Of lies, false modesty is the most decent.
The primary reason for underachievement and failure is that the great majority of people don't decide to be successful.
Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, What's in it for me?
It doesn't matter where you came from, it doesn't matter how poor you are, it doesn't matter where your family was. It all doesn't matter. You can achieve anything if you have really clear goals and if you work really hard to learn what you need to learn.
The act of taking the first step is what separates the winners from the losers.
Luck is predictable; the harder you work, the luckier you get.
Take a deep breath, relax and imagine yourself exactly as you wish to be.
In my perfect imagination, with stern discipline I rise with the first bird, salute the dawn, have a healthy breakfast of fruits, wander over to my faux-oak desk, tap the On button on my Macbook Air, acknowledge the muse, and skip into the world where the story flows over the day and into the night.
We need to bring personal responsibility back to the family!
Knowing I wasn't going anywhere, I frantically searched for some way to help her. A dark figure caught my eye. "Christian!" I yelled. He'd been staring at Lissa's retreating figure but glanced up at the sound of his name. One of my escorts shushed me and took my arm. "Be quiet. " I ignored her. "Go after her," I called to Christian. "Hurry. " He just sat there, and I suppressed a groan. "Go, you idiot!" My guardians snapped at me to be quiet again, but something inside of Christian woke up. Springing up from his lounging position, he tore off in the direction Lissa had traveled.
As we grow older and realize more clearly the limitations of human happiness, we come to see that the only real and abiding pleasure in life is to give pleasure to other people.