“You must read, you must persevere, you must sit up nights, you must inquire, and exert the utmost power of your mind. If one way does not lead to the desired meaning, take another; if obstacles arise, then still another; until, if your strength holds out, you will find that clear which at first looked dark.”

“Magic must have meaning to hold power. You must believe in yourmagic or it is useless. Focus is the key. Focus your mind and your spirit.You must have a strong will to do what you must. Doubt causes weakness.Weakness causes doubt. Fear cripples us. Believe in your power and youwill become powerful.”

“People can read books and watch children at the same time . . . Of course, both the reading of the books and the watching of the children will be performed in a way best described as half-assed. If you want to read your book in a non-half-assed way, you have to wait until your child is in kindergarten, or you must pay someone to watch your child while you read your book. Even then, however, you must not read the book in your home because the child will find you and jump on you and make reading impossible. You must leave your home, leave your yard, leave your street. You must drive to a cafe in town to read your book. You must run and hide from your child as if your child is serving you a subpoena. This is not insane. It does not make you bad if you do this.”

“You must find another reason to work, other than the desire for success or recognition. It must come from another place.”

“Evil does not exist; once you have crossed the threshold, all is good. Once in another world, you must hold your tongue.”

“Was it you or I who stumbled first? It does not matter. The one of us who finds the strength to get up first, must help the other.”