George McGovern Quotes

I've run for office, and I've stood on street corners, while people walked by me and didn't want to talk to me, and did not think I was a credible candidate. And then four years later, I was nearly elected mayor of San Francisco, so I know what it takes.

I've never in my life categorized a year of my life as good or bad. I just think I'm living a good life, warts and all.

I've been through so much. I just live each day, and whatever happens, happens. I've lived a very good life. My life has definitely changed, but the attitude is still the same.

I'm grateful for the experiences I've accumulated. Of course, there are certain things you wish were not on anyone's list of life experiences, but it's a life. It's a good life. And I like what's there.

If one burdens the future with one's worries, it cannot grow organically. I am filled with confidence, not that I shall succeed in worldly things, but that even when things go badly for me I shall still find life good and worth living.

...that not life, but a good life, is to be chiefly valued.

A good life is not measured by any biblical span.

Just smiling goes a long way toward making you feel better about life. And when you feel better about life, your life is better. With an optimistic, positive attitude toward life, the possibilities for your second prime are tremendous.

Yeah, it's whatever. You know, feeling good, living better.

Men are capable of making great sacrifices, who are not willing to make the lesser ones, on which so much of the happiness of life depends. The great sacrifices are seldom called for, but the minor ones are in daily requisition; and the making them with cheerfulness and grace enhances their value.

A good life is a main argument.

At this age - I'm 44 - I think life's too short. I want it to mean something to me, if I'm going to spend that much time doing it.

Follow the voice of your heart, even if it leads you off the path of timid souls. Do not become hard and embittered, even if life tortures you at times. There is only one thing that counts: to live one's life well and happily.

I want the good life, but I don't want an easy ride. What I want is to work for it, feel the blood and sweat on my fingertips.

We all have moments of weakness. It’s how we recover from them that really counts.

This has been a wonderful life, absolutely terrific. There are very few things that I would go back and do differently, if I had that control.

I was down after divorce - I was all the way down. And I just felt like, "God, I gotta turn this around. I can't go down like this. I have to know that this is happening for a reason." And I knew that I had to turn to music.

I would encourage people to realize that you don't have to panic if you're not part of a mainstream, or if you find yourself outside the flow. If it doesn't suit you, don't go along with it. Just sit it out and get your stuff done. Don't just sit moaning or getting drunk—I spent some years doing that. But if you can just come up with something of your own, however minor it is, that's going to be easier to live with when you're at the end of your life.

The thing about 50 is that you've clearly reached a point where you have more of your life behind you than ahead of you, and that's a very different place to be in. You're thinking, 'I've done most of it.' I don't like that feeling. But it makes you evaluate your life and go, 'Am I doing what I want to do? Am I spending my time the way I want?'

If you're hurt, lick your wounds and get up again. If you've given it your absolute best, it's time to move forward.

I have survived. I am here. Confused, screwed up, but here. So, how can I find my way? Is there a chain saw of the soul, an ax I can take to my memories or fears?

You just become adaptable and try to lead a good life in ways that make sense, regardless. Because I know at the end of it, if I'm going to meet Jesus or Allah or Buddha, I'm going to be all right.

To love the plateau is to love what is most essential and enduring in your life.

There's no cure for getting depressed. There's no cure for self-loathing or periods of it. But figure out enough about it so that when it happens, you can get over it and keep moving and just accomplish more.

The best feelings in your life come when you start feeling good after you've been feeling just awful