Along the Lines of Chuck Norris (and Other Notable Figures)

"We've all been designed by God to be a blessing to many - a hero to some." ~ Chuck Norris, Introduction to "Do Hard Things" by Alex and Brett Harris




"You don't understand. If I'm not here to recieve these ideas, God will give them to Prince." ~Michael Jackson



"If you saw Atlas, the giant who holds the world on his shoulders, if you saw that he stood, blood running down his chest, his knees buckling, his arms trembling but still trying to hold the world aloft with the last of his strength, and the greater his effort the heavier the world bore down on his shoulders - what would you tell him to do?" ~Ayn Rand, "Atlas Shrugged"



"There are just some kind of men who - who're so busy worrying about the next world they've never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the result." ~Harper Lee, "To Kill a Mockingbird"



"Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot... But what of the man? I know his name was Guy Fawkes and I know, in 1605, he attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament. But who was he really? What was he like? We are told to remember the idea, not the man, because a man can fail. He can be caught, he can be killed and forgotten, but 400 years later, an idea can still change the world. I've witnessed first hand the power of ideas, I've seen people kill in the name of them, and die defending them... but you cannot kiss an idea, cannot touch it, or hold it... ideas do not bleed, they do not feel pain, they do not love... And it is not an idea I miss, it is the man... A man that made me remember the Fifth of November. A man that I will never forget." ~Evie Hammond, "V for Vendetta"



"There is only one cause of unhappiness: the false beliefs you have in your head, beliefs so widespread, so commonly held, that it never occurs to you to question them." ~Anthony de Mello, "Awareness"



"The individual has always had a struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privelege of owning yourself." ~Nietzsche



"Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tradgedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort, not to mention hospital gurneys and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction. And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives. I know the idea seems strange, but I also know that it just so happens to be true." ~Stranger than Fiction