“Circumstances don't always align themselves with human intention.”

“Intent without dedicated action is simply not enough. Action without a clear intent is a waste. It is when these two powerful forces are aligned that the energy of the universe conspires in your favor.”

“I believe the choice to be excellent begins with aligning your thoughts and words with the intention to require more from yourself.”

“You don't invent circumstances, but when they happen they reveal human nature.”

“It was the challenge of life too, was it not? People could never be fully understood. They were ever changing, different people at different times and under different circumstances and influences. And always growing, always creating themselves anew.How impossible it was to know another human being.How impossible to know even oneself.”

“And while his mother's lecture had gone over his seven-year-old head, Pasquale saw now what she meant--how much easier life would be if our intentions and our desires could always be aligned.”