Quotes from Douglas Coupland

You wait for fate to bring about the changes in life which you should be bringing about by yourself.

You can't get mad at weather because weather's not about you. Apply that lesson to most other aspects of life.

There are three things we cry for in life: things that are lost, things that are found, and things that are magnificent.

Figure out what it is in life you don't do well, and then don't do it.

Most people can't handle a structureless life.

Here's my theory about meetings and life: the three things you can't fake are erections, competence and creativity.

It's not healthy to live life as a succession of isolated little cool moments.

If your life had lyrics, would they be any good?

So where do you start when you want to start your life again?

Too much free time is certainly a monkey's paw in disguise. Most people can't handle a structureless life.

I began doing writing projects and art and design projects to explore a new way of seeing Canada. Roots is one more way of continuing this exploration. I want to present a wide-open Canadian sense of color, adventure, communication and openness that defines our country.

Fate is for losers.

Art was always my main focus; I fell into writing by accident in the 1980s, writing magazine articles to pay for my studio. I have to put myself into the position of writing; sometimes it doesn't work, and sometimes it works great.

The thing with bookshelves, no matter how many you have, you always fill them.

My own experience with being interviewed is mixed. I suppose they're a part of my job, and as I would like readers to connect with my books, I do them. I've also made many lifelong friends whom I first encountered as interviewers - as a writer, they're a terrific way to meet and add smart new people to one's life.

Quick. Name ten dead redheads.

Ten commandments yet seven deadly sins: conflict?

I've always thought that you live in the present, you live in a specific present. You are writing, present tense, so write in the present as it is.

Everyone should have a tailor. David Wilkes, the guy who does my stuff, is like, 'Well you're a writer - do you want a special pen compartment or something?' Bespoke: That's the term you want to get out there.

I'm pro-forwards. Do I want the Seventies to come back? No. The haircuts were terrible. Everyone stank. The food was awful.

Clowns drink to blot out the ravages of terrifying children for a living.

Flying dreams mean that you're doing the right thing with your life.

I didn't realize then that so much of being adult is reconciling ourselves with the awkwardness and strangeness of our own feelings. Youth is the time of life lived for some imaginary audience

I think money is due for some sort of collapse. People are going to realize that money has a half-life, like radioactive elements.