Haruki Murakami's

If a person still has shame and fear to do something good, then the guarantee for that person is that he will not meet with a single progress. ~ Bung Karno
We all live in tension, from time to time, and from day to day; in other words, we are heroes of our own stories. ~ Mary McCarthy
What appears to be generosity, is often nothing but a veiled ambition, which ignores small interests in pursuit of greater interests. ~ La Roucefoucauld