James Stockdale Quotes

I have many regrets, and I'm sure everyone does. The stupid things you do, you regret... if you have any sense, and if you don't regret them, maybe you're stupid.

I'm older, and I wish that a lot of things that I did in my life, I didn't do, but I'm able to talk about it.

To me, it's always interesting to see what people end up regretting, as a way maybe to avoid such regrets in your own life.

Basically, when I did 'Infinity' in 1997, I had thoughts in my head that left me with a lot of questions. I've gone to certain personal limits with 'Infinity' that, at the end of it, I think, scared me. And I've made a lot of really kinda bad mistakes as a result of that.

I think, like anyone else, I made my mistakes.

I've gotten away with a lot in my life. The older you get the more you realize you're not getting away with it, it's taking its toll somewhere. So you try not to put yourself in those situations. Part of the mysterious process called growing up. Some people do that better than others.

I learned from my past.

Of course I have regrets; I'm not stupid.

And maybe I'm a little smarter now than I was before for all the stupid things I've done.

I remember some of the biggest mistakes I have made really, really well.

As an individual, I've learnt a lot about life - some things that proved to be helpful and some things I wish I never knew.

There's no doubt that probably at least once a week, maybe once a day, I said, "Ah, I should have done that better."

The disadvantage of becoming wise is that you realize how foolish you've been.

Nobody will use other people's experience, nor have any of his own till it is too late to use it.

The lessons of experience are always learned too late.

Five years from now I'm probably going to look back on the things I'm doing and cringe.

To accuse others for one's own misfortunes is a sign of want of education. To accuse oneself shows that one's education has begun. To accuse neither oneself nor others shows that one's education is complete.

There are moments in one's life where you look back and you say, 'Well, I wish I had done this differently.'

If I'd trusted myself and listened to myself all the times that I ignored myself, I would have been fine. But everyone has to learn their lesson, and now I've got it.

The awareness of the ambiguity of one's highest achievements (as well as one's deepest failures) is a definite symptom of maturity.

I wish I'd known early what I had to learn late.

I guess none of us like to look back in our lives to a time when we made poor judgments and foolish mistakes.

If I had to do my life over, I would change every single thing I have done.

I think I've been an incredible example to my kids of what not to do.

My experiences have taught me a lot and I'm happy with my learnings, if not with what I went through to learn.