The reason that truth is stranger than fiction is that fiction has to have a rational thread running through it in order to be believable, whereas reality may be totally irrational.

Being yourself is not remaining what you were, or being satisfied with what you are. It is the point of departure and far from the goal.

Ignorance per se is not nearly as dangerous as ignorance of ignorance.

The generality of mankind is lazy. What distinguishes men of genuine achievement from the rest of us is not so much their intellectual powers and aptitudes as their curiosity, their energy, their fullest use of their potentialities. Nobody really knows how smart or talented he is until he finds the incentives to use himself to the fullest. God has given us more than we know what to do with.

Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.

Making out an invitation list for a party brings out the worst in everyone. It is then that our most ruthless estimates of the people we know come into play.

The art of listening needs its highest development in listening to oneself; our most important task is to develop an ear that can really hear what we're saying.