Be too dumb to quit and too stubborn to back off.

The professional loves her work. She is invested in it wholeheartedly. But she does not forget that the work is not her.

Ambition, I have come to believe, is the most primal and sacred and fundament of our being. To feel ambition and to act upon it is to embrace the unique calling of our souls. Not to act upon that ambition is to turn our backs on ourselves and on the reason for our existence.

The best and only thing that one artist can do for another is to serve as an example and an inspiration.

Contempt for failure is our cardinal virtue.

The professional conducts his business in the real world. Adversity, injustice, bad hops and rotten calls, even good breaks and lucky bounces all comprise the ground over which the campaign must be waged. The field is level, the professional understands, only in heaven.

Slay that dragon once, and he will never have power over you again.