The world is so full of people who are grabbing and self-seeking. So the rare individual who unselfishly tries to serve others has an enormous advantage. He has little competition.

History has repeatedly been changed by people who had the desire and the ability to transfer their convictions and emotions to their listeners.

Do the very best you can.

If you want to know how to make people shun you and laugh at you behind your back and even despise you, here is the recipe: Never listen to anyone for long. Talk incessantly about yourself. If you have an idea while the other person is talking, don't wait for him or her to finish: bust right in and interrupt in the middle of a sentence.

A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. Intelligence is like underwear, everyone has it, but you don't have to show it off. The expression a woman wears on her face is more important than the clothes she wears on her back.

In short, we lose the freshness and spontaneity of true conversation. These are areas in which everyone interested in self-improvement will seek to improve.

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living.