“It is the gift of stories that most repays life among settled people.”

“Most people settle in life with no satisfaction. Winners are satisfied without ever settling.”

“Use your gifts well and you will discover others, among them a gift that is uniquely you. See these noble gifts in other people. Share the truth and be ready for the miracle to unfold”

“Among the tortures and devestations of life is this then - our friends are not able to finish their stories.”

“There is no story that is not true, [...] The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others.”

“Gifts are very useful to con men. Gifts create a feeling of debt, an itchy anxiety that the recipient is eager to be rid of by repaying. So eager, in fact, that people will often overpay just to be relieved of it. A single spontaneously given cup of coffee can make a person feel obligated to sit through a lecture on a religion they don't care about. The gift of a tiny, wilted flower can make the recipient give to a charity they dislike. Gifts place such a heavy burden that even throwing away the gift doesn't remove the debt. Even if you hate coffee, even if you didn't want that flower, once you take it, you want to give something back. Most of all, you want to dismiss obligation.”