The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death.

Long-term, we must begin to build our internal strengths. It isn't just skills like computer technology. It's the old-fashioned basics of self-reliance, self-motivation, self-reinforcement, self-discipline, self-command.

The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.

Resistance cannot be seen, touched, heard, or smelled. But it can be felt.

A contemporary or near-future book is much harder because you can't fake the facts. There are people alive who know much more than you do about the subject. You have to really have your research together - and of course no one can know everything about a topic.

The professional tackles the project that will make him stretch. He takes on the assignment that will bear him into uncharted waters, compel him to explore unconscious parts of himself. Is he scared? Hell, yes. He's petrified.

Writers think in metaphors. Editors work in metaphors. A great reader reads in metaphors.