Everyone has to contribute to the common good. To not do so can be described in one word: selfish.

Sometimes you can't pay it back, so you just have to pay it forward.

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.

If you can find an opening, you can probably find a way to float through it.

I was hugely impressed... was the ultimate example of a man who knew what he didn't know, was perfectly willing to admit it, and didn't want to leave until he understood. That's heroic to me. I wish every grad student had that attitude.

Being successful doesn't make you manage your time well. Managing your time well makes you successful!

I'll take an earnest person over a hip person every day, because hip is short-term, earnest is long term.