“The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes.”

“At the most one could say that his chi or ... personal god was good. But the Ibo people have a proverb that when a man says yes his chi says yes also. Okonkwo said yes very strongly; so his chi agreed. ”

“In the West "yes" is "yes" and "no" is "no." But when Arabs hear the word "no" from an American they often take it as an insult. That is because Arabs don't say the word "no" directly. Very often they say "in Shaalah" when they mean "no." In dealing with Westerners, an Arab may say "yes' when they really don't mean it, and that gets them in a lot of trouble with Westerners.”

“Maybe is forgettable. Only yes and no are memorable. Be bold with your love and say yes to yes and no to no.”

“Yes," he whispered, reaching out to hold my shoulders. "Just say yes. Say you'll be with me.”

“My tombstone is going to say: 'Born: Yes. Died: Yes.”