Mandino Og Quotes & Sayings

I determine to render more and better service, each day, than I am being paid to render. Those that reach the top are the ones who are not content with doing only what is required of them. — Og Mandino

I will become a firefly and even in the day my glow will be seen in spite of the sun. Let others be as butterflies who preen their wings yet depend on the charity of a flower for life. — Og Mandino

It is those who concentrate on but one thing at a time who advance in this world. — Og Mandino

You need not spend your life wallowing in failure, ignorance, grief, poverty, shame and self-pity. There is a better way to live. — Og Mandino

We are unhappy because we no longer have our self esteem. We are unhappy, because we no longer believe we are a special miracle, a special creation of God. We have lost faith in ourselves. — Og Mandino

No, my son, do not aspire for wealth and labor not only to be rich. Strive instead for happiness, to be loved and to love, and most important to acquire peace of mind and serenity. — Og Mandino

The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them. Even the most tedious chore will become endurable as you parade through each day convinced that every task, no matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to achieving your dreams. — Og Mandino

You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. — Og Mandino

So long as I have something to do, someone to love, and something to hope for, I shall be happy. — Og Mandino

To do anything truly worth doing, I must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in with gusto and scramble through as well as I can. — Og Mandino

For the rest of my life there are two days that will never again trouble me. The first day is yesterday with all its blunders and tears, follies and defeats. Yesterday has passed away, beyond my control forever. The other day is tomorrow with all its pitfalls and threats, its dangers and mystery. Until the sun rises again I have no stake in tomorrow, for it is still unborn. — Og Mandino

In this world, the greatest rewards of success, wealth and happiness are usually obtained not through the exercise of special powers such a genius or intellect but through one's energetic use of simple means and ordinary qualities. — Og Mandino

The person who knows one thing and does it better than anyone else, even if it only be the art of raising lentils, receives the crown he merits. If he raises all his energy to that end, he is a benefactor of mankind and its rewarded as such. — Og Mandino

They are the living dead and we have many of those among us, spending their days whining and complaining and never making any attempt to change their lives for the better. — Og Mandino

I would rather try to succeed and fail than try to do nothing and succeed. — Og Mandino

I'd rather learn how to prevent failure than how to gain success, because for what is success other than a state of mind? — Og Mandino

Build this day on a foundation of pleasant thoughts. Never fret at any imperfections that you fear may impede your progress. Remind yourself, as often as necessary, that you are a creature of God and have the power to achieve any dream by lifting up your thoughts. You can fly when you decide that you can. Never consider yourself defeated again. Let the vision in your heart be in your life's blueprint. Smile! — Og Mandino

Each day is a special gift from God, and while life may not always be fair, you must never allow the pains, hurdles, and handicaps of the moment to poison your attitude and plans for yourself and your future. — Og Mandino

Many succumb to despair and fail without realizing that they already possess all the tools needed to acquire great wealth. — Og Mandino

There is an immeasurable distance between late and too late. — Og Mandino

Treasure the friendship you receive above all. It will survive long after your gold and good health have vanished. — Og Mandino

Who is of so little faith that in a moment of great disaster or heartbreak has not called to his God? — Og Mandino

Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself. — Og Mandino

One of the great undiscovered joys of life comes from doing everything one attempts to the best of one's ability. The smallest task, well done, becomes a miracle of achievement. — Og Mandino

I can accomplish far more than I have, and I will, for why should the miracle that produced me end with my brith? Why can I not extend that miracle to my deeds of today? — Og Mandino

Each day will be triumphant only when your smiles bring forth smiles from others. — Og Mandino

I will embrace today's difficult tasks, take off my coat, and make dust in the world. — Og Mandino

God, make him well, please.
God, help him breathe, please.
God, help him to see, please.
A sound heart is the life of the flesh. — Og Mandino

True security lies not in the things one has, but in the things one can do without. — Og Mandino

If I feel depressed I will sing. If I feel sad I will laugh. If I feel ill I will double my labor. If I feel fear I will plunge ahead. If I feel inferior I will wear new garments. If I feel uncertain I will raise my voice. If I feel poverty I will think of wealth to come. If I feel incompetent I will remember past success. If I feel insignificant I will remember my goals. Today I will be master of my emotions. — Og Mandino

Victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats. — Og Mandino

Never will I pursue happiness, because it is not a goal, just a by-product, and there is no happiness in having or in getting, only in giving. — Og Mandino

Count your blessings. Once you realize how valuable you are and how much you have going for you, the smiles will return, the sun will break out, the music will play, and you will finally be able to move forward the life that God intended for you with grace, strength, courage, and confidence. — Og Mandino

So many of us think ourselves into smallness, into inferiority, by thinking downward. We are held back by too much caution. We are timid about venturing. We are not bold enough ... Struck down by our own caution, our own lack of faith in ourselves and our abilities. Opportunities? There were many. But always there was risk. Do we dare? We vacillate. Time hurries by. Opportunity gone. We anguish. The years roll on. Finally, we convince ourselves that it's too late and settle for cheap imitations of life. — Og Mandino

