I’d like to be known for more than being the guy in the big suit.

Association with human beings lures one into self-observation.

I think women want to take care of themselves, and I think having a voice in how that is done is very important.

Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.

I think that’s why I put my energy into making music. That’s how I get my thoughts out, instead of being crazy all the time.

Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.

I was not an anthropology student prior to the war. I took it up as part of a personal readjustment following some bewildering experiences as an infantryman and later as a prisoner of war in Dresden, Germany. The science of the Study of Man has been extremely satisfactory from that personal standpoint.

The man who acquires the ability to take full possession of his own mind may take possession of anything else to which he is justly entitled.

You should never give up your inner self.

We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

I was a kind of hyper-intense person in my twenties and very impatient.

If you feel that there’s the author and then the character, then the book is not working. People have a habit of identifying the author with the narrator, and you can’t, obviously, be all of the narrators in all of your books, or else you’d be a very strange person indeed.

Our brains are either our greatest assets or our greatest liabilities.

Either you’re the one erasing or you’re the one being erased.

The greatest gift is a portion of thyself.

Seeing myself on the screen makes me cringe. I understand that I am that way – pouty.

Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.

Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit.

There cannot be a God because if there were one, I could not believe that I was not He.

Follow your honest convictions and be strong.

In heaven an angel is nobody in particular.

I was brought up to believe that the worst thing you could do was ‚call attention to yourself,‘ or ‚think you were smart.‘ My mother was an exception to this rule and was punished by the early onset of Parkinson’s disease.

Complaining is dangerous business. It can damage or even destroy your relationship with God, your relationships with other people, and even with your relationship with yourself.

Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.

My reputation grows with every failure.

I’m concerned that my technical skills have advanced to the point where I can get closer to what I’m aiming for, which is not such a good thing.

Indeed, it is as important to learn how to receive a blessing as it is to be willing to give one.

The same thing I did in 2013 is what I’m trying to do in 2014, which is continue to improve, continue to shock people. You know, I have several projects coming up between 2014 and 2015, and hopefully by 2015, I’ll have another hour of stand-up material where I’ll be able to go on the road and tour again.

I want to put a ding in the universe.

Growing up in the place I did I never was aware of any other option but to question everything.

As a lifestyle you always being the focal point is innately unhealthy.

Telling us to obey instinct is like telling us to obey ‚people.‘ People say different things: so do instincts. Our instincts are at war… Each instinct, if you listen to it, will claim to be gratified at the expense of the rest.

They would not find me changed from him they knew – only more sure of all I thought was true.

Listening to and understanding our inner sufferings will resolve most of the problems we encounter.

In the child, consciousness rises out of the depths of unconscious psychic life, at first like separate islands, which gradually unite to form a ‚continent,‘ a continuous landmass of consciousness. Progressive mental development means, in effect, extension of consciousness.

The single most powerful thing I can be is to be myself.

The world we see that seems so insane is the result of a belief system that is not working. To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our belief system, let the past slip away, expand our sense of now, and dissolve the fear in our minds.

My future is righteousness.

Day by day we should weigh what we have granted to the spirit of the world against what we have denied to the spirit of Jesus, in thought and especially in deed.

My one regret in life is that I am not someone else.

I mean, what would I be doing if I couldn’t write? But that fortunately hasn’t proved to be the case and I can read any day. I still read a lot, and I can write any day, but much more slowly and fewer words.

There are going to be things I’m not going to be great at, times when I make mistakes, 100%.

Society has made us believe you should look like an 18-year-old model all your life.

Our personal intelligence is everlasting and divine.

We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.

I wish I could shut up, but I can’t, and I won’t.

Vulnerability is the birthplace of connection and the path to the feeling of worthiness. If it doesn’t feel vulnerable, the sharing is probably not constructive.

It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.

I think I have always had a little humor.

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.

The making of an American begins at the point where he himself rejects all other ties, any other history, and himself adopts the vesture of his adopted land.

The personal ego already has a strong element of dysfunction, but the collective ego is, frequently, even more dysfunctional, to the point of absolute insanity.

Self-knowledge comes from knowing other men.

Confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession.

I just have a relationship with my imagination. It’s like my friend, almost.

Individuals need to be willing to face truth about their attitudes, behaviors, even what we want out of life.

It’s much more fun to play something you’re nothing like than what you are… It’s much easier to hide yourself in a character.

My only fault is that I don’t realize how great I really am.

Who I am on stage is very, very different to who I am in real life.

If I’m in a bad mood, or if I’m uncomfortable, it’s probably what I’m wearing that’s making me feel that way.