Wise Words: 1,001 Truths to Inspire, Enlighten and Enrich Everday Life

By Philip A. Grisolia

Unlike many books written solely to entertain their readers, Wise Words is virtually certain to enlighten, encourage, educate and enrich you while youre being entertained.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 3, 2002
• ISBN: 9781469115740

Philip A. Grisolia

There are many sides to Phil Grisolia. Husband and father, yes, but also The Entrepreneur, daring to start businesses and create products. There’s The Communicator, sharing ideas through his radio and TV series. Then there’s The Marketer, creating ways to make money for every company he’s been associated with. The Student always existed, looking for new and better ways to do things. Finally, there’s The Teacher, a part-time college instructor for more than 20 years who continues to encourage in others that same daring, sharing, creating and seeking. It’s as The Teacher that he shares this book with you now.

Book preview

Copyright 2002 by Philip A. Grisolia.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Wise Words

is published by

The Page Group, Inc.

P.O. Box 7474

Elgin, Illinois 60121-7474

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

CONTENTS

Introduction

Other motivational works by

Philip A. Grisolia

Worth Remembering™

An Inspirational Wall Plaque

… and from his Successful Living Series™

mindMaster™

Key Phrase Motivators™

salesMaster™

Key Phrase Selling Motivators™

realtyMaster™

Key Phrase Selling Motivators™

A word of thanks…

…to my wife of many years who lovingly encouraged my search for the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, though she may not always have seen that rainbow as clearly as I did.

…to our three sons who at times while growing up had to wonder what drove their dad.

…to Uncle Al who many years ago took time from his demanding medical practice to conduct learning sessions for his less studied relatives. He patiently taught us many things, including an appreciation for wise words and their ability to enrich people’s lives.

Introduction

Whether you’re buying this book for yourself or you receive it as a gift, this is one of those rare books you’re certain to cherish and enjoy reading again and again.

By whatever name you choose to call the wise words that overflow its pages—truths, proverbs, epigrams, sayings or some other—each of the 1,001 quotations in this book contains its own unique, thought-provoking morsel of truth. And, as some wise author once wrote, … thinking makes us wise, wisdom makes life bearable.

Collecting these wise words has been a joy that’s spanned more than 50 years. The origins of the truths you’ll find here extend to the far corners of the world. Some you may have seen or heard before, but many are unique, taken from conversations I’ve had with some rather special people over the years and from a variety of interesting readings. Many of those truths are published here for the first time.

These truths which you’re about to enjoy are presented in the sincere belief that many of them have the power to enlighten and entertain you, … yes, even to enrich your life and the lives of those dear to you.

If you’re anything like I am, as time passes many of these truths will develop their own special meanings for you. For that reason you’ll want to revisit them often. Why? Because truth can do more than merely make life bearable. In truth there live the seeds of change, change that can give new meaning not only your life but the lives of those you love.

That’s a rather bold statement, I’ll admit. But, just as with all 1,001 of these truths, you’ll soon understand why that statement, too, contains a morsel of truth.

Interestingly enough, the people you’ll find quoted here come from all walks of life … they encompass rich and poor, wise and otherwise, famous and infamous. Included are those who’ve obviously succeeded in life, as well as some who may be thought of as failures. Regardless, there is something to be learned from each of them.

Some of their names you’ll be sure to recognize, others you may not. But of one thing you can be sure, their collective words of wisdom—along with occasional glimpses of their wit—span virtually every human experience imaginable.

And as you read on, please keep in mind the following:

First, please don’t misinterpret the frequent use of words such as man, he and him in some of the quotations as an indication of anything more than what it is, a reflection of the times and cultures in which those particular quotations originated. In today’s world, those truths, like all others in this collection, apply equally to women and men.

Secondly, having lost my battle with Vanity, in the pages that follow you’ll run across a number of quotations that originated with yours truly, either in some of my other writings or in the classes I’ve taught.

And, finally, during the more than 50 years it’s taken to gather and edit these wise words, when the author of any quotation could not be confirmed, its attribution is shown as Anon. Those quotations are sprinkled liberally throughout this collection.

By the way, I did make several attempts at classifying these quotations … by subject, by author, by several other means. All seemed inappropriate for one reason or another. Therefore, the sequence in which these various truths are presented for you here represents nothing more than the random order of the bits and pieces of paper on which they were collected.

Oh, allow me one more brief comment, please, concerning the titles of certain quoted individuals. Since the people quoted here include a variety of generals, senators, medical doctors, men and women of the clergy and similar individuals of title or rank, there was no way to accurately determine whether the words attributed to them were spoken before of after their rise to those positions. As a result, most such indicators have been deliberately eliminated.

That said, I sincerely hope that your world—like mine—will be enriched by the knowledge, wisdom and inspiration you’ll find in the wise words that follow.

Phil Grisolia

1. There is no future in believing something can’t be done.