Ayn Rand

Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage’s whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men.

Wealth is the product of a man’s ability to think.

If it were true that men could achieve their good by means of turning some men into sacrificial animals, and … if I were asked to serve the interests of society apart from, above and against my own I would refuse….I would fight in the full confidence of the justice of my battle and of a living being’s right to exist.

The problem is that for women, the average time is just over 14 minutes… men are left with about 12 minutes during which time they need to think of something to do!

I smoke in moderation, only one cigar at a time.

I don’t substitute anybody else’s judgment for my own.

I Shall Return!

Whoever is happy will make others happy too.

The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.

Acquaintance, n.: A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to.

The art of living… is neither careless drifting on the one hand nor fearful clinging to the past on the other. It consists in being sensitive to each moment, in regarding it as utterly new and unique, in having the mind open and wholly receptive.

In the 80s, when I was a little girl, this whole Midtown area was a different world. These are the streets that I walked, and learned my lessons on, and heard the music, and witnessed disenfranchised people, and people who just had dreams and hopes. Every pimp, every prostitute, every drug dealer, every Broadway dreamer wishing they could be a writer, or a musician, or an actor.

I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter.

You must learn that you do not have to be angry just because you have the right to be.

If you genuinely want something, don’t wait for it — teach yourself to be impatient.

Stars are good too. I wish I could get some to put in my hair. But I suppose I never can. You would be surprised to find how far off they are, for they do not look it. When they first showed last night I tried to knock some down with a pole, but it didn’t reach, which astonished me. Then I tried clods till I was all tired out, but I never got one. I did make some close shots, for I saw the black blot of the clod sail right into thee midst of the golden clusters forty or fifty times, just barely missing them, and if I could’ve held out a little longer, maybe I could’ve got one.

The difference between winners and losers is that winners do things losers don’t want to do.

Life is a matter of really tough choices.