Anecdotes &
Principles

“For ten years, you’re your child’s favorite person in the entire world. After that, children have other favorite people—best friends, girlfriends, boyfriends, partners, and eventually their own children. But during the first ten years, you’re everything to them; you occupy a unique place in their world.”

“Unfortunately, we live in a society where children’s early years coincide with their parents’ peak working hours.”

“Twenty years from now, the only people who will remember that you worked late are your kids.”

“When you see someone driving a nice car, you rarely think, ‘Wow, the person driving that car is cool.’ Instead, you think, ‘Wow, if I had that car, people would think I’m cool.’”

“Grow or die. Maintenance is a myth.”

“Anxiety only comes from not taking action.”

“Fear of losing is stronger than the desire for gain.”

“If you really think about it, we’re all gamblers. We do things and spend money on education, labor, marketing, and more in hopes of a higher return.”

“The only real test of intelligence is whether you get what you want out of life.”

“Never leave any stone unturned when it comes to your efforts, and leave the rest to God.”

“It’s far better to know why you failed than to be ignorant of why you succeeded.”

“You are right because your facts and reasoning are right—because the outcome was similar to what you predicted. Other people’s opinions have nothing to do with the truth. Truth lives by itself. It’s independent.”

“The easiest way to get what you want is to deserve what you want.”

“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool.”

“You cannot act appropriately if the information you act on is faulty or misunderstood.”

“Many times, we create confusion when we add our own opinions to facts and arrive at the wrong conclusion.”

“It is a good exercise to admit one painful fact about ourselves to ourselves each day.”

“Practice does not improve you. Corrected practice does.”

“Having a goal and understanding the situation are not enough. You must have the courage to act, for only through action can goals, desires, and beliefs be translated into realities.”

“The best defense is a strong defense.”

“A step in the wrong direction is better than staying on the spot all your life.”

“Why do people stand in awe of the stars and the moon, of the immensity of the sea, the beauty of a flower or a sunset, and at the same time downgrade themselves? Did not the same Creator make humankind? Are we not ourselves the most marvelous creation of all?”

“Confidence is built upon an experience of success.”

“To engage your success mechanisms, repeat the commands that worked and remember them. Forget the mistakes and errors. Anytime you hit the wrong button or key, retrace your steps and go back to repeating the steps that were successful.”

“One of the strongest urges in human nature is to react appropriately.”

“Work remains one of the best therapies and one of the best tranquilizers for a troubled spirit.”

“The greatest mistake a person can make is to be afraid of making one.”

“The word ‘resentment’ comes from two Latin words: ‘re,’ meaning back, and ‘sentire,’ meaning to feel. Resentment is an emotional refighting of some event in the past. You cannot win because you are attempting to do the impossible—change the past.”

“The person in whom the capacity to enjoy is dead can find enjoyment in nothing.”

“It is the person who has no purpose of their own who pessimistically concludes, ‘Life has no purpose.’”

“‘I can forgive, but I cannot forget’ is only another way of saying, ‘I will not forgive.’”

“Your forgiveness should be forgotten, as well as the wrong that was forgiven. Forgiveness that is remembered and dwelt upon reinfects the wound you are attempting to cauterize.”

“You make mistakes; you’re not a mistake.”

“The purpose of negative feedback is to modify response and change the course of forward action, not to stop it altogether.”

“Properly directed and controlled, anger is an important element of courage.”