Quotes from Brandon Sanderson

Why do they call it research if I've only done it this one time?

The best liars are those who tell the truth most of the time.

It's easy to believe in something when you win all the time...The losses are what define a man's faith.

I froze, shocked. (And don't try to clam that you did anything different the first time a government bureaucrat pulled a gun on you.)

Faith means that it doesn't matter what happens. You can trust that somebody is watching. Trust that somebody will make it all right.

Hmmmm Light makes shadow. Truth makes lies. Hmmmm.

You see, that is the sad, sorry, terrible thing about sarcasm. It's really funny.

People can do great things. However, there are some things they just CAN'T do. I, for instance, have not been able to transform myself into a Popsicle, despite years of effort.

I try to avoid having thoughts. They lead to other thoughts, and—if you're not careful—those lead to actions. Actions make you tired. I have this on rather good authority from someone who once read it in a book.

Elend smiled. "Oh, come on. You have to admit that you're unusual, Vin. You're like some strange mixture of a noblewoman, a street urchin, and a cat. Plus, you've mangaged - in our short three years together - to kill not only my god, but my father, my brother, and my fiancée. That's kind of like a homicidal hat trick.

Why hasn't anyone killed him yet?" "Dumb luck," Wit said. "In that I'm lucky you're all so dumb.

Men rarely see their own actions as unjustified.

Just because I do not accept the teachings of the devotaries does not mean I've discarded a belief in right and wrong." "But the Almighty determines what is right!" "Must someone, some unseen thing , declare what is right for it to be right? I believe that my own morality -- which answers only to my heart -- is more sure and true than the morality of those who do right only because they fear retribution.

If you're always on time, it implies that you never have anything better you should be doing.

I will take responsibility for what I have done," Dalinar whispered. "If I must fall, I will rise each time a better man.

People can do great things. However, there are some things they just CAN'T do. I, for instance, have not been able to transform myself into a Popsicle, despite years of effort.

Unknowing ignorance is preferable to informed stupidity.

A man can only stumble for so long before he either falls or stands up straight.

In the end, all men die. How you lived will be far more important to the Almighty than what you accomplished.

Do not let your assumptions about a culture block your ability to perceive the individual, or you will fail.

A man can only lead when others accept him as their leader, and he has only as much authority as his subjects give to him. All of the brilliant ideas in the world cannot save your kingdom if no one will listen to them.

Strength does not make one capable of rule; it makes one capable of service.

The question,' she replied, 'is not whether you will love, hurt, dream, and die. It is what you will love, why you will hurt, when you will dream, and how you will die. This is your choice. You cannot pick the destination, only the path.

Ah, the outdoors,' Shallan said. 'I visited that mythical place once.