Alexander McCall Smith Quotes
Our minds can come up with the most entertaining possibilities, if we let them. But most of the time, we keep them under far too close a check.
Quotes to Explore
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Let us go forward in this battle fortified by conviction that those who labour in the service of a great and good cause will never fail.
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I don't write under the ghost of Faulkner. I live in the same town and find his life and work inspiring, but that's it. I have a motorcycle and tool along the country lanes. I travel at my own speed.
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I never thought 'Stairway to Heaven' was a long song. I loved how there was this part and then there was another part that was completely different.
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I rolled up my sleeves and said, 'I want to make a mark on this world.'
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If I had to do it all over, I'd be more secluded about it.
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I always wanted to be a writer. Maybe, had I been brought up in another generation, I might have just gone into writing rather than medicine - which is not to say that I didn't also have a great attraction towards the idea of being a healer. Fortunately, I've been able to combine the two in ways I could never possibly have imagined.
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I've tried coconut water straight up before, and to me, it's a little funky.
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Close friends consider me a literary snob.
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As a child, I had a serious illness that lasted for two years or more. I have vague recollections of this illness and of my being carried about a great deal. I was known as the 'sick one.' Whether this illness gave me a twist away from ordinary paths, I don't know; but it is possible.
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A long-lasting and sustained recovery will never be achieved through massive government spending programs.
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Children seem naturally drawn to poetry - it's some combination of the rhyme, rhythm, and the words themselves.
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Sometimes I thank God... for cheeseburgers.
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One must do the same subject over again ten times, a hundred times. In art nothing must resemble an accident, not even movement.
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The familiar trope of the woman in peril doesn't really interest me.
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I'm very aware and very conscious of the path I chose in life, and very aware of the path I didn't choose.
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And all for love, and nothing for reward.
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When the legends die, the dreams end; there is no more greatness.
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He who talks more is sooner exhausted.
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It's a huge step up from the European Indoors to then being a gold medallist at the World Championships.
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You can't forget that organizational success flows from the hearts and minds of the men and women you lead. Rather than treating your people as you'd like to be treated, treat them as they would like to be treated. Small gestures like opting for face-to-face meetings or sending personal notes can have an enormous impact on teams and their morale.
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You must not for one instant give up the effort to build new lives for yourselves. Creativity means to push open the heavy, groaning doorway to life.
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Conservatives need to know how important it is to fill out the census. It is one of the only things our Constitution specifically asks of U.S. citizens and boycotting will just help liberals expand government even further.
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I couldn't pick just one defining breakthrough role. I like to think that they're all a part of me.
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Our minds can come up with the most entertaining possibilities, if we let them. But most of the time, we keep them under far too close a check.
