Most marriages don't add two people together. They subtract one from the other.
Ian FlemingRead
Above all, he liked it that everything was one's own fault. There was only oneself to praise or blame. Luck was a servant and not a master. Luck had to be accepted with a shrug or taken advantage of up to the hilt. But it had to be understood and recognized for what it was and not confused with a faulty appreciation of the odds, for, at gambling, the deadly sin is to mistake bad play for bad luck. And luck in all its moods had to be loved and not feared
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes personal responsibility and the understanding of luck in life; one should not confuse mistakes with fate.
Ian Fleming's quote delves into the concept of personal accountability, suggesting that individuals are responsible for their outcomes, whether they are successes or failures. It stresses the importance of recognizing that luck is a tool to be mastered rather than a force to fear, and that one must approach it with acceptance and a clear understanding of their own actions and choices. This perspective encourages an empowered mindset, where praise and blame are directed inward, promoting self-awareness and personal growth.
Themes
LuckResponsibilityAccountabilityGamblingLife
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about taking charge of one's life choices.
More from Ian Fleming
All quotes →Worry is a dividend paid to disaster before it is due
Ian FlemingRead
And don't get hurt,' [Dexter] added. 'There's no one to help you up there. And don't go stirring up a lot of trouble for us. This case isn't ripe yet. Until it is, our policy with Mr Big is 'live and let live'.' Bond looked quizzically at Captain Dexter In my job,' he said, 'when I come up against a man like this one, I have another motto. It's 'live and let die'.
Ian FlemingRead
You only live twice. Once when you are born and once when you look death in the face.
Ian FlemingRead
If you interrupt the writing of fast narrative with too much introspection and self-criticism, you will be lucky if you write 500 words a day and you will be disgusted with them into the bargain. By following my formula, you write 2,000 words a day and you aren’t disgusted with them until the book is finished, which will be in about six weeks.
Ian FlemingRead
Similar quotes
I enjoy putting my mind into different situations rather than my body.
Alan MooreRead
Since luck's a nine days' wonder, wait their end.
EuripidesRead
Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. It may not be difficult to store up in the mind a vast quantity of facts within a comparatively short time, but the ability to form judgments requires the severe discipline of hard work and the tempering heat of experience and maturity.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
Throw away my book: you must understand that it represents only one of a thousand attitudes. You must find your own. If someone else could have done something as well as you, don’t do it. If someone else could have said something as well as you, don’t say it—or written something as well as you, don’t write it. Grow fond only of that which you can find nowhere but in yourself, and create out of yourself, impatiently or patiently, ah! that most irreplaceable of beings.
Andre GideRead
Never think that someone else knows what's best for you. Trust your way and don't ask for so much advice. Learn how to be quiet and still enough to hear your own voice. It's up to you: Your voice will either be silenced or will get to roar.
Maria ShriverRead
A book is a mirror: if an ape looks into it an apostle is hardly likely to look out.
Georg C. LichtenbergRead