Mistakes and failures are precisely your means of education. They tell you about your own inadequacies.

Real action and true helpfulness are perhaps the ultimate charm.

Never waste valuable time, or mental peace of mind, on the affairs of others—that is too high a price to pay.

As a writer you know you don't have to deal with a lot of the crap that most people deal with, the political things. Every couple of years when your book comes out then you have to go into these fights with the publisher and the publicist and that's it.

Think of it this way: There are two kinds of failure. The first comes from never trying out your ideas because you are afraid, or because you are waiting for the perfect time. This kind of failure you can never learn from, and such timidity will destroy you. The second kind comes from a bold and venturesome spirit. If you fail in this way, the hit that you take to your reputation is greatly outweighed by what you learn. Repeated failure will toughen your spirit and show you with absolute clarity how things must be done.

When the snipe and the mussel struggle, the fisherman gets the benefit. Ancient Chinese saying

Mistakes and failures are precisely your means of education. They tell you about your own inadequacies.