Even with all the advantages of retrospect, and a lot of witnesses dead and gone, you can’t make your life look as if you intended it or you were consistent. All you can show is how you dealt with various hands.

If we’re really honest with ourselves, most of us will admit that we want to impress people, and this is what’s causing us to do what we do.

I have spent my life going from mania to mania. Somehow it has all paid off.

What a wee little part of a person’s life are his acts and his words! His real life is led in his head, and is known to none but himself.

When I was four, my mother insisted I get out of the car and find my own way home. Although I got lost, I did find my way home. It taught me the value of independence at an early age.

I would like to fly in space. Absolutely. That would be cool. I used to just do personally risky things, but now I’ve got kids and responsibilities, so I can’t be my own test pilot. That wouldn’t be a good idea. But I definitely want to fly as soon as it’s a sensible thing to do.

You can retire from a job, but don’t ever retire from making extremely meaningful contributions in life.

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.

When it comes to everybody else’s thing and their lane and their timing, I’m never doing anything intentional to, like, come after somebody. That will always be my biggest mistake or anybody’s biggest mistake if that’s their intention.

What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?

I’ve learned that we all change constantly. It’s rare to find that person who is growing with you in the same way at the same time, who encourages you to grow.

The experience of pain or loss can be a formidably motivating force.

We all have experiences in our lives that change us, and we all learn from people, like my dad, but at the end of the day, it’s only us. And we’re only responsible to make ourselves happy.

It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.

It is possible to provide security against other ills, but as far as death is concerned, we men live in a city without walls.

Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.

You have to be smart. The easy days are over.

The primary distinction of the artist is that he must actively cultivate that state which most men, necessarily, must avoid; the state of being alone.

I’m not looking to freak people out – eating rodents or bugs. I don’t do that anymore.

People may think I’m trying something new by telling stories, but they’re just jokes connected to give the illusion of stories. But really, I just continue using my imagination and creating. That’s what I do.

A man is born alone and dies alone; and he experiences the good and bad consequences of his karma alone; and he goes alone to hell or the Supreme abode.

The limits of the possible can only be defined by going beyond them into the impossible.

I had a lot of resistance, and not just to fame. I was always conscious of not changing.

You accept that this civilisation could be abolished and life will begin later on after a few thousand years because that is something that has happened in the history of this planet. When you have peace in yourself and accept, then you are calm enough to do something, but if you are carried by despair there is no hope.

If all you’re doing is grinding for the man, it’s going to burden you. Once you say, ‚Hey, I’m grinding for the man, but I’m putting money away, and this is part of my exit strategy,‘ you’re working for you.

Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong.

I restore myself when I’m alone.

It is a common saying, and in everybody’s mouth, that life is but a sojourn.

A hustler has to deal with danger and risk. It’s part of the game. You cannot control it all, nor would you want to. Chaos, unknown factors are not something to be anxious about.

Many people resented my impatience and honesty, but I never cared about acceptance as much as I cared about respect.

Many people think of perfectionism as striving to be your best, but it is not about self-improvement; it’s about earning approval and acceptance.

All theory, dear friend, is gray, but the golden tree of life springs ever green.

There’s something about being in front of a live audience that’s fun. It’s a really interesting, very electric, very alive, and intense experience, and you can’t get it anywhere else. And I’ve been doing it since I was 23, so it’s part of my being – it’s part of my fabric as a person.

It’s pretty intense writing about my own life, my own struggles.

Personally I’m always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.

I worked with someone who told me they’d never like me. But for some reason, I just felt like I needed her approval. So I started changing myself to please her. It made me stop being social and friendly. I was so unhappy.

I’m kind of fascist with myself, you know.

But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?

Nature never breaks her own laws.

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.

I assess the power of a will by how much resistance, pain, torture it endures and knows how to turn to its advantage.

I don’t think any country is perfect. It’s our responsibility to do the best we can do to change the things we don’t like. I think that’s part of social responsibility, and everybody is going to do that in their own way.

I was willing to accept what I couldn’t change.

I’ve learned a lot since I was a new mother. My approach to struggle and shame now is to talk to yourself like you’d talk to someone you love and reach out to tell your story.

I think any life can be interesting, any surroundings can be interesting. I don’t think I could have been so brave if I had been living in a town, competing with people on what can be called a generally higher cultural level.

Sometimes when you make a film you can go away for three months and then come back and live your life. But this struck a much deeper chord. I don’t have the ability yet to speak about it in an objective.

You know how advice is. You only want it if it agrees with what you wanted to do anyway.

Travel teaches toleration.

When you can’t make them see the light, make them feel the heat.

Some like to think that a keen appreciation of art can actually make us better people – more just, more moral, more sensitive, more understanding. Perhaps that is true – in certain rare, isolated cases.

Forget the past.

Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.

Whatever that means, however you got on that mountain, why not try to climb it? And do it in your own way.

I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes.

Many a man’s reputation would not know his character if they met on the street.

The state comes into existence for the sake of life and continues to exist for the sake of good life.

To complain is always nonacceptance of what is. It invariably carries an unconscious negative charge. When you complain, you make yourself into a victim. When you speak out, you are in your power. So change the situation by taking action or by speaking out if necessary or possible; leave the situation or accept it. All else is madness.

In business or in life, don’t follow the wagon tracks too closely.

So then, the relationship of self to other is the complete realization that loving yourself is impossible without loving everything defined as other than yourself.

Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one’s potential.

Intelligent people should learn from their experiences. With people on the street, the bad experience has beaten them.