Seneca the Younger Quotes

He who asks with timidity invites a refusal.

I don’t care how honest a man is. If he is timid, he is no good.

It is only through timidity that states are lost.

A woman is seldom merciful to the man who is timid.

I've always hated rejection; I only want to go out there when I know I've got it right.

My parents didn't want me to be an actor. They didn't think I could take the rejection, and I have to say they were probably right.

One of life's fundamental truths states, 'Ask and you shall receive.' As kids we get used to asking for things, but somehow we lose this ability in adulthood. We come up with all sorts of excuses and reasons to avoid any possibility of criticism or rejection.

You have to feel confident. If you don't, then you're going to be hesitant and defensive, and there'll be a lot of things working against you.

Many women do not want to venture out into the 'opinion world' until they are certain of themselves, the facts, and that they are right. They are afraid of being shot down. The result is often silence.

You have a right to say no. Most of us have very weak and flaccid 'no' muscles. We feel guilty for saying no. We get ostracized and challenged for saying no, so we forget it's our choice. Your 'no' muscle has to be built up to get to a place where you can say, 'I don't care if that's what you want. I don't want that. No.'

The encouraging thing is that every time you meet a situation, though you may think at the time it is an impossibility and you go through the tortures of the damned, once you have met it and lived through it you find that forever after you are freer than you ever were before. If you can live through that you can live through anything. You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' The danger lies in refusing to face the fear, in not daring to come to grips with it. If you fail anywhere along the line, it will take away your confidence. You must make yourself succeed every time. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

We are so in fear of failure that often we prefer not to try..

I'm really good at telling people 'no.'

Timidity makes a person modest. It makes him or her say, 'I'm not worthy of being written up in the record of deeds in heaven or on earth.' Timidity keeps people from their good. They are afraid to say, 'Yes, I deserve it.'

If the deal is not right, just walk away. You don't have to take it, you don't have to keep going, arguing or trying to find a middle ground. If you're not comfortable with it, just go.

Action can cure fear and hesitation and doubt.

If you don't ask, the answer is always no.

I say, 'I will not be your weakness, Sean Kendrick.' Now he looks at me. He says, very softly, 'It's late for that, Puck.

You lose the arrogance you need to be successful, but you need that arrogance because the second someone sees that side of you and chip at it, it's over.

He who begs timidly courts a refusal.

I have guts, just not when it counts.

It's hard coming in here talking a big game. It's hard, it's hard. It's a lamb coming to the wolves and throwing meat at them.

When boy likes you, you say no thank you. You don't kick him on the ground.

Often we are firm from weakness, and audacious from timidity.

Hesitation only enlarges, magnifies the fear. Take action promptly. Be decisive.