The king cannot lie repeatedly and nakedly and demand to be believed.

 Garrison Keillor

Brian Eno

 “Beautiful things grow out of shit. Nobody ever believes that. Everyone thinks that Beethoven had his string quartets completely in his head—they somehow appeared there and formed in his head—and all he had to do was write them down and they would be manifest to the world. But what I think is so interesting, and would really be a lesson that everybody should learn, is that things come out of nothing. Things evolve out of nothing. You know, the tiniest seed in the right situation turns into the most beautiful forest. And then the most promising seed in the wrong situation turns into nothing. I think this would be important for people to understand, because it gives people confidence in their own lives to know that’s how things work. If you walk around with the idea that there are some people who are so gifted—they have these wonderful things in their head but and you’re not one of them, you’re just sort of a normal person, you could never do anything like that—then you live a different kind of life. You could have another kind of life where you could say, well, I know that things come from nothing very much, start from unpromising beginnings, and I’m an unpromising beginning, and I could start something.”

― Brian Eno

Regard your limitations as secret strengths. Or as constraints that you can make use of. Brian Eno

Humans create machines. Humans give machines intelligence. Machines take over humans. Humans must defeat machines.

 Billy Baker

The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words the truth.

 ― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching  

A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving. Lao Tzu

The best fighter is never angry. Lao Tzu

When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everyone will respect you.
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

Lao Tzu  

Act without expectation. Lao Tzu

Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment. Lao Tzu

 

A leader is best
When people barely know he exists
Of a good leader, who talks little,
When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
They will say, “We did this ourselves.”

― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Manifest plainness, Embrace simplicity, Reduce selfishness, Have few desires. Lao Tzu

Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. Lao-Tzu

Stop thinking, and end your problems. Lao Tzu

Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. Lao Tzu

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

 ― Lao Tzu 

Because one believes in oneself, one doesn't try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn't need others' approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her.
― Lao Tzu

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. Lao Tzu

Simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being. Patient with both friends and enemies, you accord with the way things are. Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all beings in the world.

 ― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching