If optimism is important, it's because many outcomes are determined by how much of it we bring to the task. It is an important ingredient of success. This flies in the face of the elite view that talent is the primary requirement of a good life, but in many cases the difference between success and failure is determined by nothing more than our sense of what is possible and the energy we can muster to convince others of our due. We might be doomed not by a lack of skill, but by an absence of hope!
Alain de BottonOne of the unexpectedly important things that art can do for us is to teach us how to suffer more successfully.
Alain de BottonReligions are so subtle, so complicated, so intelligent in many ways that they're not fit to be abandoned to the religious alone; they're for all of us.
Alain de BottonWhen you look at the Moon, you think, āIām really small. What are my problems?ā It sets things into perspective. We should all look at the Moon a bit more often.
Alain de BottonJourneys are the midwives of thought. Few places are more conducive to internal conversations than moving planes, ships or trains.
Alain de Botton