I was only kicking down the Christmas tree to get the star on top.

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.

Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down.

Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall.

Looking back over a lifetime, you see that love was the answer to everything.

Don't think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It's self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can't try to do things. You simply must do things.

Sometimes you just have to jump out the window and grow wings on the way down.

I know you've heard it a thousand times before. But it's true - hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice. If you don't love something, then don't do it.

Insanity is relative. It depends on who has who locked in what cage.

You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.

Write a short story every week. It's not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.

Never give up without being greatly rewarded for all your struggles. Have faith in your future. Persist and persevere for however long it would take for your problem to become a history in your life.

The safe way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket.

I'm not gonna die in a hospital where the nurses aren't even hot.

Creativity is a natural extension of our enthusiasm.

There's nothing that can help you understand your beliefs more than trying to explain them to an inquisitive child.

There is no rank in sacrifice.

Yes, I'm of the old guard, liberal Republican.

Food is a coping mechanism; people are afraid of giving it up because then they'll feel confused and lost.

Be wary of the arrogant intellectual who comments from the stands without having played on the field.

I think that it is always hard to find two voices that fit together well.