The desire of excellence is the necessary attribute of those who excel. We work little for a thing unless we wish for it.

How many of us have been attracted to reason; first learned to think, to draw conclusions, to extract a moral from the follies of life, by some dazzling aphorism.

The conscience is the most flexible material in the world. Today you cannot stretch it over a mole hill; while tomorrow it can hide a mountain.

He who writes prose builds his temple to Fame in rubble; he who writes verses builds it in granite.

Genius is but fine observation strengthened by fixity of purpose.

Men are valued, not for what they are, but for what they seem to be.

A fresh mind keeps the body fresh. Take in the ideas of the day, drain off those of yesterday.

A good cigar is as great a comfort to a man as a good cry to a woman.

Punctuality is the stern virtue of men of business, and the graceful courtesy of princes.

Love has no thought of self! Love buys not with the ruthless usurer's gold The loathsome prostitution of a hand Without a heart! Love sacrifices all things To bless the thing it loves!

A fresh mind keeps the body fresh.

Neatness and cleanliness is not a function of how rich or poor you are but that of mentality and principle.

Dell had left the army and taken the discipline home with him. I’d left the theatre world and taken the whisky sodas home with me.

Serbian history tells that the family is the most important thing and you have to stick with the family.

Not being given everything encourages you to create... That was one of the first steps for me learning to invent things.

I want the reader to feel something is astonishing. Not the 'what happens,' but the way everything happens. These long short story fictions do that best, for me.

Staying occupied displaces preoccupation and problems, and when we face our problems, they disappear.

I've been in California for about 15 years now. You're always in your car and insulated. I miss New York so much.

In the middle of my heart, a star appeared, and the seven heavens were lost in its brilliance.

There is no armor like perseverance.

I had my autograph down by the age of 13. I used to sign it everywhere.