Quotes About Insight

Comedy is to force us to observe ourselves in ways that are humorous and yet, at the end of the day, that cause us enough discomfort with the status quo to make a change.

People stayed with me and worked extra hard for me because I could see the potential in them - I'm not so sure they could see the potential in me.

I take inspiration from books, movies, television, music - it all goes in the hopper. Depending on the project, I'm drawing from this or that piece of art that has stayed with me. Toni Morrison, George Romero, Sonic Youth - they are all in there.

I am a committed observer. I like staying in the background and seeing what's going on.

Every character gives you something or the other, and you can't calculate it unless you are living the character. You learn something about the character that stays with you.

I don't read for amusement, I read for enlightenment. I do a lot of reviewing, so I have a steady assignment of reading. I'm also a judge for the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, which gives awards to literature and nonfiction.

I don't invest in ideas because ideas are a dime a dozen. I could steal the idea pretty quickly.

With science it's very important not to go down the wrong path, but the wrong path in science is a path you go down where everything you learn is already known. So you need to steer around the obvious.

Bill Clinton's foreign policy experience stems mainly from having breakfast at the International House of Pancakes.

Awareness is the first step in healing.

Really, when you take a step back and you really know yourself, you're able to make better decisions.

I learn something new about the game almost every time I step on the course.

The idea of faking empathy to take a step forward to understanding - it's a really powerful idea.

I always wanted to just stay 10 steps ahead of everybody. It's just been like that my whole life.

Could we have entered into the mind of Sir Isaac Newton, and have traced all the steps by which he produced his great works, we might see nothing very extraordinary in the process.

I think you have to see two steps ahead of things. That's just the way I roll.

I try to be two or three steps ahead of my guy, my opponent.

I'm always good at seeing five, ten steps ahead. Like, really thinking ahead, you know? Reverse engineering, whatever it is, you know.

With my position, you have to kind of be three steps ahead of your opponent.

The three great essentials to achieve anything worth while are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.

The three great essentials to achieve anything worth while are: Hard work, Stick-to-itiveness, and Common sense.

Thomas Frank

If you want to motivate people, then it's more important to think about what they want, rather than what you want.

A book that is shut is but a block.