Chaim Potok Quotes

The span of a man's life - that is nothing. But what a man makes of that span - that is something. A man must make his own meaning for life. Meaning is not automatically given to life.

It seems that it is impossible to live without discovering the purpose of your life. And the first thing which a person should do is to understand the meaning of life. But the majority of people who consider themselves to be educated are proud that they have reached such great height that they cease to care about the meaning of existence.

And what can life be worth if the first rehearsal for life is life itself?

~The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them ~

I believe it doesn't matter what it is, as long as you can find something concrete to keep you busy while you are living your meaningless life.

The value of life is not in its duration, but in its donation. You are not important because of how long you live, you are important because of how effective you live. And most people are concerned about growing old rather than being effective.

That's the whole meaning of life, isn't it? Trying to find a place for your stuff.

Why live? Life was its own answer. Life was the propagation of more life and the living of as good a life as possible.

A man with nothing to die for has even less for which to live.

We can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: 1. by doing a deed; 2. by experiencing a value; and 3. by suffering.

It is better to lose your life than to waste it.

The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.

...the reason for living was to get ready to stay dead a long time.

Losing your life is not the worst thing that can happen. The worst thing is to lose your reason for living.

Purpose is a man-made fiction. Nobody on their deathbed gets a plaque that says "he focused on only one thing for his entire life!" Those are counterfeit thoughts in a counterfeit society.

The value of life is not in its duration, but in its donation.

Man’s main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain but rather to see a meaning in his life.

Life has meaning for anyone who takes an interest in it.

You will find meaning in life only if you create it.It is a poetry to be composed. It is a song to be sung.It is a dance to be danced.

If you make the goal of your life just to stay alive, you'll fail. If you make the goal of your life the kingdom, you cannot lose.

As the struggle for survival has subsided, the question has emerged: survival for what? Ever more people have the means to live, but no meaning to live for.

So when I think of, what is the meaning of life, to me, that's not an eternal unanswerable question. To me it is in arms reach of me every day.

A life is never useless. Each soul that came down to Earth is here for a reason.

When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.

Live is meaningful only if you gave it a meaning.