I’m a big fan of Robert Heinlein, and I’ve been collecting quotes from him over the years. He has a lot of great things to say about entrepreneurship, business, and life in general. Here are some of my favorite quotes from him on those subjects.
The best heinlein quotes
1. One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others. — Robert A. Heinlein
2. How you behave toward cats here below determines your status in Heaven. — Robert A. Heinlein
3. Always listen to experts. They’ll tell you what can’t be done, and why. Then do it. — Robert A. Heinlein
4. The difference between science and the fuzzy subjects is that science requires reasoning while those other subjects merely require scholarship. — Robert A. Heinlein
5. Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best, he is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear his shoes, bathe, and not make messes in the house. — Robert A. Heinlein
6. Come Judgment Day, we may find that Mumbo Jumbo the God of the Congo was the Big Boss all along. — Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land
7. One could write a history of science in reverse by assembling the solemn pronouncements of highest authority about what could not be done and could never happen. — Robert A. Heinlein
8. The less respect an older person deserves the more certain he is to demand it from anyone younger. — Robert A. Heinlein
9. One might almost define intelligence as the level at which an aware organism demands, ‘What’s in it for me? — Robert A. Heinlein
10. No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority. — Robert A. Heinlein
11. When you read about chemistry and physics, you want to do them too. — Robert A. Heinlein, Have Space Suit–Will Travel
12. Happiness consists in getting enough sleep. Just that, nothing more. — Robert A. Heinlein
13. Men rarely if ever dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child. — Robert A. Heinlein
14. By cultivating the beautiful we scatter the seeds of heavenly flowers, as by doing good we cultivate those that belong to humanity. — Robert A. Heinlein
15. ‘the Bible is such a gargantuan collection of conflicting values that anyone can ”prove” anything from it.’ — Robert A. Heinlein, The Number of the Beast
16. Any group is weaker than a man alone unless they are perfectly trained to work together. — Robert A. Heinlein
17. You can sway a thousand men by appealing to their prejudices quicker than you can convince one man by logic. — Robert A. Heinlein
18. You can sway a thousand men by appealing to their prejudices quicker than you can convince one man by logic. — Robert A. Heinlein
19. If you don’t like yourself, you can’t like other people.––Lazarus Long. — Robert A. Heinlein
20. Its very variety, subtlety, and utterly irrational, idiomatic complexity makes it possible to say things in English which simply cannot be said in any other language. — Robert A. Heinlein
21. The difference between science and the fuzzy subjects is that science requires reasoning while those other subjects merely require scholarship. — Robert A. Heinlein
22. A woman is not property, and husbands who think otherwise are living in a dreamworld. — Robert A. Heinlein
23. I came, I saw, she conquered.’ The original Latin seems to have been garbled. — Robert A. Heinlein
24. How you behave toward cats here below determines your status in Heaven. — Robert A. Heinlein
25. How you behave toward cats here below determines your status in Heaven. — Robert A. Heinlein
26. Everything in excess! To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites. Moderation is for monks. — Robert A. Heinlein
27. When one teaches, two learn. — Robert A. Heinlein
28. Bir kaplanın sırtında yolculuk etmenin en önemli kuralı, kulaklarını asla bırakmamaktır. — Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land
29. Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat. — Robert A. Heinlein
30. Bir kaplanın sırtında yolculuk etmenin en önemli kuralı, kulaklarını asla bırakmamaktır. — Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land
31. Sex should be friendly. Otherwise stick to mechanical toys; it’s more sanitary. — Robert A. Heinlein
32. Never insult anyone by accident. — Robert A. Heinlein
33. Anything which is physically possible can be made financially possible, if the people of a state desire it. — Robert A. Heinlein
34. Don’t handicap your children by making their lives easy. — Robert A. Heinlein
35. Sex, whatever else it is, is an athletic skill. The more you practice, the more you can, the more you want to, the more you enjoy it, the less it tires you. — Robert A. Heinlein
36. Support for the arts––merde! A government–supported artist is an incompetent whore! — Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land
37. Butterflies are not insects, ‘ Captain John Sterling said soberly. ‘They are self–propelled flowers. — Robert A. Heinlein
38. Love your country, but never trust its government. — Robert A. Heinlein
39. Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate–and quickly. — Robert A. Heinlein
40. Men rarely if ever dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child. — Robert A. Heinlein
41. You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity. — Robert A. Heinlein
42. He’s an honest politician––he stays bought. — Robert A. Heinlein
43. If God meant for people to fly, He would have given them brains. — Robert A. Heinlein
44. It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. — Robert A. Heinlein
45. Delusions are often functional. A mother’s opinions about her children’s beauty, intelligence, goodness, et cetera ad nauseam, keep her from drowning them at birth. — Robert A. Heinlein
46. Yield to temptation. It may not pass your way again. — Robert A. Heinlein
47. Being right too soon is socially unacceptable. — Robert A. Heinlein
48. There are no dangerous weapons; there are only dangerous men. — Robert A. Heinlein
49. An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life. — Robert A. Heinlein
50. I know why we laugh. We laugh because it hurts, and it’s the only thing to make it stop hurting. — Robert A. Heinlein
Conclusion
Heinlein’s insights and wisdom have been a source of inspiration for generations of readers. His words have the power to move and inspire, and his works are an invaluable part of our literary heritage. We hope that these quotes will help you to reflect upon his legacy and find the courage to follow your own path. As Heinlein once said, “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”