The man who is dissatisfied with himself, what can he do?

Hold a picture of yourself long and steadily enough in your mind’s eye, and you will be drawn toward it.

Men often take their imagination for their heart; and they believe they are converted as soon as they think of being converted.

Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.

Perhaps I can say that I am a bit astute, that I can adapt to circumstances, but it is also true that I am a bit naive. Yes, but the best summary, the one that comes more from the inside and I feel most true is this: I am a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon.

As for my own views, they’ve of course evolved over the years. This conception of ‚renouncing beliefs‘ is very odd, as if we’re in some kind of religious cult. I ‚renounce beliefs‘ practically every time I think about the topics or find out what someone else is thinking.

Thought can be so seductive and hypnotic that it absorbs your attention totally, so you become your thoughts.

The problem with me, as far as getting married and having a family, is that my comedy is so important to me. So I don’t know if I’ll ever be as good a dad as my dad.

You’re looking at a middle-class guy. I am who I am.

If virtue promises happiness, prosperity and peace, then progress in virtue is progress in each of these for to whatever point the perfection of anything brings us, progress is always an approach toward it.

Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.

Always do what you are afraid to do.

Lots of songs aren’t even from my experiences, but they’re about accepting… the dark things about yourself.

I hate to see complacency prevail in our lives when it’s so directly contrary to the teaching of Christ.

I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.

The fact is I am not having sex. But I feel absolutely ripe for the, what would you say? plucking?

Whenever I climb I am followed by a dog called ‚Ego‘.

I’m not happy all the time, and I wouldn’t want to be because that would make me a shallow person. But I do try to find the good in everybody.

When you start to realise how much of what you’ve constructed of yourself is based on deception and lies, that is a horrifying realisation.

I was bullied as a boy – lots of kids are, but hopefully most of us get on with our lives and grow up.

Winners make a habit of manufacturing their own positive expectations in advance of the event.

To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.

Apply yourself both now and in the next life. Without effort, you cannot be prosperous. Though the land be good, You cannot have an abundant crop without cultivation.

In the West, as well as some other parts of the world, the personal sense of ego tends to predominate, whereas in other areas, there is a more collective sense of ego. This collective ego emphasizes the ‚we‘ rather than the ‚I.‘

I think it is the height of ignorance to believe that the sexual act is an independent function necessary like sleeping or eating. Seeing, therefore, that I did not desire more children, I began to strive after self-control. There was endless difficulty in the task.

My earliest books focus almost entirely on psychological tools to help readers employ effective commonsense approaches to problems. There are no references to God or a higher self in the first 15 or so years of my publishing history.

Be not a slave of words.

Well I think a lot of times we’re putting things off and I’m going to do it later. I’m going to break this bad habit or I’m going to pursue this dream or I’m going to treat my spouse better.

I’m just like you – I want to be a good human being. I’m doing my best, and I’m working at it. And I’m trying to be a Christian. I’m always amazed when people walk up to me and say, ‚I’m a Christian.‘ I always think, ‚Already? You’ve already got it?‘ I’m working at it. And at my age, I’ll still be working at it at 96.

An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.

Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.

My future is righteousness.

Back in the day, what motivated me was overcoming myself. Now I believe in being a leader. I’ve done it all – I’m good. Now, it’s about setting an example for others to follow. I can’t just talk it – I have to live it.

The more you seek the uncomfortable, the more you will become comfortable.

I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision.

And, honestly, if somebody wants to criticize me for not being a trainwreck, that’s fine with me!

I have brought myself, by long meditation, to the conviction that a human being with a settled purpose must accomplish it, and that nothing can resist a will which will stake even existence upon its fulfillment.

Habit is a second nature that destroys the first. But what is nature? Why is habit not natural? I am very much afraid that nature itself is only a first habit, just as habit is a second nature.

Whoever doesn’t know it must learn and find by experience that ‚a quiet conscience makes one strong!‘

If you’re losing your soul and you know it, then you’ve still got a soul left to lose.

Aim for the highest.

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.

It is more difficult to rule yourself than to rule a city.

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

He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.

When I was growing up, I wasn’t an extrovert. If anything, I was an introverted kid and a very average pupil at school. I was very quiet.

Prayer doesn’t just change things – it changes us. If we are diligent in seeking God, slowly and surely we become better people.

I need to keep working on myself for a while.

Brad was a huge surprise to me. I think we were both the last two people who were looking for a relationship. I certainly wasn’t. I was quite content to be a single mom with Mad.

I think it’s healthy for a person to be nervous. It means you care – that you work hard and want to give a great performance. You just have to channel that nervous energy into the show.

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.

The power for creating a better future is contained in the present moment: You create a good future by creating a good present.

Whether happiness may come or not, one should try and prepare one’s self to do without it.

When I was about thirteen, the library was going to get ‚Calculus for the Practical Man.‘ By this time I knew, from reading the encyclopedia, that calculus was an important and interesting subject, and I ought to learn it.

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

There’s no way to remove the observer – us – from our perceptions of the world.

To be a monk is to have time to practice for your transformation and healing. And after that to help with the transformation and healing of other people.

I want to work; then, as my kids get older, I want to have adventures. I want to visit all their countries: learn and live inside all their cultures.

I’ve always kinda been a little outcast myself, a little oddball, doin‘ my thing, my own way. And it’s been hard for me to, to be accepted, certainly in the early years of my life.

I never fall in love.

Humble people ask for help.