“It's not about who you sleep with, or whether you know about sports or tools or have a pearl-wearing wife or whether commercials make you cry. [...] it's about whether you step up. When something hard comes along. A man steps up. He doesn't dodge it or run away from it or try to push it onto someone else. He steps up. Even if it isn't his responsibility. And that's why there are so many guys and so few men. Because stepping up is hard.”

“So this was it. You take a wrong step and you end up wearing yesterday's underwear, sitting on the carpet trying to teach yourself how to knit. And even that doesn't work. She never expected it to be so hard. Life.”

“Don’t blame others for stepping on you on their way up.” It was you who gave them the chance to step on you. Try not to step on anyone on your way up, but try even harder not to let anyone step on you.”

“If you can't build yourself up without pushing someone else down, it's time to step back and reevaluate just what you're trying to accomplish.”

“When demons are required someone will always be found to supply the part, and whether you step forward or are pushed is all the same in the end.”

“I wanted to find out then and quickly whether I was a louse like everybody else or a man. Whether I can step over barriers or not, whether I dare stoop to pick up or not, whether I am a trembling creature or whether I have the right...F”