The Muppets: "It's in the singing..."

It Feels Like Christmas 

It's in the singing of a street corner choir
It's going home and getting warm by the fire
It's true, wherever you find love it feels like Christmas

A cup of kindess that we share with another
A sweet reunion with a friend or a brother
In all the places you find love it feels like Christmas

It is the season of the heart
A special time of caring
The ways of love made clear
It is the season of the sprit
The message if we hear it
Is make it last all year

It's in the giving of a gift to another
A pair of mittens that were made by your mother
It's all the ways that we show love that feel like Christmas

A part of childhood we'll always remember
It is the summer of the soul in December
Yes, when you do your best for love it feels like Christmas

It is the season of the heart
A special time of caring
The ways of love made clear
It is the season of the sprit
The message if we hear it
Is make it last all year

It's in the singing of a street corner choir
It's going home and getting warm by the fire
It's true, wherever you find love it feels like Christmas
It's true, wherever you find love it feels like Christmas

—from The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

Jan Karon: "I was able to..."

"I was able to do what I loved! I consider this a most extraordinary miracle in a world which conspires to rob us of our dreams, and even of our passion."

—Jan Karon, These High, Green Hills

Jan Karon: "But it wasn't stuff..."

"But it wasn't stuff like the pony or the tree house that made the difference, sir. What made the difference was their love. It had a force to it, and it stayed with me all the time. Looking back, I'd say it made me feel... invincible."

—Jan Karon, These High, Green Hills

Jan Karon: "When we view the..."

"When we view the little things with thanksgiving, even they become big things."

—Jan Karon, These High, Green Hills

Deitrich Bonhoeffer: "Only he who gives..."

"Only he who gives thanks for little things receives the big things."

—Deitrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

Oswald Chambers: "We look for visions..."

"We look for visions of heaven and we never dream that all the time God is in the commonplace things and people around us."

—Oswald Chambers

Jan Karon: "He knew it could..."

"He knew it could not always be this way. No, nothing ever remained the same. If he had learned anything in life, he had learned that such moments were fragile beyond knowing."

—Jan Karon, These High, Green Hills

Jan Karon: "One does not expect miracles..."

"One does not expect miracles. A miracle is, at least partly by definition, something quite unexpected."

—Jan Karon, A Light in the Window

Jan Karon: "Why was fear always..."

"Why was fear always so close upon the heels of joy, overtaking it every time?"

—Jan Karon, A Light in the Window

Jan Karon: "I shall give you..."

"I shall give you as much love and affection and happiness as I am capable of giving. Which, I believe... is quite a lot."

—Jan Karon, A Light in the Window

Jan Karon: "What a lovely thing..."

"What a lovely thing it is to begin to love. I shall not dwell on the fear, which seems always to come with it. I shall write only of the victory, for that is what is on my heart tonight."

—Jan Karon, A Light in the Window

Jan Karon: "How lovely that you..."

"How lovely that you can still surprise yourself. I couldn't love you if you were completely buttoned up. It's that little place you can never quite manage to get closed that makes me love you."

—Jan Karon, A Light in the Window

Jan Karon: "My work is awfully..."

"My work is awfully labored just now. Sometimes it has the most wonderful life of its own, it fairly pulls me along... At other times, it drags and mopes, so that I despair of ever writing another word... I've found that if one keeps pushing along during the mopes, out will flash the most exhilarating thought or idea - and then, one is off again, and hold on to your hat!"

—Jan Karon, A Light in the Window, Cynthia describing her writing

Jan Karon: "Everything and nothing..."

"Everything and nothing. What you did today, what I did today, what we'll do tomorrow. About God and how He's working in our lives. About my work, about your work, about life, about love, about what's for dinner and how the roses are doing..."

—Jan Karon, A Light in the Window, Cynthia's answer to Father Tim's question "What do you want to talk about?" in regards to married life

W. Somerset Maugham: "Only the mediocre man..."

"Only the mediocre man is always at his best."

—W. Somerset Maugham

Stephen Karam: "Some things you can't..."

"Some things you can't understand until you understand them. Until they're happening to you."

—Stephen Karam, character of Charles in Sons of the Prophet

Stephen Karam: "Any time you try..."

"Any time you try to put the truth on paper, you get a form of fiction."

—Stephen Karam, character of Gloria in Sons of the Prophet

Jordan Roth: "She sees all of us..."

"She sees all of us as our best selves. And then helps us become it. That is what it is to produce. To make. To create. To build something because you see it as what it can be, not just what it is now. To do that for a show is a talent. To do it for a person is a blessing."

-Jordan Roth (speaking of his mother, Daryl Roth)

Jordan Roth: "There are two kinds..."

"There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who close the door behind them, and those who hold it open for the rest of us. If you've ever met my mother, you already know which she is."

-Jordan Roth

Ben Franklin: "If we don't hang together..."

"If we don't hang together, we shall surely hang separately."

-Ben Franklin

Natasha Lyonne: "...just hang in there..."

"... just hang in there. The world can be a much bigger place."

-Natasha Lyonne

Alan W. Watts: "To have faith is..."

"To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim, you don't grab hold of the water because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float."

—Alan W. Watts

Stephen King: "There are certain things..."

“There are certain things I do if I sit down to write. I have a glass of water or a cup of tea. There’s a certain time I sit down, from 8:00 to 8:30, somewhere within that half hour every morning. I have my vitamin pill and my music, sit in the same seat, and the papers are all arranged in the same places. The cumulative purpose of doing these things the same way every day seems to be a way of saying to the mind, you’re going to be dreaming soon.”

—Stephen King (on writing) from Lisa Rogak, Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King

Christopher Robin: "You're braver than you believe..."

"You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

—Christopher Robin to Pooh (A. A. Milne)

Leonard Cohen: "Ring the bells that..."

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in

—Leonard Cohen

Jan Karon: "He was mildly alarmed..."

"He was mildly alarmed that everything seemed to be taken care of, that there were no loose ends. And why on earth should that be alarming? For the simple reason that it happened so seldom in one's life that it encouraged suspicion, that's why."

-Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford

Jan Karon: "Doesn't it feel grand..."

Cynthia: "Doesn't it feel grand to laugh over nothing? Why don't we laugh more?"

Father Tim: "I think we forget."

Cynthia: "How can we possibly forget to laugh, when it feels so good, and cures so much? How can we possibly?"

-Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford

Jan Karon: "My friend, if you keep..."

"My friend, if you keep your eyes on Christians, you will be diappointed every day of your life. Your hope is to keep your eyes on Christ."

-Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford

Jan Karon: "I hope when you...

"I hope when you grow old, there'll be someone to listen to you ramble."

-Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford

Jan Karon: "The firefly only shines..."

"The firefly only shines when on the wing. So it is with us - when we stop, we darken."

-Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford

Thoreau: "That man is the richest..."

"That man is th' richest whose pleasures are th' cheapest!"

-Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford (original quote by Thoreau)

Jan Karon: "Sometimes you have to...

"Sometimes you have to gag on fancy before you can appreciate plain..."

-Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford

Jan Karon: "Sorrow and joy..."

"Sorrow and joy... so inextricably entwined that he could scarely tell where one left off and the other began."

-Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford

Jan Karon: "... what God does with..."

"... what God does with our faith must be something like workouts. He sees to it that our faith gets pushed and pulled, stretched, and pounded, taken to its limits so its limits can expand."

-Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford

Oswald Chambers: "Common sense is not..."

"Common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense."

-Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford (original quote by Oswald Chambers)

Jan Karon: "Boldly! That was the..."

"Boldly! That was the great and powerful key. Preach boldly! Love boldly! Jog boldly! And most crucial of all, do not approach God whining or begging, but boldly - as a child of the King."

-Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford

Jan Karon: "... a man must hammer..."

"... a man must hammer out his theology alone."

-Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford

Jan Karon: "Life and the world..."

"Life and the world are astonishing things..."

-Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford (a quote from Wordsworth within the novel)

Marelisa Fabrega: "Gratitude should not be..."

"Gratitude should not be just a reaction to getting what you want, but an all-time gratitude, the kind where you notice the little things and where you constantly look for the good, even in unpleasant situations."

—Marelisa Fabrega

Charles Dickens: "Reflect upon your present..."

"Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty..."

—Charles Dickens

William Arthur Ward: "Gratitude can change common..."

"Gratitude can change common days into thanksgivings..."

—William Arthur Ward

Thornton Wilder: "We can only be..."

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when are hearts are conscious of our treasures."

—Thornton Wilder

Khalil Gibran: "Wake at dawn with..."

"Wake at dawn with a winged heart and be grateful for another day of loving."

—Khalil Gibran

Martha Beck: "... he is no less beautiful..."

"... he is no less beautiful for being called ugly, no less wise for appearing dull, no less precious for being seen as worthless. And neither am I. Neither are you. Neither is any of us."

—Martha Beck, Expecting Adam

Martha Beck: "Whoever said that love..."

"Whoever said that love is blind was dead wrong. Love is the only thing on this earth that lets us see each other with the remotest accuracy."

—Martha Beck, Expecting Adam

Martha Beck: "The hardest lesson I..."

"The hardest lesson I have ever had to learn is that I will never know the meaning of my children's pain, and that I have neither the capacity nor the right to take it away from them."

—Martha Beck, Expecting Adam

Martha Beck: "The meaning of life..."

"The meaning of life is not what happens to people... The meaning of life is what happens between people."

—Martha Beck, Expecting Adam

Martha Beck: "I think there are few..."

"I think there are few experiences to match the very first time a mother lays eyes on her child."

—Martha Beck, Expecting Adam

Martha Beck: "Angels come in many..."

"Angels come in many shapes and sizes, and most of them are not invisible."

—Martha Beck, Expecting Adam

Martha Beck: "The real magic is..."

"The real magic is in the pumpkin, in the mice, in the moonlight; not beyond ordinary life, but within it."

—Martha Beck, Expecting Adam

Martha Beck: "If it were possible..."

"If it were possible to convey in words the true experience of a dream, we probably wouldn't need dreams in the first place. They come from someplace beyond our rational and verbal minds, and are by nature indescribable."

—Martha Beck, Expecting Adam

Martha Beck: "The strangeness, the curiosity..."

"The strangeness, the curiosity, the wonder keeps pushing outward, begging to be communicated, needing air and company."

—Martha Beck, Expecting Adam

Martha Beck: "The word mother is..."

"The word mother is more powerful when it is used as a verb than as a noun."

—Martha Beck, Expecting Adam

Gilda Radner: "Some stories don't have..."

Diana Cortes: "Be grateful for the..."

"Be grateful for the magic of long-distance friendships. They let you relate to other human beings in a way that goes beyond being physically together and is often more profound."

—Diana Cortes

Cicero: "A thankful heart is..."

"A thankful heart is the greatest virtue."

-Cicero

Albert Schweitzer: "We should all be grateful..."

"We should all be thankful for those people who kindle the inner spirit."

—Albert Schweitzer

Melody Beattie: "Gratitude unlocks the fullness..."

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life."

—Melody Beattie

C. K. Chesterton: "Gratitude is happiness doubled..."

"Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder."

—C. K. Chesterton

Henry Ward Beecher: "Gratitude is the fairest..."

"Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul."

—Henry Ward Beecher

Ralph Waldo Emerson: "I am grateful for..."

"I am grateful for small mercies and long friendships."

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Cynthia Ozick: "We often take for granted..."

"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude."

—Cynthia Ozick

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"

Fred Rogers: "When we treat children's...

Dalai Lama: "People take different roads..."

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

Buckminster Fuller: "You never change things..."

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

Joseph Campbell: "We must be willing..."

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

Stacy Schiff: "Fiercely but compassionately, she..."

“Fiercely but compassionately, she plucked order from chaos.” 

—Stacy Schiff, Cleopatra: A Life

Stacy Schiff: "If one prefers not..."

“If one prefers not to be perceived as a king, one is ill advised, for starters, to spend one’s time consorting with a queen.”

—Stacy Schiff, Cleopatra: A Life

Mary Carole McCauley: "Art isn't meant to..."

"Art isn't meant to be protected like a hothouse flower from the withering blasts of real life. Theater isn't created in spite of the rude, bruising outside world — it springs from it. It is the source of the art form's vitality, its ferocity and its relevance."

- Mary Carole McCauley, The Baltimore Sun, May 1, 2010

Kwame Kwei-Armah: "Our job as artists..."

“Our job as artists is to treat the world that we’ve come into with integrity. Otherwise, we’re bastardizing other cultures so that we can be looked upon as access for others who may be more economically empowered. There’s no honor in that. But there is honor in explaining a way of life, or explaining a dysfunction, or explaining a morality, or exposing or helping enter into a world that makes you understand human nature in a way that you may never have before.”

-Kwame Kwei-Armah, the new Artistic Director at Baltimore's CenterStage, from an interview on www.dctheatrescene.com, The Creative Source on Heading CenterStage

Deborah Reed: "...and he wonders if..."

"...and he wonders if loving a woman, even one who breaks your heart, has a way of keeping a man going for another day."

—Deborah Reed, Carry Yourself Back to Me (p271)

Deborah Reed: "For the first time..."

"For the first time in her life she felt the scope of what she knew and loved about music, and it began to feel limitless."

—Deborah Reed, Carry Yourself Back to Me (p224)

Deborah Reed: "People don't always have..."

"People don't always have good sense."

—Deborah Reed, Carry Yourself Back to Me (p208)

Deborah Reed: "A mind can think..."

"A mind can think a lot of things in the short time it takes to open a mouth."

—Deborah Reed, Carry Yourself Back to Me (p72)

Deborah Reed: "He finds her most..."

"He finds her most beautiful in the morning. Maybe it's just seeing her for the first time of the day."

—Deborah Reed, Carry Yourself Back to Me (p18)

Robert Redford: "Storytellers broaden our minds..."

“Storytellers broaden our minds: engage, provoke, inspire, and ultimately, connect us.”

—Robert Redford, President and Founder of Sundance Institute

Aaron Sorkin: "...they ran into the..."

"...they ran into the fire to help get people out... ran into the fire. The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels tonight. They're our students and our teachers and our parents and our friends. The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels, but every time we think we have measured our capacity to meet a challenge, we look up and we're reminded that that capacity may well be limitless."

—Aaron Sorkin, Martin Sheen as President Josiah Bartlet, The West Wing

Dalai Lama: "Today, as we mark..."

