"Make your plate look like a Christmas tree," I tell people, "mostly green with splashes of other bright colors."

In terms of days and moments lived, you'll never again be as young as you are right now, so spend this day, the youth of your future, in a way that deflects regret. Invest in yourself. Have some fun. Do something important. Love somebody extra. In one sense, you're just a kid, but a kid with enough years on her to know that every day is priceless.

Self-doubt is the greatest enemy of any new good habit.

Life has its rhythm and we have ours. They're designed to coexist in harmony, so that when we do what is ours to do and otherwise let life be, we garner acceptance and serenity.

Growing into your future ... requires a dedication to caring for yourself as if you were rare and precious, which you are, and regarding all life around you as equally so, which it is.

You give up on what you need to be doing because you forget that you're worth it. This is why most people aren't leading exemplary lives...You have to believe in yourself so much that you're willing to do what's uncomfortable, time-consuming, inconvenient, and on occasion seemingly impossible. When you don't believe in yourself this much, pretend.

A simple life is not seeing how little we can get by with-that's poverty-but how efficiently we can put first things first. . . . When you're clear about your purpose and your priorities, you can painlessly discard whatever does not support these, whether it's clutter in your cabinets or commitments on your calendar. (148)