To consider oneself different from ordinary men is wrong, but it is right to hope that one will not remain like ordinary men.

What is important in a leader is a resolute will and determination. A man may be versatile and learned, but if he lacks resoluteness and determination, of what use will he be?

If the body dies, it does no harm to the mind, but if the mind dies, one can no longer act as a man even though the body survives.

It seems hopeless, hopeless. Those who eat meat [at public expense] are a mean, selfish lot, and so the country is doomed. Our only hope lies in the grass-roots folk who eat our traditional food.

Life and death, union and separation, follow hard upon one another. Nothing is steadfast but the will, nothing endures but one's achieve­ments. These alone count in life.

Once the will is resolved, one's spirit is strengthened. Even a peasant's will is hard to deny, but a samurai of resolute will can sway ten thou­sand men.

I am responsible for my own existence and happiness.

Learning to cover a mistake is as important as getting everything right.

I am not built for academic writings. Action is my domain.

There are so many different walks of life, so many different personalities in the world. And no longer do you have to be a chameleon and try and adapt to that environment - you can truly be yourself.

In this bright future you can't forget your past.

Everything happens to me. I've never had a streak of luck in my life.

American Splendor is just an ongoing journal. It's an ongoing autobiography. I started it when I was in my early 30s, and I just keep going.

Thousands of animals (now billions) are butchered every day without a shadow of remorse. It cries vengeance upon all the human race.

For anyone approaching any one of the cast albums, if they don't like what they hear, it's not the performer's fault.