My dear, You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you. Sometimes you need a beating. A beating to let you know that what you’re doing right now is weak. A beating to let you know that you’re not at the top of the world; that you have to work to get it, and work to keep it. Sometimes a kick in the teeth is the wake up call you need. And by sometimes I mean most...

My dear, A great man is the man who does something for the first time. The great man is not the man who does something he’s good at. The great man is the man who sees something he’s totally clueless about and yet proceeds. The great man is the man who doesn’t stick with what he knows. The great man is the man who takes no pleasure in not learning and growing. And the especially great man is the man who continuously does...

My dear, Americans are happy. Americans are entertained. And most even go the extra step and be entertaining. The last thing most Americans know about is the procedures of international importing and exporting. But Americans know humor, and have humor. We have so much joy in our nation that it leaks out, whether or not we do it consciously or unconsciously. Laughter is America’s most important export. All our plastic plates probably...

My dear, I judge people. I don’t hide from that. But I’ve got to explain, I judge them by how they operate, not on how they look. (Might have to do with the fact that I work with computers.) I judge them by how they approach new things. Are they the type to call it stupid and uninteresting because they themselves don’t want to try to understand it at all? Are they the type that holds a belief in their head as true just to...

My dear, Don’t worry about doing it all, you can’t. Don’t worry about staying up to date, it’s pointless. Skip it. Skip it all. Skip the socializing, skip the stuff you do to please others and not yourself, skip the stuff you do because you feel you have to do it, and definately skip the stuff that hurts and belittles you, be it substances or people. Skip it all. Figure out what is really important in life and skip...

My dear, I don’t know how it started, don’t ask me. I don’t know how it’ll end, don’t ask me. It’s all wrapped in mystery upon mystery. It began in mystery, and it will end in mystery, but what a savage and beautiful country lies in between. Falsely yours, Diane...

My dear, Friends don’t let friends take the easy path. they don’t let them do just enough, they don’t let them stand still when they have to run, and they especially don’t let them catch their breath. Friends push friends. A friend’s not there so you can have someone to lean on, they’re there to make sure that you don’t do any leaning or slacking of any kind. A real friend knows you’re...

My dear, The best way to ensure that lucky things happen is to make sure a lot of things happen. Luck is just a lottery. And you’ve got to stack the odds in your favor. Everything you do buys a lottery ticket, and you’ve got to buy a lot. And if you want those odds rigged, you’ve got to buy multiple tickets, every day of your life, every chance you get. And trust me, it’s not easy. The system doesn’t go out of...

My dear, Creativity doesn’t come from doing what you’re supposed to diligently (that’s discipline). No. Creativity comes from trying things we’re not supposed to, from not using those ticking seconds efficiently, from avoiding work, from adding fun to a boring task, and from the mind that says to itself, “Wouldn’t it be funny if…” And what other time is this not more apparent than when...

My dear, Smile, it lets your teeth breathe. Smile, because it’s scientifically proven that smiling, even when you’re sad, actually makes you happier. Smile, because a curved upper line is the most beautiful thing to find on a face. Smile, because it’s contagious. Smile, just because. Falsely yours, A....