Neil Strauss Quotes

Where would we be without inhibitions? They're quite useful things when you look at some of the things humans do if they lose them.

An American monkey, after getting drunk on brandy, would never touch it again, and thus is much wiser than most men.

We know there are certain chemicals that are designed to give us a rush of pleasure. But, one of the most amazing things about being human is our capacity to override that pleasure. To either say, 'I don't need that pleasure right now. I'm going to ignore the craving.' Or to find something else that we find a deeper sense of reward from.

Many a man gets weary of clamping down on his rough impulses, which if given occasional release would encourage the living of life with salt in it, in place of dust.

I'm such a control freak, and it's very hard for me to lose my inhibitions without something chemical inside me.

The ego is not master in its own house.

I always want more.

Fear and greed are potent motivators. When both of these forces push in the same direction, virtually no human being can resist.

Wine is wont to show the mind of man.

O never give me over to my own heart's desires, nor let me follow my own imaginations!

All the movements of our body are not merely those dictated by impulse or weariness; they are the correct expression of what we consider decorous. Without impulses, we could take no part in social life; on the other hand, without inhibitions, we could not correct, direct, and utilize our impulses.

I always feel like there's some behaviour that we're all capable - we have our inhibitions protecting from indulging in certain appetites or developing certain appetites.

People act on what they want more often than what they need.

Some people drink to unleash their libidos, and other people drink to prop up their egos.

What do people want? Well, you really can’t talk about wants until you talk about needs.

There is no thermometer for wants!

He that discovers himself, till he hath made himself master of his desires, lays himself open to his own ruin, and makes himself prisoner to his own tongue.

Alcohol, taken in sufficient quantities, may produce all the effects of drunkenness.

"What's so unpleasant about being drunk?" "Ask a glass of water."

Everyone represses everything. Do you think any of these "normal" human beings really do exactly what they want to do all the time? 'Course not. It's just the same. We're middle-class and we're British. Repression is in our veins.

Macduff: What three things does drink especially provoke? Porter: Marry, sir, nose-painting, sleep, and urine.

What is the motive which operates in every man's breast to counteract the impulse towards the gratification of his wants and appetites?

I was a little drunk. Not drunk in any positive sense but just enough to be careless.

What you subconsciously want, you will get. And what you subconsciously do not want, you will avoid.