“The talent for being happy is appreciating and liking what you have, instead of what you don't have.”

“what i really want - and what i never get - is to be appreciated. do you know what it’s like to work so hard to make sure everyone’s happy, and to have not a single person recognize it”

“[If] you don't have any soul and you don't have any talent, jazz is what you should do. … any fool can do it; all you gotta do is practice.”

“Do you really want to be happy? You can begin by being appreciative of who you are and what you've got. Do you want to be really miserable? You can begin by being discontented.”

“Happiness is not having what you want, it is wanting what you have.”

“Happiness is not having what you want but wanting what you have.”

“We don't attract what we like or despise, but we attract what we are constantly thinking about. If you are thinking about pain or happiness, then you should have your share of it.”

“To neglect your own mind, that's like to neglect your consciousness. That’s like to give up all hope of joy and happiness, really. You're the only one that can discover for you the meaning of anything. What it means to you. By that, I don't mean intellectual meaning. I mean, what it means, how it makes you feel. You have to see whether you really are happy or not. Whether you really are sad or not. And you have to investigate what goes through your mind.”

“You never fully appreciate what you had until you don’t have it anymore”

“You make do with what you have. As you age you learn even to be happy with what you have.”