I am convinced that, except in a few extraordinary cases, one form or another of an unhappy childhood is essential to the formation of exceptional gifts.

The pathetic almost always consists in the detail of little events.

Edward Gibbon

When Christians start thinking about Jesus, things start breaking down, they lose their faith. It's perfectly possible to go to church every Sunday and not ask any questions, just because you like it as a way of life. They fear that if they ask questions they'll lose their Christ, the very linchpin of their religion.

A. N. Wilson

A man cannot be said to succeed in this life who does not satisfy one friend.

Henry David Thoreau

It is funny the two things most men are proudest of is the thing that any man can do and doing does in the same way, that is being drunk and being the father of their son.

Gertrude Stein

There are two levers for moving men -- interest and fear.

Napoleon Bonaparte

For a while we pondered whether to take a vacation or get a divorce. We decided that a trip to Bermuda is over in two weeks, but a divorce is something you always have.

Woody Allen

Money is not a motivating factor. Money doesn't thrill me or make me play better because there are benefits to being wealthy. I'm just happy with a ball at my feet. My motivation comes from playing the game I love. If I wasn't paid to be a professional footballer I would willingly play for nothing.

Lionel Messi

I don't think any person has any special knowledge about what God has planned for me and you any more than me and you do.

Willie Nelson

We might not make what athletes in other sports make, but we have greater longevity and we do have certain freedoms to do things they can't do. Like stay home one week and play the next week.

David Duval

The ablest men in all walks of modern life are men of faith. Most of them have much more faith than they themselves realize.

Bruce Barton

Love is an emotion experienced by the many and enjoyed by the few.

George Jean Nathan

People who use their erudition to write for a learned minority... don't seem to me favored by fortune but rather to be pitied for their continuous self-torture. They add, change, remove, lay aside, take up, rephrase, show to their friends, keep for nine years and are never satisfied. And their futile reward, a word of praise from a handful of people, they win at such a cost -- so many late nights, such loss of sleep, sweetest of all things, and so much sweat and anguish... their health deteriorates, their looks are destroyed, they suffer partial or total blindness, poverty, ill-will, denial of pleasure, premature old age and early death.

Desiderius Erasmus