How should a man be capable of grooming his own horse, or of furbishing his own spear and helmet, if he allows himself to become unaccustomed to tending even his own person, which is his most treasured belonging?

Many men have been capable of doing a wise thing, more a cunning thing, but very few a generous thing.

We are what we believe we are.

No one has a right to consume happiness without producing it.

I always say, decisions I make, I live with them. There’s always ways you can correct them or ways you can do them better. At the end of the day, I live with them.

The real danger is not inaction. The real danger is when politicians and CEOs are making it look like action is happening when in fact nothing is being done.

I always teach myself calm and visualization stuff.

If you have the insight of non-self, if you have the insight of impermanence, you should make that insight into a concentration that you keep alive throughout the day. Then what you say, what you think, and what you do will then be in the light of that wisdom and you will avoid making mistakes and creating suffering.

People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.

We choose what attitudes we have right now. And it’s a continuing choice.

Culture is the process by which a person becomes all that they were created capable of being.

Parentage is a very important profession, but no test of fitness for it is ever imposed in the interest of the children.

Let each become all that he was created capable of being.

A man, as a general rule, owes very little to what he is born with – a man is what he makes of himself.

A leader who doesn’t hesitate before he sends his nation into battle is not fit to be a leader.

I can be a cruel person.

Over the holidays, and even during filming, I realized that I actually like my body, even if it’s not perfect according to the book. I just feel sexy. For the first time, I don’t want to get rid of the curves. I just want to tone it up. My body is comfortable, and it’s not unhealthy, so I’m going to rock with it.

Character isn’t something you were born with and can’t change, like your fingerprints. It’s something you weren’t born with and must take responsibility for forming.

Just as a man would not cherish living in a body other than his own, so do nations not like to live under other nations, however noble and great the latter may be.

You gotta water your plants. Nobody can water them for you.

You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.

To remain a credible leader, I must always work first, hardest, and longest on changing myself. This is neither easy nor natural, but it is essential.

Read a record number of books in a given month. If you’re focused on intellectual growth, train yourself to study harder and longer than ever before.

I don’t know how to function without music. When I’m not making it, I’m listening to it. It gives me courage and takes care of my mind.

Self-worth comes from one thing – thinking that you are worthy.

Being the only man in the household with my mom definitely helped me grow up fast.

An elusive, enigmatic aura will make people want to know more, drawing them into your circle. Create such a power by hinting at something contradictory within you.

People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining.

I break ground. I trailblaze.

If you’re doing your best, you won’t have any time to worry about failure.

I first found delight in the Sabbath many years ago when, as a busy surgeon, I knew that the Sabbath became a day for personal healing. By the end of each week, my hands were sore from repeatedly scrubbing them with soap, water, and a bristle brush. I also needed a breather from the burden of a demanding profession.

It’s not fun to get out of bed early in the morning. When the alarm goes off, it doesn’t sing you a song: it hits you in the head with a baseball bat. So how do you respond to that? Do you crawl underneath your covers and hide? Or do you get up, get aggressive, and attack the day?

To not to have entirely wasted one’s life seems to be a worthy accomplishment, if only for myself.

We do not need the empire to give us anything.

Engineering training deals with the exact sciences. That sort of exactness makes for truth and conscience. It might be good for the world if more men had that sort of mental start in life even if they did not pursue the profession.

If your treat an individual… as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.

Every President wants to do right.

You must capture and keep the heart of the original and supremely able man before his brain can do its best.

Therapy? I don’t need that. The roles that I choose are my therapy.

No other country in the world does what we do. On every issue, the world turns to us, not simply because of the size of our economy or our military might – but because of the ideals we stand for, and the burdens we bear to advance them.

I restore myself when I’m alone.

The answer I found is you stay away from the people who make fun of you, and you join these ad hoc groups who understand your craziness.

I’ve tried everything. I’ve done therapy, I’ve done colonics. I went to a psychic who had me running around town buying pieces of ribbon to fill the colors in my aura. Did the Prozac thing.

The only shame is to have none.

The price of greatness is responsibility.

Being a kid’s not easy. You’re transforming and becoming a human being. At some point, you have everyone taking care of you, and then, all of a sudden, you’re out in the world.

Don’t just let the devil use your mind as a garbage dump.

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.

Most emissions aren’t caused by individuals, they’re caused by corporations and states.

Until you have formed the habit of looking for the good instead of the bad there is in others, you will be neither successful nor happy.

The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.

Frustration is a sign I am acting independently. The more you try your own way, the tighter the doors will stay closed.

I liked to write from the time I was about 12 or 13. I loved to read. And since I only spoke to my brother, I would write down my thoughts. And I think I wrote some of the worst poetry west of the Rockies. But by the time I was in my 20s, I found myself writing little essays and more poetry – writing at writing.

I’ve always put everybody else’s child first before my own health, before my own outfit, before my own time frame.

A day wasted on others is not wasted on one’s self.

Honor and shame from no condition rise. Act well your part: there all the honor lies.

To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.

Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.

To be conscious that you are ignorant of the facts is a great step to knowledge.

Without a moral framework, there is nothing left but immediate self-indulgence by some and the path of least resistance by others. Neither can sustain a free society.

I want parents to teach that academic intelligence is essential, but so is financial intelligence.