60 quotes about 60 things I’ve learned in 60 years

Matthew Arnold Stern
9 min readJul 12, 2021

My big divisible-by-five birthday has arrived! At past milestone birthdays and events, I’ve written lists of things I’ve learned during that time. For my 60th birthday, I’m doing something different. Here are 60 quotes from my speeches and books that reflect things I’ve learned in life.

  1. I need coffee to deal with this, and I’m not getting decaf. — Offline
  2. I learned that when I feel powerless…I could summon my faith and courage, not only to survive, but to triumph. — “Bound
  3. You read the textbooks, and it would seem that history is made by great men while you the people — supposedly a nameless, faceless force — follow blindly. That’s not true. Quite often, you the people take the lead while we leaders scramble to catch up. — Doria
  4. [Y]ou can’t reboot your life. There are no take-backs and do-overs. You make your choices and live with them! — Amiga
  5. Something that seems worthless can still have value. — The Remainders
  6. You have to learn to get your idea across in a short period of time — and encourage that listener to grant you more time to speak. — Mastering Table Topics
  7. Whenever people ask you to speak, it’s because they believe you have something of value to offer. — “The Power of Your Words

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Matthew Arnold Stern

A novelist and award-winning public speaker and technical writer. My novels Amiga and The Remainders are available now.