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.

You have never tasted freedom, friend, or you would know it is purchased not with gold, but steel.

It's one thing to lie to ourselves. It's another thing to believe it.

As resistance works to keep us from becoming who we were born to be, equal and opposite powers are counterpoised against it. These are our allies and angels.

The professional dedicates himself to mastering technique not because he believes technique is a substitute for inspiration but because he wants to be in possession of the full arsenal of skills when inspiration does come. The professional is sly. He knows that by toiling beside the front door of technique, he leaves room for genius to enter by the back.

To feel ambition and to act upon it is to embrace the unique calling of our souls.

The opposite of fear," Dienekes said, "is love.