And even if you have failed at all else in the eyes of the world, if you have a loving family, you are a success. — Og Mandino

I will persist until I succeed. Always will I take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult ... I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking. — Og Mandino

Many years ago, when I was just about as complete a failure as one can become, I began to spend a good deal of time in libraries, looking for some answers. I found all the answers I needed in that golden vein of ore that every library has. — Og Mandino

Poverty may be a privilege and even a way of life for the monk in the desert,for he has only himself to sustain and none but his god to please, but I consider poverty to be the mark of lack of ability or lack of ambition.I am not deficient in either of these qualities! — Og Mandino

I have never heard anything about the resolutions of the apostles, but a good deal about their acts. — Og Mandino

Live this day as if it will be your last. Remember that you will only find "tomorrow" on the calendars of fools. — Og Mandino

You will move in the direction you are facing. — Og Mandino

Never hide behind busy work. It takes just as much energy to fail as it does to succeed. — Og Mandino

The prizes of life are at the end of each journey, not near the beginning; and it is not given to me to know how many steps are necessary in order to reach my goal. Failure I may still encounter at the thousandth step, yet success hides behind the next bend in the road. Never will I know how close it lies unless I turn the corner. — Og Mandino

Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. No more busy work. No more hiding from success. Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow! — Og Mandino

Failure is ... the highway to success. — Og Mandino

Tomorrow is the day reserved for the labor of the lazy. I am not lazy. Tomorrow is the day when the failure will succeed. I am not a failure. I will act now. — Og Mandino

All the gold in the world cannot buy a dying man one more breath
so what does that make today worth? — Og Mandino

A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. — Og Mandino

If I persist long enough I will win. — Og Mandino

when one's avenue of retreat is cut off there is only one way to go - forward. — Og Mandino

If I must be a slave to habit let me be a slave to good habits. — Og Mandino

I will keep a smile on my face and in my heart even when it hurts today. — Og Mandino

I will greet this day with love in my heart. And how will I do this? Henceforth will I look on all things with love and be born again. I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I will welcome happiness as it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul. — Og Mandino

Your only limitations are those you set up in your mind, or permit others to set up for you. — Og Mandino

Whenever you make a mistake or get knocked down by life, don't look back at it too long. Mistakes are life's way of teaching you. Your capacity for occasional blunders is inseparable from your capacity to reach your goals. No one wins them all, and your failures, when they happen, are just part of your growth. Shake off your blunders. How will you know your limits without an occasional failure? Never quit. Your turn will come. — Og Mandino

Every one should be wealthy, if only for a day, so that each might realize that being rich is not the ideal condition that most believe it is. And like the land, we should have little need for all that silver when we cease breating. Let us enjoy the smiling faces of as many children of god as we can while we are able to see them. — Og Mandino

The only certain means of success is to render more and better service than is expected of you, no matter what your task may be. — Og Mandino

God will never give you any problems that he thinks you can't solve. — Og Mandino

First, recognize that you are not a sheep who will be satisfied with only a few nibbles of dry grass or with following the herd as they wander aimlessly, bleating and whining, all of their days. Separate yourself now from the multitude of humanity so that you will be able to control your own destiny. Remember that what others think and say and do need never influence what you think and say and do. — Og Mandino

Already, it is later than you think for your earthly life at best, is only a blink of an eye between two eternities. — Og Mandino

Never has there been a map, however carefully executed to detail and scale, which has carried its owner over even one inch of ground. Never has there been a parchment of law, however fair, which prevented one crime. Never has there been a scroll, even such as the one I hold, which so much as a penny or produced a single word of acclamation. Action, alone, is the tinder which ignites the map, the parchment, this scroll, my plans, my goals, into a living force. Action is the food and drink which will nourish my success. I will act now. — Og Mandino

Laugh at yourself and at life. Not in the spirit of derision or whining self-pity, but as a remedy, a miracle drug, that will ease your pain, cure your depression, and help you to put in perspective that seemingly terrible defeat ... Never take yourself too seriously. — Og Mandino

Do all things with love. — Og Mandino

A smile remains the most inexpensive gift I can bestow on anyone and yet its powers can vanquish kingdoms. — Og Mandino

Cultivate the habit of laughter. — Og Mandino

I am convinced that the greatest legacy we can leave our children are happy memories: those precious moments so much like pebbles on the beach that are plucked from the white sand and placed in tiny boxes that lay undisturbed on tall shelves until one day they spill out and time repeats itself, with joy and sweet sadness, in the child now an adult. — Og Mandino

A good many of our higher-bracket businessmen might have been just as rich, just as powerful, but more respected and infinitely happier, if they had taken the slower and longer road of absolute ethical integrity and moral decency. — Og Mandino

Let others build a cave with their clay. I will build a castle with mine. — Og Mandino

Journey quietly on your pathway to forever with charity & a smile. When you depart it will be said by all that your legacy was a better world than the one you found. — Og Mandino

