Quotes About Mastery

We can spend our days bemoaning our losses, or we can grow from them. Ultimately the choice is ours. We can be victims of circumstance or masters of our own fate, but make no mistake, we cannot be both. The Walk - Epilogue Page 288

Geography is my strong subject," Ostin said. "Everything is your strong subject," Taylor said.

Amateurs beat the bush, seeking to frighten hiding game into the open. Even when this tactic worked, the amateur found himself poorly prepared and poorly positioned for the kill shot. The professional studied his prey, learned its patterns, and positioned

the path of the warrior is lifelong, and that mastery is often simply staying on the path.

The French idea of playing an instrument well is to be able to SING well upon it.

Du sollst das Gute in dir zum Meister setzen und das Nichtgute zum Jünger.

The tyrant of Syracuse once went to the slavephilosopher Epictetus and told him, "I'll pay the ransom for you and you will be liberated " Epictetus replied, "Why do you care about me? Free yourself." "But I am a king," said the amazed tyrant. "This I contest," was the answer of the philosopher. "He who masters his passions is a king even while in chains. He who is ruled by his passions is a slave even while sitting on a throne.

And you know what else I used to love? I loved to watch you get into your car and drive away - just because it meant you knew exactly what you were doing, and because you always did it so well.

Takes a lot of tries before you hit perfection." He paused to reconsider that. "Well, except for my parents. They got it on the first try." (Adrian)

Gaining superpowers doesn't mean you know how to use them.

The only way to lose a kingdom is if your power drops or..well, if you're killed." "I'm sure Volusian would love to help with that." My minion walked near me, needing no horse to move swiftly. Upon hearing his name, he said, "I would perform the deed with great relish and much suffering on your part, mistress." "You can't put a price on that kind of loyalty," I told Kiyo.

Maybe you're graduating from fireballs to lightning bolts," Adrian suggested. "I bet it'd be a lot like throwing ninja stars. Except, well, you could incinerate people.

The queen's guards might have been the best of the best, but Dimitri . . . well, my former lover and instructor was in a category all his own. His fighting skills were beyond anyone else's, and he was using them all in defense of me.

Since I'm presuming you don't mean you finally bought him a leash, let me say simply that there is a big difference between allowing an animal to ravage you and allowing yourself to be ravaged. One is common. The other is art. It is planned. Crafted, even. Only capable of being done by a master.

Takes a lot of tries before you hit perfection." He paused to reconsider that. "Well, except for my parents. They got it on the first try.

Both Matilda and Lavender were enthralled. It was quite clear to them that they were at this moment standing in the presence of a master. Here was somebody who had brought the art of skulduggery to the highest point of perfection, somebody, moreover, who was willing to risk life and limb in pursuit of her calling. They gazed in wonder at this goddess, and suddenly even the boil on her nose was no longer a blemish but a badge of courage.

The secret of life', he said, 'is to become very very good at somethin' that's very very 'ard to do.

Mr. Wonka knows exactly what he's doing.

obscurity is usually the refuge of incompetence

Obscurity is the refuge of incompetence.

But I could if I took the time and sweat to learn the language of electronics; it's not miraculous—just complex. Teleportation is simple, once you learn the language—it's the language that is difficult.

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, design a building, conn a ship, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve an equation, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

No matter," said Pablo with the dignity of a great magician. "I can fake a Picasso as well as any thief in Europe.

No higher praise can be awarded a fighter pilot than to say he is "shit hot." (The phonetic version used in polite company is "Sierra Hotel.")