Quote

People that are conceited of their own merit take pride in being unfortunate, that themselves and others may think them considerable enough to be the envy and the mark of fortune.

Meritocracy is a good thing. Whenever possibly, people should be judged based on their work and results, not superficial qualities.

Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected.

There are definitely people who disagree with certain creative decisions you make. Pleasing everyone is pretty hard.

It is only imperfection that complains of what is imperfect. The more perfect we are the more gentle and quiet we become towards the defects of others.

My biggest criticism is how can people be so easily satisfied? Even people with talent.

There's some way in which we would prefer not to see very clearly the immense gifts and intelligence of some of the people who live in our most abject conditions. Maybe there are some things at work in deciding who gets to be society's winners and who gets to be society's losers that don't have to do with merit.

I think people who have faults are a lot more interesting than people who are perfect.

We love to receive praise, but usually we're not certain what message, precisely, we should take from it. On the other hand, when someone points out our flaws, we realize immediately that something needs to change.

Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.