Self-respecting men and women think about the consequences of their actions-and are willing to take responsibility for them.

No one is coming to save you.

You are not likely to bring out the best in people or nurture their creativity if every time you hear about their problems you instantly offer a solution Encourage people to look for their own solutions-and project the knowledge that they are capable of doing so.

To accept struggle as part of life, to accept all of it, even the darkest moments of anguish; to be motivated by love rather than fear, by confidence rather than insecurity: these are the benchmarks of high self-esteem. The wish to avoid fear and pain is not the motive that drives the lives of highly evolved men and women; rather, it is the life force within them, thrusting toward its unique form of expression-the actualization of personal values.

Fully to surrender to love can be terrifying. But it is the price life asks in exchange for the possibility of ecstasy.

The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.

It would be hard to name a more certain sign of poor self-esteem than the need to perceive some other group as inferior.