little lightBOOKS & AUTHORS
Ideas worth returning to, from the writers who help us see life differently. Explore 40 brief excerpts from 30 authors, and follow each source to keep reading.
Growth · Author excerpt
The true measure of your potential is not the height of the peak you’ve reached, but how far you’ve climbed to get there.
Adam Grant
Hidden Potential
Read the source ↗Official book page
Make this a wallpaper ↗Perseverance · Author excerpt
I’ll challenge myself every day. When I get knocked down, I’ll get back up.
Angela Duckworth
Grit
Read the source ↗Read the book excerpt
Make this a wallpaper ↗Purpose · Author excerpt
I always told my writing students to write what they’d love to come upon, because then it puts it into existence.
Anne Lamott
13 writing tips, from beloved teacher Anne Lamott
Read the source ↗Quoted from Lamott’s conversation with TED, published 5 September 2017.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Growth · Author excerpt
You’re allowed to change your mind.
Austin Kleon
Keep Going · principle 7
Read the source ↗Author’s official book page; principle 7.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Hard work · Author excerpt
Forget the noun, do the verb.
Austin Kleon
Keep Going · principle 3
Read the source ↗Author’s official book page; principle 3.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Career · Author excerpt
Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.
Brené Brown
Dare to Lead
Read the source ↗Verified on the author’s official quote-card page.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Courage · Author excerpt
When we have the courage to walk into our story and own it, we get to write the ending.
Brené Brown
Dare to Lead
Read the source ↗Author’s quote collection
Make this a wallpaper ↗Hard work · Author excerpt
Do fewer things. Work at a natural pace. Obsess over quality.
Cal Newport
Slow Productivity
Read the source ↗The book’s three principles, as published on the author’s website.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Growth · Author excerpt
It’s not always the people who start out the smartest who end up the smartest.
Carol S. Dweck
Mindset
Read the source ↗Publisher’s quoted passage
Make this a wallpaper ↗Courage · Author excerpt
Perfectionism stops people from completing their work, yes—but even worse, it often stops people from beginning their work.
Elizabeth Gilbert
Big Magic
Read the source ↗From the book excerpt published by SELF with Riverhead Books.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Becoming · Author excerpt
I hope that each day I'm a little bit more open.
Glennon Doyle
WorkLife with Adam Grant · Glennon Doyle
Read the source ↗From TED’s interview transcript, 27 April 2021, around 30:39.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Focus · Author excerpt
If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.
Greg McKeown
The Essentialism Planner · official page
Read the source ↗Verified in the author’s official planner-page heading.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Hope · Author excerpt
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope.
Helen Keller
Optimism: An Essay
Read the source ↗Verified in the original text; preserves the semicolon and exact ending.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Self trust · Author excerpt
If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Henry David Thoreau
Walden · Conclusion
Read the source ↗Public-domain text, verified in Project Gutenberg’s edition.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Calm · Author excerpt
Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control.
James Allen
As a Man Thinketh · Serenity
Read the source ↗Opening of the Serenity chapter; historical philosophical reflection.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Growth · Author excerpt
Your failures are not you. Your successes are not you. They are simply data points that help guide the next experiment.
James Clear
Treat Failure Like a Scientist · essay
Read the source ↗Verified on the author's website; concluding paragraph.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Hard work · Author excerpt
The difference between good and great is often an extra round of revision.
James Clear
3-2-1 newsletter · 16 December 2021
Read the source ↗Author’s newsletter; opening sentence of idea I.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Kindness · Author excerpt
When working with people, assume good intentions. When listening to people, interpret their words in a generous way.
James Clear
3-2-1 newsletter · 27 January 2022
Read the source ↗Author’s newsletter; opening of idea II.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Purpose · Author excerpt
The ideal form of work feels like play, but still accomplishes something useful and valuable. Joyful for you. Helpful to others.
James Clear
3-2-1 newsletter · 18 August 2022
Read the source ↗Author’s newsletter; idea II.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Balance · Author excerpt
Life is a series of seasons, and what works in one season may not work in the next.
James Clear
3-2-1 newsletter · 10 March 2022
Read the source ↗Author’s newsletter; first sentence of idea II.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Small steps · Author excerpt
Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.
