Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl's memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife... read more
“for the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour”
“He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How”
“Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now”
“Man has both potentialities within himself; which one is actualized depends on decisions but not on conditions”
“therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated”
“This tale is not concerned with the great horrors, which have already been described often enough, but with a multitude of small torments. Jamieon Davis.”
“for the war gave us the war of nerves and it gave us the concentration camp.Jamieon Davis.”
“Suffering in and of itself is meaningless; we give our suffering meaning by the way in which we respond to it.”
“Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation. You cannot control what happens to you in life, but you can always control what you will feel and do about what happens to you”
“The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity -- even under the most difficult circumstances -- to add a deeper meaning to his life.”
“Life is like being at the dentist. You always think that the worst is still to come, and yet it is over already.”
“It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us.”
“I called to the Lord from my narrow prison and he answered me in the freedom of space.”
everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.Highlighted by 1556 Kindle customers
Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.Highlighted by 1527 Kindle customers
Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation. You cannot control what happens to you in life, but you can always control what you will feel and do about what happens to you.Highlighted by 1299 Kindle customers
Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it.Highlighted by 1255 Kindle customers
'Don't aim at success-the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself.Highlighted by 1168 Kindle customers
'Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now!'Highlighted by 1087 Kindle customers
Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved. It finds its deepest meaning in his spiritual being, his inner self. Whether or not he is actually present, whether or not he is still alive at all, ceases somehow to be of importance.Highlighted by 996 Kindle customers
Life is not primarily a quest for pleasure, as Freud believed, or a quest for power, as Alfred Adler taught, but a quest for meaning. The greatest task for any person is to find meaning in his or her life. Frankl saw three possible sources for meaning: in work (doing something significant), in love (caring for another person), and in courage during difficult times. Suffering in and of itself is meaningless; we give our suffering meaning by the way in which we respond to it.Highlighted by 907 Kindle customers
When a man finds that it is his destiny to suffer, he will have to accept his suffering as his task; his single and unique task. He will have to acknowledge the fact that even in suffering he is unique and alone in the universe. No one can relieve him of his suffering or suffer in his place. His unique opportunity lies in the way in which he bears his burden.Highlighted by 904 Kindle customers
Frankl approvingly quotes the words of Nietzsche: 'He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How.'Highlighted by 401 Kindle customers
I. Part One
1. Experiences in a Concentration Camp
II. Part Two
2. Logotherapy in a Nutshell
Preceded by Leadership Passages: The Personal and Professional Transitions That Make or Break a Leader, and followed by True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership (J-B Warren Bennis Series).
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