this purpose I determined to keep an account of the voyage, and to write down punctually every thing we performed or saw from day to day, as will hereafter appear.

Author: Christopher Columbus

I am a most noteworthy sinner, but I have cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy, and they have covered me completely. I have found the sweetest consolation since I made it my whole purpose to enjoy His marvellous Presence.

Author: Christopher Columbus

Success is not defined by the wealth you accumulate, but by the impact you leave on the world.

Author: Maya Angelou

Party leads to vicious, corrupt and unprofitable legislation, for the sole purpose of defeating party.

Author: James Cooper

The Dodo never had a chance. He seems to have been invented for the sole purpose of becoming extinct and that was all he was good for.

Author: Will Cuppy

My purpose is to make my narrative as truthful as possible.

Author: George Custer

We believe it wrong ever to take a dollar from a free citizen without a very necessary public purpose, because each such taking diminishes the freedom to spend that dollar as its owner would prefer.

Author: Mitch Daniels

My passions were all gathered together like fingers that made a fist. Drive is considered aggression today; I knew it then as purpose.

Author: Bette Davis

Tony Blair faced a massive defection from his own party ranks during voting around the intervention in Iraq. For our present purpose, the point is not that he survived the defection, but that he had to face it.

Author: Stockwell Day

Soldiers of Israel, we have no aims of conquest. Our purpose is to bring to naught the attempts of the Arab armies to conquer our land.

Author: Moshe Dayan

During the past 30 years, European governments have provided more than $15 billion in the form of low- and no-cost loans to Airbus for the specific purpose of developing new aircraft lines.

Author: Norm Dicks

I have brought myself, by long meditation, to the conviction that a human being with a settled purpose must accomplish it, and that nothing can resist a will which will stake even existence upon its fulfillment.

Author: Benjamin Disraeli

Our lives are programmed at conception and are endowed with purpose and meaning.

Author: Jeane Dixon

America's highways, roads, bridges, are an indispensable part of our lives. They link one end of our nation to the other. We use them each and every day, for every conceivable purpose.

Author: Christopher Dodd

A life lived with authenticity and purpose is a masterpiece in a world of replicas.

Author: Sarah Jones

Success is not measured by the number of accomplishments, but by the impact of those achievements on others.

Author: Maya Angelou

Together we must learn how to compose differences, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose.

Author: Dwight Eisenhower

The purpose is clear. It is safety with solvency. The country is entitled to both.

Author: Dwight Eisenhower

The fishes are also employed for the same purpose on any yard, which happens to be sprung or fractured. Thus their form, application, and utility are exactly like those of the splinters applied to a broken limb in surgery.

Author: William Falconer

However, those who have used those words use half the sentence to fit their purpose, which, of course, I believe is to discredit me and the new Nation of Islam that has come up around me.

Author: Louis Farrakhan

Studies indicate that these children are more susceptible to advertising and even less likely to understand the purpose of this advertising.

Author: Bob Filner

Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, read in order to live.

Author: Gustave Flaubert

There is already a mountain of evidence that Saddam Hussein is gathering weapons for the purpose of using them. And adding additional information is like adding a foot to Mount Everest.

Author: Ari Fleischer

Junipers are generally chosen for the latter purpose, as they can be more readily bent into the desired form; the eyes and tongue are added afterwards, and the representation altogether is really good.

Author: Robert Fortune

I suppose if it has a practical purpose, I appreciate a pat on the back. I suppose it's rewarding, ultimately.

Author: Brendan Fraser

Success is not measured by wealth or status, but by the lives you touch and the difference you make in the world.

Author: Maya Angelou

My purpose was to get leave to bring my party into the settlements in order to outfit and to obtain the supplies that had now become necessary.

Author: John Fremont

When you get just a complete sense of blackness or void ahead of you, that somehow the future looks an impossible place to be, and the direction you are going seems to have no purpose, there is this word despair which is a very awful thing to feel.

Author: Stephen Fry

Success is not defined by the accolades of others, but by the satisfaction found in living true to your own values.

Author: Julia Cameron

All my stories were usually titled, 'White House Says,' 'President Bush Wants,' and I relied on transcripts from the briefings. I relied on press releases that were sent to the press for the purpose of accurately portraying what the White House believed or wanted.

Author: Jeff Gannon

I like that kind of frantic schedule. It makes me feel like I have a purpose.

Author: Sara Gilbert

Where radio is different than fiction is that even mediocre fiction needs purpose, a driving question.

Author: Ira Glass

A characteristic of older folksongs, in most cases, is that we don't know their composers or authors. Older folksongs were written often with no commercial purpose in mind. They were passed down by word of mouth, from generation to generation.

Author: Tom Glazer

Be above it! Make the world serve your purpose, but do not serve it.

Author: Johann Goethe

Confrontation is something that I accept as part of the project though not its purpose.

Author: Andy Goldsworthy

If part of the purpose of making an album is to get some radio play, then you might as well think about that. But that's not really how we picked the songs.