"Today, as we mark the tenth anniversary of the September 11th 2001 attacks on New York and Washington DC, let us remember all the innocent lives lost and ponder the continuing impact of that tragic day. September 11th reminds us of the horror we human beings can unleash on ourselves when we allow our human intelligence and powerful technology to be overtaken by hatred.

"We need to learn from our painful memories of September 11th and become more aware of the destructive consequences that arise when we give in to feelings of hatred. This tragedy in particular has reinforced my belief that fostering a spirit of peaceful co-existence and mutual understanding among the world’s peoples and faith traditions is an urgent matter of importance to us all. We must therefore make every effort to ensure that our various faith traditions contribute to build a more caring, peaceful world."

—The Dalai Lama, September 9, 2011
Originally published in the Washington Post on September 10, 2011

Sarah Vowell: "An astrologer once told..."

"An astrologer once told me, 'You suffer from what's called a geographic.' A geographic is when a person walks around thinking that where he lives will make his life better. The astrologer said, 'Let me tell you, life is about an emotional connection to people and things and it doesn't matter where you are on the globe.'"

—Sarah Vowell, The Partly Cloudy Patriot (The Strenuous Life)

Sarah Vowell: "Walking in New York...

"Walking in New York is a battle of the wills, a balance of aggression and kindness. I'm not saying it's always easy... But I believe all that choreography has made me a better person."

—Sarah Vowell, The Partly Cloudy Patriot (The Partly Cloudy Patriot)

Sarah Vowell: "Neither snow, nor rain..."

"'Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.'"

—Sarah Vowell, The Partly Cloudy Patriot (The Partly Cloudy Patriot), quoting the U.S. Postal Service credo

Sarah Vowell: "American history is a..."

"American history is a quagmire, and the more one knows, the quaggier the mire gets."

—Sarah Vowell, The Partly Cloudy Patriot (The Partly Cloudy Patriot)

Sarah Vowell: "The Brits don't apologize..."

"The Brits don't apologize for being knowledgeable. In fact, they're a little disdainful of you for not doing your homework. And in America, doing your homework is the most uncool thing in the world."

—Sarah Vowell, The Partly Cloudy Patriot (The Nerd Voice, Part II)

Ernst Fischer: "In a decaying society..."

"In a decaying society, art, if it is truthful, must also reflect decay. And unless it wants to break faith with its social function, art must show the world as changeable. And help to change it."

—Ernst Fischer

John F. Kennedy: "In the long history..."

"In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility. I welcome it."

—John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address Jan. 20, 1961

Matthew Cody: "We are such a..."

"We are such a funny race, humans. Compelled to scratch our lives out in ink, on paper or rock. Whether it's a limestone wall or the pulp pages of a comic book, I suspect it's hard-wired in our DNA — the urge to record our lives."

—Matthew Cody, Powerless (p235)

Matthew Cody: "It was like a..."

"It was like a memory of a dream - it didn't make sense exactly, yet it seemed so real."

—Matthew Cody, Powerless (p5)

Patrick Pacheco: "Until that twelfth of..."

"Until that twelfth of never, what the world does have is art. Art that says, as it does in this musical, that 'In the middle of your life anything can happen.' Art that says that love is the greatest journey that heaven can allow. Art that says that while the pain of loss is ineffable and unending, the beauty of music can give voice to that pain and even redeem it."

- Patrick Pacheco, in the liner notes of the DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY cast album

Unknown: "Exult in the quotidian..."

"Exult in the quotidian beauty of life!"

-Unknown

Ralph Waldo Emerson: "To be yourself in..."

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hafiz: "Even after all this..."

"Even after all this time, the sun never says to the earth: 'You owe me.' Look what happens with a love like that; it lights up the whole sky."

—Hafiz

James Heaton: "There is tremendous creative..."

"There is tremendous creative power in the act of rebuilding from nothing. A truly horrible situation pulled out of me the fortitude and determination required to take action"

—James Heaton, Apparent Failure Focuses the Mind

James Heaton: "Lack of a clearly..."

Lack of a clearly articulated brand proves to be inefficient in at least four ways:

1. It takes more effort and time both for the organization and the agency to create these unique products. 
2. The work requires institutional memory and tight oversight if it is not to become totally arbitrary and dependent on the whim of the designer or the organizational staff person responsible for the product.
3. The absence of any concrete guideposts makes it difficult to discuss the relative merits of one design over another, and this results in a much greater opportunity for personal taste to interfere with and slow down the process. 
4. The end product does not naturally support and enhance the brand. Each product has a brand logo, but each is in fact more about itself than the organizational brand, so each is, in essence, its own competing brand product that seeks attention on its own terms rather than contributing its message to the larger brand message

—James Heaton, Brand Impact on CSI Reports

James Heaton: "Among the many positive..."

"Among the many positive consequences of their now having a well articulated brand that is true to their organizational vision, is that the brand serves to facilitate the process of developing graphic design executions for them. Before the re-brand, every new report was a unique design concept adhering to loosely defined and mostly intuitive brand attributes. Brand acceptability needed to be vetted directly with the Executive Director. This process relied very heavily on the content of the particular report, which in and of itself is not bad, but this, along with the absence of agreed upon guidelines, resulted in only tenuous stylistic connections among reports, and both the organization and the designers had to spend a good deal of time developing and approving a design style for each report. The resulting lack of continuity is manifest even among reports designed by the same graphic designer."

—James Heaton, Brand Impact on CSI Reports

James Heaton: "When we stake out..."

"When we stake out our own brand position saying “We prefer truth,” it means we are working with our clients to uncover the most essential truths of their brand and that we are then intent on finding ways to communicate these brand truths as eloquently and effectively as possible. We are not manufacturing a brand message based on studies of what the market will believe, but what they will recognize as true to their experience of that brand. We are chipping away at the rough-hewn surface of a company or non-profit and exposing the beautiful brand truth that was only waiting to be revealed and have its story well told."

—James Heaton, Brand Truth

James Heaton: "Brands do lie and..."

"Brands do lie and I believe that when they do it is a serious strategic mistake. If, on the other hand the brand derives from the true lived experience of the brand, (brand truth) then the brand will be reinforced and strengthened by every interaction with it. This is how a brand accrues power and longevity. The brand needs to tell a true story."

—James Heaton, Brand Truth

James Heaton: "Advertising is seen by..."

"Advertising is seen by some as beautiful lies. I think that, by way of contrast, branding should be beautiful truth. Not truth with a capital “t,” not philosophical truth, but the act of keeping the brand focus on what is discovered or understood to be essentially true about the organization, product or service."

—James Heaton, Brand Truth

Unknown: "The world needs dreamers..."

"The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do."

—Unknown

W. Somerset Maugham: "If you will act..."

"If you will act as if you believed, belief will be granted to you.
If you pray with doubt, but pray with sincerity, your doubt will be dispelled.
If you will surrender yourself to the beauty of liturgy, the power which over the human spirit has been proved by the experience of ages, peace will descend upon you."

—W. Somerset Maugham, The Razor's Edge

W. Somerset Maugham: "Nothing in the world..."

"Nothing in the world is permanent and we’re foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we are still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it."

—W. Somerset Maugham, The Razor's Edge

W. Somerset Maugham: "I've never much minded..."

"I’ve never much minded if people thought I was a bit of a fool."

—W. Somerset Maugham, The Razor's Edge

W. Somerset Maugham: "Unfortunately, sometimes one cannot..."

"Unfortunately, sometimes one cannot do what one thinks is right without making someone else unhappy."

