The happiness and unhappiness of the rational, social animal depends not on what he feels but on what he does; just as his virtue and vice consist not in feeling but in doing.

The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.

When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.

It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinions than our own.

You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

The opinion of 10,000 men is of no value if none of them know anything about the subject.

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?

The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.

Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.

She thinks that charm is a form of intelligence, and she respects the intelligence.

Civility is not a specific code of behavior as much as it is a call to unrelenting preemptive thought, and steady effort to care about influence on others.

Elegance is the only beauty that never fades.

Part of being a writer is feeling that constant dissatisfaction, thinking about what else you could do, and also knowing when it's time to leave a project.

Nudists have no fashion sense.

In an age of distraction, nothing can feel more luxurious than paying attention.

Thresholds of pain, indignity and incapacity are entirely personal.

The Odyssey is the story of Americans up to the point where they are well-established, and even so it is detached from the historical side.

I love New Zealand. It's my favorite place to shoot. It's one of my favorite countries to visit. The people, the food, the landscape, everything about it I love.