“Failure is a state of mind. It's like one of those sand traps an ant lion digs. You keep sliding back. Takes one hell of a jump to get out of it.”

“One must be a fox in order to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten off wolves. Those who simply act like lions are stupid.”

“The ants were busy on the ground, big black ones with shiny bodies and the little dusty quick ants. Kino watched with the detachment of God while a dusty ant frantically tried to escape the sand trap an ant lion had dug for him.He watched the ants moving, a little column of them near to his foot, and he put his foot in their path. Then the column climbed over his instep and continued on its way, and Kino left his foot there and watched them move over it.”

“Oh sweetheart, I know what failure is...But as hard as it is, you have to lean in to those feelings. You hadn't have much failure in your life, Sarah. It takes practice to get good at it. It hurts like holy hell, but it's important. It's the door that will lead you into your future.”

“On the ride back south, she tapped all the anger-management tricks they'd given her in job training. They played across her windshield like PowerPoint slides. Number One: It's not about you. Number Two: Your plan is not the world's. Number Three: The mind can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.”

“If you dig one ditch you better dig two cause the trap you set just may be for you”