Mozart, who was buried in a pauper’s grave, was one of the greatest successes we know of, a man who in his early thirties had poured out his inexhaustible gift of music, leaving the world richer because he had passed that way. To leave the world richer—that is the ultimate success.

So, after all, we are but puppets, creatures of our fate, not commanding it but being molded by it.

Old age has deformities enough of its own. It should never add to them the deformity of vice.

Happiness is not a goal, it is a by-product. Paradoxically, the one sure way not to be happy is deliberately to map out a way of life in which one would please oneself completely and exclusively.

If you have to compromise, be sure to compromise up.

Do one thing everyday that scares you. Those small things that make us uncomfortable help us build courage to do the work we do.

The most unhappy people in the world are those who face the days without knowing what to do with their time. But if you have more projects than you have time for, you are not going to be an unhappy person. This is as much a question of having imagination and curiosity as it is of actually making plans.