Innovators and creators are persons who can to a higher degree than
average accept the condition of aloneness. They are more willing to
follow their own vision, even when it takes them far from the
mainland of the human community. Unexplored places do not frighten
them- or not, at any rate, as much as they frighten those around
them. This is one of the secrets of their power. That which we
call "genius" has a great deal to do with courage and daring, a
great deal to do with nerve.


It is generally recognized that creativity requires leisure, an
absence of rush, time for the mind and imagination to float and
wander and roam, time for the individual to descend into the depths
of his or her psyche, to be available to barely audible signals
rustling for attention. Long periods of time may pass in which
nothing seems to be happening. But we know that kind of space must
be created if the mind is to leap out of its accustomed ruts, to
part from the mechanical, the known, the familiar, the standard, and
generate a leap into the new.


We are anxious when there is a dissonance between our "knowledge"
and the perceivable facts. Since our "knowledge" is not to be
doubted or questioned, it is the facts that have to be altered...


Persons of high self-esteem are not driven to make themselves
superior to others; they do not seek to prove their value by
measuring themselves against a comparative standard. Their joy is
being who they are, not in being better than someone else.


The natural inclination of a child is to take pleasure in the use of
the mind no less than of the body. The child's primary business is
learning. It is also the primary entertainment. To retain that
orientation into adulthood, so that consciousness is not a burden
but a joy, is the mark of the successfully developed human being.


Positive self-esteem operates as, in effect, the immune system of
the consciousness, providing resistance, strength, and a capacity
for regeneration. When self-esteem is low, our resilience in the
face of life's adversities is diminished. We crumble before
vicissitudes that a healthier sense of self could vanquish. We tend
to be more influenced by the desire to avoid pain than to experience
joy. Negatives have more power over us than positives.


Sometimes the subconscious mind manifests a wisdom several steps or
even years ahead of the conscious mind, and has its own way of
leading us toward our destiny.


If we do not believe in ourselves- neither in our efficacy nor in
our goodness- the universe is a frightening place.


We do not hear the term "compassionate" applied to business
executives or entrepreneurs, certainly not when they are engaged in
their normal work. Yet in terms of results in the measurable form of
jobs created, lives enriched, communities built, living standards
raised, and poverty healed, a handful of capitalists has done
infinitely more for mankind than all the self-serving politicians,
academics, social workers, and religionists who march under the
banner of "compassion".


Of all the judgments we pass in life, none is more important than
the judgment we pass on ourselves.