Thought-provoking quotes from unexpected places

It makes sense to expect great quotes from classic literature, but I get more excited when I find them elsewhere: in movies that may never make the honor roll, books that have been sorely overlooked, and friends’ and strangers’ blogs.

Here are some favorites for you to ponder:

So, Charlie, are we going back or moving on? ~Charlie St. Cloud

Your life is an occasion — rise to it. ~Mr. Magorium, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium

Wherever you might be, all the people you see share one thing in common. They’ve all got a secret they’d like to keep hidden. ~Kiki Strike: The Empress’s Tomb by Kirsten Miller

[I]t didn’t make you noble to step away from something that wasn’t working, even if you thought you were the reason for the malfunction. Especially then. It just made you a quitter. Because if you were the problems, chances were you could also be the solution. The only way to find out was to take another shot. ~Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen (Anyone who reads Sarah Dessen knows profound quotes are not at all unexpected.)

You can go wherever you want, see whatever you want to. But a place is only as good as the people you know in it. ~I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

A hero isn’t measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart. ~Zeuss, Disney’s Hercules

You cannot wait for Life to come to you. You have to go get it — pursue it in a wild, passionate chase that includes the foreboding depths of challenge and heartache just as much as the ecstasy of triumph and success. ~Kelle Hampton, Enjoying the Small Things blog

To live is to constantly learn, and my friends are the best teachers. ~Amy Bishop, The Wanderer