'We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run down.' -Aneurin "Nye" Bevan

The Welsh-born Bevan was an influential figure in 20th-century British politics. He served in various leadership roles for the country's Labour Party and enjoyed a well-earned reputation as an effective and eloquent public speaker.

He was Minister of Health in the six years following the end of World War II, during which time his office formulated and launched the National Health Service (NHS), England's only publicly funded health care program.

'Curiosity is the key to creativity.' -Akio Morita

If the future father of the Walkman had done nothing following World War II, he would have done just fine: His family had been brewing sake with considerable success for 14 generations.

Instead, at age 25, he co-founded Sony Corporation. In 15 years, a flexible intelligence and limitless imagination helped Morita make Sony the first Japanese company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Morita's tenacious curiosity persisted into old age: He didn't learn to surf, scuba dive or water-ski until his mid-60s.

'Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great. Some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.' -William Shakespeare

The quote comes from Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night, which was named for the celebration of the Epiphany, a feast in certain denominations of Christianity commemorating the day God revealed himself to mankind in human form as Jesus.

Accordingly, the feast of Twelfth Night takes place on January 5th, the twelfth day after Christmas.

'Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is.' -Vince Lombardi

Few figures are more closely associated with the winning tradition in professional sports than the great Vince Lombardi, having coached the Green Bay Packers to win three NFL championships and the first two Super Bowls.

After his death in 1970, NFL officials renamed the so-called "World Championship Game Trophy" in his honor. The first "Vince Lombardi Trophy" was awarded to the Baltimore Colts, winners of Super Bowl V in 1971.

'This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.' -Horace Walpole

British writer and 18th-century politician Horace Walpole was born into privilege. His father was a cabinet minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and by the time Horace reached age 4, his father had risen to Prime Minister.

Among Walpole's claims to fame is his coining of the word "serendipity" in 1754.

'We can't all be happy... some must cry so that others might laugh harder.' -Jean Rhys

Caribbean novelist Jean Rhys became famous following the 1966 publication of her novel Wide Sargasso Sea, a prequel to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. Having last published in 1939, she spent the intervening years drifting through Paris in virtual poverty and living the lifestyle of a Bohemian artist.

'To succeed in the world, we do everything we can to appear successful.' -La Rochefoucald

The great French reformer of the 17th century hints at the tremendous convincing power of perception; that success perceived is, in essence, the virtual equivalent to success achieved.

It calls to mind the advice Polonius gives to his son in Shakespeare's Hamlet, often paraphrased as "clothes make the man." While it certainly helps to have some substance behind the facade, showing up for a long-shot job interview dressed for success is never a bad idea.

'Sex is one of the nine reasons for reincarnation. The other eight are unimportant.' -Henry Miller

The sexually charged novels of American writer Henry Miller were often banned in the U.S. on the grounds of obscenity, and one of them, Tropic of Cancer, played an important part in launching the sexual revolution of the 1960s.

Although first published in France in 1934, when Grove Press published it in the U.S. in 1961, the issue of its obscenity reached the Supreme Court. In 1964, the high court declared the novel a work of literature and overturned a lower court's finding that the book had violated obscenity laws.

'I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.' -Bill Cosby

One of the most successful and influential entertainers of the last 50 years, Cosby himself spent many years appearing to please everybody, starring in friendly shows such as The Cosby Show and Kids Say the Darndest Things.

In May 2004, while accepting an award during the 50th Anniversary commemoration of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, Cosby made the first of many future comments critical of the African American culture's emphasis on music and money over education, setting the stage for him to become one of the more politically incorrect -- yet still widely praised -- voices in the black community.

'Good girls go to Heaven -- bad girls go everywhere.' -Helen Gurley Brown

Brown was a major player in the sexual revolution of the 1960s, following the 1962 publication of her book Sex and the Single Girl, in which she encouraged women of all ages to build lives for themselves, both financially as well as socially, instead of depending on marriage to a man.'

The book first inspired a 1964 Natalie Wood film, then became the inspiration for Candice Bushnell's Sex and the City.