Conflictis the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. Itinstigates to invention. It shocks us out of sheeplikepassivity, and sets us at noting and contriving.

At times, it is better to keep your mouth shut and let people wonder if you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

We cannot always control our thoughts, but we can control our words, and repetitionimpresses the subconscious, and we are then master of the situation.

Civilization is a movement and not a condition, a voyage and not a harbour.

Do not despair, not even over the fact that you don't despair.

Onemust talk little and listen much.

The remedy for weakness is not brooding over weakness, but thinking of strength.

We areall faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised asimpossible situations.

Whenconflict becomes a win-lose contest in our minds, we immediately try to win.

Windowsof opportunity exist for only a brief moment in time, you have to have visionin order to spot them, and take advantage of them.

The exercise of power is determined by thousands ofinteractions between the world of the powerful and that of the powerless, allthe more so because these worlds are never divided by a sharp line: everyonehas a small part of himself in both.

Even a fish wouldn't get into trouble if it kept its mouth shut.