Stephen Hawking was one of the most famous and influential scientists of our time. Sadly, Hawking has passed away at the age of 76 — fully 55 years after doctors gave him just two years to live with a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Despite his passing, the words of Stephen Hawking will live on forever — inspiring generations for years to come. Here are 17 of Hawking’s most inspirational quotes:
1. “Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.”
2. “However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. Where there’s life, there’s hope.”
3. “People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining.”
4. “I believe alien life is quite common in the universe, although intelligent life is less so. Some say it has yet to appear on planet Earth.”
5. “My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn’t prevent you doing well, and don’t regret the things it interferes with. Don’t be disabled in spirit as well as physically.”
6. “We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the universe. That makes us something very special.”
7. “Work gives you meaning and purpose, and life is empty without it.”
8. “People who boast about their IQ are losers.”
9. “Quiet people have the loudest minds.”
10. “One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect. Perfection simply doesn’t exist… Without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist”
11. “You cannot understand the glories of the universe without believing there is some Supreme Power behind it.”
12. “To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.”
13. “It matters if you just don’t give up.”
14. “Nothing is better than reading and gaining more and more knowledge.”
15. “The universe does not behave according to our preconceived ideas. It continues to surprise us.”
16. “Mankind’s greatest achievements have come about by talking, and its greatest failures by not talking. It doesn’t have to be like this.”
17. “I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first.”
