Norman Mailer Quotes

It's very difficult to regulate yourself, and if you learn to do that, well, it starts to spill over.

For self is the lord of self, self is the refuge of self; therefore curb thyself as the merchant curbs a good horse.

Self-discipline, as a virtue or an acquired asset, can be invaluable to anyone.

Self-mastery and self-discipline are the foundation of good relationships with others.

All great leaders have understood that their number one responsibility is cultivating their own discipline and personal growth. Those who cannot lead themselves cannot lead others.

Discipline is training that corrects and perfects our mental faculties or molds our moral character. Discipline is control gained by enforced obedience. It is the deliberate cultivation of inner order.

Every attainment, every step forward in knowledge, follows from courage, from hardness against oneself, from cleanliness in relation to oneself.

The discipline of desire is the background of character.

He who attends to his greater self becomes a great man, and he who attends to his smaller self becomes a small man.

In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves... self-discipline with all of them came first.

It is not enough to have great qualities; We should also have the management of them.

I believe that the plight of life and all existence is to master one's self, you know, one day at a time.

Respect for self is the beginning of cultivating virtue in men and women.

Every day, we have to strive to be better people. Some days we give in to weakness, and sometimes we give in to strength.

You cannot lead others until you have first learned to lead yourself.

Discipline is wisdom and vice versa.

Assume a virtue, if you have it not. That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat; Of habits devil, is angel yet in this.

To the one, a little natural moderation and quietness of temper may be sufficient to conduct us: but to the other, we can only attain by much discipline and slow advances; and when we think we have made great way, we shall often find reason to confess in the hour of trial, that we had greatly, far too greatly, over-rated our progress.

When we are foolish, we want to conquer the world. When we are wise, we want to conquer ourselves. That begins when we do what we should no matter how we feel about it.

Every act of self-discipline increases your confidence, trust, and belief in yourself and your abilities.

Only in the crucible of self-mastery can freedom be smelted

Discipline, it has been suggested, is the means of human spiritual evolution. What provides the motive, the energy for discipline? This force I believe to be love. I define love thus: The will to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth.

It is not what talents or genius a man has, but how he is to his talents, that constitutes friendship and character. The man thatstands by himself, the universe stands by him also.

Learn to self-conquest, persevere thus for a time, and you will perceive very clearly the advantage which you gain from it.

Cultivate within yourselves the mighty power of self-discipline.