James Spader as Robert California: "Fear plays an interesting role..."

"Fear plays an interesting role in our lives. How dare we let it motivate us. How dare we let it into our decision-making, into our livelihoods, into our relationships. It's funny, isn't it? We take a day a year to dress up in costumes and celebrate fear."

—James Spader as Robert California on The Office, Season 8, Episode 5 "Spooked"

Jamie Patterson: "Endings rarely announce themselves."

"Endings rarely announce themselves. They steal in and go nameless until long after their work is done."

—Jamie Patterson, Lost Edens

Jamie Patterson: "He is gone..."

"He is gone.
I couldn't save him.
I couldn't help him.
I couldn't give him what he needed.
I ruined myself in trying."

—Jamie Patterson, Lost Edens

Jamie Patterson: "I watch as his..."

"I watch as his breathing slows, and I try not to let the tears rolling down my cheek to the pillow make a sound when they land."

—Jamie Patterson, Lost Edens

Paulo Coelho: "Love is just a word..."

"Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning. Dream is also just a word untill you decide to fight for it with all your enthusiasm and commitment."

—Paulo Coelho

Geraldine Brooks: "...the force within a woman..."

"[Mother Courage] - the force within a woman that will drive her to do that for her babe that she would not dream was within her power to do..."

Geraldine Brooks, Year of Wonders

Geraldine Brooks: "With rest you might..."

"With rest you might find the world a small bit brighter."

Geraldine Brooks, Year of Wonders

Geraldine Brooks: "Let us choose not..."

"Let us choose not the dull luster of our base state when God would have us shine!"

Geraldine Brooks, Year of Wonders

Geraldine Brooks: "We all begin as..."

"We all begin as naked children, playing in the mud."

Geraldine Brooks, Year of Wonders

Geraldine Brooks: "... it takes a kind..."

"... it takes a kind of courage to care so little for what people whisper..."

Geraldine Brooks, Year of Wonders

Geraldine Brooks: "Death is always hard..."

"Death is always hard, wheresoever it finds a man. And untimely death harder than most."

Geraldine Brooks, Year of Wonders

Geraldine Brooks: "God warns us not..."

"God warns us not to love any earthly thing above Himself, and yet He sets in a mother's heart such a fierce passion for her babes that I do not comprehend how He can test us so."

Geraldine Brooks, Year of Wonders

Geraldine Brooks: "Mornings are generally much..."

"Mornings are generally much kinder to me than evenings, full as they are of... the ordinary promise that comes with any sunrise."

Geraldine Brooks, Year of Wonders

Unknown: "Great people talk about..."

"Great people talk about ideas. Average people talk about things. Small people talk about other people."

—Unknown

Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

Steve Jobs: "Remembering that I'll be..."

"Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

—Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs: "Here's to the crazy ones..."

"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do."

—Steve Jobs

Betty White: "Why do people say..."

"Why do people say, "Grow some balls?" Balls are weak and sensitive! If you really wanna get tough, grow a vagina! Those things take a pounding!"

—Betty White