When Mark Twain’s wife, Olivia Langdon Clemens, rejected his first marriage proposal, it is said that he said:
I do believe that young filly has broken my heart. That only leaves me with one option, for her to mend it.
Can you sense the subtle humour there?
Or is it a thinly disguised resolution?
Since he claimed to have fallen in love at first sight, it must be the latter.
Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Mark Twain was a prolific writer widely regarded as “the father of American literature.”
Among the 28 books he wrote are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
He was also a humorist, journalist, riverboat pilot, entrepreneur, and lecturer.
Here are 13 of Mark Twain’s quotes that have stood the test of time and will continue to do so.
1. Get Started
The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
You’ve got to wonder when “getting started” has become “the secret”.
The mere fact he had to say this implies many people dream about getting ahead in life but never start.
If you are one of them, now you know what to do.
Get started.
2. Be Ignorant and Confident
All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.
The know-it-all can’t learn.
To learn something, we need to admit what we don’t know. And empty everything we know.
Approach new knowledge without prejudice and be ready to learn.
With the confidence to learn and succeed, fresh insights and new ideas are easy to come by.
And success becomes a matter of time.
3. Don’t Wish for Fear to Go Away
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.
Everyone goes through a feeling of fear.
It happens when preparing for a job interview. Our first presentation at work. Moving to a foreign country. Or starting a new business.
And the best way to combat this natural yet overwhelming feeling?
We wish for our courage to be stronger, to resist fear.
Which means we’re aware of it but keep it in the corner of our minds.
And still, do what had to be done, done.
4. The World Owes You Nothing
Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
Don’t you love this quote?
It’s so true.
The world was here before us. It’ll still be here after we’re gone.
We can either waste our entire life lamenting our bad luck and doing nothing. Or make the most of what we have while we are here.
Either way, the world doesn’t care.
What did Mark Twain Say About Worrying?
5. Don’t Worry
I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.
A study has shown that 85% of what participants in the study worried never happened.
And out of 15%, 79% of them found they could deal with it better than expected or they learned a lesson from it.
So 97% of worries were because of a figment of imagination!
Unnecessary worries raise our stress levels, and stress is the silent killer.
The past is gone. The future isn’t here. All that matters is today.
6. Approve Yourself
A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.
When we can’t approve of ourselves, we go through life with a constant battle with ourselves.
And that’s the prime cause of unhappiness.
Be true to yourself and live your life.
Create the life you’ve aspired to create and approve of, regardless of what others say or do.
7. Forget Perfection. Aim for Improvement
Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.
Perfection is such a dangerous illusion.
We don’t start because perfection convinces us we aren’t ready.
We fail to finish what we’ve started because perfection says our work isn’t good enough. Perfection says it needs more tweaking.
Don’t let the illusion of perfection stop you from initiating whatever you dream of doing.
Just do it and finish what you’ve started.
Do it again, and again.
It’s the only way we get better at anything.
8. Every Day is the Most Beautiful Day
Give every day the chance to become the most beautiful of your life.
Note the delightful active verb “Give”.
We have such power that we can actually “Give”.
“Give” is a choice we can exercise daily and make our life beautiful.
9. What Do You Want?
I can teach anybody how to get what they want out of life. The problem is that I can’t find anybody who can tell me what they want.
In today’s information age, finding “how” is easy.
It’s at our fingertips; Google has all the answers to every query.
The real question?
What do you want?
(Need help to figure out what you want? Head over to this post.)
10. Now is the Time
Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.
Your perfect time was yesterday. The next best time is today.
11. Look at the Stars
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
There are many people in the world who never give up despite life’s impossible hardships.
And we appreciate such incredible human spirit in every walk of life.
The reason the satisfying ending of Andy and Red’s story at The Shawshank Redemption gives us a warm glow.
The reason we crown Nelson Mandela, who survived 27 years’ imprisonment, as a beacon of hope.
As Stephen Hawking said:
Remember to look up at the stars.
12. Surround Yourself with The Great
Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
We all have our close-knit of community.
Think about someone in your circle that makes you feel great about yourself. Inspires you to become positive. And achieve something extraordinary in your life.
Surround yourself with good people who elevate you and your life.
What did Mark Twain Say About Death?
13. Do Not Fear Death
I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.
Mortality is the ultimate human suffering.
We will die, including everyone we know.
As Mark Twain’s wise words implied, what will be, will be.
Why sacrifice today’s joy with worries when the eventuality will occur, regardless?
Final Thoughts
Among many famous quotes by Mark Twain, the above 13 resonate with me most today.
Each carries a deep meaning that makes me ponder.
I have no doubt it had the same profound effect on the past generations, as will all future generations.
These quotes by Mark Twain have indeed stood the test of time and will continue to do so.
You Might Also Enjoy…
- 100 Inspiring Quotes for When You Feel Like Giving Up
- My Top 10 Favourite Helen Keller Quotes That will Make You Think
- My Favourite Quotes by Maya Angelou That will Inspire You
Share this post ❤ 😊 🙏