Neil Gaiman: "You get work because..."

"You get work because you get work, but people keep working because their work is good, and because they're easy to get along with, and because they deliver the work on time. And you don't even need all three. Two out of three is fine. People will tolerate how unpleasant you are if your work is good and you deliver it on time. People will forgive the lateness of your work if it's good and they like you. And you don't have to be as good as everyone else if you're on time and it's always a pleasure to hear from you."

–Neil Gaiman's commencement speech on the life of an artist

Tina Fey: "So, my unsolicited advice..."

"So, my unsolicited advice to women in the workplace is this: when faced with sexism, or ageism, or lookism, or even really aggressive buddhism, ask yourself the following question... 'Is this person in between me and what I want to do?'

If the answer is no, ignore it and move on. Your energy is better used doing your work and outpacing people that way. Then, when you're in charge, don't hire the people that were jerky to you.

If the answer is yes, you have a more difficult road ahead of you...

If your boss is a jerk, try to find someone above or around your boss who is not a jerk. Is there such a thing as an all-jerk workplace? Yes... But if you're lucky your workplace will have a neutral proving ground... if so, focus on that. Again, don't waste your energy trying to educate or change opinions. Go Over, Under, Through - and opinions will change organically when you are the boss.

Or they won't. Who cares? Do your thing. And don't care if they like it."

–Tina Fey, audio book of Bossypants, (disc 3 track 10)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—Rudolf Dreikurs, Children: The Challenge (p53)

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)

John Irving: "Be nice twice..."

"Be nice twice…"

—John Irving, A Widow for One Year

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: "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