"All those days that came and went, little did I know that they were life."

“He said not 'Thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be dis-eased'; but he said, 'Thou shalt not be overcome.”

“Heaven's eternal wisdom has decreed, that man should ever stand in need of man.”

“Actually, I have an interest in finishing my Ph.D., but I just know I never will.”

“Every writing career starts as a personal quest for sainthood, for self-betterment. Sooner or later, and as a rule quite soon, a man discovers that his pen accomplishes a lot more than his soul.”

“The secret of the true love of work is the hope of success in that work; not for the money reward, for the time spent, or for the skill exercised, but for the successful result in the accomplishment of the work itself.”

“Surefire things are deadening to the human spirit.”

“If you become very self-conscious about what you are doing, you kill. You kill the character. Then it doesn't work. You have to come from a sincere place. And you don't think too much. I don't go to the hotel and I start thinking what am I going to say tomorrow and start writing things down.”

“I do not pray for a lighter load, but for a stronger back.”