It seemed an advantage to be traveling alone. Our responses to the world are crucially moulded by the company we keep, for we temper our curiosity to fit in with the expectations of others...Being closely observed by a companion can also inhibit our observation of others; then, too, we may become caught up in adjusting ourselves to the companion's questions and remarks, or feel the need to make ourselves seem more normal than is good for our curiosity.
Alain de BottonHe was marked out by his relentless ability to find fault with others' mediocrity - suggesting that a certain type of intelligence may be at heart nothing more or less than a superior capacity for dissatisfaction.
Alain de BottonWe wanted to test each other's capacity for survival: only if we had tried in vain to destroy one another would we know we were safe.
Alain de BottonWork finally begins when the fear of doing nothing exceeds the fear of doing it badly.
Alain de BottonGetting to the top has an unfortunate tendency to persuade people that the system is OK after all.
Alain de Botton