They help us to understand that there is no 'us' versus 'them', and that 'The Other' is, in fact, my brother, my sister; the other is me.
— Elif ShafakTurkish-British novelist and author of "The Forty Rules of Love
“We can take a hell of a lot more stress than we believe we can. We should learn how to fight not flight. And fight doesn't have to be a physical thing – it can be that you feel something's going to be uncomfortable 'okay well let's avoid it'. No, go through with it but go through with it in a progressive manner.”— John Kavanagh
Boxing coach of Conor McGregor at Straight Blast Gym Dublin
The quote archive
Wisdom in fragments
A growing archive of 3,000+ moments, drawn from every interview.
Stories help us to develop cognitive flexibility, strengthen our epistemic muscles. It is an intellectual growth but also a spiritual one. It changes us deep inside. Stories rehumanize those who have been dehumanized.
— Elif ShafakTurkish-British novelist and author of "The Forty Rules of Love
What politics couldn't say and left silent, fiction could tell. Literature takes us out of our comfort zones and pushes us to see the issues from various angles. Fiction is an intellectual exercise.
— Elif ShafakTurkish-British novelist and author of "The Forty Rules of Love
There is no such thing as History with a capital H. There are histories, multiple stories waiting to be told, researched, understood and appreciated. The story changes depending on who tells it.
— Elif ShafakTurkish-British novelist and author of "The Forty Rules of Love
I started writing fiction because I was lonely. I was an only child, a solitary child, raised by a single working mother, which was very unusual at the time in Turkey. Literature gave me a sense of continuity, coherence; it kept my pieces together. It helped me to connect even when I felt like I didn't quite belong.
— Elif ShafakTurkish-British novelist and author of "The Forty Rules of Love
Some of my greatest rewards have been when I jumped off the cliff and figured out how to fly on the way down.
— Matthew McConaugheyAcademy Award-Winning Actor Known for Dallas Buyers Club Role
That constant re-entry back into who we are if we're acting like someone, we're not is laborious and exhausting to do over and over.
— Matthew McConaugheyAcademy Award-Winning Actor Known for Dallas Buyers Club Role
What's beautiful is when you're filling your bank account and your soul account. There are two accounts! You can't chase those goals at the expense of your own character, that makes you a paper tiger, a fool.
— Matthew McConaugheyAcademy Award-Winning Actor Known for Dallas Buyers Club Role
When faced with the inevitable, get relative.
— Matthew McConaugheyAcademy Award-Winning Actor Known for Dallas Buyers Club Role
It's only when you look back that you can connect the dots to where we are right now. Looking back, I learned that it was those red and yellow lights that revealed those solar-powered green lights.
— Matthew McConaugheyAcademy Award-Winning Actor Known for Dallas Buyers Club Role
The greatest adventure that any of us can take is answering these questions for ourselves. This isn't deep, dark, conversation, it's normal conversation. The wisest, coolest prophets out there… people like the Dalai Lama… they're full of joy.
— Matthew McConaugheyAcademy Award-Winning Actor Known for Dallas Buyers Club Role
It's okay to have differences... it's okay to have different religions... it's okay to not agree on everything. However, respect should always be there. Sometimes you have to listen before you talk.
— Shaquille O’NealHall of Fame NBA Center & 4-Time NBA Champion
People ask me all the time what do you want to be known for? My answer is simple. I want people to say 'Shaquille O'Neal was a nice guy...' forget how much money I made, forget how many championships I won, or what type of businessman I am.
— Shaquille O’NealHall of Fame NBA Center & 4-Time NBA Champion
Before you succeed, you must first learn to fail. If you keep repeating the same thing, you're always going to fail, you need to adjust. We have to look at failures and use them as an educational tool.
— Shaquille O’NealHall of Fame NBA Center & 4-Time NBA Champion
I never started off with money, I started off with love. The love of being an entrepreneur. The love of being a lawyer. The love of being an athlete. When you start off with love, people will love and respect you and you will always be monetarily rewarded.
— Shaquille O’NealHall of Fame NBA Center & 4-Time NBA Champion
I would have played basketball for $120,000 for 7 years rather than $120 million, because I loved to play basketball. I never said to myself that I would only play basketball if they pay me $100million – I played basketball because I loved basketball.
— Shaquille O’NealHall of Fame NBA Center & 4-Time NBA Champion