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Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! 20 Inspirational Quotes

By Nancy Bailey
Published on: 07:28 PST, Mar 2, 2016

Dr. Seuss would have been 112 years old today. The iconic author, whose stories have been the literary staple of multiple generations, still remains as significant as he was in the last millennium.

Dr. Seuss, or Theodor Seuss Geisel, was born on March 2, 1904, in Massachusetts. Geisel penned and illustrated all his whimsical, rhyming, offbeat masterpieces under the name Dr. Seuss. He published over 40 books, many of which were made into films.

Though designed for children, his books continue to inspire kids as well as adults. According to the New York Times, Bennett Cerf, who was president of Random House, was said to have called Geisel “the only genius on his list.” The New Yorker reminded its readers that the list included William Faulkner!

Geisel described his own formula as, “logical insanity.”

It’s easy to understand how the work of Dr. Seuss remains relevant. With the help of lopsided characters like star-bellied sneetches, the Lorax, and Cindy Lou Who, the multi-talented author shared stories about brotherhood, conservation, and humanity. He touched on life experiences with a gentle humor that delivered a wallop of a message.

As today’s article in USA Today pointed out, Seuss said, “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”

  1. “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?
  2. “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”
  1. “Think and wonder, wonder and think.”
  2. “It is better to know how to learn than to know.”
  3. “You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the one who’ll decide where to go.”
  4. “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory.”
  5. “You’re off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So get on your way!”
  6. “A person’s a person, no matter how small.”
  1. “So be sure when you step, step with care and great tact. And remember that life’s a great balancing act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed!”
  2. “Be who you are and say what you feel because the ones who mind don’t matter, and the ones who matter don’t mind.”
  1. “So, open your mouth, lad! For every voice counts!”
  2. “Only you can control your future.”
  3. “With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.”
  4. “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
  5. “Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!”
  6. “If things start happening, don’t worry, don’t stew, just go right along and you’ll start happening too.”
  7. “You’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut.”
  8. “You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.”
  9. “Oh the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all.”
  10. “If you want to catch beasts you don’t see every day,
    You have to go places quite out of the way,
    You have to go places no others can get to.
    You have to get cold and you have to get wet, too.”

Dr. Seuss was a perfectionist. According to the New York Times, he once said he produced over a thousand pages in order to end up with 64. He died in 1991 at the age of 87, but his work shows no sign of antiquating.

As he wrote, “Today I shall behave, as if this is the day I will be remembered.”

[Image via Ron Ellis/Shutterstock.com]

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