—W. Somerset Maugham, The Razor's Edge

W. Somerset Maugham: "If I ever acquire..."

"If I ever acquire wisdom, I suppose I shall be wise enough to know what to do with it."

—W. Somerset Maugham, The Razor's Edge

W. Somerset Maugham: "We who are of..."

"We who are of mature age seldom suspect how unmercifully and yet with what insight the very young judge us."

—W. Somerset Maugham, The Razor's Edge

Emily Bronte: "He's more myself than..."

"He’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same… If all else perished and he remained, I should still continue to be, and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a might stranger… He’s always, always in my mind; not as a pleasure to myself, but as my own being."

—Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights

Herman Hesse: "The world is perfect..."

"The world is perfect at every moment.  Every sin already contains grace within it, all little children already have an old person in them, every infant has death within it, and all dying people have within them eternal life. It is not possible to see in another person how far along the way he is. In the bandit & dice player, a Buddha is waiting; in the Brahmin, a bandit. In the depths of meditation lies the possibility of cutting though time, of seeing the simultaneity of all past, present, future life; and within that, everything is good, all is perfect, all is Brahman. Thus I see whatever is as good. I see that life & death, sin & holiness, intelligence & foolishness, must be as they are. It only requires my consent, my willingness, my loving acceptance & it will be good for me, can never harm me. Let it be. Love it. Be glad to be a part."


—Herman Hesse, Siddhartha

Josh Kilmer-Purcell: "Things in New York..."

"Things in New York City sparkle a lot longer than you’d expect before they burn out."

—Josh Kilmer-Purcell, I Am Not Myself These Days

Christopher Moore: "Scratch a cynic and..."

"Scratch a cynic and you’ll find a disappointed romantic."

—Christopher Moore, The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove

Julia Cho: "It is good to..."

"It is good to be good at the small things, for the larger things can be quite heartbreaking."

—Julia Cho, The Piano Teacher

James Heaton: "This is to my..."

"This is to my mind an extremely good illustration of what good branding does as opposed to what advertising typically does, and why branding based on the truth can be so much more effective with so much less money. Good branding involves understanding the truth of a product or service and finding the best ways to communicate this to those naturally receptive to hearing it."

—James Heaton, Life and Pecans: Why Truth Matters

James Heaton: "By telling the true..."

"By telling the true story of [the organization and its products and services], they should almost sell themselves, generating referrals, buzz and PR, not because they are advertised a lot, but because they are truly good and when people find truly good things they spread the word."

—James Heaton, The Business of Demand Creation

Unknown: "“A leader with no...”

“A leader with no followers is just a guy out for a walk.”

—Unknown

Peter F. Drucker: "Management is doing things..."

"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things."

—Peter F. Drucker

Andrew Carnegie: "No man will make..."

"No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it."

—Andrew Carnegie

George S. Patton: "Don't tell people how..."

"Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results."

—George S. Patton

Dwight Eisenhower: "Leadership is the art..."

"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."

—Dwight Eisenhower

Dave Matthews: "Tell me everything will..."

"Tell me everything will be okay
If I just stay on my knees and keep praying
Believing in something
Tell me everything is all taken care of
By those qualified to take care of it all

Wake up sleepy head
I think the sun's a little brighter today
Smile and watch the icicles melt away and see the waters rising
Summer's here to stay
And that sweet summer breeze will blow forever
Go down to the shore, kick off your shoes, dive in the empty ocean

One day, do you think we'll wake up
In a world on it's way to getting better?
And if so can you tell me
How?

I have been thinking that lately the blood is increasing
The tourniquets not keeping hold
In spite of our twisting
Though we would like to believe we are
We are not in control
Though we would love to believe

Wake up sleepy head
I think the sun's a little brighter today
Smile and watch the icicles melt away and see the water rising
Summer's here to stay
And those sweet summer girls will dance forever
Go down to the shore, kick off your shoes, dive in the empty ocean"

—Dave Matthews, "Dive In" from Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King

Jonathan Safran Foer: "He was a boy..."

"He was a boy still, but no longer a boy. He was a man, but not yet a man. He was caught somewhere between his mother’s last kiss and the first kiss he would give his child."

—Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything is Illuminated

Benjamin Hoff: "You can't save time..."

"You can’t save time, you can only spend it – but you can spend it wisely or foolishly."

—Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

Jan Karon: "He hadn't threatened or..."

"He hadn’t threatened or cajoled or demanded – he’d said what had to be said and there was no turning back. He had spoken the truth in love and that would have to be okay."

—Jan Karon, Light from Heaven

Alexandra Fuller: "This is not a..."

"This is not a full circle. It’s life carrying on. It’s the next breath we all take. It’s the choice we make to get on with it."

—Alexandra Fuller, Don’t Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight

C. S. Lewis: "Once the feet are..."

"Once the feet are put right, all the rest of him will follow."

—C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Jan Karon: "Oh, how she despised..."

"Oh, how she despised the torment of loving like a girl instead of like… like a sophisticated woman – whatever that might be!"

—Jan Karon, A Common Life

Alan W. Watts: "When there is no..."

"When there is no vision, the people shall perish."

—Alan W. Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity

Alan W. Watts: "Almost all best ideas..."

"Almost all best ideas come when thinking has stopped."

—Alan W. Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity

Alan W. Watts: "Had we never known..."

"Had we never known joy, it would be impossible to identify sorrow."

—Alan W. Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity

Alan W. Watts: "To pursue the future..."

"To pursue the future is to pursue a constantly retreating phantom and the faster you chase it, the faster it runs."

—Alan W. Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity

Alan W. Watts: "Human desire tends to..."

"Human desire tends to be insatiable."

—Alan W. Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity

Alan W. Watts: "As the years go..."

"As the years go by, there seem to be fewer and fewer rocks to which we can hold – fewer things which we can regard as absolutely right and true and fixed for all time."

—Alan W. Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity

Alan W. Watts: "By all outward appearances..."

"By all outward appearances, our life is a spark of light between one eternal darkness and another."

—Alan W. Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity

Ann Patchett: "Most of the time..."

"Most of the time we’re loved for what we can do rather than for who we are. It’s not such a bad thing, being loved for what you can do… but the other is better."

—Ann Patchett, Bel Canto 

Ann Patchett: "When you think of..."

"When you think of love you think as an American. You must think like a Russian. It is a more expansive view."

—Ann Patchett, Bel Canto 

Ann Patchett: "Not everyone can be..."

"Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see."

—Ann Patchett, Bel Canto 

Ann Patchett: "Never had he thought..."

"Never had he thought, never once, that such a woman existed, one who stood so close to God that God’s own voice poured from her."

—Ann Patchett, Bel Canto 

Gregory Maguire: "Ah, the inner eye..."

"Ah, the inner eye blinks and the spirit trembles at the dangerous cost of seeing one’s self as one is."

—Gregory Maguire, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Gregory Maguire: "We're all mysteries..."

"We’re all mysteries… even to ourselves."

—Gregory Maguire, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Gregory Maguire: "And a puzzle is..."

"And a puzzle is for the piecing together – especially for the young who still believe it can be done."

—Gregory Maguire, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Brad Bird: "Use the whole buffalo."

"Use the whole buffalo."

—Brad Bird, Creator of The Incredibles, from a bonus feature on The Incredibles DVD.

