The great thing about working out at a gym is that if you put in effort, you get very obvious results. The same should be true of college. A professor’s job is to teach students how to see their minds growing in the same way they can see their muscles grow when they look in a mirror.

Do not tell people how to live their lives. Just tell them stories and they will figure out how those stories apply to them.

I understand the arguments about how the billions of dollars spent to put men on the moon could have been used to fight poverty and hunger on Earth. But, look, I'm a scientist who sees inspiration as the ultimate tool for doing good. When you use money to fight poverty, it can be of great value, but too often, you're working at the margins. When you're putting people on the moon, you're inspiring all of us to achieve the maximum of human potential, which is how our greatest problems will eventually be solved. Give yourself permission to dream.

Develop a good filing system.

I don't suffer from an abundance of politeness.

Never lose the child-like wonder. It’s just too important. It’s what drives us. Help others.

People lie for lots of reasons, often because it seems like a way to get what they want with less effort.