“Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.”

“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”

“find yourself a lover who will glue you to the floor”

“Never, however, do I take shortcuts. There is not path of least resistance in my training. What I do equates to hard manual labor, disciplined grunt work. Once you permit yourself to compromise, you fail yourself. You might be able to fool some people, but you can never fool yourself. Your toughest critic is the one you face every morning in the mirror.”

“Most people never get there. They're afraid or unwilling to demand enough of themselves and take the easy road, the path of least resistance. But struggling and suffering, as I now saw it, were the essence of a life worth living. If you're not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you're not constantly demanding more from yourself--expanding and learning as you go--your choosing a numb existence. Your denying yourself an extraordinary trip.”

“If you write with passion in your own style, you will make a place for yourself”

“Figure out what truth you're hidin' that you can't admit even to yourself”