What If Quotes - Page 36

• But what if I fail of my purpose here? It is but to keep the nerves at strain, to dry one's eyes and laugh at a fall, and baffled, get up and begin again.

  Robert Browning

  Fall, Eye, Laughing

  Robert Browning (1994). “The Works of Robert Browning”, p.241, Wordsworth Editions

  21 Copy quote

  Show source

• What if all everybody needed in the world was to be sure of one friend? What if you were the one, and you refused to say those simple words?

  Richard Russo

  Simple, New Friendship, World

  FaceBook post by Richard Russo from Aug 02, 2012

  30 Copy quote

  Show source

• What if evil doesn't really exist? What if evil is something dreamed up by man, and there is nothing to struggle against except out own limitations? The constant battle between our will, our desires, and our choices?

  Libba Bray

  Struggle, Men, Evil

  Libba Bray (2010). “Rebel Angels”, p.197, Simon and Schuster

  9 Copy quote

  Show source

• We usually evaluate creative process in terms of how much feeling or thinking was behind the work or how well the work was done. Isn't there any other way of appreciating the process? What if the standard of excellence was how fully present the artist was during the process?

  Kazuaki Tanahashi

  Appreciation, Artist, Thinking

  31 Copy quote

• What if the question is not why I am so infrequently the person I really want to be, but why do I so infrequently want to be the person I really am?

  Oriah Dreamer

  Want, Authenticity, Persons

  8 Copy quote

• What if Manhattan was hit by Hurricane Katrina?

  Jadakiss

  Rap, Hip Hop, Manhattan

  Song: What If, Album: The Last Kiss, 2009

  23 Copy quote

  Show source

• What if somebody came along who could teach me how my world works and how to control it What if I could meet a super-advanced ... what if a Siddhartha or a Jesus came into our time, with power over the illusions of the world because he knew the reality behind them And what if I could meet him in person, if he were flying a biplane, for instance, and landed in the same meadow with me.

  Richard Bach

  Time, Jesus, Reality

  Richard Bach (2012). “Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah”, p.4, Delta

  6 Copy quote

  Show source

• Thus all things are subject to death, sorrow and suffering. I became aware that I too was of the same nature, the nature of beginning and end. What if I searched for that which underlies all creation, that which is nirvana, the perfect freedom from unconditioned existence?

  Gautama Buddha

  Buddhist, Perfect, Suffering

  14 Copy quote

• Who cares if it's a campaign strategy, and who are other people to say it's ridiculous? I'm not gay, but I strongly support gay marriage. What if someone told you you couldn't marry the one you love? I think it's about time! Let people who love each other that are the same sex get married. They deserve the right to be happy also.

  Barack Obama

  Sex, Gay, Thinking

  4 Copy quote

• What if you began to expect the best from any situation? Isn't it possible that you could write new chapters in your life with happy endings? Suspend your disbelief? Take a leap of faith? After all, what have you got to lose but misery and lack?

  Sarah Ban Breathnach

  Inspirational, Women, Writing

  13 Copy quote

• The counter-argument would be, so what if my sexual relationships are superficial, one can still have satisfying and rewarding relationships with friends, or parents, or siblings, or whatever.

  Chester Brown

  Sibling, Parent, Would Be

  4 Copy quote

• What if the idea of Mr. Right is completely false? What if there is no Mr. Wrong? What if every relationship-no matter how brief-contains a priceless lesson allowing you to grow and evolve into your grandest self?

  Marie Forleo

  Ideas, Mr Right, Self

  7 Copy quote

• What if more women, mothers, gave birth as an ecstatic celebration of female sexuality? Mothers who do will often declare, "Now I can do anything!" What would the world look like if half of our population felt empowered to make a difference with their lives?

  Jeannine Parvati Baker

  Mother, Differences, Empowerment

  11 Copy quote

• What if I forgave myself? I thought. What if I forgave myself even though I'd done something I shouldn't have? What if I was a liar and a cheat and there was no excuse for what I'd done other than because it was what I wanted and needed to do? What if I was never redeemed? What if I already was?

