James Dickey Quotes

I wasn't good at the sciences; I wasn't a good enough athlete. The only thing I could do was mow lawns. So I thought that writing or teaching was what I wanted to do.

New Year's resolutions work like this: you think of something you enjoy doing and then resolve to stop doing it.

I had to decide that, you know what, I don't know who the hell I am or what I'm doing, but I do know that historically and scientifically and anecdotally, and anyone who is not an idiot knows, that waking up early and starting the day off with a nice, simple routine is a healthy and productive way to live one's life.

The constant duty of every man to his fellows is to ascertain his own powers and special gifts, and to strengthen them for the help of others.

I want to keep smashing myself until I am whole.

Your reality is yours. Stop wasting time looking at someone else's reality while doing nothing about yours.

I learn from everything I do. I work very hard, I have so many things going on in my life. Get to know me and see who I am.

I get really fantastic results when I just get out of my own way.

The secret of successful people lies in their ability to discover their strengths and to organize their life so that these strengths can be applied.

If someone asks you to run the 100 yard dash as fast as you can, you'll run the 100 dash as fast as you think you can. But if you put someone along side you who runs a little faster, you are going to run faster - whoa - I better step it up a little bit. I do things even I didn't know I was capable of.

The average American watches more than four hours of television per day. What would happen if we spent more time developing our talents than watching others develop theirs?

But do your work, and I shall know you. Do your work, and you shall reinforce yourself.

I am not a perfectionist, but still I seek perfection. I am not a great romantic, but yet I yearn 4 affection

Invest the first hour of the day, the 'Golden Hour,' in yourself.

Aspire to be the man you pretend to be when you're trying to get laid.

Trying too hard to be too good, even when trying to be bad, is too good for the bad, too bad for the good.

What we have not has made us what we are. / ... / What we are not drives us to consummation.

But the most valuable lesson he taught me was this: Every day we get older, and some of us get wiser, but there's no end to our evolution. We are all a mess of contradictions; some of our traits work for us, some against us.

Shedding off one more layer of skin, Keeping one step ahead of the persecutor within.

The best investment you can make is in yourself.

A woman I should like to think I know rather well and a woman I had always considered a mystery, are in fact the same person.

How sad that we often diminish our best gifts by struggling valiantly to develop in someone else's area of ability. It is better to focus on your uniqueness and do that with excellence than to end up with mediocrity in several areas.

I would be so exhausted by my determination that I had no strength left to do the actual work.

Going on means going far, going far means returning.