Fred Rogers

Discipline

“Imagining something may be the first step in making it happen, but it takes the real time and real efforts of real people to learn things, make things, turn thoughts into deeds or visions into inventions.”

“No child is born with self-discipline.”

“Children feel safer when they know what the rules are.”

Encouragement

“Anything that we can do to help foster the intellect and spirit and emotional growth of our fellow human beings, that is our job. Those of us who have this particular vision must continue against all odds. Life is for service.”

“It’s our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression.”

Goodness

“Try your best to make goodness attractive. That’s one of the toughest assignments you’ll ever be given.”

“Anyone who has ever been able to sustain good work has had at least one person–and often many–who have believed in him or her. We just don’t get to be competent human beings without a lot of different investments from others.”

Helping

“What really matters is helping others win, too, even if it means slowing down and changing our course now and then.”

“Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero to me.”

“All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we’re giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That’s one of the things that connects us as neighbors—in our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver.”

Love

“Understanding love is one of the hardest things in the world.”

“Love and trust, in the space between what’s said and what’s heard in our life, can make all the difference in this world.”

“When we love a person, we accept him or her exactly as is: the lovely with the unlovely, the strong with the fearful, the true mixed in with the façade, and of course, the only way we can do it is by accepting ourselves that way.”

“I don’t think anyone can grow unless he’s loved exactly as he is now, appreciated for what he is rather than what he will be.”

Neighbors

“In every neighborhood, all across our country, there are good people insisting on a good start for the young, and doing something about it.”

“One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation.”

Self-Worth

“We all have different gifts, so we all have different ways of saying to the world who we are.”

“The world needs a sense of worth, and it will achieve it only by its people feeling that they are worthwhile.”