“A person’s got to think, otherwise that person’s no better than a trained seal balancing a ball on his nose. If only that seal could think, he’d know he was making a thousand children laugh.”

Experiencing life through a book can help you learn without all the pain of going through the experiences first hand.

And marking off time struck me as something like counting empty spaces-spaces you know can’t ever be filled.

Even if you forget everything else I want you to always remember that you are a person of value, and you have a friend who loved you enough to give you his most valued possession.

When people’s emotions are involved they don’t want to listen.

I love Arkansas but I think Arkansas has its share of unlit minds.

The world is not a rational place.

Like the Bible tells us, when a man will lay down his life for a friend, well, then there ain’t no greater love in this here world than that.

Look inside yourself and you’ll find a world of things (a world of your own experiences)worth writing about.

It seems to me that a man who is incapable of humor is capable of cruelty.

I believe that love is better than hate. And that there is more nobility in building a chicken coop than in destroying a cathedral.

Maybe…in a way, this coffee reminds me of something. Maybe…maybe only a philosopher or a mad man would make this connection, but it’s a little like life. I mean it’s powerful going down and that doesn’t even take into account the aftertaste, which really takes getting used to.

Keep in mind that life produces no maestros, only students of varying shades of ineptitude.

What is genius, anyway, if it isn’t the ability to give an adequate response to a great challenge?

I was hooked on writing. I mean, where else can you get paid for sticking your nose into somebody else’s business?

What do you know about sooner or later? Is a moment only a moment when you’re in pain?

Why is it I’m always so quick to believe that people are thinking…believing the worst about me?

What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the human soul.

Your body exists in the past and your mind exists in the future. In yoga, they come together in the present.

Know your capacities and continually improve upon them.

It’s precisely the people who are considered the least ‘likely’ leaders who end up inspiring others the most.

This one question-‘What do I know for certain?’-is tremendously powerful. When you look deeply into this question, it actually destroys your world. It destroys your whole sense of self, and it’s meant to.

It is so inspiring when you come across a woman who is very strong and dedicated and is amazing at what they do. That’s how I feel about Meryl Streep.

I’d done a few short films before and thought acting was really creative, but when I worked with those guys, I was just like: “Wow!” They had such fun and freedom. They were trying things and stretching themselves. It was so inspiring that I was like: “I definitely want to do this!”

It is impossible to withhold education from the receptive mind, as it is impossible to force it upon the unreasoning.