17 George Bernard Shaw Quotes For A Better Life

George Bernard Shaw was an Irish novelist and playwright who had a significant influence on western culture and politics. He used his plays to depict his religious and sociopolitical ideas.

Here are 17 George Bernard Shaw quotes that will teach you valuable lessons on life.

1. A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.

If you’re too afraid of falling off the bicycle, you can never learn how to ride it. Life is much like riding a bicycle. You make mistakes, lose your balance, then learn your lessons and become better along the way. Realize that every expert was a beginner once. And what most people call intelligence boils down to curiosity. Don’t limit yourself.

2. Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not.

The greatest power you have now is to convert your dreams into reality. Trust in your dreams, Be loyal to them. Set goals to achieve them. And don’t stop till you do. This is one of the most inspiring George Bernard Shaw quotes ever.

3. Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

Everyone wants to do what they love. But they get confused by the advice that you should “find your passion”. The right way to find your passion is to explore and take action. Trust your gut, try new things and keep the ones you really love.

4. People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can’t find them, make them.

Average people blame circumstances. Great people believe in the power of intention. They believe in cause and effect. You can get anything you put your mind to. Take consistent action and soon you’ll get past your competitors who give up in the first few months.

5. There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart’s desire. The other is to get it.

Success is the progressive realization of meaningful goals. When you don’t get what you want in life, it fills you with resentment and regret. That said, when you have everything you want, you have no purpose to live, and that is an equally bad tragedy. This is one of the most strange yet inspiring George Bernard Shaw quotes. 

6. Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.

If you want something you never had, you have to do something you never did. If you cannot accept change, you will lag behind. Because we live in a world that’s always changing. For example, it is said that a large number of manual jobs will be taken over by artificial intelligence or robots in the future. And the people who accept this change and prepare for it well in advance will survive.

7. Our necessities are few, but our wants are endless.

People often don’t take career risks because they don’t want to live an average lifestyle. They’re scared that they won’t be able to afford fancy gadgets and gizmos. But if you’re really serious about your dream, you need to sacrifice the little things. As Mark Cuban says, if you want to become a successful entrepreneur, learn to live like a student first.

8. We want a few mad people now. See where the sane ones have landed us!

People who are crazy, awkward, misfit, and different are usually the ones who move an entire generation forward. Because while everyone else adapts to the world, they make the world adapt to themselves. 

9. Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.

Most people want to make money while they sleep and enjoy the freedom that comes along with it. But few want to work 80 hour weeks. This is the reason few actually make it through.

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10. Hatred is the coward’s revenge for being intimidated.

If you are a hateful person, your mind is focused on negativity and can never produce anything worthwhile. Haters often hate others because they find something in others that they can’t have. Don’t be a hater. 

11. We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.George Bernard Shaw

What happened in your past, good or bad, doesn’t carry the power to dictate your circumstances. What really matters is that you take responsibility for your life and take action to get everything you want for yourself.

12. Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire; you will what you imagine; and at last you create what you will.

Imagination has more power than any book you’ll ever read. Because it is YOUR imagination which weaves stories from the infinite power and reach of your heart. Only your heart knows what’s good for you. And that’s why you must trust in your imagination. Among all George Bernard Shaw quotes, this one stands out as it urges you to believe in your dreams.

13. The joy in life is to be used for a purpose. I want to be used up when I die.

If all you want in life is to be happy, then you will never be happy. Because inside every human being lies the potential to produce something larger than himself, something that affects people in a positive way. And that is what really matters.

14. A gentleman is one who puts more into the world than he takes out.

If you believe that you can take everything you want from the world, you have a sense of entitlement which is a recipe for failure. When you focus on providing value to others, you will inevitably succeed in your endeavours. 

15. As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.

As stated earlier, when you have everything, you have no purpose to live. And there is nothing worse that that. Even people struggling for survival in Syria have a purpose, they want to live and protect their families. But getting everything in life is worse than that. This is one of the most enlightening George Bernard Shaw quotes ever.

16. Men are wise in proportion, not to their experience, but to their capacity for experience.

It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past. All that matters is how far you are willing to go, how big of a risk you’re willing to take and how big of mistakes you’re willing to make.

17. A lifetime of happiness? No man alive could bear it; it would be hell on earth.

Imagine if you were always happy regardless of your circumstances. You will never create something to change your life. There will be no interesting stories of rags to riches.

We need the darkness to define the light. Only when we feel a desire for something, we are driven to achieve it. And that gives us the utmost happiness.