Arnold J. Toynbee Quotes

Never mistake motion for action.

The world is blessed most by men who do things, and not by those who merely talk about them.

Nothing comes merely by thinking about it.

Begin somewhere; you cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do.

In life, you either watch TV or you do TV. I told my daughters that the only way you're going to make it in this business is to get in the game. That's the biggest advice I can give them.

You never know what you can do till you try.

Don't just sit there dreaming; dreaming is the luxury of the rich.

It is only those who do nothing who makes no mistake.

Be a doer and not a critic.

We live in a world where action is what counts.

You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.

The greatest of all mistakes is to do nothing because you can only do a little. Do what you can.

I'm not about talking and finger-pointing and complaining. I'm about getting things done.

I was always interested in doing it, but I was so content with my life that I didn't really go after it.

When I started travelling, I would go to a city and be on television and I used to get the question, 'Why do you work? If I were you, I'd just go and lie on a beach somewhere.' And I'd answer, 'Well, I wanted to make something of my life.'

Nothing's going to come to you by sitting around and waiting for it.

To have nothing to do, to sit there waiting for little aches and pains, is fundamentally wrong. Life has to be lived.

Never confuse motion with action.

Positive anything is better than negative nothing.

Speak less but act more.

Lots of people dream big and talk about big bold ideas but never do anything. I judge people by what they've done. The ratio of something to nothing is infinite. So just do something.

You either make dust or eat dust.

Action may not bring happiness but there is no happiness without action.

Don't be a victim; if you want to make movies, make movies.

You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water. Don't let yourself indulge in vain wishes.