A few quotes I’ve collected over the last few weeks on twitter, or just had lying around, or whatever.

My Goal of the Day: Fully listen to my critics, even if they may not know exactly what they're critical of. -- Malcolm Gladwell

I don’t think I mentioned it, but I ran into Malcolm Gladwell in the lobby of the office building I work in. I always feel a little bad in interrupting someone who probably gets interrupted a lot, but if I actually care about who they are I will usually interrupt anyway. Some may see that as backwards, but whatever. I don’t try to become their friend. I just say hi, express my appreciation for their work, and go on my merry way.

The following advice, given by the deceitful Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood in C. S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters, describes a common malady afflicting many of us today: "Do what you will, there is going to be some benevolence, as well as some malice, in your patient's soul. The great thing is to direct the malice to his immediate neighbours whom he meets every day and to thrust his benevolence out to the remote circumference, to people he does not know. The malice thus becomes wholly real and the benevolence largely imaginary." -- Michael J. Teh quoting The Screwtape Letters

I posted this quote back in November of 2007 and I’ve already said everything I have to say about it (for now).

"To carry a grudge is like being stung to death by one bee." -- William H. Walton

Which would be pretty terrible, especially if you had no allergic reaction to the bee. I choose a grudge-free life.

Also, that would be quite the persistent, death-resistant bee.

Few concepts have more potential to mislead us than the idea that choice, or agency, is an ultimate goal. -- Dallin H. Oaks, "Weightier Matters," Ensign, Jan 2001, 13

Choice, or agency, is a condition of life. This should not be confused with the ability to act on choices without undesired consequences. That’s called freedom.

If your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you need to seriously rethink your life. -- Calvin (Calvin & Hobbes)

And in the spirit of Calvin & Hobbes, here’s a semi-sad reminder (if you love Calvin & Hobbes) about saving things for your children instead of throwing them away. I’m really just putting it here because I like Calvin & Hobbes, I’m sentimental, and I wanted an excuse to post it.