Realize how good you really are. — Og Mandino

Never settle for the crumbs of life. — Og Mandino

Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to
ask questions, never know too much to learn something new. — Og Mandino

Never allow anyone to rain on your parade and thus cast a pall of gloom and defeat on the entire day. Remember that no talent, no self-denial, no brains, no character, are required to set up in the fault-finding business. Nothing external can have any power over you unless you permit it. Your time is too precious to be sacrificed in wasted days combating the menial forces of hate, jealously, and envy. — Og Mandino

And so long as I can laugh never will I be poor. — Og Mandino

Use wisely your power of choice. — Og Mandino

Do not listen to those who weep and complain, for their disease is contagious. — Og Mandino

Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later. — Og Mandino

Obstacles are necessary for success because in selling, as in all careers of importance, victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats. Yet each struggle, each defeat, sharpens your skills and strengths, your courage and your endurance, your ability and your confidence and thus each obstacle is a comrade-in-arms forcing you to become better ... or quit. Each rebuff is an opportunity to move forward; turn away from them, avoid them, and you throw away your future. — Og Mandino

As a child I was slave to my impulses; now I am slave to my habits, as are all grown men. — Og Mandino

Now I know that patience and time can do more than even strength and passion. The years of frustration are ready to be harvested. All that I have managed to accomplish, and all that I hope to accomplish, has been and will be by that plodding, patient, persevering process which builds the ant heap, particle by particle, thought by thought, step by step. — Og Mandino

Most humans, in varying degrees, are already dead. In one way or another they have lost their dreams, their ambitions, their desire for a better life. They have surrendered their fight for self-esteem and they have compromised their great potential. They have settled for a life of mediocrity, days of despair and nights of tears. They are no more than living deaths confined to cemeteries of their choice. Yet they need not remain in that state. They can be resurrected from their sorry condition. They can each perform the greatest miracle in the world. They can each come back from the dead ... — Og Mandino

Work is not your enemy but your friend. How you work, not what you do, determines the course of your life. You may work grudgingly or you may work gratefully; you may work as a human or you may work as a robot. There is no work so rude that you may not exalt in it; no work so demeaning that you cannot breathe soul into it; no work so dull that you may not enliven it. — Og Mandino

I will welcome happiness for it enlarges my heart; Yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul. I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due; Yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge. — Og Mandino

My dreams are worthless, my plans are dust, my goals are impossible.
All are of no value unless they are followed by action. — Og Mandino

Never feel shame for trying and failing, for he who never failed is he who never tried. — Og Mandino

Cherish each hour of this day for it can never return. — Og Mandino

Treasure the love you receive above all. It will survive long after your good health has vanished. — Og Mandino

A field of clay touched by the genius of man becomes a castle. — Og Mandino

I will know that only those with inferior ability can always be at their best, and I am not inferior. There will be days when I must constantly struggle against forces which would tear me down. Those such as despair and sadness are simple to recognize but there are others which approach with a smile and the hand of friendship and they can also destroy me. Against them, too, I must never relinquish control - — Og Mandino

The weakest living creature, by concentrating his powers on a single object, can accomplish good results while the strongest, by dispersing his effort over many chores, may fail to accomplish anything. — Og Mandino

True wealth is of the heart, not of the purse." Hafid — Og Mandino

You do not live in a vacuum nor can you harvest the better fruits of life without help and ENCOURAGEMENT from others. — Og Mandino

Only a habit can subdue another habit. — Og Mandino

Therefore, each hour of this day will I cherish for it can never return. — Og Mandino

Success and rest don't sleep together. — Og Mandino

I have been given eyes to see and a mind to think, and now I know a great secret of life, for I perceive, at last, that all my problems, discouragements , and heartaches are, in truth, great opportunities in disguise. — Og Mandino

About 90 percent of the things in our lives are right, and about 10 percent are wrong. If we want to be happy, all we have to do is to concentrate on the 90 percent that are right, and ignore the 10 percent that are wrong. If we want to be worried and bitter and have stomach ulcers, all we have to do is to concentrate on the 10 percent that are wrong and ignore the 90 percent that are glorious. The words Think and Thank — Og Mandino

You can never win when you wear the ugly cloak of self-pity and the sour sound of whining. — Og Mandino

Never will I pray for the material things of the world. I am not calling to a servant to bring me food. I am not ordering an innkeeper to provide me with room. Never will I seek delivery of gold, love, good health, petty victories, fame, success, or happiness. Only for guidance will I pray, that I may be shown the way to acquire these things, and my prayer will always be answered. — Og Mandino

Never neglect the little things. Never skimp on that extra effort, that additional few minutes, that soft word of praise or thanks, that delivery of the very best that you can do. It does not matter what others think, it is of prime importance, however, what you think about you. You can never do your best, which should always be your trademark, if you are cutting corners and shirking responsibilities. You are special. Act it. Never neglect the little things. — Og Mandino