What is guilt? It is moral self-reproach-I did wrong when it was possible to have done otherwise.

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

In a world in which the total of human knowledge is doubling about every ten years, our security can rest only on our ability to learn

Reason and emotion are not antagonists. What seems like a struggle between two opposing ideas or values, one of which, automatic and unconscious, manifests itself in the form of a feeling.

If you are an adult, you are responsible for your life and well-being. No one owes you the fulfillment of your needs or wants; no one is here on earth to serve you. If you respect the principle of self-ownership, you understand that no one else owns you and that you do not own anyone else. Only on this understanding can there be peace on earth and good will among human beings.

... there is an irrational, cultish tendency in many intellectual movements, and Objectivism, alas, is no exception. Ayn Rand's personal obsession with loyalty did little to discourage this trend.... Rand had often protested, 'Protect me from my followers!'

The highest compliment one can be paid by another human being is to be told: 'Because of what you are, you are essential to my happiness.'