Be gentle to all and stern with yourself.
Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds.
Begin to be now what you will be hereafter.
If you can dream it, you can do it.
I can, therefore I am.
Go for it now. The future is promised to no one.
Always desire to learn something useful.
The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
Well done is better than well said.
To be a good loser is to learn how to win.
I spent many years trying to write a lot like Ben Folds or John Lennon or Rivers Cuomo. I think that's healthy when you're learning to write and seeing how chords fit together and how songs take shape.