Somehow, I never feel like good things b'long to me till I pass 'em on to somebody else.

All the higher forms of life have evolved from some one's ideal of justice, liberty or beauty; and the belief that nothing is too good to be true.

It ain't no use putting up your umbrella till it rains.

Solitude, if rightly used, becomes not only a privilege but a necessity. Only a superficial soul fears to fraternize with itself.

It is not what we have but what we do with what we have that constitutes the value of life.

What can people not accomplish if they will but master the secret of steadfast perseverance.

there ain't no use in dyin' 'fore yer time. Lots of folks is walkin' 'round jes' as dead as they'll ever be.

The fascinating thing about ideals is that no sooner have we gained a desired peak than we find farther and higher peaks beyond. The thrilling adventure never ends.

Half of our sorrows come from setting exalted standards for people and then breaking our hearts when they fail to live up to them.

Joy is at its keenest when contrasted with sorrow, courage at its height when it follows fear, faith at its noblest when it grows from doubt.

When one has a famishing thirst for happiness, one is apt to gulp down diversions wherever they are offered.

Flexibility requires an open mind and a welcoming of new alternatives.

I passionately believe that's it's not just what you say that counts, it's also how you say it - that the success of your argument critically depends on your manner of presenting it.

I believe in communication; books communicate ideas and make bridges between people.

People with children and people with their own business always pick up a ringing phone.

It took me years to learn that sentences in fiction must do much more than stand around and look pretty.

The unexamined life may not be worth living, but the life too closely examined may not be lived at all.

When the patient loves his disease, how unwilling he is to allow a remedy to be applied.

We were born and we die. In between, I think we try to live as best we can.

Most of the songs I write just very directly from my life. I don't have a big imagination. Whenever I tried to write from fantasy, it comes out sounding really fake.

One ounce of practice is worth a thousand pounds of theory.