James Clear
Atomic Habits
Read the source ↗Author’s quote archive
Make this a wallpaper ↗Women's confidence · Author excerpt
My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me.
Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice · Chapter 31
Read the source ↗Spoken by Elizabeth Bennet; verified in the Project Gutenberg text.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Passion · Author excerpt
When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet · On Work
Read the source ↗Read the original text
Make this a wallpaper ↗Small steps · Author excerpt
The tree which fills the arms grew from the tiniest sprout.
Laozi
Tao Te Ching · James Legge translation
Read the source ↗Read chapter 64
Make this a wallpaper ↗Courage · Author excerpt
I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.
Louisa May Alcott
Little Women · Chapter 44
Read the source ↗Spoken by Amy; verified in the Project Gutenberg text.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Integrity · Author excerpt
The best kind of revenge is, not to become like unto them.
Marcus Aurelius
Meditations · Book VI
Read the source ↗Read the original text
Make this a wallpaper ↗Kindness · Author excerpt
A great soul serves everyone all the time. A great soul never dies. It brings us together again and again.
Maya Angelou
Read the source ↗Author’s official estate
Make this a wallpaper ↗Women's confidence · Author excerpt
When we are able to recognize our own light, we become empowered to use it.
Michelle Obama
The Light We Carry · author statement
Read the source ↗Author statement reported by PEOPLE on 19 April 2024.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Balance · Author excerpt
Confronting our radical finitude – and how little control we really have – is the key to a fulfilling and meaningfully productive life.
Oliver Burkeman
Four Thousand Weeks
Read the source ↗Author’s introduction to the book
Make this a wallpaper ↗Self trust · Author excerpt
Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essays, First Series · Self-Reliance
Read the source ↗Public-domain text, verified in Project Gutenberg’s edition.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Growth · Author excerpt
If you want more, you must become more. And that should terrify you. Because it means something has to change. Something has to die. The comfort, the excuses, the patterns that protect your ego but strangle your growth. All of it. You'll have to walk through fire and let it burn. But that's how it works. You destroy what's holding you back, then you rebuild. New habits. New standards. New systems. A new you. And when it gets uncomfortable? When it feels hard, when it feels like you want to quit? That's the moment you double down and bet on yourself. You bet that you can handle it. That you can make it work. Because on the other side of that discomfort, on the other side of that fire, is who you could be.
Ross Harkness
Make this a wallpaper ↗Hope · Author excerpt
A heart that gives light never grows dim.
Roy T. Bennett
The Light in the Heart
Read the source ↗Author’s quote post
Make this a wallpaper ↗Kindness · Author excerpt
A spark of kindness can ignite a lifetime of hope.
Roy T. Bennett
The Light in the Heart
Read the source ↗Author’s quote post
Make this a wallpaper ↗Focus · Author excerpt
Focus on the moment, on what you can control right now. Not what may or may not be ahead.
Ryan Holiday
How To Think About Obstacles
Read the source ↗From the author’s essay of 11 December 2014.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Hard work · Author excerpt
If it matters enough to be careful, it matters enough to build a system around it.
Seth Godin
Quality and effort · essay
Read the source ↗Verified on the author's blog; November 1, 2018.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Growth · Author excerpt
If we can name the baggage that’s holding us back or confusing us, progress is possible.
Seth Godin
Maps and a compass
Read the source ↗From Seth Godin’s essay of 15 September 2026; not a book excerpt.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Passion · Author excerpt
Working hard for something we don't care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion.
Simon Sinek
Read the source ↗Quote published on Simon Sinek’s official website.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Self compassion · Author excerpt
We’re just humans: flawed and beautiful and longing for love.
Susan Cain
Bittersweet · Teaching 10
Read the source ↗From the author’s official Bittersweet Teachings sheet.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Resilience · Author excerpt
Whatever pain you can’t get rid of, make it your creative offering.
Susan Cain
Bittersweet · Teaching 5
Read the source ↗From the author’s official Bittersweet Teachings sheet.
Make this a wallpaper ↗Calm · Author excerpt
Mindfulness is not an evasion or an escape. It means being here, present, and totally alive.
Thich Nhat Hanh
You Are Here
Read the source ↗Book quotation published by Plum Village.
Make this a wallpaper ↗