John Irving Quotes

If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.

The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going.

Why did I walk so purposefully in a straight line? Where would it take me? He went round and round and we got there all the same.

It's impossible to map out a route to your destination if you don't know where you're starting from.

I don't know where I'm really going to cha cha, but hopefully I can find a place.

The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows whither he is going.

Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find the right road.

If a man knows not what harbor he seeks, any wind is the right wind.

If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.

You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going, because you might not get there.

I was very restless, but finally I found my way.

If you don't know where you're going, you will probably end up somewhere else.

If you want to go east, don't go west.

I write to understand as much as to be understood.

Not just whether but how we find our way truly matters.

If you know where you are going, you have this sixth sense about if everything you do along the way is lined up with that.

Sometimes one misses the sign posts as you're going down the road. They aren't as obvious as they become when you get to the end of the road, so to speak.

I know where I was before, and I know where I want to go.

There is a destination but no way there; what we refer to as way is hesitation.

If a man does not know to what port he is steering, no wind is favorable to him. Ignoranti quem portum petat, nullus suus ventus est.

I think writing is really about a journey of understanding. So you take something that seems very far away, and the more you write about it, the more you travel into it, and you see it from within.

We all get lost along the way, but hopefully we figure out some sort of path. It helps if you can imagine the process as well as the goal. Those kinds of dreams are easier to achieve.

A name indicates what we seek. An address indicates where it is. A route indicates how we get there.

If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.

Anyone who has ever asked for directions knows you need two crucial pieces of information to get good results: a starting point and a destination.