“Whatever your position, reach out to those who know more than you do, and have been around longer than you have. Find those people. Listen carefully. And learn.”

Agreement can always be reached by increasing the generality of the conclusion; when this is done, the form is generally preserved but only the illusion of policy is created.

Many people around the President have sizeable egos before entering government, some with good reason. Their new positions will do little to moderate their egos.

Enjoy your time in public service. It may well be one of the most interesting and challenging times of your life.

Presidential leadership needn’t always cost money. Look for low- and no-cost options. They can be surprisingly effective.

Politics is human beings; it’s addition rather than subtraction.

Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.

With the press there is no ‘off the record.’

If in doubt, don’t. If still in doubt, do what’s right.

Learn to say ‘I don’t know.’ If used when appropriate, it will be often.

Prune – prune businesses, products, activities, people. Do it annually.

Everyone’s saying you can’t do anything until you can do everything.

Simply because you do not have evidence that something exists does not mean that you have evidence that it doesn’t exist.

If the staff lacks policy guidance against which to test decisions, their decisions will be random.

There are a lot of people who lie and get away with it, and that’s just a fact.

Every day is filled with numerous opportunities for serious error. Enjoy it.

It isn’t making mistakes that’s critical; it’s correcting them and getting on with the principal task.

You are the most important part of the family. Take care of yourself first. Then you’ll be able to take care of everyone else even better.

Pray as if God will take care of all; act as if all is up to you.

So a moral position is not a message. A moral position is a passionate caring inside you.

The only meaning of life worth caring about is one that can withstand our best efforts to examine it.

Not everything needs a reaction. Save you energy and care for things that genuinely matter.

Spirituality is impacted not only by remembrance but by diet, stress, sleeping and eating habits among other things. Take care of yourself.

Radical self-care is quantum, and radiates out into the atmosphere, like a little fresh air. It is a huge gift to the world. When people respond by saying, “Well, isn’t she full of herself,” smile obliquely, like Mona Lisa, and make both of you a nice cup of tea.

The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing that is a friend who cares.