William Empson Quotes

Everything you want to be, do or have comes from love.

Your dreams, what you hope for and all that, it's not separate from your life. It grows right up out of it.

Ambition is a meteor-gleam; Fame a restless airy dream; Pleasures, insects on the wing Round Peace, th' tend rest flow'r of spring.

Your dreams should never be better than your real life

You have always fought against your dreams, and 'I want' has never even shown its face. It was always drowned out by 'I must' or 'I hope' or 'I need...'

The whole purpose of life is to make yourself happy.

To not pursue the thing one wants would be a waste of one's life.

You traverse the world in search of happiness, which is within the reach of every man. A contented mind confers it on all.

Man needs, for his happiness, not only the enjoyment of this or that, but hope and enterprise and change.

Monetary success is not success. Career success is not success. Life, someone that loves you, giving to others, doing something that makes you feel complete and full. That is success. And it isn't dependent on anyone else.

I'm more liberated and happy than I've been my whole life. I'm just happy.

I had lost my way for some time, so I need to do things that I am happy with. It's not about being the number one heroine or money. It's about doing roles that I enjoy. My biggest ambition is happiness.

I believe people should live full lives and not settle for anything less.

I'm pleased with my life, with the journey.

We are hungry for more; if we do not consciously pursue the More, we create less for ourselves and make it more difficult to experience More in life.

My life is exactly the way it needs to be.

Everybody has their own desires.

I want to live a fulfilling life.

My well-being and my happiness is much more important to me than how much I can achieve.

A happy life is impos­si­ble; the best that a man can attain is a heroic life.

Happiness is the main object of our aspirations, whatever name we give to it: fulfilment, deep satisfaction, serenity, accomplishment, wisdom, fortune, joy or inner peace, and however we try to seek it: creativity, justice, altruism, striving, completion of a plan or a piece of work.

There is no pressure when you are making a dream come true.

You should aspire to a level of personal excellence - to be the best you can be. You should aspire to have the richest life you can get in terms of fulfillment, happiness and peace.

I already have success. I had it a long time ago. It's nothing to do with my music. Music is secondary, at this point. The good stuff is really good, but I have success because I'm at peace and I'm a good person in my everyday life and that's important.

Let us waste no further time looking for the secret of success or the key to happiness. Already the door is open and whosoever will, may enter.