I do not know myself, and God forbid that I should.

Life is a matter of really tough choices.

There is but one cause of human failure. And that is man’s lack of faith in his true Self.

It’s hard for anybody who’s been with me not to feel starved for affection when I’m making love to my ideas. Maybe it’s not meant for me to settle down and be married.

I don’t have to be what you want me to be.

I never knew a more presumptuous person than myself. The fact that I say that shows that what I say is true.

I prefer tongue-tied knowledge to ignorant loquacity.

Whenever I write a novel, I have a strong sense that I am doing something I was unable to do before. With each new work, I move up a step and discover something new inside me.

We all have possibilities we don’t know about. We can do things we don’t even dream we can do.

The Canteen Boy, the reason you feel bad for him and you can laugh is because he, and I guess a lot of my characters, they don’t notice they’re getting made fun of. So they’ll say something back that’s not that great a quip, but in their mind they won the argument.

I’ve always been – you know, my personality is motivating and encouraging. And so I’m just being who God made me to be.

You’re not going to say anything about me that I’m not going to say about myself. There’s so many things that I think about myself; if someone really wanted to get at me, they could say this and this and this. So I’m going to say it before they can. It’s the best policy for me.

My thought is me: that is why I cannot stop thinking. I exist because I think I cannot keep from thinking.

When something an affliction happens to you, you either let it defeat you, or you defeat it.

Nobody can hurt me without my permission.

I know, to banish anger altogether from one’s breast is a difficult task. It cannot be achieved through pure personal effort. It can be done only by God’s grace.

But blind to former as to future fate, what mortal knows his pre-existent state?

Without deep reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people.

I used to pray that God would make me a great athlete, and He never did.

The darkness is really out there. It’s not something that’s in my head, just. It’s in my work because it’s in the world.

The only difference between me and a madman is that I’m not mad.

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.

I have found that hollow, which even I had relied on for solid.

There is only one difference between a madman and me. The madman thinks he is sane. I know I am mad.

I don’t want to be alone, I want to be left alone.

Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life so.

I kept a diary right after I was born. Day 1: Tired from the move. Day 2: Everyone thinks I’m an idiot.

Basically, when you get to my age, you’ll really measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you.

None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone.

Who shall measure the hat and violence of the poet’s heart when caught and tangled in a woman’s body?

One can be instructed in society, one is inspired only in solitude.

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.

The conscience can be a strong guide in life if we allow it.

People who do not know how to laugh are always pompous and self-conceited.

We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.

My work is about my life, and what I want to do with it.

At first, I was scared to show fear because you can never be sure how people will perceive you. But I dared myself to do that, to stand out. Now I’ll talk about being beaten up or robbed or making a stupid decision because of a girl or whatever.

My future is righteousness.

I don’t follow all the 48 laws. Like, I’ve never crushed anyone totally.

We have to confront ourselves. Do we like what we see in the mirror? And, according to our light, according to our understanding, according to our courage, we will have to say yea or nay – and rise!

Marriage destroyed my relationship with two wonderful men.

Many people have an intense feeling about what they’re best at. Too often, they’re driven away from it by other people.

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.

Sometimes, I feel like one who is on the sidelines, who has missed life itself.

Have the humility to learn from those around you.

True happiness arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one’s self, and in the next, from the friendship and conversation of a few select companions.

I hate to be smart.

Many people, especially young people, would like to be more independent and on their own. But it is very difficult and they suffer from feelings of isolation. I think that is one reason why young readers support my work.

Invest three percent of your income in yourself (self-development) in order to guarantee your future.

Why should it be essential to love rarely in order to love much?

The devil is a peace stealer, and he works hard to set us up to get upset. But we can learn how to change our approach so we don’t live upset all of the time. And Jesus gives us the best example to follow.

Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed, and in such desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.

The drama and the trauma of the relationship you have when you’re 16 can mirror the one you have when you’re 26. Life repeats itself.

I felt I had to solve everyone’s problems.

The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.

Relationships are the hallmark of the mature person.

Changing your mind is probably one of the most beautiful things people can do. And I’ve changed my mind about a lot of things over the years.

Sure, I can get a little bit jealous. The good part about jealousy is that it comes from passion. It’s also the dangerous part and it’s an ugly emotion that hurts.

The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.

Whatever talents I possess may suddenly diminish or suddenly increase. I can with ease become an ordinary fool. I may be one now. But it doesn’t do to upset one’s own vanity.

You can’t do something forever.