Beating the competition is relatively easy. Beating yourself is a never-ending commitment.

He was easy to talk to, and easy not to talk to—equally important qualities in a friend.

He was easy to talk to, and easy not to talk to-equally important qualities in a friend. Essential in a travel companion.

Business is no more about making money than the human body is about making blood. Yes you need to make the stuff, but only to serve your higher aims.

For some, I realize, business is the all-out pursuit of profits, period, full stop, but for us business was no more about making money than being human is about making blood.

Like books, sports give people a sense of having lived other lives, of taking part in other people’s victories. And defeats. When sports are at their best, the spirit of the fan merges with the spirit of the athlete.

I’d tell men and women in their midtwenties not to settle for a job or a profession or even a career. Seek a calling. Even if you don’t know what that means, seek it. If you’re following your calling, the fatigue will be easier to bear, the disappointments will be fuel, the highs will be like nothing you’ve ever felt.