Brad Bird: "Make it okay for...

"Make it okay for people to challenge an idea or two. The good ideas can withstand it and the weaker ideas fall away and make room for something."

—Brad Bird, Creator of The Incredibles, from a bonus feature on The Incredibles DVD.

Elizabeth Gilbert: "We just keep on..."

"We just keep on trying, again and again, no matter how ill-advised it may be, to recreate Aristophanes' two-headed, eight-limbed figure of seamless human union."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "Marriage is not prayer..."

"Marriage is not prayer. That's why you have to do it in front of others. It's a paradox, but marriage actually reconciles a lot of paradoxes: freedom with commitment, strength with subordination, wisdom with utter nincompoopery, etc. And... you have to hold your wedding guests to their end of the deal. They have to help you with your marriage; they have to support you if you falter."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "Marriage has a bonsai..."

"Marriage has a bonsai energy: It's a tree in a pot with trimmed roots and clipped limbs. Mind you, bonsai can live for centuries, and their unearthly beauty is a direct result of such constriction, but nobody would ever mistake a bonsai for a free-climbing vine."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "Marriage is what happens..."

"Marriage is what happens between the memorable."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "She sewed winter coats..."

"She sewed winter coats for her children from the leftover material of her heart's more quiet desires."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "They adjust, adapt, glide..."

"They adjust, adapt, glide, accept. They are mighty in their malleability, almost to the point of a superhuman power. I grew up watching a mother who became with every new day whatever that day required of her. She produced gills when she needed gills, grew wings when the gills became obsolete, manifested ferocious speed when speed was required, and demonstrated epic patience in other more subtle circumstances."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "I do believe that..."

"I do believe that one must at least try to understand one's mother's marriage before embarking on a marriage of one's own."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "Like most of us..."

"Like most of us, this woman contains multitudes."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "They cut up the..."

"They cut up the finest and proudest parts of themselves and gave it all away. They re-patterned what was theirs and shaped it for others. They went without. They were the last ones to eat at supper and they were the first ones to get up every morning, warming the cold kitchen for another day spent caring for everyone else. This was the only thing they knew how to do. This was their guiding verb and their defining principle in life: They Gave."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed (on the subject of mothers)

Elizabeth Gilbert: "Money brings its own..."

"Money brings its own problems, of course - but money also brings options. Money can buy child care, a separate bathroom, a vacation, the freedom from arguments over bills - all sorts of things that help stabilize a marriage."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "Leaving a blighted marriage..."

"Leaving a blighted marriage is not necessarily a moral failure, then, but can sometimes represent the opposite of quitting: the beginning of hope."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "Perhaps transcendence can be..."

"Perhaps transcendence can be found not only on solitary mountaintops or in monastic settings, but also at your own kitchen table, in the daily acceptance of your partner's most tiresome, irritating faults."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "There is hardly a...

"There is hardly a more gracious gift that we can offer somebody than to accept them fully, to love them almost despite themselves."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "I mean, once the..."

"I mean, once the initial madness of desire has passed and we are faced with each other as dimwitted mortal fools, how is it that any of us find the ability to love and forgive each other at all, much less enduringly?"

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "So it will come..."

"So it will come to pass for all of us - for all couples who stay with each other in love - that someday one of us will carry the shovel and the lantern on behalf of the other. We all share our houses with Time, who ticks along side us as we work at our daily lives, reminding us of our ultimate destination."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "After all, doesn't every..."

"After all, doesn't every romance begin in the same place - at that same intersection of affection and desire, where two strangers always meet to fall in love?"

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "Infatuation is not quite..."

"Infatuation is not quite the same thing as love; it's more like love's shady second cousin who's always borrowing money and can't hold down a job."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "It is the perogitive..."

"It is the perogitive of all humans to make ludicrous choices, to fall in love with the most unlikely of partners, and to set themselves up for the most predictable of calamities."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "The vows that we..."

"The vows that we make on our wedding day are a noble effort to belie this fragility, to convince ourselves that - truly - what God Almighty has brought together, no man can tear asunder. But unfortunately God Almighty is not the one who swears those wedding vows; man (unmighty) is, and man can always tear a sworn vow asunder."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "Maybe the only difference..."

"Maybe the only difference between first marriage and second marriage is that the second time at least you know you are gambling."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "As a friend's grandfather..."

"As a friend's grandfather once put it, 'Sometimes life is too hard to be alone, and sometimes life is too good to be alone.'"

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "Mostly what they wanted..."

"Mostly what they wanted was the liberty to define their own relationship based on their own personal interpretation of love."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "The only thing marriage..."

"The only thing marriage has ever done, historically and definitionally speaking, is to change. Marriage in the Western world changes with every century, adjusting itself constantly around new social standards and new notions of fairness. The "Silly Putty-like" malleability of the institution, in fact, is the only reason we still have the thing at all. Marriage survives, in other words, precisely because it evolves."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "In 1215, the church..."

"In 1215, the church took control of matrimony forever, laying down rigid new edicts about what would henceforth constitute legitimate marriage. Before 1215, a spoken vow between two consenting adults had always been considered contract enough in the eyes of the law."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "The big romantic white..."

"The big romantic white weddings that we now think of as 'traditional' didn't come into being until the 19th century - not until a teenaged Queen Victoria walked down the aisle in a fluffy white gown, thereby setting a fashion trend that has never gone out of style since."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "Marriage becomes hard work..."

"Marriage becomes hard work once you have poured the entirety of you life's expectation for happiness in the hands of one mere person. Keeping that going is hard work."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "She had dared to..."

"She had dared to ask for happiness, and she had dared to expect that happiness out of her marriage. You can't possibly ask for more than that."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "The problem, simply put..."

"The problem, simply put, is that we cannot choose everything simultaneously. So we live in danger of becoming paralyzed by indecision, terrified that every choice might be the wrong choice."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "There is no choice..."

"There is no choice more intensely personal, after all, than whom you choose to marry; that choice tells us, to a large extent, who you are."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "Kinship is to be..."

"Kinship is to be found within arm's reach in any direction, and many hands make light work, or at least lighter work, of the serious burdens of living."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "It has always been..."

"It had always been my experience in the past that the more I learned about something, the less it frightened me. Some fears can be vanquished, Rumpelstitltskin-like, only by uncovering their hidden, secret names."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "I'd learned enough from..."

"I'd learned enough from life's experience to understand that destiny's interventions can sometimes be read as invitation for us to address and even surmount our biggest fears."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Elizabeth Gilbert: "There are moments in..."

"There are moments in life when the face of an ordinary man can take on a quality of near-divinity."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

The 14th Dalai Lama: "The Paradox of our..."

The Paradox Of Our Age

We have bigger houses but smaller families;
more conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees but less sense;
more knowledge but less judgment;
more experts, but more problems;
more medicines but less healthiness.

We’ve been all the way to the moon and back,
but have trouble in crossing the street to meet our new neighbor.

We built more computers to hold more copies than ever,
but have less real communication;
We have become long on quantity,
but short on quality.

These are times of fast foods but slow digestion;
Tall men but short characters;
Steep profits but shallow relationships.

It’s a time when there is much in the window but nothing in the room.

—The 14th Dalai Lama

Rudolf Dreikurs: "Above all, remember that..."

"Above all, remember that we are not working for perfection, but only for improvement. Watch for the little improvements, and when you find them, relax and have faith in your ability to improve further."

