Talkers are no good doers. -- William Shakespeare, "Henry VI"

The problem is that small examples fail to convince, and large examples are too big to follow. -- Steve Yegge.

The direct pursuit of happiness is a recipe for an unhappy life. -- Donald Campbell

First learn computer science and all the theory. Next develop a programming style. Then forget all that and just hack. -- George Carrette

Since programmers create programs out of nothing, imagination is our only limitation. Thus, in the world of programming, the hero is the one who has great vision. Paul Graham is one of our contemporary heroes. He has the ability to embrace the vision, and to express it plainly. His works are my favorites, especially the ones describing language design. He explains secrets of programming, languages, and human nature that can only be learned from the hacker experience. This book shows you his great vision, and tells you the truth about the nature of hacking. -- Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto, creator of Ruby

A hacker on a roll may be able to produce–in a period of a few months–something that a small development group (say, 7-8 people) would have a hard time getting together over a year. IBM used to report that certain programmers might be as much as 100 times as productive as other workers, or more. -- Peter Seebach

I find that when you have a real interest in life and a curious life, that sleep is not the most important thing. ~Martha Stewart

Don’t let the fear of losing be greater than the excitement of winning. ~Robert Kiyosaki

I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions. –Stephen Covey

In my experience, there is only one motivation, and that is desire. No reasons or principle contain it or stand against it. ~Jane Smiley