“There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path. Don’t allow yourself to become one of them.”

Put your energy into building what is creative, valuable and empowering. And you won’t have to constantly fight against what is destructive and draining.

If you so choose, the challenges can make you stronger. If you so choose, the disappointments can make you more determined.

It doesn’t matter how much you want. What really matters is how much you want it. The extent and complexity of the problem does not matter was much as does the willingness to solve it.

To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return.

Expect the best of yourself, and then do what is necessary to make it a reality.

Your goals, minus your doubts, equal your reality.

If you so choose, even the unexpected setbacks can bring new and positive possibilities. If you so choose, you can find value and fulfillment in every circumstance.

So choose to keep your focus on that which is truly magnificent, beautiful, uplifting and joyful.

Beset by a difficult problem? Now is your chance to shine. Pick yourself up, get to work and get triumphantly through it.

Make it a habit to tell people thank you.

Every day you spend drifting away from your goals is a waste not only of that day, but also of the additional day it takes to regain lost ground.

The direction of your focus is the direction your life will move.

Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it.

Don’t lower your expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet your expectations.

Live your days on the positive side of life, in tune with your most treasured values. And in each moment you’ll have much to live for.

Let your mind see every detail of your own special version of the very best that life can be.

Every ceiling reached becomes a floor.

It’s always hard to wrap up a series. The longer I spend with the characters, the more they become like friends.

I can’t do this because I can’t…I can’t be the man I want to be with you. And that means that this – this just becomes…another reminder of what I am not.

One of the few blessings of living in an age of anxiety is that we are forced to become aware of ourselves.

What is wonderful about my art is that dream and reality can become one. There is just one step between the two.

Much to my own surprise, I got through it. And life…well, gradually became livable again.

You have to like the present; if not your life becomes secondhand, if you think it was better before. Or that it will be better in the future.

Writing in African languages became a topic of discussion in conferences, in schools, in classrooms; the issue is always being raised – so it’s no longer “in the closet,” as it were. It’s part of the discussion going on about the future of African literature.