To-Do lists help us break life into small steps.

I was trying to put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children. If I were a painter, I would have painted for them. If I were a musician, I would have composed music. But I am a lecturer. So I lectured.

Randy Pausch on time management: Here's what I know: Time must be explicitly managed, like money. You can always change your plan, but only if you have one. Ask yourself: Are you spending your time on the right things? Develop a good filing system. Rethink the telephone. Delegate. Take a time out. Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.

There's a lot of talk these days about giving children self-esteem. It's not something you can give; it's something they have to build.

If nobody ever worried about what was in other people's heads, we’d all be 33 percent more effective in our lives and our jobs.

We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.

Want to have a short phone call with someone? Call them at 11:55 a.m., right before lunch. They'll talk fast. You may think you are interesting, but you are not more interesting than lunch.