If you've got a talent, protect it.
Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.
The wise does at once what the fool does at last.
Begin to be now what you will be hereafter.
Be gentle to all and stern with yourself.
After a storm comes a calm.
If you can dream it, you can do it.
If you think you can do it, you can.
Never complain and never explain.
If you're going through hell, keep going.
But mostly, it's a book about my relationship with my father.
And partly, the worst thing you could do in my family was need something from someone. So physical strength represented an avenue of self-sufficiency to me.