It is in fact the height of selfishness to merely consume what others create and to retreat into a shell of limited goals and immediate pleasures.

The truth is that creative activity is one that involves the entire self - our emotions, our levels of energy, our characters, and our minds.

The time that leads to mastery is dependent on the intensity of our focus.

The pain is kind of challenge your mind presents - will you learn how to focus and move past boredom, or like a child will you succumb to the need for immediate pleasure and distraction?

It is time to reverse this prejudice against conscious effort and to see the powers we gain through practice and discipline as eminently inspiring and even miraculous.

How can we explain such inclinations? They are forces within us that come from a deeper place than conscious words can express.They draw us to certain experiences and away from others.

Don’t reject something just because it seems strange. It’s comfort that will kill you in the end.

Go home now, ” says I. “Keep away from the saloons. Save your money. You are going to need it.”“What are we going to need it for?” asks a voice from the crowd.“For guns and ammunition, ” says I.

The vows one makes privately are more binding than any ceremony or even a Shubert contract.

Beyond the world of thought and sensorial impressions, there are planes and dimensions of perfect light, knowledge, and radiant perfection.

Fiction is a bridge to the truth that journalism can't reach.

The best gift you can give someone is a part of your soul.

Being a teacher at a restaurant in the town where you lived was a little like being a TV star.

Death holds no allure for me, Elena.” The power of him cut against his skin, a cold white fire. “Not when I have yet to sate my hunger for you.

To come into camp and have my defensive coordinator say you won't be touched, I feel like a kid all over again.

We're breaking records and we're moving forward. I always expected to win Grand Slams. This was meant to be.