What advice would you give your twenty-year-old self, and what should they ignore?
Recorded Richard Ford said elsewhere, not written here
Marry somebody you love and who thinks you being a writer’s a good idea.

The Guardian Review, 20 February 2010 source ↗

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Charlie Munger Vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, 1978–2023
Luckily, I got at a very early age the idea that the safest way to try and get what you want is to try and deserve what you want. It's such a simple idea. It's the golden rule so to speak. You want to deliver to the world what you would buy if you were on the other end. There is no ethos, in my opinion, that is better for any lawyer or any other person to have.
Recorded USC Gould School of Law commencement, Speakola, 2007 source ↗
Eleanor Roosevelt First Lady of the United States 1933–1945; United States Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly 1945–1952; Chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights 1946–1951
Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down.
Recorded You Learn by Living (1960), Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project, The George Washington University, 1960 source ↗
Benazir Bhutto Prime Minister of Pakistan, 1988–1990 and 1993–1996
I’d tell them, “If you believe in something, go for it, but know that when you go for it there’s a price to be paid. Be ready to pay that price and you can contribute to the welfare of society, and society will acknowledge you and respect you for it. And don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid.”
Recorded Academy of Achievement recorded interview, American Academy of Achievement, 27 October 2000 source ↗
Óscar Arias Sánchez President of Costa Rica, 1986–1990 and 2006–2010
History was not written by men who predicted failure, who gave up their dreams, who abandoned their principles, who allowed their laziness to put their intelligence to sleep. If certain men at times were alone in seeking victory, they always had at their side the watchful spirit of their peoples, the faith and destiny of many generations.
Recorded Oslo City Hall, The Nobel Foundation, 11 December 1987 source ↗

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