Quotes from Leo Rosten

First-rate people hire first-rate people; second-rate people hire third-rate people.

We see things as we are, not as they are.

Why did God give me two ears and one mouth? So that I will hear more and talk less.

Happiness, in the ancient, noble sense, means self-fulfillment—and is given to those who use to the fullest whatever talents God … bestowed upon them.

Money can't buy happiness, but neither can poverty.

Anybody who hates dogs and babies can't be all bad.

Everyone, in some small sacred sanctuary of the self, is nuts.

The purpose of life is to matter, to be productive, to have it make a difference that you lived at all-using the talents that God has given you for the betterment of others.

The purpose of life is not to be happy, the purpose of life is to matter.

Extremists think 'communication' means agreeing with them.

O, to be sure, we laugh less and play less and wear uncomfortable disguises like adults, but beneath the costume is the child we always are, whose needs are simple, whose daily life is still best described by fairy tales.

The purpose of life is not to be happy—but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you lived at all.

I learned that it is the weak who are cruel, and that gentleness is to be expected only from the strong.

The only reason for being a professional writer is that you can't help it.

People say: idle curiosity. The one thing that curiosity cannot be is idle.

Anybody who hates dogs and babies can't be all bad.

You can understand and relate to most people better if you look at them - no matter how old or impressive they may be - as if they are children. For most of us never really grow up or mature all that much - we simply grow taller. O, to be sure, we laugh less and play less and wear uncomfortable disguises like adults, but beneath the costume is the child we always are, whose needs are simple, whose daily life is still best described by fairy tales.

If you're going to do something wrong, at least enjoy it.

Words must surely be counted among the most powerful drugs man ever invented.

Everyone, in some small sacred sanctuary of the self, is nuts.

A writer writes not because he is educated but because he is driven by the need to communicate. Behind the need to communicate is the need to share. Behind the need to share is the need to be understood. The writer wants to be understood much more than he wants to be respected or praised or even loved.

Where was it ever promised us that life on this earth can ever be easy, free from conflict and uncertainty, devoid of anguish and wonder and pain? … The purpose of life is to matter, to be productive, to have it make some difference that you lived at all.

A conservative is one who admires radicals centuries after they're dead.

Happiness comes only when we push our brains and hearts to the farthest reaches of which we are capable.