What was broken will never be the same again.
Reason is not measured by size or height, but by principle.
Within our control are our own opinions, aspirations, and desires and the demons that distract us from these goals. Outside of our control are such things as what kind of body we have, whether or not we are born into wealth, and how we are regarded by others.
No matter what happens, it is within my power to turn it to my advantage.
What matters most is what sort of person you are becoming. Wise individuals care only about whom they are today and who they can be tomorrow.
The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.
Who exactly do you want to be? What kind of person do you want to be? What are your personal ideals? Whom do you admire? What are their special traits that you would make your own It's time to stop being vague. If you wish to be an extraordinary person, if you wish to become wise, then you should explicitly identify the kind of person you aspire to become. If you have a daybook, write down who you're trying to be, so that you can refer to this self-determination. Precisely describe the demeanor you want to adopt so that you may preserve it when you are by yourself or with other people.
There are so many moments to remember and sometimes I think that maybe we're not really people at all. Maybe moments are what we are. . . . Sometimes I just survive. But sometimes I stand on the rooftop of my existence, arms stretched out, begging for more.
As a writer, I demand the right to write any character in the world that I want to write. I demand the right to be them, I demand the right to think them and I demand the right to tell the truth as I see they are.
The passions and commitments that ignited my activity as a student are the same passions and commitments that I have today.
When people on airplanes ask me what I do, I used to say I was a physicist, which ended the discussion. I once said I was a cosmologist, but they started asking me about makeup, and the title 'astronomer' gets confused with astrologer. Now I say I make maps.