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

I can push myself and you can push yourself, but competing, we push ourselves a little farther and we bring out our best even if one of us wins and one of us loses. The virtue of competition is that we both get better, not that one does. And that means we have great respect for the opponents, whether we win or whether we lose.

I think when a reader reads a whole book - which takes six to ten hours - that’s kind of a gift to the author. The gift of close, undivided attention. To who else do we listen so closely for eight straight hours? And when readers give that gift to me, I’m grateful for it.

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.

Children key off their parents’ reaction more than the argument or physical discipline itself.

The virtue of losing is we get used to the fact that competing and to lose doesn't kill you. It just makes you stronger. It just helps you get used to it.

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