“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” ~ Mark Twain

There are so many valuable lessons to learn from Mark Twain and today I am going to share with you 35 of these lessons.

35 Life Changing Lessons to Learn from Mark Twain

1. When you look for love, look with your heart, not your mind. 

“When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain.” ~ Mark Twain

2. The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” ~ Mark Twain

3. Dare to explore.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~ Mark Twain

4. The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and starting on the first one.” ~ Mark Twain

5. Do something every day that you don’t want to do.

“Do something every day that you don’t want to do; this is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain.” ~ Mark Twain

6. Reality can be beaten with enough imagination.

“Reality can be beaten with enough imagination.” ~ Mark Twain

7. Obey all the rules when you’re young just so you’ll have the strength to break them when you’re old.

“It is a good idea to obey all the rules when you’re young just so you’ll have the strength to break them when you’re old.” ~ Mark Twain

8. Anyone who stops learning is old, whether twenty or eighty.

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing you can do is keep your mind young.” ~ Mark Twain

9. Never let your schooling interfere with your education.

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” ~ Mark Twain

10. Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions.

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” ~ Mark Twain

11. To be good is noble, but to teach others how to be good is nobler.

“To be good is noble, but to teach others how to be good is nobler and less trouble.” ~ Mark Twain

12. Always do what is right.

“Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other.” ~ Mark Twain

13. Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living.

“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.” ~ Mark Twain

14. The trouble is not in dying for a friend, but in finding a friend worth dying for.

“The trouble is not in dying for a friend, but in finding a friend worth dying for.” ~ Mark Twain

15. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” ~ Mark Twain

“I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.” ― Mark Twain

16. Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it.

“Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it.” ~ Mark Twain

17. Age is an issue of mind over matter.

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” ~ Mark Twain

18. Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.

“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” ~ Mark Twain

19. The most interesting information come from children.

“The most interesting information come from children, for they tell all they know and then stop.” ~ Mark Twain

20. If you have nothing to say, say nothing.

“The trouble with the world is not that people know too little, but that they know so many things that ain’t so.” ~ Mark Twain

“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” ~ Mark Twain

21. Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered.

“Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered, either by themselves or by others.” ~ Mark Twain

22. Worry is a waste of time.

“I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.” ~  Mark Twain

23. If you follow the crowd, you will get no further than the crowd.

“Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to reform.” 

24. If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.

“If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” 

25. There are basically two types of people.

“There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded.” 

26. You cannot be comfortable without your own approval.

“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” 

27. In his private heart no man much respects himself.

“When people do not respect us we are sharply offended; yet in his private heart no man much respects himself.” 

28. Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn’t.

“Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn’t.” 

29. If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you’re mis-informed.

“If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you’re mis-informed.” 

30. Everyone has a dark side.

“Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.” 

31. Accident is the name of all greatest inventors.

“Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.” 

32. You cannot be lonely if you like the person you’re alone with.

“The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” 

“A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining but wants it back the minute it begins to rain.” 

33. If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you.

“If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man.” 

34. Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel.

“Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel. He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it.” 

35. Virtue has never been as respectable as money.

“Virtue has never been as respectable as money.” 

~love, Luminita💫

Do you have a favorite quote from Mark Twain? If you do, you can share it in the comment section below 🙂

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