Destiny waits alike for the free man as well as for him enslaved by another's might.

Aeschylus (525 BC - 456 BC), The Libation Bearers

No trumpets¹ sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently.

Agnes de Mille (1909 - 1993)

Destiny is but a phrase of the weak human heart - the dark apology for every error. The strong and virtuous² admit no destiny. On earth conscience guides; in heaven God watches. And destiny is but the phantom³ we invoke⁴ to silence the one and dethrone the other.

Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803 - 1873)

There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous⁵ with destiny.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 - 1945)

Destiny is a name often given in retrospect⁶ to choices that had dramatic consequences.

J. K. Rowling, J. K. Rowling Official Website

It's choice - not chance - that determines your destiny.

Jean Nidetch

Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.

John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963)

I think it's absolutely a blessing⁷ when you just know what your purpose is and your destiny. I don't think it's a curse at all.

Lady Gaga (1986 - ), The Today Show, 12-08-08

A man that don’t believe in destiny don’t need to know what his destiny is.

Laura Moncur (1969 - ), Merriton, 08-20-08

Young people have an almost biological destiny to be hopeful.

Marshall Ganz, quoted by Sara Rimer in New York Times

Often we don't even realize who we're meant to be because we're so busy trying to live out someone else's ideas. But other people and their opinions hold no power in defining our destiny.

Oprah Winfrey (1954 - ), O Magazine, November 2009

Man is asked to make of himself what he is supposed to become to fulfill⁸ his destiny.

Paul Tillich (1886 - 1965)

Great people and great athletes realize early in their lives their destiny, and accept it. Even if they do not consciously realize the how, the where, the what.

Percy Cerutty

Destiny is for people who are too lazy to create alternate timelines.

R. Stevens, Diesel⁹ Sweeties, 10-05-11

Anatomy¹⁰ is destiny.

Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939), Collected Writings, 1924

It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time.

Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

We are face to face with our destiny and we must meet it with high and resolute¹¹ courage. For us is the life of action, of strenuous¹² performance of duty; let us live in the harness, striving mightily¹³; let us rather run the risk of wearing out than rusting¹⁴ out.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858 - 1919), Address at the opening of the gubernatorial campaign, New York City, October 5, 1898

Watch your thoughts, they become words.

Watch your words, they become actions.

Watch your actions, they become habits.

Watch your habits, they become your character.

Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

Unknown

Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.

William Jennings Bryan (1860 - 1925)

The ancient saying is no heresy¹⁵, hanging and wiving goes by destiny.

William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), The Merchant of Venice, Act II, sc. 9