On Bad Feelings as Messengers: “Stress, unhappiness, anxiety, and depression are not bad things. They are not human malfunctions. Quite the opposite, they are proof that everything is working as it should. They come to us as messengers, to tap us on the shoulder and point out that our lives have slipped out of alignment.” 

On a Meaningful Life: “You cannot live a meaningful life by filling your life with meaningless things and activities” 

On Action and Inaction: “Bold action is beautiful when action is what is needed. Any action is clumsy when what is needed is inaction.” 

On Our Ability to Choose: “One of the most pathetic things we can say as human beings is, ‘I had no choice.’ Our ability to choose is one of things that makes us uniquely human.”

On Creativity and Its Infinite Number of Expressions: “If creativity expressed itself the same way in everyone that would be boring. It manifests differently from one person to the next. Creativity has an infinite number of expressions.” 

On Reasonable and Unreasonable Expectations: “If we examine our expectations, and dismantle those that are false and unreasonable, they can be transmuted into a rare form of wisdom. If on the other hand, we stubbornly hold onto our unreasonable expectations, Reality will demolish them, and we will suffer.” 

On Feeling Inadequate as a Writer: “Writing makes me feel inadequate. It’s one of those things that you never quite get right. I know I can never get down on paper what I see with the eyes of my soul.”

On Feelings and Their Specificity: “Feelings are visitors of the heart… each feeling comes to teach you something very specific.”

On Gold Dust “We each possess the gold dust needed to glue other people back together, making them more beautiful and lovable than ever.”

On Having a Personal Philosophy: “Without a personal philosophy, life can seem confusing and complex, because every time you have a decision to make, you need to build a philosophy from scratch.”

On Intentionality: “Life should be lived with maximum intentionality.” [I’m often failing at this.]

On Joy as a Paradox: “It is one of life’s most delightful paradoxes: the more joy we bring to others, the more our joy expands.”

On Living Life: “We all end up living unexpected lives.”

On Obligation: “So much of what we do, we do out of obligation – real or imagined.” [Hint: a lot of it is imagined]

On the Power of Speech: “The power of speech is unfathomable. Gossip can never be undone. It is cruel, divisive, and demeaning. It alters the way people see another person forever. It robs the victim of dignity and opportunity.” [Backs up my belief that words are indeed more powerful than we give them credit]

On Rehumanization: “Discovering your own brokenness and realizing that you can be put back together and healed to become more beautiful and more lovable than ever before is the summit of rehumanization.”

On Seeking Simplicity: “Allow yourself to be governed by a quest for simplicity.” [Academic types like myself need to, and should, seek simplicity over needless complexity.]

On What Appears to Be Steps Backwards: “What appears to be a step back today, may turn out to be the first marvelous step forward ten years from now.”

On the “Mystery of You”: “Whatever path you are called to follow, whatever it is you feel called to do and become, the secret to success is diving deep into the mystery of you.” [This is an especially beautiful idea, however abstract]

On the Culture of Expectations: “Swept along by a culture of expectations, most people never pause long enough to reflect upon the deepest desires of their hearts.”

On the Past: “Allow the past to serve you. Don’t let it rob you of your now. Don’t let it steal your future.”

On the Unseen Moments of Our Lives: “Most people don’t know you well enough to compliment you or criticize you, and it is the unseen moments of our lives that define us.”

On Who You Are Capable of Becoming: “Meet with the person you are capable of becoming for a few minutes each day.”