I used to want to change the world. Now I'm open to letting it change me.

Allow for many paths to your goal. Do not fixate on one path, because then you are likely to give up when that path is blocked.

There was a culture that came out of the self-esteem movement which was don't anybody keep track of the goals. The kids keep track, but nobody keep track of the goals because we don't want the kids to have the experience of losing. And in depriving them losing, thinking it scarred them to lose, we made losing so taboo, so unspeakable, that we instead made losing more scary to kids, not less scary.

Write first. Worry about getting an agent or publisher later. Write it first. Prove you can do it and then others will listen. Tons of people talk about books they want to write. Far fewer are those who actually complete that vision. Don’t be a talker.

Success is not measured by bestseller lists. Certain types of great books sell very well; other types of great books don’t sell a lot. But they’re both great.

A piece of writing has to seduce the reader; it has to suspend disbelief and earn the reader's trust.

We all make mistakes, but we need to learn from them and move on. You can own a mistake, or the mistake will own you.