The thing that is really hard and really amazing is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.

There are amazingly wonderful people in all walks of life some familiar to us and others not. Stretch yourself and really get to know people. People are in many ways one of our greatest treasures.

No One Is Alone by Stephen Sondheim is all about thinking for yourself and being your own person.

You have to respect your audience. Without them you're essentially standing alone singing to yourself.

I mean one of the things about being alone is that you've no people to define yourself off I mean people are like all-round mirrors because let's face it we don't often see ourselves all round in a mirror anyway do we.

The secret to being a writer is that you have to write. It's not enough to think about writing or to study literature or plan a future life as an author. You really have to lock yourself away alone and get to work.

Picture yourself vividly as winning and that alone will contribute immeasurably to success.

Without strength and courage it's really hard to perform at the highest levels of international figure skating because you're alone on the ice and you only have seven minutes over two nights to prove yourself.

I feel so good after a workout. Any time you can be alone with yourself is really important.

Go on thinking that you don't need to be read and you'll find that it may become quite true: no one will feel the need tom read it because it is written for yourself alone and the public won't feel any impulse to gate crash such a private party.