I've never given a speech without being terrified first.

Or at school you might have been prodded to come “out of your shell”—that noxious expression which fails to appreciate that some animals naturally carry shelter everywhere they go, and that some humans are just the same.

Everyone shines, given the right lighting.

I've wanted to be a writer since I was four years old!

The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting.

Shyness is inherently uncomfortable; introversion is not. The traits do overlap, though psychologists debate to what degree.

The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting. For some, it's a Broadway spotlight; for others, a lamplit desk. Use your natural powers -- of persistence, concentration, and insight -- to do work you love and work that matters. Solve problems. make art, think deeply.