I have these new policies toward my life, like 'I will not accelerate when I see the yellow light.'

I am determined to make the most of this life that I have, damn it - it's that kind of stubbornness I think we all need more of.

There is so much about my fate that I cannot control, but other things do fall under my jurisdiction. There are certain lottery tickets I can buy, thereby increasing my odds of finding contentment. I can decide how I spend my time, whom I interact with, whom I share my body and life and money and energy with.

It's not enough for me to just hear about something or read about something, I wanna know it in my bones.

As for discipline—it's important, but sort of overrated. The more important virtue for a writer, I believe, is self-forgiveness. Because your writing will always disappoint you. Your laziness will always disappoint you.

That competition and the struggle for existence is the mechanism behind this state of perpetual change.

As somebody who, in my second marriage, insisted on a prenuptial agreement, I can also testify that sometimes it is an act of love to chart the exit strategy before you enter the union, in order to make sure that not only you, but your partner as well, knows that there will be no World War III should hearts and minds, for any sad reason, change.