“My children's books are written on the belief that every child has a talent and a passion. Each story unfolds into an adventure of nurturing that confidence until a passion blooms.”

“It is my belief… that the talents every child has, regardless of his official 'I. Q,' could stay with him through life, to enrich him and everybody else, if these talents were not regarded as commodities with a value in the success-stakes.”

Doris Lessing (1919–2013) British novelist, poet, playwright, librettist, biographer and short story writer

“And beauty, for confiding youth,
Those shocks of passion can prepare
That kill the bloom before its time;
And blanch, without the owner's crime,
The most resplendent hair.”

William Wordsworth (1770–1850) English Romantic poet

“Does talent have any need of passions? Yes, of many passions — repressed.”

Joseph Joubert (1754–1824) French moralist and essayist

“All you need is passion. If you have a passion for something, you'll create the talent.”

Yanni (1954) Greek pianist, keyboardist, composer, and music producer

“Every talent must unfold itself in fighting.”

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German philosopher, poet, composer, cultural critic, and classical philologist

“Experts on romance say for a happy marriage there has to be more than a passionate love. For a lasting union, they insist, there must be a genuine liking for each other. Which, in my book, is a good definition for friendship.”

Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962) American actress, model, and singer

“How was I able to live alone before, my little everything? Without you I lack self-confidence, passion for work, and enjoyment of life--in short, without you, my life is no life.

[Written to his wife, Mileva]”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

“I feel it is our inherent duty as a humane society, above any intangible responsibility, to invest in our world's children’s potential, passion and confidence.”

Masiela Lusha (1985) Albanian actress, writer, author

“Passion is begotten of passion, and it easily happens, as with the children of great men, that the base is the offspring of the noble.”

John Lancaster Spalding (1840–1916) Catholic bishop