Tom Schmidt

“All of man’s troubles arise because he cannot sit in a room quietly by himself for half an hour” – Pascal

There Are No Valid Excuses in the Real World: You either got done what you needed to get done, or you didn’t – no matter what happened in the world, there is no valid excuse because there is no judge

"To love someone long-term is to attend a thousand funerals of the people they used to be. The people they're too exhausted to be any longer. The people they don't recognize inside themselves anymore. The people they grew out of, the people they never ended up growing into.

Playwright George Bernard Shaw on why we need unreasonable people:

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. ”

Philosopher Baltasar Gracián on giving advice:

“When you counsel someone, you should appear to be reminding him of something he had forgotten, not of the light he was unable to see.”

“Love the humble art you have learned”: focus on process, not outcomes

"We often think that we want an open road and the ability to choose any direction for ourselves. But sometimes, what we need is a tunnel that can reduce our choices and send us in a focused direction."

"Once you've started, you're halfway there."