You can see a whole book as a series of creating an expectation and then delivering a skew on that expectation so it's not totally satisfied.

I tend to foster drama via bleakness. If I want the reader to feel sympathy for a character, I cleave the character in half, on his birthday. And then it starts raining. And he's made of sugar.

What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.

What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness. Those moments when another human being was there, in front of me, suffering, and I responded . . . sensibly. Reservedly. Mildly.

Do those things that incline you toward the big questions, and avoid the things that would reduce you and make you trivial.

Developing our sympathetic compassion is not only possible but the only reason for us to be here on earth.

According to me, your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming kinder and more loving. Hurry up. Speed it along. Start right now.

It's a big world, and I really like it.

Character is that sum total of moments we can't explain.

The generalizing writer is like the passionate drunk, stumbling into your house mumbling: I know I'm not being clear, exactly, but don't you kind of feel what I'm feeling?

Kindness, it turns out, is hard - it starts out all rainbows and puppy dogs, and expands to include . . . well, EVERYTHING.

Just as the bird needs wings to fly, a leader needs useful information to flow. Leaders learn.

Being your authentic self exudes a quiet confidence.

Have you ever felt so full of thoughts you think you could burst?

Nothing comes unannounced, but many can miss the announcement. So it's very important to actually listen to your own intuition rather than driving through it.

One biographer said Kennedy lived along the line where charm became power.

It was a good shot, but he didn't execute it very well.

If Someone wants a sheep, then that means that he exists.

There's nothing like space and the ability to make unlimited amounts of noise at any time, especially in San Francisco.

I know that money speaks more loudly than need.

Al Qaeda is very media-savvy and very focused on what goes on in the global media.