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p56)

Rudolf Dreikurs: "When you try a..."

"When you try a new technique and it works, be glad. When you fall back into old habits, don't reproach yourself. You need to constantly reinforce your own courage, and to do so, you need the courage to be imperfect. ... Dwelling on your mistakes saps your courage. Remember, one cannot build on weakness -- only on strength."

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p56)

Rudolf Dreikurs: "Parental love is best..."

"Parental love is best demonstrated through constant encouragement toward independence."

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p55)

Rudolf Dreikurs: "Praise, as a means..."

"Praise, as a means of encouragement, must be used very cautiously. It can be dangerous. If the child sees praise as a reward, then lack of it becomes scorn. If he is not praised for everything he does, the child feels that he has failed. Such a child does things in the hope of winning a reward rather than doing them for the satisfaction of contribution. Therefore, praise could easily lead to discouragement since it would fortify the child's mistaken concept that unless he is praised, he has no value. It is better to use simple comments such as, 'I'm glad you can do it!' 'How nice!' 'I appreciate what you have done.' 'See, you can do it.'"

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p55)

Rudolf Dreikurs: "We can only build..."

"We can build only on strength, not on weakness."

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p53)

Rudolf Dreikurs: "Our adult lives are..."

"Our adult lives are filled with pain and discomfort. They are part of life. Unless children learn to tolerate pain, bumps, bangs, and discomforts, they will live with a serious handicap. We cannot protect our children from life. Therefore, it is essential to prepare them for it. Feeling sorry for children is one of the most seriously damaging attitudes we can have. It so greatly demonstrates to them and to ourselves that we lack faith in them and their ability to cope with adversities."

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p51)

Rudolf Dreikurs: "A bully is always..."

"A bully is always a child who, as a result of initial discouragement, has assumed that one is big only when he can show his power. He is discouraged; not naughty and mean. We must distinguish between the doer and the deed."

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p50)

Rudolf Dreikurs: "Whenever we admonish a..."

"Whenever we admonish a child to 'be a good boy' we imply that we expect him to consider being bad and that we lack faith in his desire to be good."

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p49)

Rudolf Dreikurs: "There is no pat..."

"There is no pat answer nor any definitive rule for encouraging children. It all depends upon the child's response."

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p46)

Rudolf Dreikurs: "Contrary to popular opinion..."

"Contrary to popular opinion, stimulating competition between two children does not encourage. Instead, it emphasizes the hopelessness of the situation to the discouraged child and creates apprehension in the successful one that she may not be able to stay ahead. She is overambitious and sets up impossible goals for herself. Unless she is always ahead, she may consider herself a failure, too."

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p44)

Rudolf Dreikurs: "The loss of milk..."

"The loss of milk is less important than the loss of confidence... A bruised knee will mend: bruised courage may last a lifetime..."

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p41-42)

Rudolf Dreikurs: "Genuine happiness is not..."

"Genuine happiness is not dependent upon the attention of others but arises from within oneself as a result of self-sufficiency."

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p41)

Rudolf Dreikurs: "The child who doubts..."

"The child who doubts his own ability and his own value will demonstrate it through his deficiencies. He no longer seeks to belong through usefulness, participation and contributions... To be spanked is better than to be ignored. And there is some distinction in being known as "the bad boy." Such a child has become convinced that there is no hope of gaining a place through co-operative behavior."

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p39)

Rudolf Dreikurs: "Half the job of..."

"Half the job of encouraging a child lies in avoiding discouragement either by humiliation or by overprotection. Anything we do that supports a child's lack of faith in herself is discouraging."

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p38-39)

Rudolf Dreikurs: "...'failure' indicates only a..."

"...'failure' indicates only a lack of skill and in no way affects the value of the person. Courage is found in one who can make a mistake a fail without feeling lowered in his self-esteem. This "courage to be imperfect" is equally needed by children and adults. Without it, discouragement is inevitable."

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p38)

Rudolf Dreikurs: "When a child makes..."

"When a child makes a mistake or fails to accomplish a certain goal, we must avoid any word or action which indicates that we consider him a failure. 'Too bad that didn't work.' 'I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.' We need to separate the deed from the doer."

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p38)

Rudolf Dreikurs: "To save a plate..."

"To save a plate, we break a child's confidence in his own budding ability... we thwart a child's attempts to discover his own strength and ability."

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p38)

Rudolf Dreikurs: "Instead of allowing our..."

"Instead of allowing our children to test their strength in a hundred different ways, we confront them constantly with our prejudice -- our doubt in their ability -- and then justify this by setting up standards for various age levels by which children may be trusted to do things."

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p37)

Rudolf Dreikurs: "In a thousand subtle..."

"In a thousand subtle ways, by the tone of voice and by action, we indicate to the child that we consider him inept, unskilled, and generally inferior."

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p37)

John Irving: "What greater thing is..."

"What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined for life – to strengthen each other in all labor, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each other in silent unspeakable memories at the moment of their last parting?"

—John Irving, A Widow for One Year

John Irving: "An old woman doesn't..."

"An old woman doesn’t always see herself as an old woman."

—John Irving, A Widow for One Year

John Irving: "It broke her heart..."

"It broke her heart to know he was a good man, but not to know if he was the right one."

—John Irving, A Widow for One Year

John Irving: "Be nice twice..."

"Be nice twice…"

—John Irving, A Widow for One Year

John Irving: "There are few things..."

"There are few things as seemingly untouched by the real world as a child asleep."

—John Irving, A Widow for One Year

John Irving: "There is no nakedness..."

"There is no nakedness that compares to what it feels like to be naked in front of someone for the first time."

—John Irving, A Widow for One Year

Laura Munson: "So what if I..."

"So what if I had to ask? Sometimes we have to ask."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "It's amazing how we..."

"It's amazing how we talk ourselves out of our dreams."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "I believe when we..."

"I believe when we act powerfully, we get treated powerfully."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "What kind of world..."

"What kind of world do we live in? I want to live in one of trust. So I try to rid my mind of that noise."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "I wonder if he..."

"I wonder if he knows that I lay this morning in the curve of his shoulder. And dreamed his dreams."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "I'm waiting for him..."

"I'm waiting for him to find himself in the middle of one word, and that word is: gratitude."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "It's easy to be..."

"It's easy to be a hothead. You just better be sure you can live with your ultimatums."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "My grandmother used to..."

"My grandmother used to say, 'There are more eyes watching over you than you'll ever know.'"

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "But how quickly the..."

"But how quickly the heart lifts and falls."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "And I breathe in..."

"And I breathe in everything I've ever believed and known and sought about God..."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "I don't judge you..."

"'I don't judge you. You don't judge me. Because we meet here.' She holds her hand to her heart. People who deal in the soul don't see fences."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "Maybe happiness is merely..."

"Maybe happiness is merely a by-product of the greater state of being free. I think it's commonly referred to as 'peace'. That's what I want. I want peace."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "I decided in that..."

"I decided in that moment to remember to let the waking hour stun me with its simplicity. To deliver me my true nature. And to receive its calm, empty self."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "If we deprive ourselves..."

"If we deprive ourselves of our greatest dreams, how are we setting ourselves up to be treated by our husbands? Our loved ones? Everyone around us? If we neglect our own souls, how are other to react to us? What are we creating?"

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "It's fascinating to me..."

