“The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it.” ~James Bryce

 This post is written by Robert of Flimjo.COM ^[1]

A helpful source for practical personal development is literature. Nowhere else will you find better wisdom and insight to develop your sense of self and your character.

You will also find hidden pieces of advice and instruction. In other words, reading a great novel not only provides you with a nice reading experience, but it also gives you value that far exceeds the price you paid for that book.

One of my favorite writers is Ernest Hemingway. He died in a tragic way, but he left behind legendary novels that contain priceless guidance usually embedded in crisp dialogue and rich symbols and imagery.

Here are 10 of my favorite and most inspiring quotes from Hemingway’s novels:

1) “It is better to die on your feet than live on your knees.” For Whom the Bell Tolls

A bit of strong quote to start off this list. Nevertheless, it illustrates the value and fulfillment of living while sticking to your beliefs and ideas. The minute you surrender your beliefs, you sacrifice who you are, and you condemn yourself to a life of timid submission.

2) “Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bull-fighters.” The Sun Also Rises

Living safely does you no good. Although you don’t have to live like a bull-fighter literally, you won’t reach your potential in your own life unless you take calculated risks. If you think you can achieve something, go for it. If that job isn’t for you, quit.

If you like that girl sitting alone on a bench, go talk to her. Think less, and act more. Life is short, and you should live it “all the way.”

3) “The coward dies a thousand deaths, the brave but one.” A Farewell to Arms

When you surrender your beliefs and your positions, a piece of you dies with that. People who do that don’t just do it once. They succumb to their fears over and over again. And with that giving-in goes a piece of their souls.

Stick to who you are, and know that nothing can chip away at that. You’ll protect yourself and your character. That’s bravery, and it’ll earn you just one death, albeit an honorable one.

4) “A man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” The Old Man and the Sea

This quote is about legacy. If we live our lives to our fullest potential (i.e., “all the way”), we will leave a lasting impression on others. THAT is our legacy. Our lives might be extinguished in the future, but the impressions we’ve made, and the legacies we’ve left will live on forever.

The importance of this quote is how it begins: a “man is not made for defeat.” Our potential, our legacies are incapable of being defeated. Each one of us has the ability to leave our mark.

5) “There are many good fishermen and some great ones. But there is only one you.” The Old Man and the Sea

Perhaps my favorite quote in this novel. When you look around you, you see successful people. I see good lawyers, and I see great ones. I read blogs, and I see some good blogs and some great ones.

When you set out to do what you want to do, the key to success isn’t in trying to be like that great lawyer you met yesterday or that great blogger whose blog you visited today. The key is realizing that YOU are unique, and that you can create your own greatness.

6) “You can’t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another. There’s nothing to that.” The Sun Also Rises

Everyone has problems and flaws. But running away from a realization and an acknowledgment of those issues won’t solve anything. Wherever you go, they will follow you. The hardest thing to do is look in the mirror and say, “I’m going to fix this. I can change.”

7) “They were beaten to start with. They were beaten when they took them from their farms and put them in the army. That is why the peasant has wisdom, because he is defeated from the start. Put him in power and see how wise he is.” A Farewell to Arms

Nothing educates and motivates a person like failure. Viewing everything from the bottom has a way of strengthening one’s mind and one’s heart. With that strength comes wisdom and, most important, the ability to achieve more than last time.

8.) “To hell with luck. I’ll bring the luck with me.” The Old Man and the Sea

We create our own luck. A simple example: You don’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a lottery ticket. If you want to succeed, you have to aim for the fences. Then, the more you strive towards your goals, the more luck you will encounter.

Sitting around and waiting for good things to happen will prohibit you from attaining any sort of success. It’s only by reaching as high as you can that you will expose yourself to opportunities, including the lucky ones.

9) “There is only now and if now is only two days, then two days is your life and everything in it will be in proportion. This is how you live a life in two days. And if you stop complaining and asking for what you will never get, you will have a good life.” For Whom the Bell Tolls

One of the most important themes of For Whom the Bell Tolls is the well-known principle that one should “seize the day.” The main character, a young American named Robert Jordan, realizes this idea after he makes love to Maria, a Spanish native and the love of his life.

Caught in the midst of the Spanish civil war, Jordan realizes that the only way to have a good life is to live each day as if that was all you had. Yesterday doesn’t matter, and neither does tomorrow. Today is what you have, and it makes sense to make the best of it.

10) “I suppose if a man has something once, always something of it remains.” For Whom the Bell Tolls

In the novel, Pilar, the wife of the leader (Pablo) of the guerrilla movement to which Robert Jordan belongs, makes this comment about Pablo because she is disappointed in how cowardly he has become, particularly since he used to be such a braver man in his youth.

This quote reveals that we all have the potential to be youthful, exuberant, and fearless. That is how we were when we were young, and it never left us because, if we had it once, “something of it remains.” Thus, the fear and hesitation that life burdens us with as we grow older is no match for the youthful exuberance and fearlessness that we all still have.

 This post is written by Robert of Flimjo.COM ^[1]

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