The power to concentrate was the most important thing. Living without this power would be like opening one’s eyes without seeing anything.

There were times he thought it would have been far better to never have known. Yet he continued to return to his core principle: that, in every situation, knowledge was better than ignorance. However agonizing, it was necessary to confront the facts. Only through knowing could a person become strong.

The way surviving hard winters makes a tree grows stronger, the growth rings inside it tighter

Everybody has to start somewhere. You have your whole future ahead of you. Perfection doesn't happen right away.