There's a limit to how many times you can read how great you are and what an inspiration you are, but I'm not there yet.

The key question to keep asking is, Are you spending your time on the right things? Because time is all you have.

I’d compare college tuition to paying for a personal trainer at an athletic club. We professors play the roles of trainers, giving people access to the equipment (books, labs, our expertise) and after that, it is our job to be demanding.

Anybody can get chewed out. It's the rare person who says, oh my god, you were right. As opposed to, no wait, the reason is... We've all heard that

The most difficult part of writing a book is not devising a plot which will captivate the reader. It's not developing characters the reader will have strong feelings for or against. It is not finding a setting which will take the reader to a place he or she as never been. It is not the research, whether in fiction or non-fiction. The most difficult task facing a writer is to find the voice in which to tell the story.

Earnestness is highly underestimated. It comes from the core, while hip is trying to impress you on the surface.

He had high hopes for society, and though his hopes were too often dashed, he remained a raging optimist.