  Cheryl Strayed

  Liars, Done, No Excuses

  "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail". Book by Cheryl Strayed, March 20, 2012.

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• What if they gave a war and nobody came?

  Carl Sandburg

  War, International Peace, World Peace Day

  8 Copy quote

• So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? If they're willing to accept me and my guilty conscience, why the hell shouldn't I run away with the circus?

  Sara Gruen

  Running, Three, Body

  4 Copy quote

• But what if you're wrong?
  What if there's more?
  What if there's hope you never dreamed of hoping for?
  What if you jump?
  And just close your eyes?
  What if the arms that catch you, catch you by surprise?
  What if He's more than enough?
  What if it's love?

  Nichole Nordeman

  Eye, Arms, Surprise

  Song: What If

  8 Copy quote

  Show source

• What causes homophobia? What is it that makes the heterosexual man worry about this? I think it's because deep down all men know that we have weak sales resistance. We're constantly buying shoes that hurt us, pants that don't fit right. Men think, 'Obviously I can be talked into anything. What if I accidentally wander into some sort of homosexual store thinking it's a shoe store and the salesmen says, 'Just hold this guy's hand, walk around a little bit, see how it feels. No obligation, no pressure, just try it.'

  Jerry Seinfeld

  Hurt, Men, Thinking

  6 Copy quote

• But I don't think it's as dangerous, scary, or terrifying as getting to the end of our lives and wondering, what if I would have shown up?

  Brené Brown

  Thinking, Scary, Wonder

  "Brené Brown On The One Thing More Terrifying Than Being Vulnerable", www.huffingtonpost.com. September 24, 2013.

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• What if a small group of world leaders were to conclude that the principal risk to the Earth comes from the actions of the rich countries?... In order to save the planet, the group decides: Isn't the only hope for the planet that the industrialized civilizations collapse? Isn't it our responsibility to bring that about?

  Maurice Strong

  Change, Country, Responsibility

  "Environmentalism: Ideology and Power". Book by Donald Gibson, 2002.

  70 Copy quote

  Show source

• People in science fiction flicks always seemed to know useful things about the places time travel took them. But what if the time traveler had been only an average history student? What then?

  Tad Williams

  Average, People, Fiction

  Tad Williams (1998). “Otherland 2: River of Blue Fire”, p.21, Penguin

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• What if when they called a war, no one went?

  Abbie Hoffman

  War, Ifs

  Abbie Hoffman (2009). “Revolution for the Hell of It: The Book That Earned Abbie Hoffman a Five-Year Prison Term at the Chicago Conspiracy Trial”, p.219, Da Capo Press

  10 Copy quote

  Show source

• And what if thou, sweet May, hast known
  Mishap by worm and blight;
  If expectations newly blown
  Have perished in thy sight;
  If loves and joys, while up they sprung,
  Were caught as in a snare;
  Such is the lot of all the young,
  However bright and fair.

  William Wordsworth

  Sweet, Sight, Expectations

  William Wordsworth (2009). “The Poems of William Wordsworth: Collected Reading Texts from the Cornell Wordsworth Series”, p.599, Humanities-Ebooks

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• It's often said that the Democrats fight 'for the little guy.' That's true: liberals fight to make sure the little guy stays little! Think about it. What if all the little guys were to prosper and become big guys? Then what? Who would liberals pretend to fight for? If the bamboozlers fight for anything, it's to ensure that the little guy stays angry at those nasty conservatives who are holding him down.

  Angela McGlowan

  Fighting, Thinking, Guy

  15 Copy quote

• Most people believe that great leaders are distinguished by their ability to give compelling answers. This profound book shatters that assumption, showing that the more vital skill is asking the right questions…. Berger poses many fascinating questions, including this one: What if companies had mission questions rather than mission statements? This is a book everyone ought to read—without question.

  Adam Grant

  Book, Believe, Skills

  53 Copy quote