“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”

“I have seen many storms in my life. Most storms have caught me by surprise, so I had to learn very quickly to look further and understand that I am not capable of controlling the weather, to exercise the art of patience and to respect the fury of nature.”

“People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.”

“Life was always a matter of waiting for the right moment to act.”

“If I must fall, may it be from a high place.”

“Life has many ways of testing a person’s will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once.”

“Because I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present.”

“Life can seem short or life can seem long, depending on how you live it.”

“I want to continue being crazy; living my life the way I dream it, and not the way the other people want it to be.”

“Life sometimes separates people so that they can realize how much they mean to each other.”

God always offers us a second chance in life.

“Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle.”

“Everything tells me that I am about to make a wrong decision, but making mistakes is just part of life. What does the world want of me? Does it want me to take no risks, to go back to where I came from because I didn’t have the courage to say “yes” to life?”

“You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.”

“When each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.”

“What interests me in life is curiosity, challenges, the good fight with its victories and defeats.”

“I can choose either to be a victim of the world or an adventurer in search of treasure. It’s all a question of how I view my life.”

“Life always waits for some crisis to occur before revealing itself at its most brilliant.”

“Sometimes, we are so attached to our way of life that we turn down wonderful opportunities simply because don’t know what to do with it.”

“I’m not saying that love always takes you to heaven. Your life can become a nightmare. But that said, it is worth taking the risk.”

“Life is too short, or too long, for me to allow myself the luxury of living it so badly.”

“Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.”

Physical elegance, which is what I am talking about here, comes from the body. This is no superficial matter, but rather the way that man found to honour the way he places his two feet on the ground.

Elegance is usually confused with superficiality, fashion, lack of depth. This is a serious mistake: human beings need to have elegance in their actions and in their posture because this word is synonymous with good taste, amiability, equilibrium and harmony.

Elegance is achieved when all that is superfluous has been discarded and the human being discovers simplicity and concentration: the simpler and more sober the posture, the more beautiful it will be.

Beauty is the greatest seducer of man.

I am not happy, and the quest for happiness as a principal objective is not part of my world. Of course, ever since I can remember, I have done what I felt like doing

I always was a rich person because money's not related to happiness.

Happiness is just another of the tricks that our genetic system plays on us to carry out its only role, which is the survival of the species.

I have spent every New Year's Eve since 1992 in Lourdes. I spend the hour of my birth every year in the grotto. It's a place with meaning for me.

Of course, to have money is just great because you can do what you think is important to you. I always was a rich person because money's not related to happiness.

“Happiness is something that multiplies when it is divided.”

 “Whatever you decide to do, make sure it makes you happy.”

“A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.”

“Of course, to have money is just great because you can do what you think is important to you. I always was a rich person because money’s not related to happiness.”

“However happy people say they are, nobody is satisfied: we always have to be with the prettiest woman, buy a bigger house, change cars, desire what we do not have.”

Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the economic and political barriers. But first they have to understand that their neighbour is, in the end, just like them, with the same problems, the same questions.

The two worst strategic mistakes to make are acting prematurely and letting an opportunity slip; to avoid this, the warrior treats each situation as if it were unique and never resorts to formulae, recipes or other people's opinions.

When I write a book, I write a book for myself; the reaction is up to the reader. It's not my business whether people like or dislike it.

I wanted to write when I was young, but people said it was impossible. Then my parents locked me in a mental institution - they said I was crazy and would never make a living from writing.

It's not difficult for me to put my feelings into written form. I try to be concise and to go direct to the subject. This is what people like about my work, and what the critics hate.

I can't consciously explain how people feel after reading my books. All is too personal.

I can control my destiny, but not my fate. Destiny means there are opportunities to turn right or left, but fate is a one-way street. I believe we all have the choice as to whether we fulfil our destiny, but our fate is sealed.

Writing means sharing. It's part of the human condition to want to share things - thoughts, ideas, opinions.

About the idea of a clash between cultures, between civilisations, I don't believe in it. It's something some political leaders tried to use, and that the media tried and are still trying to sell us, in order to simplify the world and their work.

Once I found this possibility to use Twitter and Facebook and my blog to connect to my readers, I'm going to use it, to connect to them and to share thoughts that I cannot use in the book.

The only thing that relaxes me is archery. That's why I have to have apartments with gardens. 

I hate to be smart.

Writers are lampposts and critics are dogs. Ask lampposts what they think about dogs. Does the dog hurt the lamppost?

MySpace is an addiction.