It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.

For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.

No change of circumstances can repair a defect of character.

I was a housewife, so I learned to write in times off, and I don’t think I ever gave it up, though there were times when I was very discouraged because I began to see that the stories I was writing were not very good, that I had a lot to learn, and that it was a much, much harder job than I had expected.

That’s been one of my mantras – focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.

I’m not a natural born performer.

Our necessities never equal our wants.

Faith is not something to grasp, it is a state to grow into.

We work to become, not to acquire.

If you’re going to spend two years of your life on something, it has to matter to you; you have to be passionate about it.

It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.

I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don’t always agree with them.

You have to feel confident. If you don’t, then you’re going to be hesitant and defensive, and there’ll be a lot of things working against you.

In search of my mother’s garden, I found my own.

I think it’s very important to cry in the shower and not in front of them. They need to know that everything’s going to be all right, even when you’re not sure it is.

Maturity is the ability to reap without apology and not complain when things don’t go well.

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.

Because I am a mother, I am capable of being shocked: as I never was when I was not one.

You can either be a host to God, or a hostage to your ego. It’s your call.

When I left the University of Notre Dame, I honestly felt I would never coach again.

I have a message to give to the world, and I shall not be thwarted.

I believe that one person can make a difference.

Choose the life that is most useful, and habit will make it the most agreeable.

I know Elon, we’re very like minded in many ways. We’re not conceptual twins. One thing I want us to do is go to Mars, but for me it’s one thing. He’s singularly focused on that. I think motivation wise, for me I don’t find that Plan B idea motivating. I don’t want a plan B for Earth, I want Plan B to make sure Plan A works.

I more fear what is within me than what comes from without.

The true artist is not proud: he unfortunately sees that art has no limits; he feels darkly how far he is from the goal, and though he may be admired by others, he is sad not to have reached that point to which his better genius only appears as a distant, guiding sun.

Fame is ultimately about the cycles of desire and how to do away with them or manage them well.

There is no room for military people, including our veterans, to see themselves as victims, even if so many of our countrymen are prone to relish that role.

Physical strength can never permanently withstand the impact of spiritual force.

I promise you, I will have something on the Internet that is game-changing. I can’t lose.

There are two ways of exerting one’s strength: one is pushing down, the other is pulling up.

Anytime I feel lost, I pull out a map and stare. I stare until I have reminded myself that life is a giant adventure, so much to do, to see.

These things bring you to reality as to how fragile you are; at the same moment you are doing something that nobody else is able to do. The same moment that you are seen as the best, the fastest and somebody that cannot be touched, you are enormously fragile.

Really, you don’t lose until you stop trying.

Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.

The world can criticize me, but l can always criticize it back.

People don’t usually compliment your character.

Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.

So when these people sell out, even though they get fabulously rich, they’re gypping themselves out of one of the potentially most rewarding experiences of their unfolding lives. Without it, they may never know their values or how to keep their newfound wealth in perspective.

That service is the noblest which is rendered for its own sake.

It is in the admission of ignorance and the admission of uncertainty that there is a hope for the continuous motion of human beings in some direction that doesn’t get confined, permanently blocked, as it has so many times before in various periods in the history of man.

We should purify our innate well of contentment – what a wonderful expression – and then external things will be in harmony with us.

Idleness is the parent of psychology.

The dreams and passions stored within hearts are powerful keys which can unlock a wealth of potential.

Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.

Man falls from the pursuit of the ideal of plan living and high thinking the moment he wants to multiply his daily wants. Man’s happiness really lies in contentment.

Discontent, blaming, complaining, self-pity cannot serve as a foundation for a good future, no matter how much effort you make.

Losers are people who are afraid of losing.

You can have the platinum album. But, you know, when you still feel like you haven’t quite found your place in the world, it kind of gives a crazy offset.

I’m not a natural joiner.

There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.

Don’t find fault, find a remedy.

Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better.

I resigned from the Marine Corps and flying in 1974, even though I loved them both. I quit because I no longer wanted to fight for peace. Instead, I believe we can build a more sustainable peace by working for prosperity.

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

This is Sunday, and the question arises, what’ll I start tomorrow?

Adversity has ever been considered the state in which a man most easily becomes acquainted with himself.

Every man’s memory is his private literature.

I made bad decisions. I’m not denying that I made bad decisions.

I don’t want to make money; I want to make a difference.

Peace in the world starts with peace in oneself. If everyone lives mindfully, everyone will be more healthy, feel more fulfilled in their daily lives and there will be more peace.