Samuel Langhome Clemens was a famous American writer, publisher, and lecturer. He was also an entrepreneur and a humourist; he was regarded as the greatest humourist of the United States. He used to go by his pen name Mark Twain.
He was known for his travel and adventure books like “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, etc.
Twain’s work was so great that he was considered as the father of American literature, by Tom Faulkner.
His short stories, narratives, and books are popular all over the world, and so are his quotes. Twain has given some of the most inspiring and famous quotes of all time. Here is a list of the top and famous Mark Twain Quotes:
The secret to getting ahead is to getting started.
The best way to achieve success is to start working for it because if you wish to move further in life, you need to start walking first.
As soon as you start working towards something, be it anything you wish to achieve, you are bound to get to it someday. There would be plenty of hard work and efficiency required, but if you start, you will reach somewhere.
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
Usually, the majority is filled with people who tend to live accordingly certain basic societal norms and yearn to be accepted by others, due to which their actions often tend to be according to that. Even if something is wrong, as long as it appeases others and gives them a free pass from social punishment, the majority will do it instead of supporting what is right.
Although this is not the case all the time, it is so, most often. This is why Twain asks all those who don’t always side up along the majority, i.e., the minority, to stop and reflect whether or not they are among former for the right reasons, whenever they are.
Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.
Acid is a rather destructive substance, which tends to dissolve or burn anything it is poured on. Here, Twain has compared anger with acid and created a profound meaning.
Acid being a harmful substance, tends to damage the container in which it is stored, the most, before doing harm to something else through its usage. And similar is the case with anger, it tends to destroy the person holding it inside them more than the one they tend to inflict it upon.
There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded.
There is one group of people who achieve and accomplish things and who don’t need to say it out loud for people to notice their work because it is evident enough through their efforts and dedication.
And then there is another group of people, who tend to claim that they have accomplished things but haven’t actually done anything yet. They’re just all talk no show, and usually, the majority of the people are like that, which is why one will always find the first group less crowded as only some people prove themselves by doing things instead of merely talking.
Its no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.
Fiction needs to make sense to appeal to people. But neither does the truth have to make sense, nor does it have to appeal anybody because the truth might upset or disappoint people, but it would still be the truth, and nothing and nobody can change that.
The truth does not have to make sense to be true and right.
A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.
Nobody’s approval matters more than your own. If you aren’t happy with what you are doing or where you are, somebody else’s disapproval wouldn’t matter because you wouldn’t be having your own.
People will always be finding faults and tell you how it should be, but as long as you know how it should be and you are content with the way it is, it shouldn’t matter what others tell you, because it is you who has to live with the consequences.
Do the thing you fear the most and the death of fear is certain.
If you are scared of something, do it! The moment you put in even the slightest of effort to do that which scares you the most, the fear will automatically start to disappear, and once you do it, the fear wouldn’t even be there anymore because you would have defeated the whole purpose of the inhibition then.
Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too, can become great.
Actually successful people will never demean you or your ambitions and dreams and will not let you down either. And those people who get up by putting others down are never successful in the first place.
One should always maintain a distance from those people who laugh at their goals and ambitions because they simply envy you have it in you to chase after your dreams and they don’t.
The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up.
One of the best and the easiest ways to cheer yourself when you are low or down is to cheer someone else up and make their day; that is bound to uplift your mood too. This is because doing something good for someone not only makes them feel good but tends to make you feel good too, about oneself and people in general. This is why being kind and compassionate never goes out of fashion.
All you need in life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.
Ignorance and confidence go hand-in-hand and are all you need in life to learn and grow and to move further in the direction of success.
If you stop and try to lay it out for every single person who belittles you or doesn’t like you, you simply won’t be able to reach your destination in time; ignorance indeed is bliss.
And if you are confident about yourself and are aware of your worth, what others say or do shouldn’t matter.
The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.
The right words are often effective and reach the other person and make a difference. But silence makes the most difference than any other word and is also the most effective of all.
One should know when to speak and when to simply not say anything at all because silence tends to speak louder than words.
It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.
You could make a fool out of someone faster than you could explain to them that somebody made a fool of them. This is because people usually are unable to rise above their ego and arrogance because of which they have a hard time believing that something like this could happen with them or that they didn’t notice such a thing.
Comparison is the death of joy.
Comparing oneself to other people is one of the most negative outlooks on life one could ever have. This is because one is bound to get disappointed and upset if they compare themselves with other people as it tends to deprive one of any source of joy there is.
Everyone is unique in their own way; somebody might lack something you have, and you might not have what someone else does, but that does not mean anyone is less than or is below others.
Do something everyday you don’t want to do; this is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain.
Once you develop a habit of doing not just what you like, but also that which you don’t want to do, you will have no trouble further in life to fulfil the duty of your work. Not only that, but this will also prepare you for many situations in life and will also help you to grow thoroughly in life.
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Honesty: the best of all lost arts.
Twain has righteously stated honesty as a lost art because just like art, honesty is often underrated yet one of the most inspiring and the best ways of living one’s life.
Being honest is a rather rare action that this society needs more and more.
If one is honest, one need not fear anything or anybody else because the power of the truth is the highest. This is why one should always speak the truth, regardless of how others might take it because people are always going to have a problem with something or the other; you might as well go ahead and do what’s best for you, and follow the path of honesty.
A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar.
It is when an individual realises and admits that he has lied or has been a liar, that he/she tend to be the most truthful because it takes guts to accept having lied or committed any such act.
One who is able to accept their mistakes and the areas where they are wrong and require work are the ones who grow and excel the most in life.
It is better to be alone than unwelcome.
It is always better to be alone and not go somewhere than to go there unannounced and unwelcomed. If people don’t want you somewhere, then there is absolutely no point in going there and dragging your self-respect along with you.
Always keep yourself above people and learn to be alone because not everyone will want you everywhere.
Nature knows no indecencies; man invents them.
Nature is not nor has it ever been indecent, it is us humans who tend to make it so by our actions and habits. We are the real culprits behind the crime of causing harm to nature and deteriorating its natural way and its condition.
Humans are the ones who introduced pollution and the ones who increased it, the ones who took part in global warming, the ones who polluted rivers and littered them, the ones who have brought upon climate change, the ones who hunt and poach animals, etc.
Focus more on your desire than on your doubt, and the dream will take care of itself.
Never let your doubt take over your desires and your ambitions for it will break you and your dreams. Always concentrate more on yourself and your goals, instead of constantly thinking about your doubts and worrying about them.
As long as you put in your best efforts and work for your goals with determination, you need not worry about doubts, be it your own or anybody else’s, and your dreams will prevail.
Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
If you take up a job that you has your interest and attention and the one which you actually like doing, you won’t feel pressured or burdened to do it because you would be doing it out of your own interest and will. But if you do something you don’t really want to, it will always feel too much work, even when it isn’t in reality.
Therefore, always do what you like and you shall stay happy and free.
Conclusion
This article has covered some of the most famous Mark Twain Quotes on Education, Love, Life, Travel and Truth. Hopw these help you in transforming your world to a better place!
Co-author: Khushi Shah
Khushi has just passed her school and is now studying at PDPU. Apart from writing, she likes to sketch and dance. She also has other blogs where she posts proses and poetry.
