MacArthur's Quotes: Opportunity, Duty, and Staying Young

This collection features inspiring quotes and a poem about staying young. General Douglas MacArthur's quote emphasizes seizing opportunities, while Samuel Ullman's poem "YOUTH" stresses the importance of passion and enthusiasm regardless of age. MacArthur is also known for other powerful sayings about war, duty, and perseverance.

⊙ Quote of the Day- Don't Just Hear the Knock, Open the Door: The Key to Grasping Opportunity

Even when opportunity knocks, a man still has to get up off his seat and open the door.

- Gen. Douglas MacArthur -

This famous quote by General Douglas MacArthur underscores the importance of proactiveness in seizing opportunities. While chance encounters with fortune might occur, it's ultimately up to the individual to take action and make the most of them. The message is clear: don't wait passively for good things to fall into your lap. Be proactive, take the initiative, and make things happen!

⊙ Perseverance, Duty, and the Reality of War

• Old soldiers never die; They just fade away. - Gen. Douglas MacArthur

• We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction. - Gen. Douglas MacArthur

• Rules are mostly made to be broken and are too often for the lazy to hide behind. - Gen. Douglas MacArthur

• In war, there is no substitute for victory. - Gen. Douglas MacArthur

• I shall return. - Gen. Douglas MacArthur

• People of the Philippines: I have returned. - Gen. Douglas MacArthur

• Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons. - Gen. Douglas MacArthur

• The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. - Gen. Douglas MacArthur

• There is no security on this earth, there is only opportunity. - Gen. Douglas MacArthur

• Duty, Honor, Country ‒ those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn. - Gen. Douglas MacArthur

⊙ YOUTH: A Poem on Staying Young, Often Quoted by MacArthur

Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years.

People grow old only by deserting their ideas. 

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. 

- Samuel Ullman -

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This poem, by Samuel Ullman, gained unexpected fame in Japan and Korea due to General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur kept a copy of "Youth" prominently displayed in his office, alongside portraits of Presidents Washington and Lincoln. He was even known to recite it frequently. More recently, it became more famous in South Korea when Liam Neeson, who played General MacArthur in the South Korean film Operation Chromite starring Lee Jung-jae, insisted that the poem be included in the film.

The poem's verses celebrate the enduring spirit of youth and enthusiasm. Ullman argues that while chronological age brings wrinkles to our skin, it's the loss of passion that truly makes us old. In other words, aging is inevitable, but giving up on life and dreams diminishes our spirit. This powerful message encourages us to live with passion and vitality, regardless of our age.

YOUTH - by Samuel Ullman

Youth is not a time of life;

it is a state of mind;

it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees;

it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination,

a vigor of the emotions;

it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage

over timidity of the appetite,

for adventure over the love of ease.

This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty.

Nobody grows old merely by a number of years.

We grow old by deserting our ideals.

Years may wrinkle the skin,

but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.

Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart

and turns the spirit back to dust.

Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being's heart

the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what's next,

and the joy of the game of living.

In the center of your heart and my heart

there is a wireless station;

so long as it receives messages

of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power

from men and from the infinite, so long are you young.

When the aerials are down, and your spirit

is covered with snows of cynicism

and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old,

even at twenty, but as long as your aerials are up,

to catch the waves of optimism,

there is hope you may die young at eighty.

Additional resources:

Douglas MacArthur - 16 Quotes

22 Quotes about Soldiers & Army

Leadership Quotes from the Leaders Who Won the Korean War - Part 1

14 Quotes of Duty, Accountability, Victory

The Courage of Sacrifice: Inspiring Quotes for Memorial Day and Beyond

Motivational Quotes To Inspire You.

#Douglas MacArthur #Samuel Ullman #Lee Jung-jae #Proactivity #proactiveness #Opportunity #Perseverance #Passion #Youth #Inspiration #duty #war #enthusiasm