"In the mystifying world that was Victorian parenthood, obedience took precedence over all considerations of affection and happiness, and that odd, painful conviction remained the case in most well-heeled homes up until at least the time of the First World War.... By withholding affection to children when they were young, but also then endeavoring to control their behavior well into adulthood, Victorians were in the very odd position of simultaneously trying to suppress childhood and make it last forever. It is perhaps little wonder that the end of Victorianism almost exactly coincided with the invention of psychoanalysis.
— Bill Bryson, At Home
"I was born in the United States, first-generation Cuban American. My family would always tell me the opportunity I had, to be part of a country that gives you freedom, give you the opportunity to control your own destiny, and, more than anything, allows you to be whatever you want to be."
— Pitbull
When Pitbull was five years old, his father took him to bars and had him recite poems by the 19th-century Cuban revolutionary philosopher, journalist, and poet Jose Marti. "That was the first time I saw how powerful words were," Pitbull says. "We're a culture that likes to talk a lot. We have a lot of sayings. Words mean a lot."
"A grain of poetry suffices to season a century."
— Jose Marti
"It is necessary to make virtue fashionable."
— Jose Marti
"I always say it takes a little bit of crazy to keep the big crazy away."
— Mike Edison
Jason Kidd, always a student of the game, dissected film for hours, carefully watching the style and technique of players like Gary Payton and Chris Mullin. Chris was notorious for not being the fastest guy on the court, but he spotted opponents' tendencies, understood angles, and learned the tricks of the trade. Kidd learned all those tricks and wrote a few of his own. You nudge an opponent - soft enough not to foul him, but strong enough to throw off his shot. As players take a shot, they almost always bring the ball back to the same spot - where Kidd, anticipating this, can slap it away. Some opponents don't like to be touched. Others don't like space. With this knowledge, and his positioning on the floor, Kidd can frustrate, disrupt, and solidly defend, even as he ages and loses a bit of the speed and explosiveness he once had. (from Men's Fitness magazine)
"Don't give in to the immediate gratification that is whispering in your ear. SHUT THAT DOWN.... Stay on the warpath. Rest tomorrow. And when you get knocked down, get up, dust off, reload, recalibrate, re-engage.... The reality is: Discipline is your best friend."
— Jocko Willink
Self-talk and visualization are key.
"Inversions, like headstands, have always been really hard for me. It's weird having my feet over my head - it's a trust thing. My yoga teacher said, "Don't be afraid to teeter; you'll find your balance," and that really resonated with me. That's how life is: I'm going to go back and forth, I'll have good times and bad times, but I will find my balance."
— Demi Runas, LPGA golfer
"It is always a privilege to be in a deer camp and to witness the old rituals that never get old: a boy too excited to sleep the night before opening day; a father who remembers that feeling and so loves his son that he'd forgo a pay raise to help him succeed."
— Bill Heavey
"You think the backstage was crazy 12 years ago? You should see it now, man. Our kids can tear up a backstage faster than AC/DC ever could.... I just wanna get home safe now; I just wanna play my music and go home.... I don't know what I'm gonna say when that first tattoo walks in the house, or I find that pack of cigarettes, or whatever it is; I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."
— Dave Grohl, "the nicest guy in rock 'n' roll" in a 60 Minutes interview, smiling, talking about his three young daughters; all the guys in Foo Fighters have kids now
Don't try to be interesting; be interested.
"I decided to stop thinking ahead.... I would give this mission my everything. I would commit to slogging my guts out twenty-four hours of every day until my eyes bled. I would consider anything short of this to be a bonus. At least that should manage my expectations."
— Bear Grylls, Mud, Sweat, and Tears
Expect. That will surely ruin everything.
To expect is to diminish.
"I can remain focused on, and suffer for, the big thing longer than anyone else."
— Tommy Caldwell
"History is a set of lies that people have agreed upon."
— Napoleon
Most negotiation is done in silence.
"A place of peace is a place of power."
— Joel Osteen
"I think of him as a complete person. He has his adult side and his childish side, his male and his female side. He has everything.... He has this wonderful spirit."
— Michael Crichton talking about his friend Sean Connery
"We were feeling tired and great."
— Jack Kerouac
"Grasp the subject, the words will follow."
— Kato the Elder
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