“There is no goal, nowhere to get to, nothing to achieve.All that you seek, no matter how great or small, is merely entertainment, diversion, or exercise along the way. It is of no consequence. Yet you must do it. That is the secret. You must do your work, you must help others, you must grow your plants, and you must write.You must do all those things, and yet those things will lead you no place that you are not right now.”

“Before you can do things for people, you must be the kind of man who can get things done. But to get things done, you must love the doing, not the secondary consequences. The work, not the people. Your own action, not any possible object of your charity.”

“Peter, before you can do things for people, you must be the kind of man who can get things done. But to get things done, you must love the doing, not the secondary consequences. The work, not the people.” (578)”

“You must love no-thingness,You must flee something,You must remain alone,And go to nobody.You must be very activeAnd free of all things.You must deliver the captivesAnd force those who are free.You must comfort the sickAnd yet have nothing yourself.You must drink the water of sufferingAnd light the fire of Love with the wood of the virtues.Thus you live in the true desert.”

“If you are going to be successful, you must develop persistence. How do you do that? It is not easily condensed in one simple statement, but one thing you can be sure of is that your must define your purpose.”

“You must not hate those who do wrong or harmful things; but with compassion, you must do what you can to stop them — for they are harming themselves, as well as those who suffer from their actions.”