“All my hard work in overhearing it was it was about as rewarding to me as a man who lugs a chest up the hill only to learn that its full of rocks.”

“I looked at Mr. McCommon, his hands smothering his face, his chest flinching. He had no idea that grief was a reward. That it only came to those who were loyal, to those who loved more than they were capable of. He had a garage, full of her belongings, and all I had was my guilt. It took on its own shape and smell and nestled in the pit of my body, and it would sleep and play and walk with me for decades to come.”

“Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before.”

“Nothing about my life is lucky - it's all about hard work, it is all an uphill struggle.”

“Hard work is rewarding. Taking credit for other people's hard work is rewarding and faster.”

“[T]hrough bitter experience I have learned that it is best to promise little and then to reward hard work with generosity.”