Wisdom for the Soul - Action/Effort

ACTION / EFFORT

The possession of knowledge, unless accompanied by a manifestation and expression in action, is like the hoarding of precious metals – a vain and foolish thing. Knowledge, like wealth, is intended for use.
Hermes Trismegistus
Khemetic Magus, Egyptian God Thoth, Greek God of Law & Letters
in The Kybalion: Hermetic Philosophy , 1912, 1940

The way of the sage is to act but not to compete.
Laozi
570-490 BCE, Chinese Philosopher, Founder of Daoism
Daode Jing

Words do not matter, what matters is Dharma. What matters is action rightly performed.
Buddha
c. 563-483 BCE, Indian Prince, Mystic, Founder of Buddhism
Dhammapada

A gentleman covets the reputation of being slow in word but prompt in deed.
Kongfuzi
c. 551-c. 479 BCE, Chinese Philosopher, Educator
The Analects of Confucius , IV.24, Arthur Waley, tr., 1989

The test of any man lies in action.
Pindar
518-438 BCE, Greek Poet

You have a right to your actions,
but never to your actions' fruits.
Act for action's sake.
And do not be attached to inaction.
Bhagavad Gita
c. 400 BCE, Hindu Sacred Text
2:47, Stephen Mitchell, tr., 2000

Our actions determine our dispositions.
Aristotle
384-322 BCE, Greek Philosopher

Act while you can: While you have the chance, the means, and the strength.
Babylonian Talmud
Jewish Sacred Text, Shabbat 151b

Turning it over in your mind won't plough the field.
Irish Saying

Something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.
The Bible
c. 367 CE, Christian Sacred Text
Deuteronomy 30:14

There is nothing better than for you to rejoice in every deed done in harmony with the moment. For doing is your purpose; in doing is your meaning. Leave the result to those who come after you. And attend solely to doing well that which must be done at all.
Ibid. , Ecclesiastes 3:21-22

That knowledge which remains only on your tongue is very superficial. The intrinsic value of knowledge is that you act upon it.
Hazrat Ali
599-661, 4th Islamic Khalif, 1st Shia Imam, Writer
in Peak of Eloquence - Nahjul Balagha: Sermons and Letters of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib , Askari Jafri, tr.

An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox.
Mexican Saying

As long as the mind has not reached supreme quiet, it cannot act. Action caused by momentum is random action, not essential action. Therefore it is said that action influenced by things is human desire, while action uninfluenced by things is the action of Heaven.
Lu Tung Pin
798-?, Chinese Chan Master
The Secret of the Golden Flower: The Classic Chinese Book of Life , VIII.27, Thomas Cleary, tr., 1991

When deeds speak, words are nothing.
African Saying

Deed, not words shall speak me.
John Fletcher
1579-1625, English Dramatist

Make the least ado about your greatest gifts. Be content to act, and leave the talking to others.
Baltasar Gracian
1601-1685, Spanish Jesuit, Writer, Philosopher
The Oracle

Boast not of what thou would'st have done, but do
What thou would'st.
John Milton
1608-1674, English Poet, Libertarian, Pamphleteer

It is better to wear out than to rust out.
Richard Cumberland
1631-1718, English Philosopher, Cleric, Translator
The Duty of Contending for the Faith , 1786

I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.
John Locke
1632-1704, English Philosopher

The soul is made for action, and cannot rest till it be employed. Idleness is its rust. Unless it will up and think and taste and see, all is in vain.
Thomas Traherne
1637-1674, English Religious Writer, Cleric

Well done is better than well said.
Benjamin Franklin
1706-1790, American Statesman, Scientist, Inventor, Writer

Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace, and power in it. Begin it now.
Goethe
1749-1832, German Poet, Novelist, Dramatist, Philosopher, Scientist

There is nothing more fearful than ignorance in action.
Goethe

Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.
Andrew Jackson
1767-1845, 7th US President

Ain't nothin to it but to do it.
African-American Saying

We are made for action, and for right action – for thought and for true thought. Let us live while we live; let us be alive and doing; let us act on what we have, since we have not what we wish.
John Henry Newman
1801-1890, English Cardinal, Theologian, Poet

What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
1803-1882, American Poet, Essayist

Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.
Benjamin Disraeli
1804-1881, British Prime Minister, Writer

It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it.
Charlotte Bronte
1816-1855, English Writer
Jane Eyre

Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.
George Eliot
1819-1880, English Writer, Poet
in The Journals of Andre Gide

Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.
Thomas Edison
1847-1931, American Inventor, Industrialist
in Life , 1932

