Grover Cleveland Quotes

You have to start from where you are today and from what can be done.

I realize that after decades of positive thinking the notion of realism, of things as they are, may seem a little quaint. ... When the stakes are high enough and the risks obvious, we still turn to people who can be counted on to understand those risks and prepare for worst-case scenarios. A chief of state does not want to hear a general in the field say that he 'hopes' to win tomorrow's battle or that he's 'visualizing victory'.

The trick is to fix the problem you have, rather than the problem you want.

Well, I mean, I'm very much a pragmatic person.

My only definition is that I am a pragmatist.

If you want to accomplish something in the world, idealism is not enough--you need to choose a method that works to achieve the goal. In other words, you need to be pragmatic.

We are a moderate, pragmatic people, more comfortable with practice than theory.

People who label themselves as 'realists' are usually accurate - they see to the real edge of what they know, understand, or believe. At best, these folks tend to be caring worriers.

The problem with Raven is that she's so smart, so sometimes it's hard for her to be hopeful or idealistic, because she's so realistic. So even if she's working on a solution, she's not proud of it until it's concrete.

Why is it that common sense is seldom common practice?

People have to be realistic, or the dream just drags on.

Success is achieved by people who deeply understand reality and know how to use it to get what they want. The converse is also true: idealists who are not well-grounded in reality create problems, not progress.

Idealism leads to realism if it is strictly thought out.

Hope is the denial of reality. It is the carrot dangled before the draft horse to keep him plodding along in a vain attempt to reach it." "Are you saying we shouldn't hope?" "I'm saying we should remove the carrot and walk forward with our eyes open!

It's all Ati. Now, let's be practical.

I'm not one to think of burying my head in the sand - I've always been a positive person and still am now.

I think I'm pragmatic.

You just have to get on with life, there's no alternative. You could curl up in a ball on your bed, but that's not going to achieve anything.

If you want to be useful, you can always start now. It will be a humble prototype of your grand vision, but you’ll be in the game. Start by teaching someone this week. Starting small puts 100% of your energy into solving real problems for real people.

When you feel stuck and can't seem to move ahead, always remember that you don't have to get it right, you just have to get it going!

You can do anything you want, as long as it works.

The era of empty talk is over. Now is the time for action.

Common sense does not ask an impossible chessboard, but takes the one before it and plays the game.

You cannot make progress without making decisions.

You have to look life straight in the eye. De-mystify your world. Can you really afford to believe magic is for real? Not when time is concerned.