#mina

In the days when I was ambitious I worked out a very pretty little plan for conquering the whole earth and rearranging things as they out to be; and when, in the end, everything became so good it almost began to be boring, then I was going to stuff my pockets with as much money as I could lay hands on and creep away, vanish in some cosmopolis and sit at a corner cafe and drink absinthe and enjoy seeing how everything went to the devil as soon as I wasn't on the scene any more. ↗

— Hjalmar Söderberg

#ambition #global-domination #money

Self-preservation—this is your new focus. The only obligation of today is to preserve the breath of tomorrow. Then, once footing is regained, you can begin to fulfill debt obligations. Debt is hindsight. ↗

— John-Talmage Mathis

#economy #money #terminated #unemployed #money

We are unraveling our navels so that we may ingest the sun. We are not afraid of the darkness. We trust that the moon shall guide us. We are determining the future at this very moment. We know that the heart is the philosopher's stone. Our music is our alchemy. ↗

— Saul Williams

#def-poetry #determination #future #music #poetry

For centuries, as pope and emperor tore each other apart in their quarrels over power, the excluded went on living on the fringe, like lepers, of whom true lepers are only the illustration ordained by God to make us understand this wondrous parable, so that in saying 'lepers' we would understand 'outcast, poor, simple, excluded, uprooted from the countryside, humiliated in the cities.' But we did not understand; the mystery of leprosy has continued to haunt us because we have not recognized the nature of the sign. ↗

— Umberto Eco

#exclusion #leprosy #poverty #nature

For nothing is more democratic than logic; it is no respecter of persons and makes no distinction between crooked and straight noses. ↗

— Friedrich Nietzsche

#logic #respect

For it is in your power to retire into yourself whenever you choose. ↗

— Marcus Aurelius

#independence #individuality #retire #self #self-assurance

In yourself right now is all the place you've got. ↗

— Flannery O'Connor

#empowerment #independence #individuality #self-assurance #self-awareness

I mean to tell you, the Law's notion of justice is more cold-blooded than any outlaw I ever knew. And I mean 'outlaw,' not criminal. 'Criminal' doesn't distinguish between guys like men and the guys who own the banks and insurance companies and stock markets, who own the factories and coal mines and oil fields, who own the goddamn Law. I once said to John that being an outlaw was about the only way left for a man to hold on to his self-respect, and he said Ain't that the sad truth. The girls laughed along with us because they knew it wasn't a joke.... John got the publicity because he loved it ... he carried on like the whole thing was an adventure movie and he was Douglas Fairbanks. He wanted to to be a 'star.' That's how he was. Not me. I never even liked having my picture taken. All I ever wanted was to show the bastards who own the law that it didn't mean they owned me. ↗

— James Carlos Blake

#independence #outlaw #stardom #love

As a part of their conditioning, women voluntarily prostitute themselves into the auction and groom themselves toward the highest exchange. ↗

— Bryant McGill

#respecting-yourself #womens-rights #respect

I'm worried that students will take their obedient place in society and look to become successful cogs in the wheel - let the wheel spin them around as it wants without taking a look at what they're doing. I'm concerned that students not become passive acceptors of the official doctrine that's handed down to them from the White House, the media, textbooks, teachers and preachers. ↗

— Howard Zinn

#complacency #ethics #independence #politics #proactivity