Readers might be surprised to learn
that I’m a big fan of William Shakespeare. I regularly attend Shakespeare plays
all around the UK, and I was recently at Manchester Opera House watching
Sir Ian McKellen (one of the UK’s most famous actors) play Falstaff in Henry IV
parts 1 and 2.
While watching these two plays in
Manchester, it occurred to me that there are many quotes within Shakespeare’s
plays that could be applied to business - giving inspiration and insight to
entrepreneurs and people working in a corporate environment.
So I have put together a list of my 20
favourite inspirational quotes by Shakespeare, and nearly all of these are based
on plays that I have seen performed live over the last few years.
Darren Bugg, Editor, The Customer Service Blog
………………....……..
1. “Better three hours too soon than a
minute too late.”
The Merry Wives of Windsor
2. “Brevity is the soul of wit.”
Hamlet
3. “No legacy is so rich as honesty.”
All’s Well That Ends Well
4. “Suit the action to the word, the
word to the action.”
Hamlet
5. “All that glitters is not gold.”
The Merchant of Venice
6. “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to
none.”
All’s Well That Ends Well
7. “Our doubts are traitors and make
us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.”
Measure For Measure
8. “Some are born great, some achieve
greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”
Twelfth Night
9. “This above all: to thine own self
be true.”
Hamlet
10. “Self-love, my liege, is not so
vile a sin, as self-neglecting.”
Henry V
11 “There is nothing either good or
bad, but thinking makes it so.”
Hamlet
12. “O, it is excellent to have a
giant's strength; but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant.”
Measure For Measure
13. "Men at some time are masters
of their fates.”
Julius Caesar
14. "Action is eloquence."
Coriolanus
15. “Wisely and slow. They
stumble that run fast.”
Romeo and Juliet
16. “No profit grows
where is no pleasure ta'en.”
The Taming of
the Shrew
17. “Things won
are done; joy’s soul lies in the doing.”
Troilus and
Cressida
18. “Love
sought is good, but given unsought is better.”
Twelfth Night
19. “Strong
reasons make strong actions.”
King John
20. “How poor
are they that have not patience? What wound did ever heal but by degrees?”
Othello
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