Author: Mike Gordon

The fundamental purpose of a novel like Count Julian is to achieve the unity of object and means of representation, the fusion of treason as scheme and treason as language.

Author: Juan Goytisolo

The whole purpose was to say that it doesn't have to be a zero sum. It's not the environment or jobs. You can have both. You can help the auto industry achieve that if you have investment in plants.

Author: Jennifer Granholm

The value of identity of course is that so often with it comes purpose.

Author: Richard Grant

Success is not defined by the size of the bank account, but by the depth of passion in one's heart.

Author: Maya Angelou

Success is not defined by how well you conform to society's standards, but by how true you stay to your own values and aspirations.

Author: Michelle Obama

Don't organize for any other purpose than mutual benefit to the employer and the employee.

Author: Mark Hanna

I felt the most intense pleasure in piercing the stone in order to make an abstract form and space; quite a different sensation from that of doing it for the purpose of realism.

Author: Barbara Hepworth

The Englishman never enjoys himself except for a noble purpose.

Author: A. Herbert

An Englishman never enjoys himself, except for a noble purpose.

Author: A. Herbert

All human discoveries seem to be made only for the purpose of confirming more strongly the truths come from on high, and contained in the sacred writings.

Author: William Herschel

Embrace the unknown, for in its depths lie the keys to unlock your true purpose.

Author: Alice Walker

It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honor him for what he is.

Author: Hermann Hesse

It is not the purpose of the ad or commercial to make the reader or listener say, 'My what a clever ad.' It is the purpose of advertising to make the reader say, 'I believe I'll buy one when I'm shopping tomorrow'.

Author: Morris Hite

What will become compellingly important is absolute clarity of shared purpose and set of principles of conduct sort of institutional genetic code that every member of the organization understands in a common way, and with deep conviction.

Author: Dee Hock

America - a great social and economic experiment, noble in motive and far-reaching in purpose.

Author: Herbert Hoover

A portion of mankind take pride in their vices and pursue their purpose; many more waver between doing what is right and complying with what is wrong.

Author: Horace

We're helping those children who cannot help themselves and giving a push to those who can. We've done it by working together for a common purpose. I see no reason to stop now.

Author: Jane Hull

There is no more reason why the features belonging to a picture should be distorted for the purpose of such imaginative suggestion than that the poet's metaphors should spoil his words for the ordinary uses of man.

Author: William Hunt

Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.

Author: Zora Hurston

When I was up there at the plate, my purpose was to get on base anyway I could, whether by hitting or by getting hit.

Author: Shoeless Jackson

Don't chase success, pursue significance; for true fulfillment lies in making a difference, not just a living.

Author: Maria Johnson

I was always told I was special. And I was also assured that I had a gift and a purpose.

Author: Ashley Judd

As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.

Author: Carl Jung

Success is not defined by how high you climb, but by how many lives you've touched along the way.

Author: Maya Angelou

Thirdly, even if we assume that the world is governed by purpose, we need only add that this purpose - or, if there are several, at least one of them - is not especially intent on preventing suffering, whether it is indifferent to suffering or actually rejoices in it.

Author: Walter Kaufmann

The purpose of the United Nations should be to protect the essential sovereignty of nations, large and small.

Author: Nikita Khrushchev

If I'm a phenomenon, it makes me feel like I have no purpose.

Author: Jewel Kilcher

Every guitar I own gets used and has its purpose.

Author: Mark Knopfler

Success is not defined by the destination, but by the journey traveled with purpose and passion.

Author: Angela Davis

Yet I wanted to have children, and I knew that was my purpose, but I wasn't going to settle.

Author: Boris Kodjoe

I influenced the BG style by not being able to draw perspective. The BG artists developed cool graphic painting styles to make my bad backgrounds look like they were that way on purpose.

Author: John Kricfalusi

Psychoanalysis is a terribly efficient instrument, and because it is more and more a prestigious instrument, we run the risk of using it with a purpose for which it was not made for, and in this way we may degrade it.

Author: Jacques Lacan

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

Author: Dalai Lama

True success is not about acquiring wealth or power, but about living a life filled with purpose and passion.

Author: Rachel Hollis

I shall have less cause to regret the carrying my intended purpose into effect, foreseeing that you may immediately fill with advantage, the vacancy which will presently happen.

Author: Henry Laurens

After mature consideration it was unanimously agreed, that, to prevent as much as possible their attempting to return and molest the settlers that may be set down on their lands, a sufficient number of vessels should be hired with all possible expedition for that purpose.

Author: Charles Lawrence

Vegetables are interesting but lack a sense of purpose when unaccompanied by a good cut of meat.

Author: Fran Lebowitz

I think we have to believe we are here for some purpose, and I know there are many cynics who will deny it, but they don't live as if they deny it.

Author: Joshua Lederberg

Success is not defined by the amount of wealth you accumulate, but by the impact you make on the world around you.

Author: Maya Angelou

The purpose of population is not ultimately peopling earth. It is to fill heaven.

