Life, if you live it right, keeps surprising you, and the thing that keeps surprising you the most…is yourself

Don't play it safe. Resist the seductions of the cowardly values our society has come to prize so highly: comfort, convenience, security, predictability, control. These, too, are nets. Above all, resist the fear of failure. Yes, you will make mistakes. But they will be your mistakes, not someone else's. And you will survive them, and you will know yourself better for having made them, and you will be a fuller and a stronger person.

People don't mind being in prison as long as no one else is free. But stage a jailbreak, and everybody else freaks out.

We proceed by doubt, by trial and error, by resisting the impulse to lunge after certainty.

People’s stories are the most personal thing they have, and paying attention to those stories is just about the most important thing you can do for them.

If you want others to follow, learn to be alone with your thoughts.

If you're oblivious to other people, chances are pretty good that you're going to hurt them.