"It's fascinating to me how this pattern tends to repeat itself: just when you get strong, happy, and choose to powerfully fulfill yourself, that's when the shit hits the fan. (Be careful when you change the game. The world might not want to see you so happy.)"

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "Parental love is different..."

"Parental love is different from other love. It's the model for how we, eventually, have to love ourselves."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "It all comes down..."

"It all comes down to this: love and fear. And love is greater than fear."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "...'Love your neighbor as..."

"... 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' That last part was tricky- it meant that we had to love ourselves, too."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "I liked that he..."

"I liked that he believed a woman could be a mother and a writer both. I knew I wanted to be both."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "When we're creating beauty..."

"When we're creating beauty, we align ourselves with our Designer. When we're receiving beauty, we're receiving 'the kingdom' in its best form."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "I write to shine..."

“I write to shine a light on an otherwise dim or even pitch-black corner, to provide relief for myself and others."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "How used to suffering..."

"How used to suffering are we in this life of ours? Dare I suggest that suffering has become our normal?"

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "What is the 'worse'..."

"What is the 'worse' I signed up for in 'for better or worse'?"

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "There's a vast difference..."

"There's a vast difference between being detached... and being un-attached. You wanna shoot for the latter."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "There's a big difference..."

"There's a big difference between wanting and creating."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Laura Munson: "I've always been a..."

"I've always been a seeker of wisdom. I'm not picky where it comes from."

—Laura Munson, This Is Not The Story You Think It Is

Katherine Rosman: "I looked at her..."

"I looked at her, and I thought - as a parent might think when looking at her sad or feverish child- I would do anything, anything at all, to bring her comfort."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "...after a death, every..."

"... after a death, every object can take on heartbreaking meaning."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "On her behalf, I..."

"On her behalf, I feel the crush of all that she wanted but didn't have time to experience."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "...I believe that the..."

"... I believe that the universe has a way of taking you where you need to go..."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "One day, he just..."

"One day, he just realized he had a choice [his wife told me]. He could either feel entitled - that he shouldn't have lost a child, or he could take the road of gratitude - that he should be grateful that he had this child for even a day. That choice between entitlement and gratitude made all the difference for him."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "Until you've gone through..."

"Until you've gone through it, you can't realize that when your parent dies, part of you goes away."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "Miracles result from a...

"Miracles result from a heap of toil mixed with a lot of good luck."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "When I close my..."

"When I close my eyes, I see Mom in her natural state. She is dancing and laughing. Then I place my hand over my own heart and I feel her."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "I guess that's the..."

"I guess that's the definition of faith: believing in something not because you can absolutely prove its truth but because it gives you comfort."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "At certain points in..."

"At certain points in a woman's life, there is something about vanity that reflects upon dignity, strength, and hope."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "It occurred to me..."

"It occurred to me that sometimes bittersweetness might be as much as a person reasonably can hope for."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "There is a spiritual..."

"There is a spiritual rhythm created by women in a kitchen on a holiday..."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "I had become less..."

"I had become less cynical and more like the sort of person who believes that if you are open to finding meaning - which is almost always an exercise in faith and almost never an exercise in certainty - you might find meaning."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "It's a bummer that..."

"It's a bummer that so often when we learn a lesson, it's too late to put it to good use."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "Children, no matter the..."

"Children, no matter the age, are meant to be mortified by their parents. It's part of the natural order."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "As a daughter, I..."

"As a daughter, I could consider my mom as it hadn't occurred to me to do before - as someone who could be defined by more than motherhood."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "...I didn't know what..."

"... I didn't know what to do with my absence of worry - worry that had sucked up so much of my life for so long."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "But when I'm lonesome..."

"But when I'm lonesome and depressed and feeling alone, I will conjure you, my brave mama."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "To open heart: Ignore..."

"To open heart: Ignore what is irrelevant to who you are. Choose beliefs that align with how you want to feel and what you want to create."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "Sometimes being different is..."

"Sometimes being different is what sisterhood is about, for better or worse..."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "There can't be a..."

"There can't be a prescribed etiquette for the day the suffering ends for someone you love. It's a horrible day, and it's filled with joy."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Katherine Rosman: "As the pious have..."

"As the pious have known for centuries, rituals amid uncertainty can bring unexpected comfort."

—Katherine Rosman, If You Knew Suzy

Nujood Ali: "Marriage was invented to..."

"Marriage was invented to make girls miserable. I will never get married again, not ever again."

—Nujood Ali, with Delphine Minoui, I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

Nujood Ali: "Without saying a word..."

"Without saying a word, we both know that at this moment we are insanely happy."

—Nujood Ali, with Delphine Minoui, I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

Nujood Ali: "Compared to dreams, reality..."

"Compared to dreams, reality can be truly cruel. But it can also come up with beautiful surprises."

—Nujood Ali, with Delphine Minoui, I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

Nujood Ali: "She, on whom life..."

"She, on whom life had not smiled, had always shown compassion for those even less well off than she was."

—Nujood Ali, with Delphine Minoui, I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

Nujood Ali: "Life is really weird..."

"Life is really weird - it's not just bad people who spread misery, even pretty things can be hurtful. So hard to understand."

—Nujood Ali, with Delphine Minoui, I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

Nujood Ali: "My life was taking..."

"My life was taking a new turn in this world of grown-ups, where dreams no longer had a place, faces became masks, and no one seemed to care about me."

—Nujood Ali, with Delphine Minoui, I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

Nujood Ali: "I kept hearing my..."

"I kept hearing my father's words in my mind: one less mouth. So that's all I was to him, a burden..."

—Nujood Ali, with Delphine Minoui, I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

Nujood Ali: "Omma gave birth to..."

"Omma gave birth to me the way she delivered all her children: at home, lying on a woven mat, sweating, suffering terribly, and begging God to protect her newborn."

—Nujood Ali, with Delphine Minoui, I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

Aaron Sorkin: "There is a time..."

"There is a time in the history of things that work, when they didn't work."

—Aaron Sorkin, John Spencer as Leo McGarry, The West Wing

Lev Grossman: "It seemed to me..."

"'It seemed to me that if we were going to be elevating freedom to the defining principle of what we're about as a culture and a nation, we ought to take a careful look at what freedom in practice brings.' The weird thing about the freedom of Freedom is that what it doesn't bring is happiness..."

—Lev Grossman, from Jonathan Franzen. The Wide Shot, Time Magazine

Lev Grossman: "One of the ways..."

"One of the ways of surrendering freedom is to actually have convictions and a way of further surrendering freedom is to spend quite a bit of time acting on those convictions... There is something beyond freedom that people need: work, love, belief in something, commitment to something. Freedom is not enough. It's necessary, but not sufficient. It's what you do with freedom—what you give it up for—that matters."

—Lev Grossman, from Jonathan Franzen. The Wide Shot, Time Magazine

Lev Grossman: "There were a couple..."

"There were a couple of years when I could enjoy blowing off a workday and going bird-watching, followed by some years in which I came to realize that because my purpose on earth seems to be to write novels, I am actually freer when I'm chained to a project: freer from guilt anxiety, boredom, anger, purposelessness."

—Lev Grossman, from Jonathan Franzen. The Wide Shot, Time Magazine

Audrey Niffenegger: "Until then, live, fully..."

"Until then, live, fully, present in the world, which is so beautiful."

—Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler's Wife

Audrey Niffenegger: "We beg to be..."

"We beg to be more perfect in our love and patience with each other."

—Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler's Wife

Audrey Niffenegger: "I want God but..."

"I want God... but I don't just want to believe it, I want it to be true."

—Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler's Wife

Audrey Niffenegger: "Chaos is more freedom..."

"Chaos is more freedom; in fact, total freedom.  But no meaning."

—Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler's Wife

Aaron Sorkin: "I have no reason..."

Danny: I have no reason to trust you and every reason not to.
Jordan: Why?
Danny: You work in television.

—Aaron Sorkin, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, "Pilot"

Aaron Sorkin: "If you combine the..."

"If you combine the populations of Great Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and Australia, you'll get a population roughly the size of the United States. We had 32,000 gun deaths last year. They had 112. Do you think it's because Americans are more homicidal by nature? Or do you think it's because those guys have gun control laws?"

—Aaron Sorkin, Richard Schiff as Toby Ziegler, The West Wing

Aaron Sorkin: "Decisions are made by..."

"Decisions are made by those who show up."

—Aaron Sorkin, Allison Janney as C.J. Cregg, The West Wing

Aaron Sorkin: "Cause it's next. Cause..."

"'Cause it's next. 'Cause we came out of the cave and we looked over the hill and we saw fire. And we crossed the ocean and we pioneered the West and we took to the sky. The history of man is hung on a timeline of exploration and this is what's next."

—Aaron Sorkin, Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborn, The West Wing

Aaron Sorkin: "This guy's walking down..."

"This guy's walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out. A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, 'Hey you. Can you help me out?' The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, 'Father, I'm down in this hole can you help me out?' The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. "Then a friend walks by, 'Hey, Joe, it's me can you help me out?' And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, 'Are you stupid? Now we're both down here.' The friend says, 'Yeah, but I've been down here before and I know the way out.'"

—Aaron Sorkin, John Spencer as Leo McGarry, The West Wing

Chris Landers: "We have this agenda..."

"We have this agenda that we all agree on and we all coordinate and act, but all act independently toward it, without any want for recognition. We just want to get something that we feel is important done..."

—Chris Landers, Baltimore City Paper, April 2, 2008

Unknown: "Anonymous is the first..."

"[Anonymous is] the first Internet-based superconsciousness. Anonymous is a group, in the sense that a flock of birds is a group. How do you know they're a group? Because they're traveling in the same direction. At any given moment, more birds could join, leave, peel off in another direction entirely."

—Chris Landers. Baltimore City Paper, April 2, 2008

Peter Dale Scott: "Disinformation, in order to..."

"Disinformation, in order to be effective, must be 90% accurate."

—Peter Dale Scott

Ross Donaldson: "The mountain top is..."

"The mountain top is amazing, but I learn so much more in the valley."

—Ross Donaldson (a friend)

John Osborne: "Trouble is you get..."

"Trouble is you get used to people. Even their trivialities become indispensable to you. Indispensable, and a little mysterious."

—John Osborne, Look Back in Anger, Character of "Jimmy"

Unknown: "All life is art..."

"All life is trying to be art.
And all art is trying to be music."

—Unknown

Albert Einstein: "Common sense is the..."

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen."

—Albert Einstein

Kurt Vonnegut: "We are what we..."

"We are what we pretend to be. So we must be careful what we pretend to be."

—Kurt Vonnegut

Matthew Cody: "Others might have dismissed..."

"Others might have dismissed what they saw as a hallucination, but I... well, I've always believed in the impossible."

—Matthew Cody, Powerless, (p183)

Matthew Cody: "It's not like I..."

"'It's not like I never get angry,' Eric said. 'Believe me, I do. Sometimes I get so angry, I scare myself. But, you know,  that's what being a hero is all about, right? Overcoming your fears and failures to help other people.'"

—Matthew Cody, Powerless (p172)

Matthew Cody: "It wasn't enough to..."

"It wasn't enough to be naturally fast; you needed to know how to ride the wind if you wanted to win. If you fought too hard against nature, you would quickly tire and lose."

—Matthew Cody, Powerless (p2)

Indigo Girls: "Darkness has a hunger..."

"Darkness has a hunger that's insatiable and lightness has a call that's hard to hear."

—Indigo Girls, Closer to Fine

Greg Anderson: "Focus on the journey..."

"Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it."

—Greg Anderson

Toni Morrison: "Adults do not talk..."

"Adults do not talk to us - they give us directions... We do not hear their words, but with grown-ups we listen to and watch out for their voices."

—Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye

John Muir: "Climb the mountains and..."

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings."

—John Muir

Reinhold Niebuhr: "God, grant me the..."

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference."

—Reinhold Niebuhr

Unknown: "You can either complain..."

"You can either complain that roses have thorns, or rejoice that thorn bushes bear roses."

—Unknown

Elisabeth Tova Bailey: "We are all hostages..."

"We are all hostages of time. We each have the same number of minutes and hours to live within a day..."

—Elisabeth Tova Bailey, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating

Elisabeth Tova Bailey: "Survival often depends on..."

"Survival often depends on a specific focus: a relationship, a belief, or a hope balanced on the edge of possibility."

—Elisabeth Tova Bailey, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating

Elisabeth Tova Bailey: "One has to respect..."

"One has to respect the preferences of another creature, no matter its size..."

—Elisabeth Tova Bailey, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating

Elisabeth Tova Bailey: "Given the ease with..."

"Given the ease with which health infuses life with meaning and purpose, it is shocking how swiftly illness steals away those certainties."

—Elisabeth Tova Bailey, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating

Kobayashi Issa: "Climb Mount Fuji O..."

"Climb Mount Fuji

O snail

but slowly, slowly"

—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827)

Edward O. Wilson: "The crucial first step..."

"The crucial first step to survival in all organism is habitat selection. If you get to the right place, everything else is likely to be easier."

—Edward O. Wilson, Biophilia, 1984

Edward O. Wilson: "The nature world is..."

"The nature world is the refuge of the spirit... richer even than human imagination."

—Edward O. Wilson, Biophilia, 1984

Lisa Cholodenko: "It's already hard enough..."

"It's already hard enough to open your heart in this world... Don't make it any harder."

—Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right

John Steinbeck: "I believe a strong..."

"I believe a strong woman may be stronger than a man, particularly if she happens to have love in her heart.  I guess a loving woman is almost indestructible."

—John Steinbeck, East of Eden

Daniel Quinn: "Something better than civilization..."

"Something BETTER than civilization is waiting for us. Something much better - unless you're one of those rare individuals who just loves dragging stones."

—Daniel Quinn, Beyond Civilization

Khalil Gibran: "You are far, far..."

"You are far, far greater than you know - and all is well."

—Khalil Gibran

Daniel Quinn: "The rule in crisis..."

"The rule in crisis management is, Don't make it your goal to control effects, make it your goal to control causes. If you control causes, then you don't have to control effects. This is why they make you go through airport security before you get on the plane. They don't want to control effects."

—Daniel Quinn, The Story of B

Steve Jobs: "Your time is limited..."

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice, heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

—Steve Jobs

Yann Martel: "First wonder goes deepest."

"First wonder goes deepest."

—Yann Martel, The Life of Pi

Gandhi: "Keep your thoughts positive..."

"Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words.  Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior.  Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits.  Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values.  Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny."

—Gandhi