Follow those who follow something bigger than themselves - an idea, a belief, a vision, a cause. Run away from those who say we need to follow them.

A team is not a group of people that work together. A team is a group of people that trust each other.

Working hard for something we don't care about is called stress; working hard for somthing we love is called passion.

Leadership is a way of thinking, a way of acting and, most importantly, a way of communicating.

When we help ourselves, we find moments of happiness. When we help others, we find lasting fulfillment.

The ability for a group of people to do remarkable things hinges on how well those people can pull together as a team.

A leader's job is not just to get the best out of their people-a leader's job is to make more leaders.

It is better to disappoint people with the truth than to appease them with a lie.

Leadership is not about being in charge. Leadership is about taking care of those in your charge.

Always plan for the fact that no plan ever goes according to plan.

If you hire people just because they can do a job, they'll work for your money, but if they believe what you believe, they'll work for you with blood and sweat and tears.

There is an unreasonable joy to be had from the observation of small birds going about their bright, oblivious business

I never thought I'd fall madly in love with literature.

[I]t kind of terrified me to imagine myself spending the rest of my life tinkering on the margins of the small arguments.

Danny could see it in their faces when they shook Steve’s hand—they’d have preferred him dead. Death allowed for the illusion of heroism. The maimed turned that illusion into an uncomfortable odor.

I dream crazy vivid dreams. Like, entire movies. And sometimes I write songs about them.

With a nation, as with a boxer, one of the greatest assurances of safety is to add reach to power.

I have been very clear about the necessity for doing whatever is required to move the VA into the 21st century.

A plan is an example of what could happen, not a prediction of what will happen.

Doing the press, it's part of my job, so I do it with a smile on my face, but I'm not comfortable in the hot seat.