Success is deeply rooted in time and place. You may have the drive to read tons of books on biology. But if there are no books on biology in your library, and the library is never open, your drive is meaningless.

We can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn't.

Success is a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard.

That is the paradox of the epidemic: that in order to create one contagious movement, you often have to create many small movements first.

Our acquaintances—not our friends—are our greatest source of new ideas and information. the internet lets us exploit the power of these kinds of distant connections with marvellous efficiency.

Incompetence is certainty in the absence of expertise. Overconfidence is certainty in the presence of expertise.

In a country that never wins anything: in Canada, if one of our athletes so much as makes the final in a World Championship, we declare a national holiday.