Life is filled with difficult decisions, he thought. And winners are those who make them.

Each of us is now electronically connected to the globe, and yet we feel utterly alone.

Science and religion are not at odds. Science is simply too young to understand.

I don't know where I would place myself in the literary landscape. I really just write the book that I would want to read. And I put on the blinders, and I really - it is, for me, that simple.

Writing is a solitary existence. Making a movie is controlled chaos - thousands of moving parts and people. Every decision is a compromise. If you're writing and you don't like how your character looks or talks, you just fix it. But in a movie, if there's something you don't like, that's tough.

Denial is a critical part of the human coping mechanism. Without it, we would all wake up terrified every morning about all the ways we could die. Instead, our minds block out our existential fears by focusing on stresses we can handle—like getting to work on time or paying our taxes.

Stand tall, smile bright, and let 'em wonder what secret's making you laugh.