Author: Graham Leonard

You try on purpose to get players with different qualities which will rub off on one another.

Author: James Levine

Our purpose, as we face these challenges, remains clear - fair and orderly markets that allow for efficient capital formation, while protecting the interests of investors.

Author: Arthur Levitt

I determined never to stop until I had come to the end and achieved my purpose.

Author: David Livingstone

A woman's dress should be like a barbed-wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view.

Author: Sophia Loren

The task which we have set ourselves is simply to show why and for what purpose we hold that standpoint during most of our lives, and why and for what purpose we are provisionally obliged to abandon it.

Author: Ernst Mach

The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe with blood for centuries.

Author: James Madison

I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply ALL my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy.

Author: Og Mandino

In the absence of any short term in common use to represent all desirable things, or things that satisfy human wants, we may use the term Goods for that purpose.

Author: Alfred Marshall

I would step into a place of being lined up with a sense of purpose and my inner compass, and everything was going in the same direction. Then I'd get lazy and get off the track. And then things would start to fall apart, and I'd back up and get it together again.

Author: Kathy Mattea

Our purpose is to educate as well as to entertain.

Author: Curtis Mayfield

When will the day come that our dignity will be fully restored, when the purpose of our lives will no longer be merely to survive until the sun rises tomorrow!

Author: Thabo Mbeki

I have myself no more doubt that these metals were prepared by the Almighty for this very purpose, than I have that iron and coal were prepared for the purposes in which they are being used.

Author: Hugh McCulloch

To live a life filled with purpose is to unlock the true potential of one's existence.

Author: Maya Angelou

The real purpose of books is to trap the mind into doing its own thinking.

Author: Christopher Morley

Gen. Banks has issued an order for the instruction of Negro children. Schoolhouses are to be built or rented and Teachers hired for this purpose, and the farmers and planters are to pay the Taxes in support of this.

Author: Knute Nelson

We create our own unhappiness. The purpose of suffering is to help us understand we are the ones who cause it.

Author: Willie Nelson

True success is not measured by the wealth you amass, but by the impact you leave on others.

Author: Maya Angelou

To forget one's purpose is the commonest form of stupidity.

Author: Friedrich Nietzsche

AS for all those mistakes I make - they are on purpose - to teach you how to deal with them.

Author: Donald Norman

Every path serves a purpose.

Author: Gene Oliver

The office of drama is to exercise, possibly to exhaust, human emotions. The purpose of comedy is to tickle those emotions into an expression of light relief; of tragedy, to wound them and bring the relief of tears. Disgust and terror are the other points of the compass.

Author: Laurence Olivier

Humans are the only animals that have children on purpose with the exception of guppies, who like to eat theirs.

Author: P. O'Rourke

It is annoying to be honest to no purpose.

Author: Ovid

To what purpose is it to be artificially happy on the surface?

Author: Anne Parillaud

As to the first, I do not know that I have done very much myself to promote fraternity between nations but I do know that there can be no more important purpose for any man's activity or interests.

Author: Lester Pearson

A pilgrim is a wanderer with purpose.

Author: Peace Pilgrim

Success is not defined by your wealth or status, but by the impact you have on others.

Author: Maya Angelou

The temple of Ceres should be in a solitary spot out of the city, to which the public are not necessarily led but for the purpose of sacrificing to her.

Author: Marcus Pollio

I dropped out of school in the 11th grade because there was no purpose in it for me. I'm not proud of this, and I'm not trying to promote it.

Author: Lisa Presley

The purpose of the ADA was to provide clear and comprehensive national standards to eliminate discrimination against individuals with disabilities. As a result, individuals with disabilities are now able to live in their homes and have access to new careers.

Author: Jim Ramstad

Welfare's purpose should be to eliminate, as far as possible, the need for its own existence.

Author: Ronald Reagan

Few have been taught to any purpose who have not been their own teachers.

Author: Joshua Reynolds

Making duplicate copies and computer printouts of things no one wanted even one of in the first place is giving America a new sense of purpose.

Author: Andy Rooney

I didn't get old on purpose, it just happened. If you're lucky, it could happen to you.

Author: Andy Rooney

It is not how much one makes but to what purpose one spends.

Author: John Ruskin

The universe may have a purpose, but nothing we know suggests that, if so, this purpose has any similarity to ours.

Author: Bertrand Russell

The Bible is the only credible guide either as to the real relationship between man and the earth and the great Creator of both or concerning the purpose of the creation of both.

Author: Joseph Rutherford

A journalistic purpose could be someone with a Xerox machine in a basement.

Author: Antonin Scalia

Success is not defined by the amount of money or fame you possess, but by the impact you have on others.

Author: Maya Angelou

Success is not defined by the size of your bank account, but by the lives you touch and the difference you make in the world.

Author: Michelle Obama

You can either read something many times in order to be assured that you got it all, or else you can define your purpose and use techniques which will assure that you have met it and gotten what you need.

Author: E. Schumacher