Listen to what is being preached today. Look at everyone around us. You've wondered why they suffer, why they seek happiness and never find it. If any man stopped and asked himself whether he's ever held a truly personal desire, he'd find the answer. He'd see that all his wishes, his efforts, his dreams, his ambitions are motivated by other men. He's not really struggling even for material wealth, but for the second-hander's delusion - prestige. A stamp of approval, not his own. He can find no joy in the struggle and no joy when he has succeeded. He can't say about a single thing: 'This is what I wanted because I wanted it, not because it made my neighbors gape at me'. Then he wonders why he's unhappy. . Ayn Rand
About This Quote

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. This quote is the message of the Buddha, who said that suffering arises from attachment to objects that are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and changeable. So, why does suffering persist? Because we cling to them and get upset when they change or end. We cling to our achievements and get upset when they end. It's all part of the illusion of permanence and we should follow the example of Gandhi and always rise each time we fall.

Source: The Fountainhead

Some Similar Quotes
  1. Promise YourselfTo be so strong that nothingcan disturb your peace of mind. To talk health, happiness, and prosperityto every person you meet. To make all your friends feelthat there is something in them To look at the sunny side of everythingand make your optimism come... - Christian D. Larson

  2. They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for. - Tom Bodett

  3. Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness. - Bertrand Russell

  4. Happiness is holding someone in your arms and knowing you hold the whole world. - Orhan Pamuk

  5. I know that's what people say-- you'll get over it. I'd say it, too. But I know it's not true. Oh, youll be happy again, never fear. But you won't forget. Every time you fall in love it will be because something in the man... - Betty Smith

More Quotes By Ayn Rand
  1. Haven't I? - he thought. Haven't I thought of it since the first time I saw you? Haven't I thought of nothing else for two years? ..He sat motionless, looking at her. He heard the words he had never allowed himself to form, the words...

  2. Productiveness is your acceptance of morality, your recognition of the fact that you choose to live--that productive work is the process by which man's consciousness controls his existence, a constant process of acquiring knowledge and shaping matter to fit one's purpose, of translating an idea...

  3. I love you so much that nothing can matter to me - not even you... Only my love- not your answer. Not even your indifference

  4. I want you, Hank. I'm much more of an animal than you think. I wanted you from the first moment I saw you - and the only thing I'm ashamed of is that I did not know it. I did not know why, for two...

  5. Love should be treated like a business deal, but every business deal has its own terms and its own currency. And in love, the currency is virtue. You love people not for what you do for them or what they do for you. You love...

Related Topics