I defied the machinery to make me its slave. Its incessant discords could not drown the music of my thoughts if I would let them fly high enough.

If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it.

Whatever with the past has gone, The best is always yet to come.

He who plants a tree, plants a hope.

The peach-bud glows, the wild bee hums, and wind-flowers wave in graceful gladness.

A drop of water, if it could write out its own history, would explain the universe to us.

Like a plant that starts up in showers and sunshine and does not know which has best helped it to grow, it is difficult to say whether the hard things or the pleasant things did me the most good.

When April steps aside for May, Like diamonds all the rain-drops glisten; Fresh violets open every day: To some new bird each hour we listen.

Some of us must wait for the best human gifts until we come to heavenly places. Our natural desire for musical utterance is perhaps a prophecy that in a perfect world we shall all know how to sing.

Every true friend is a glimpse of God.

The curse of covetousness is that it destroys manhood by substituting money for character.

I didn't change, I just found myself.

I have to believe that when my eyes are closed, the world's still there. (Leonard Shelby, Memento)

In your goals to go the extra mile, prepare to pay an extra cost. Excellence is to be exceptional, surpassing, more competent and a step ahead with what is in your hands.

I grew up in southeastern Oklahoma on a working cattle ranch, and it was always very romantic to me: The West, the cowboy, the Western way of life.

If I had never met him I would have dreamed him into being.

I just am who I am. And then when people label me eccentric or different, Im kind of astonished because I think, This is completely normal. This is just how I am, its how Ive always been.

Vulgarity is no substitute for wit.

Works of art are viewed by people. They are heard by people. They are felt by people. They are not just the fodder of a close-knit group of initiates. They are the soul food of all people.

Instead of labeling and discriminating against one or the other, we need to learn to blend our gifts and complement our geniuses.

Sam dropped me off. When she was too far away to see me, I started to cry again. Because she was my friend again. And that was enough for me.