Attention is like energy in that without it no work can be done, and in doing work is dissipated. We create ourselves by how we use this energy. Memories, thoughts and feelings are all shaped by how use it. And it is an energy under control, to do with as we please; hence attention is our most important tool in the task of improving the quality of experience.

Enjoyment, on the other hand, is not always pleasant, and it can be very stressful at times. A mountain climber, for example, may be close to freezing, utterly exhausted, and in danger of falling into a bottomless crevasse, yet he wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Sipping a piña colada under a palm tree at the edge of the turquoise ocean is idyllic, but it just doesn't compare to the exhilaration he feels on the windswept ridge.

The germ of an idea doesn't make the sculpture that stands up... so the next stage is hard work

Discipline is not always internalized and actually can breed resentment among children.

Studying creativity is not an elite distraction, but provides one of the most exciting models for living.

The task is to learn how to enjoy everyday life without diminishing other people's chances to enjoy theirs.

There are managers so preoccupied with their e-mail messages that they never look up from their screens to see what's happening in the nondigital world