“And, of course, people are interested only in themselves. If a story is not about the hearer he will not listen.”

People like you to be something, preferably what they are.

If a story is not about the hearer, he will not listen. And here I make a rule—a great and interesting story is about everyone or it will not last.

No one wants advice – only corroboration.

You’re bound to get ideas if you go thinkin’ about stuff.

It’s almost impossible to read a fine thing without wanting to do a fine thing.

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck.

If you want to destroy a nation, give it too much – make it greedy, miserable and sick.

I shall revenge myself in the cruelest way you can imagine. I shall forget it.

How can you frighten a man whose hunger is not only in his own cramped stomach but in the wretched bellies of his children? You can’t scare him–he has known a fear beyond every other.

With all our horrors and faults, somewhere in us there is a shining.

Socialism is just another form of religion, and thus delusional.

Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper.

When a man comes to die, no matter what his talents and influences and genius, if he dies unloved his life must be a failure to him and his dying a cold horror.

A writer lives in awe of words, for they can be cruel or kind, and they can change their meanings right in front of you. They pick up flavors and odors like butter in a refrigerator.

If you’re in trouble, or hurt or need – go to the poor people. They’re the only ones that’ll help – the only ones.

I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.

We live in a time filled with noise but with exceptionally few listeners.

Half the time I feel like I’m talking to the wall because you don’t react at all and then the shock comes when I begin to scream that I just want somebody to listen to me.

We just play whatever we’re into. For a while there, we weren’t listening to too much rap stuff, ’cause there wasn’t anything interesting.

There are prating coxcombs in the world who would rather talk than listen, although Shakespeare himself were the orator, and human nature the theme!

Prayer doesn’t work because someone out there is listening, it works because someone in here is listening.

Every flatterer lives at the expense of him who listens to him.

Learn that every flatterer Lives at the flattered listeners cost.

Some say because music is as much about personal expression as listening pleasure, sharing is integral to why songs have value in the first place.