Excellence implies striving for the highest standards in every phase of life.

The world loves talent but pays off on character.

Nothing can be more readily disproved than the old saw, "You can't keep a good man down." Most human societies have been beautifully organized to keep good men down.

Mastery is not something that strikes in an instant, like a thunderbolt, but a gathering power that moves steadily through time, like weather.

At home we have lost the capacity to see what is before us. Travel shakes us out of our apathy, and we regain an attentiveness that heightens every experience. The exhilaration of travel has many sources, but surely one of them is that we recapture in some measure the unspoiled awareness of children.

We cannot have islands of excellence in a sea of slovenly indifference to standards.

When hiring key employees, there are only two qualities to look for: judgement and taste. Almost everything else can be bought by the yard.