“Ridicule, mockery and humour are some of the best tools of the powerless, they are weapons of the weak! Finding ways to intervene with levity and humour can build strength and sustain a movement. Humour is one of the most powerful weapons of non-violent resistance.”

— L.A. Kauffman

The quote archive

Wisdom in fragments

A growing archive of 3,000+ moments, drawn from every interview.

charity and philanthropy are the same. Charity giving is more aligned with money and not so much individual time. Philanthropy is more of a practice and way of being

— John Paul Dejoria

Co-Founder of Paul Mitchell Systems & The Patrón Spirits Company

I feel it is the duty for every human and company to do something to either make their community, their city, their state, their country or the world a better place to live. You don't have to contribute financially, but rather your time, smile and good wishes to start the ball rolling. Time is a very valuable thing, when you contribute your time to others- you've contributed something of great value

— John Paul Dejoria

Co-Founder of Paul Mitchell Systems & The Patrón Spirits Company

Boys we just donated to the Salvation Army. They help people that do not have homes or food. Always remember in life there will always be someone that will be in more in need. We could only afford a dime that year, but we gave to help out others!

— John Paul Dejoria

Co-Founder of Paul Mitchell Systems & The Patrón Spirits Company

One of the challenges in networking is everybody thinks it's making cold calls to strangers. Actually, it's the people who already have strong trust relationships with you, who know you're dedicated, smart, a team player, who can help you.

— Reid Hoffman

Co-Founder of LinkedIn & Venture Capitalist

There is a line between the observable and greater universe. For discussion it's very useful to recognise that when we speak about anything outside the observable universe, we're switching from the empirical to the speculative and theoretical

— Adam Riess

Astrophysicist who discovered the accelerating expansion of the universe

One can certainly live their life happily, here on earth never looking up or contemplating what's out there… but for many people (myself included) when you become aware of how much is out there? You feel this compelling pull of curiosity to understand.

— Adam Riess

Astrophysicist who discovered the accelerating expansion of the universe

It's difficult to describe to people who aren't curious, just what curiosity is. Imagine explaining to a robot or a computer what curiosity is! For those of us who experience it however, it's almost a primal-pull.

— Adam Riess

Astrophysicist who discovered the accelerating expansion of the universe

Why should a creature that evolved out of slime, which has all the limitations which we do, be able to access this fundamental information about the universe which allows us, for example, to be able to predict the magnetic moment of the electron to a trillion decimal places on the basis of purely mathematical calculation. Why does that work? It is a miracle, it is magic, but it works- and that's the part of magic that's real.

— Neil Turok

Theoretical Physicist & Director of Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

His physics was the part of his attempt to find magic which actually worked! I see science similarly to that. This is still a magical and mysterious thing that we are able to understand the world in very powerful and predictive ways- that is the foundation of all of our technologies today.

— Neil Turok

Theoretical Physicist & Director of Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

I made a principled decision that none of my wealth will be passed on as inheritance, that my capital will work for philanthropic causes. In other words, philanthropy is the reason I make money.

— Vladimir Potanin

Russian Oligarch & Owner of Norilsk Nickel Mining Company

there are no good musicians who do not have a good ear, no artists without a great imagination, no writers without an excellent command of the language. The same goes for our trade. It is not enough to know how to use a calculator or build sound financial models. You need to have vision. You should look at a business process as if it were a living thing; you need to sense its music. You know, a good chess player does not need to spend a great deal of time calculating – sometimes one look at the chessboard is enough to know if a combination is good or bad…

— Vladimir Potanin

Russian Oligarch & Owner of Norilsk Nickel Mining Company

Winning is good, losing is bad! Do you want to be in the winner's locker room celebrating or in the losers with your head down and a towel around your neck? If you're winning, you can give back — to your family, institutions of your choice, and your local communities... If you're losing, your pockets are empty.

— Jack Welch