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You're always learning. The problem is, sometimes you stop and think you understand the world. This is not correct. The world is always moving. You never reach the point you can stop making an effort.
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I am not a self-help writer. I am a self-problem writer. When people read my books, I provoke some things. I cannot justify my work. I do my work; it is up to them to classify it, to judge.
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My connection with Brazil is so abstract. My blood and my way of thinking is Brazilian, but that's it. I don't tend to go back to the past, and although I have an apartment there, I rarely visit. When I move, I really move.
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Things do not always happen the way I would like them to happen, and I had better get used to that.
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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.
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MySpace is an addiction.
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Lovers need to know how to lose themselves and then how to find themselves again.
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Sometimes I catch myself stooping, and whenever I am like that, I am sure something is not quite right.
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Of course, to have money is just great because you can do what you think is important to you.
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I am a Catholic because I choose to be a Catholic. And then I go to the Mass because I choose. It is out of my free will.
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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.
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What did I do to deserve this?
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What interests me in life is curiosity, challenges, the good fight with its victories and defeats.
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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.
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What is a teacher? I'll tell you: it isn't someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows.
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When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.
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I told you that your dream was a difficult one. It's the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary; only wise men are able to understand them.
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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.
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Let us be absolutely clear about one thing: we must not confuse humility with false modesty or servility.
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A brush with death always helps us to live our lives better.
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Most of my young years were spent under the boots of the military.
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I write from my soul. This is the reason that critics don't hurt me, because it is me. If it was not me, if I was pretending to be someone else, then this could unbalance my world, but I know who I am.
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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.
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Jesus lived a life that was full of joy and contradictions and fights, you know? If they were to paint a picture of Jesus without contradictions, the gospels would be fake, but the contradictions are a sign of authenticity.