“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.”

“First you find out what you have, Dad would say. Then you figure out how to make it work for what you need, 'cause you don't get what you want. You get just what you have and no more.”

“It's not about having things figured out, or about communicating with other people, trying to make them understand what you understand. It's about a chicken dinner at a drive-in. A soft pillow. Things that don't need explaining.”

“I'm not that deep, I'm not that mysterious. Don't try to figure me out. I'm a very open book. What you see is what you get.”

“You don't need someone else's approval to do what you want; just figure it out and do it, damn it!”

“Be kind. It's worthwhile to make an effort to learn about other people and figure out what you might have in common with them.”

“Look at you people in here – what the hell is wrong with you? Nothing. So you could probably have what you want, if you could figure out what the hell it was and you diligently pursued it.”

“If you don't want to sink, you better figure out how to swim”

“Books are like truth serum-- if you don't read, you can't figure out what's real.”