And if the reader has no taste for what he reads, all the time is wasted

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.

Happiness has always seemed like a bluebird, and consists of moments.

A man who has to be punctually at a certain place at five o'clock has the whole afternoon ruined for him already.

Those who are wise won't be busy, and those who are too busy can't be wise.

When Small men begin to cast big shadows, it means that the sun is about to set.

Neckties strangle clear thinking.

Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.

There is so much to love and to admire in this life that it is an act of ingratitude not to be happy and content in this existence.

I have a hankering to go back to the Orient and discard my necktie. Neckties strangle clear thinking.

What each culture views as the cause of madness is dependent on its world view.

Instead of complaining that God had hidden himself, you will give Him thanks for having revealed so much of Himself.

Self-love is part of your birthright. I'm excited to be sharing this message to "beautiful girls" everywhere, including those disguised as grandmothers.

First one works alone through the mind, then before the public through experience.

If writers possess a common temperament, it's that they tend to be shy egomaniacs; publicity is the spotlight they suffer for the recognition they crave.

Every summer, around late July and into August, I find myself in Europe, performing at any festival that will have me.

Thought, backed by strong desire, has a tendency to transmute itself into its physical equivalent.

If something isn't working, don't try harder or do more. Do something DIFFERENT.

My family came in 1635 from England and settled in Williamsburg. Shortly after, they split up; half went to New England and half stayed in Virginia. I'm a Virginian Ballard.

We leave a piece of ourselves and our magic in a person that we fall in love with.