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“For some reason a nation feels as shy about admitting that it ever went forth to war for the sake of more wealth as a man would about admitting that he had accepted an invitation just for the sake of the food. This is one of humanity's most profound imbecilities, as perhaps the only justification for asking one's fellowmen to endure the horrors of war would be the knowledge that if they did not fight they would starve.”
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“The problem of abolishing want is not a problem in division, as the politicians so often aver; it is a problem of multiplication.”
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“For me, exploration was a personal venture. I did not go to the Arabian desert to collect plants nor to make a map; such things were incidental. At heart I knew that to write or even to talk of my travels was to tarnish the achievement. I went there to find peace in the hardship of desert travel and the company of desert peoples. I set myself a goal on these journeys, and, although the goal itself was unimportant, its attainment had to be worth every effort and sacrifice... No, it is not the goal but the way there that matters, and the harder the way the more worth while the journey.”
Source : Wilfred Thesiger (2008). “Arabian Sands”, p.236, Penguin
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“Read a lot - poems, prose, stories, newspapers, anything. Read books and poems that you think you will like and some that you think might not be for you. You might be surprised.”
Source : "Michael Morpurgo's top tips for writing". www.theguardian.com. December 8, 2011.
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“Who's crazy: people who trust other people, or people who don't?”
Source : Lenore Skenazy (2009). “Free-Range Kids, How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts with Worry)”, p.58, John Wiley & Sons
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“I think it takes a lot of confidence to be comfortable in being vulnerable.”
Source : "EXCLUSIVE: Ciara on One Woman Army, Being Vulnerable and Who Her New Song 'Sorry' is Really About". Interview with Yolanda Sangweni, www.essence.com. September 10, 2012.
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“I'm Machiavelli's offspring, I'm the king of New York, king of the coast, one hand, I juggle them both.”
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“My prayer for the new year is that I may have the courage and the stamina to let Life happen to me, to accept its joys and successes, and to take in stride the learning that stretches us and the growing pains. Perhaps, to put it simply, my wish for the New Year is: may we love more, live more, laugh more. And so may you!”
Source : Jean Hersey (1964). “A Sense of Seasons”