“Be true to yourself and figure out what it is that you are good at.”

“Once you figure out who you are and what you love about yourself, I think it all kind of falls into place.”

“Trusting yourself means living out what you already know to be true.”

“On ‘Shrek’ we didn't try to figure out how to make adolescents laugh. You have to use yourself as the best judge and use your own instincts. We figured if we laughed at it, chances are good someone else would too.”

“Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say.”

“Getting what you want is just as difficult as not getting what you want. Because then you have to figure out what to do with it instead of figuring out what to do without it.”

“I was once a fortunate man but at some point fortune abandoned me.
But true good fortune is what you make for yourself. Good fortune: good character, good intentions, and good actions.”

“I would fight the world for you, but I'm damned if I can figure out how to save you from yourself.”

“What Alvin figured out was that when you’re Making, you don’t use people like tools. You don’t wear them out to achieve your purpose. You wear yourself out helping them achieve theirs. You wear yourself out teaching and guiding, persuading and listening to advice and letting folks persuade you, when it happens they’re right.”

“I did not tell Fat this, but technically he had become a Buddha. It did not seem to me like a good idea to let him know. After all, if you are a Buddha you should be able to figure it out for yourself.”