The goal ever recedes from us. The greater the progress the greater the recognition of our unworthiness. Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.
Mahatma Gandhi
1869-1948, Indian Spiritual Leader
in Eknath Easwaran, Gandhi, The Man , 1997

Get action. Do things; be sane, don't fritter away your time � take a place wherever you are and be somebody; get action.
Theodore Roosevelt
1858-1919, 26th US President

Men must not only know, they must act.
W. E. B. Du Bois
1868-1963, African-American Sociologist, Writer, Political Activist

Trust only movement. Life happens at the level of events not of words. Trust movement.
Alfred Adler
1870-1937, Austrian Psychiatrist, Psychologist

We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once.
Calvin Coolidge
1872-1933, 30th US President

Wisdom consists not so much in knowing what to do in the ultimate as in knowing what to do next.
Herbert Hoover
1874-1964, 31st US President

That is the principal thing - not to remain with the dream, with the intention, with the being-in-the-mood, but always forcibly to convert it into all things.
Rainer Maria Rilke
1875-1926, Czech-Austrian Poet
Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke 1892-1910

Deliberation is the work of many men; Action, of one alone.
Charles De Gaulle
1890-1970, French Militarist, President

Never mistake motion for action.
Ernest Hemingway
1899-1961, American Writer, 1954 Nobel Laureate

The proof that one truly believes is in action.
Bayard Rustin
1912-1987, African-American Pacifist, Civil Rights Activist

Do-so is more important than say-so.
Pete Seeger
1919-, American Singer

Apply yourself. Get all the education you can, but then, by God, do something. Don't just stand there, make it happen.
Lee Iacocca
1924-, American Executive

You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.
Shirley Chisholm
1924-, African-American Legislator

Act or be acted upon.
Stephen Covey
1932-, American Management Educator, Writer
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People , 1989

Words mean nothing. Action is the only thing. Doing. That's the only thing.
Ernest Gaines
1933-, African-American Writer
The Sky Is Gray

The best moments usually occur when a person�s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
1934-, Italian/American Scholar, Educator
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience , 1990

The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.
Norman Schwarzkopf
1934-, American Militarist

The haves and have nots can often be traced to the dids and didn't dos.
William Raspberry
1935-, African-American Columnist

Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.
Lou Holtz
1937-, American Football Coach

Booker's Law: An ounce of application is worth a ton of abstraction.
Arthur Bloch
1938-, American Scientist, Writer
Murphy's Law , 1977

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.
Bruce Lee
1940-1973, Chinese/American Martial Artist, Actor, Writer

I have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people convinced that they are about to change the world. I am more awed by those who struggle to make one small difference after another.
Ellen Goodman
1941-, American Columnist

Both tears and sweat are salty, but they render a different result. Tears will get you sympathy; sweat will get you change.
Jesse Jackson
1941-, African-American Cleric, Civil Rights Activist

Once you've done the mental work, there comes a point you have to throw yourself into the action and put your heart on the line. That means not only being brave, but being compassionate towards yourself, your teammates and your opponents.
Phil Jackson
1945-, American Basketball Coach

You can know a hundredfold more today than you knew a week ago, but if you don't do anything about it, you aren't any more effective than you were last week, in your unenlightened state. Until knowledge, awareness, insights, and understandings are translated into action, they are of no value.
Phillip C. McGraw
1950-, American Psychologist, Litigation Consultant, Writer
Life Strategies: Doing What Works, Doing What Matters , 1999

Expressing what you are is taking action. You can have a great many ideas in your head, but what makes the difference is the action. Without action upon an idea, there will be no manifestation, no results, and no reward.
Miguel Ruiz
1952-, Mexican Physician, Toltec Nagual
The Four Agreements , 1997

Just do it.
- Nike advertising slogan

You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.
Wayne Gretzky
1961-, Canadian Hockey Player

Stop sitting there with your hands folded looking on, doing nothing. Get into action and live this full and glorious life. Now. You have to do it.
Eileen Caddy
British Mystic, Co-Founder of Findhorn Community
The Dawn of Change , 1979

The man who rolls up his sleeves seldom loses his shirt.
- Thomas Cowan

He that would eat fruit must climb the tree.
- James Kelly

The more you do, the more you are.
- Angie Papadakis

Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.
- Yoda
Character in the movie "Star Wars"

ACTION / EFFORT

This cross-index may help identify and delineate more closely subjective realities often hard to pin down.

Related states elucidate shades of meaning and amplify nuances of feeling
Syntonic elements foster and enhance well-being
Dystonic factors are contraindicated and should be minimized.

Related States & Conditions

Syntonic

Dystonic