“If you are in hard times, ask yourself: “What would this problem and my life mean to people two hundred years from now?”

“The secret to a happy life is simply your attitude.”

“Life will bring you pain all by itself. Your responsibility is to create joy.”

“I sensed her before I saw her but I didn’t scream. I remember thinking at the time that the split seconds before death were a quiet and still place. Her eyes were unapologetic, piercing and untamed. This is how it will end, I thought to myself with no sense of tragedy. It seemed complete and, in a way, romantic. But another second passed and then another. She released me from her hypnotic gaze and bent her beautiful head. And then with gentle flicks of her tongue began to drink from the river. Her eyes never wavered from mine as she lapped at the cool waters that flowed between us. And then, in a blink and a whisper, she was gone.”

“My mind stopped spinning as I was enveloped in waves of pleasure. Through half-open eyes, I saw fragments of the ancient room, the stone walls, the enormous wooden beams. I smelled history and ancient ground, war, and turmoil and worship.”

“It shouldn’t take a life-changing event to spark change in your life.”

“I’m new to money. I spent most of my existence without it. I know how to live frugally. If we were to lose it all tomorrow, we’d change our hours, move out of the city, and make other adjustments, just like my parents did. Money removes many stressors, but it has not changed my level of happiness, nor who I am. It changes how I spend my time.”

“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.”

“Don’t live the same day over and over again and call that a life. Life is about evolving mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.”

“I love my job and the excitement and challenges it offers. But my job does not define me. If this job ended tomorrow I’d find another way to find that glorious feeling of accomplishment. No employer or career choice “made” me. I made me…”

“…the Cupcake Nation mentality – “Everyone’s a winner!” – is so dangerous. When we try to protect the young from any vaguely uncomfortable ideas or encounters, we do them a grave disservice. Being tested by different viewpoints in my life, being sometimes offended or occasionally hurt, or even targeted, is a big part of what prepared me for the challenged I’ve faced in my career..,”