William H. Mauldin

Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.

When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion.

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

When I’m feeling anxious or depressed, I do find it helps to reach for a pen and paper. There is something about writing things down, that hand-eye combination, that makes me feel calmer.

The only true test of values, either of men or of things, is that of their ability to make the world a better place in which to live.

I no longer feel the need of seeking out conscious Americanism. Because we live here and work here, we can be certain that when our music is mature it will also be American in quality.

Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped.

Try to imagine what it will be like to go to sleep and never wake up… now try to imagine what it was like to wake up having never gone to sleep.

Does anyone ask their parents how they are conceived?

My attitude is never to be satisfied, never enough, never.

Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means.

You are only as happy as your saddest child.

A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.

I don’t have any bad habbits. They might be bad habits for other people, but they’re all right for me.

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