I was not encouraged to follow the career of a writer because my parents thought that I was going to starve to death. They thought nobody can make a living from being a writer in Brazil. They were not wrong.

Take these," said the old man, holding out a white stone and a black stone that had been embedded at the center of the breastplate. "They are called Urim and Thummim. The black signifies 'yes,' and the white 'no.' When you are unable to read the omens, they will help you to do so. Always ask an objective question.

However difficult it may be to accept what happens to us, one must understand that moments such as this give us the possibility for radical change in our behavior.

The same goes for envy, anger and insults - said the master. - When they are not accepted, they continue to belong to the one who carried them.

When something undesirable grows in my soul, I ask God to give me the courage to mercilessly pluck it out.

everyone knows how to love because we are all born with that gift.

I realised that you don't have to jump through a series of complicated hoops to achieve a goal.