Success is not a function of individual talent. It's the steady accumulation of advantages. It's bound up in so many other broader circumstantial, environmental, historical, and cultural factors.

Instead of thinking about talent as something that you acquire, talent should be thought of as something that you develop.

You don't want to be first, right? You want to be second or third. You don't want to be - Facebook is not the first in social media. They're the third, right? Similarly, you know, if you look at Steve Jobs' history, he's never been first.

The people who stand before kings may look like they did it all by themselves. But in fact they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot. It makes a difference where and when we grew up.

What is learned out of hard work and trial is inevitably more powerful than what is learned easily.

Acquaintances represent a source of social power, and the more acquaintances you have the more powerful you are.

Happiness, in one sense, is a function of how closely our world conforms to the infinite variety of human preference.