The only guy I have to get better than is who I am right now. – M*A*S*H, Colonel Potter

Consequences are unpitying. Our deeds carry their terrible consequences, quite apart from any fluctuations that went before—consequences that are hardly ever confined to ourselves. And it is best to fix our minds on that certainty, instead of considering what may be the elements of excuse for us. – George Eliot, Adam Bede

There is a great deal of self-will in the world, but very little genuine independence of character. – Frederick W. Faber