One Has Very Little Influence

If You Create A Character, You Create A Destiny.

It Is Not Events And The Things One Sees And Enjoys That Produce Happiness, But A State Of Mind Which Can Endow Events With Its Own Quality, And We Must Hope For The Duration Of This State Rather Than The Recurrence Of Pleasurable Events.

Experience Is Valuable Only When It Has Brought Suffering And When The Suffering Has Left Its Mark Upon Both Body And Mind.

The Need To Express Oneself In Writing Springs From A Mal-adjustment To Life, Or From An Inner Conflict Which The Adolescent (or The Grown Man) Cannot Resolve In Action. Those To Whom Action Comes As Easily As Breathing Rarely Feel The Need To Break Loose From The Real, To Rise Above, And Describe It... I Do Not Mean That It Is Enough To Be Maladjusted To Become A Great Writer, But Writing Is, For Some, A Method Of Resolving A Conflict, Provided They Have The Necessary Talent.

The First Recipe For Happiness Is: Avoid Too Lengthy Meditation On The Past.