The cause of laughter is simply the sudden perception of the incongruity between a concept and the real project.

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.

It is difficult to find happiness within oneself, but it is impossible to find it anywhere else.

The majority of men... are not capable of thinking, but only of believing, and... are not accessible to reason, but only to authority.

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.

A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free.

Man is the only animal who causes pain to others with no other object than wanting to do so.

Genius and madness have something in common: both live in a world that is different from that which exists for everyone else.

A pessimist is an optimist in full possession of the facts.

Religions are like fireflies. They require darkness in order to shine.

Nature shows that with the growth of intelligence comes increased capacity for pain, and it is only with the highest degree of intelligence that suffering reaches its supreme point.

Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.

Believe in yourself, always.

It was a rule of London life that anybody could be anybody

You cannot have people in your organization who are pessimists. They take you to mediocrity.

We cannot guess the outcome of our actions... Which is why our actions must always be acceptable in themselves, and not as strategies.

I love to read theories without ever using them when working... The paradoxical fact in the aesthetic is that theories are also true in reverse.

Fortunately, we can take in only so much misfortune; what exceeds that limit either destroys us or leaves us indifferent.

Instead of singing in the shower, I would write out the lyrics of my favourite songs, the ink would turn the water blue or red or green, and the music would run down my legs.

Black women are going to have to take more leadership. I think we are prepared because we bring a tenaciousness with us. We do not fear losing friends, allies, or jobs.

We are what our thoughts have made us