Independent thinking alone is not suited to interdependent reality.

If you are an effective manager of your self, your discipline comes from within; it is a function of your independent will.

Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it's holy ground. There's no greater investment.

We all go through stages. Concerns about appearances, making good impressions, being popular, comparing yourself to others, having unbridled ambition, wanting to make money, striving to be recognized and noticed and trying to establish yourself, all fade as your responsibilities and character grow.

Link yourself to your potential, not to your past.

When two people in a marriage are more concerned about getting the golden eggs, the benefits, than they are in preserving the relationship that makes them possible, they often become insensitive and inconsiderate, neglecting the little kindnesses and courtesies so important to a deep relationship. They begin to use control levers to manipulate each other, to focus on their own needs, to justify their own position and look for evidence to show the wrongness of the other person. The love, the richness, the softness and spontaneity begin to deteriorate.

Your most important work is always ahead of you, never behind you.