“Every artist was first an amateur.”

If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.

Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures.

Even in the mud and scum of things, something always, always sings.

Life is short, but there is always time enough for courtesy.

The wise man in the storm prays God not for safety from danger but for deliverance from fear.

The wise man in the storm prays God not for safety from danger but for deliverance from fear.

Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success.

Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.

Few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much.

Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.

You are constantly invited to be what you are.

Life is a journey, not a destination.

Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one’s own sunshine.

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

The years teach much the days never know.

You politicians remain professional because the voters remain amateur.

When we’re living as amateurs, we’re running away from our calling – meaning our work, our destiny, the obligation to become our truest and highest selves.

The amateur tweets. The pro works.

Every master was once a beginner. Every pro was once an amateur.

The sign of the amateur is overglorification of and preoccupation with the mystery. The professional shuts up. She doesn’t talk about it. She does her work.

I’m very, very amateur, which is funny because I’m not in the amateur leagues.

Hell is full of musical amateurs.

Chess has this in common with making poetry; that the desire for it comes upon the amateur in gusts.