“When I say books can save us; books can be our dear friends, our amazing teachers, our loyal companions of the road, I really mean it, because it happened to me.”
— Elif Shafak
Turkish-British novelist and author of "The Forty Rules of Love

The quote archive

Psychology

A growing archive of 3,000+ moments, drawn from every interview.

It's only when you look back that you can connect the dots to where we are right now. All of us go through things that make us think, 'this makes no sense, why is this happening to me!…' but when you look back you realise that had it not been for 'that,' you wouldn't have had that opportunity… that meeting… that chance… that love.

— Matthew McConaughey

Academy Award-Winning Actor Known for Dallas Buyers Club Role

When faced with the inevitable, get relative.

— Matthew McConaughey

Academy 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 McConaughey

Academy Award-Winning Actor Known for Dallas Buyers Club Role

You can't say, 'I want to change things, I want to lead!' and then say, 'I never want to be wrong, and I never want to fail…' There's no easy answer other than the fact that you have to see the conflict in your own mind and make your own choice.

— Seth Godin

Marketing Thought Leader & Author of "The Purple Cow

In fact, imposter syndrome is a symptom that we are leading because leaders are doing something that's never been done before and so of course you will feel like an imposter, because you are one! Who can guarantee something is going to work? Not you, not anyone.

— Seth Godin

Marketing Thought Leader & Author of "The Purple Cow

To have a career, you have to be able to break out of your ways of thinking about success, otherwise you'll just end up disappointed.

— Sophie Ellis-Bextor

British Pop Singer & "Murder on the Dancefloor" Artist

Music is something that affects your senses in a way that nothing else really can- it's like a time-travel portal! You can listen to something and it transports back to that place… that bar… that nightclub… that time with your friends….

— Sophie Ellis-Bextor

British Pop Singer & "Murder on the Dancefloor" Artist

If you're an artist, you start with catharsis. You have to express your own feelings. I genuinely believe that if music comes from your heart and soul, that people will hear that and will be able to connect with the truth of it.

— Nitin Sawhney

British-Indian composer and musician known for world music and film scores

Music allows us to express our soul and feelings in a way that's very difficult to replicate with words. I've spent more of my life playing music than I have speaking, and I find it a much more effective way of communicating my feelings and thoughts than words have ever been.

— Nitin Sawhney

British-Indian composer and musician known for world music and film scores

When I play, I try to embody the most primal state I can- that's when you're strongest, at your most powerful, intuitive and convincing. Too much information and analysis can actually get in the way of how you would naturally understand and feel your way through the structure of a long, complex piece of music.

— Nicola Benedetti

Scottish violinist & classical music ambassador

I never had a conscious thought that music would be my everything, but I never had anything that pulled me elsewhere, and anything that threatened that sacred part of my life felt like an assault on my being and my sense of worth.

— Nicola Benedetti

Scottish violinist & classical music ambassador

If you want other people to open their minds, you have to open yours too.

— Adam Grant

Organizational psychologist & bestselling author on work culture and human potential

Too often when we find someone disagreeing with us, our question is about why. Why do you believe this ridiculous thing? What tends to work better is a how question... This kind of approach helps to view the real complexity of a situation and reveals gaps in knowledge.

— Adam Grant

Organizational psychologist & bestselling author on work culture and human potential

The scientist mindset says, I will not let my ideas become an ideology. When I start to form an opinion, I should treat it as a hypothesis before doing some observations or experiments to test it. I should be just as excited to find out I was wrong as to prove I am right.

— Adam Grant

Organizational psychologist & bestselling author on work culture and human potential

Any time you get angry, frustrated or disappointed, it's worth remembering that those emotions are just a first draft. You would never publish a draft version of your blog, right? The same is true of emotion- a lot of people just go ahead and 'publish' – internalising how they feel – without stopping for a second and thinking that maybe they ought to do a revision.

— Adam Grant

Organizational psychologist & bestselling author on work culture and human potential

Our senses allow us to perceive, but they're incredibly limited. Science sees far beyond our human blind spots, and the reaches of this 'bubble' our senses create for us. When you're in a bubble, you inhabit a form of fictional reality, and we've seen the dangerous consequences of this in financial bubbles, stock market bubbles, real estate bubbles.

— Ziya Tong

Canadian science broadcaster and host of Discovery Channel's Daily Planet