Quotes from Randy J. Paterson

Your emotions are governed not by the circumstances of your life, but by the circumstances to which you pay attention

Fashion, in Crisp's view, is the art of denying one's individuality in order to adopt the uniforms and dictates of culture, as determined by people who have never met you, and do not care whether you exist. The implicit goal is to cover your imperfections and become something you are not: a person who is acceptable in the eyes of others. A pleasing shell with no discernible interior. In Crisp's words, "Fashion is what you adopt when you don't know who you are.

Style, on the other hand, is the art of bringing your defining individual features to the fore, regardless of what others might expect or find acceptable:

For most of human history, we appear to have lived in tribes of seventy-five to 150 people. Those who could not handle the complexity of the relationships would go off on their own. Lions need to eat, after all. Today

Reward is much more effective than punishment. If we want to encourage changes in someone's behavior, we are more likely to succeed by focusing on their positive actions than by criticizing their negative behavior.