“The definition of a strength that we will use throughout this book is quite specific: consistent near perfect performance in an activity.”

“Talent (a natural way of thinking, feeling, or behaving) × Investment (time spent practicing, developing your skills, and building your knowledge base) = Strength (the ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance)”

“Within these strangely specific conditions, everything is perfect. We are perfect.”

“Faulkner had an egg carton filled with periods and throughout his writing career, used nearly all of them.”

“Nobody has ever come back from the dead, and there is significant evidence that near death experiences are the product of brain activity that, while in an unconscious state, consist of perceptions that are just not reliable.”

“Satisfactions provide the last clue to talent. As we described in the previous chapter, your strongest synaptic connections are designed so that when you use them, it feels good. Thus, obviously, if it feels good when you perform an activity, chances are that you are using a talent.”