How could you reach the pearl by only looking at the sea? If you seek the pearl, be a diver: the diver needs several qualities: he must trust his rope and his life to the Friend’s hand, he must stop breathing, and he must jump.

Good character is more to be praised than outstanding talent. Most talents to some extent are a gift. Good character by contrast is not given to us, we have to build it piece by piece, by thought, choice, courage and determination.

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

To believe in your choice you don’t need to prove that other people’s choices are wrong.

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.

Your time is limited, so donâ€t waste it living someone elseâ€s life. Donâ€t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other peopleâ€s thinking. Donâ€t let the noise of otherâ€s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

When you grow up in the suburbs of Sydney or Auckland, or Newcastle like Ridley or Jamie Bell, or the suburbs of anywhere, a dream like this seems kind of vaguely ludicrous and completely unattainable, but this moment is directly connected to those childhood imaginings. And for anybody who is on the downside of advantage, and relying purely on courage — it is possible.

The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who donâ€t want it badly enough.

It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.