Meltzer Quotes & Sayings

If you think the worst you'll get the worst, but if you think the best ... "
"and then everything will blow up in your face anyway. Don't you get the punchline yet? Its the great cosmic practical joke: Knock knock, who's there? Big kick in the Ass. — Brad Meltzer

Dream big, work hard, stay humble. — Brad Meltzer

One of the great virtues of our democratic system is that only one of the candidates gets elected. — Bernard Meltzer

We may have heaven and hell in us, but we choose who we are. And who we fight. — Brad Meltzer

Capitalism without failure is like religion without sin. Bankruptcies and losses concentrate the mind on prudent behavior. — Allan H. Meltzer

Be careful crossing above the waterfall, it's a fatal spot. — Karl Meltzer

Sharing education, sharing a book ... that's what changes the world. — Brad Meltzer

Greatness isn't something you should always be chasing. There's greatness within all of us, and I think that's what we forget, — Brad Meltzer

Though I knew so far as Anarchism was concerned I was backing a lost cause, it didn't seem to matter as every other cause had won at some time but that of the people themselves. At least it threw so a light on any other political persuasion. — Albert Meltzer

But ever since she returned to my life ... life doesn't make complete sense. But it definitely makes more sense than it used to. — Brad Meltzer

Nico was wrong. The Book of Fate isn't already written. It's written every day.
Some scars never heal.
Then again, some do. — Brad Meltzer

It's rotten, okay? And once something's rotten, it can never be good again. — Brad Meltzer

You may never make peace with your father. But you can always make peace with yourself. — Brad Meltzer

I need the kind of help that comes with a side order of help. — Brad Meltzer

your intentions. — Brad Meltzer

My worst moments as a parent have been much like my greatest moments as a parent: the product of complete and perfect accident. — Brad Meltzer

Nobody is fit to rule anybody else. It is not alleged that Mankind is perfect, or that merely through his/her natural goodness (or lack of same) he/she should (or should not) be permitted to rule. Rule as such causes abuse. There are no superpeople nor privileged classes who are above 'imperfect Mankind' and are capable or entitled to rule the rest of us. Submission to slavery means surrender of life. — Albert Meltzer

The turkeys get you down. He then slipped the note into — Brad Meltzer

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked. — Bernard Meltzer

That was the problem with being desperate. It always made you sloppy. — Brad Meltzer

Pam described herself as the person in fifth grade who got left behind when her friends got popular. — Brad Meltzer

She wasn't tracking down her father to learn more about him. She was tracking him down to learn more about herself. — Brad Meltzer

No matter what, I'm never going to get an anthology from an actual publisher, though I could always score another music anthology. But if this is going to be a document of a multiplicity of my writings, it'll do. It feels like a birthday party or something. — Richard Meltzer

My issues with it are that simply in terms of my own work. It represents 30 years of output. And some of the things, some of the pieces I've used there, when I first wrote them, they seemed probably very menacing, and I hear them now, and they're just kind of pleasant, if that's the word. — Richard Meltzer

The first five years as a writer, I didn't know how to write at all. I couldn't write my way out of a white paper bag. And yet, I did some remarkable things. And later on, there were periods where I got this mission to find an articulate voice with rewrites and all. There were periods where I was as dense as Faulkner. — Richard Meltzer

A true buddy is a person who thinks that you'll be a fantastic egg although he is aware that you are somewhat cracked. — Bernard Meltzer

Basically, I've reached the point where I've lost any direct relationship to any of the editors I used to have. I suspect I'll have to pay to publish this myself, and I think a lot about about putting out fifty copies. I used to think about hogwash like my legacy and silly things like that. But I feel like if I never have another book out, I've done okay, I've had like twelve or thirteen little books, and I won't be upset about this on my death bed. — Richard Meltzer

I tend to do something for two years then move on to something new. Yoga, then biking, then weight lifting, then back to biking. The moment it feels like a rut, I switch and search for a new love. It's like having a midlife crisis, but without the new wife or cheesy BMW. — Brad Meltzer

Sometimes a speech can make things better. This isn't one of those times. — Brad Meltzer

No matter how far we come, our parents are always in us. — Brad Meltzer

Ice cream is my vice. — Brad Meltzer

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always. — Brad Meltzer

Indeed, woman can be a machine run wild, or a machine can be a better, more subjugated, and efficient woman. — Francoise Meltzer

The beautiful in life ...
Some talk of it in poetry,
Some grow it from the soil,
Some build it in a steeple,
Some show it through their toil.
Some breathe it into music,
Some mold it into art,
Some shape it into bread loaves ...
Some hold it in their hearts. — Bernard Meltzer

And y'know what they decided the number one threat was? The destructive and disruptive capability of a small group. That's what they're worried about most ... they're terrified of a small group with a committed goal. — Brad Meltzer

We are all ordinary. We are all boring. We are all spectacular. We are all shy. We are all bold. We are all heroes. We are all helpless. It just depends on the day. — Brad Meltzer

Happiness is like a kiss. You must share it to enjoy it. — Bernard Meltzer

Winston Churchill quote, the one where he says, Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense? — Brad Meltzer

Immaculate Deception. — Brad Meltzer

our work's reactive: In the — Brad Meltzer

Life delivers far less disappointment when your expectations are low. — Brad Meltzer

It's the worst part of seeing old friends: when your rose-colored memories become undone by reality. — Brad Meltzer

An anarchist society is by definition a Free Society, but a Free Society is not necessarily Anarchist. It might fall short in several respects. Some failings might seriously limit its desirability. For instance, a Revolution carried out by men in a male-dominated society, might perpetuate sex discrimination, which would limit freedom and undermine the Revolution by leaving it possible for aggressive attitudes to be fostered. The liberal illusion that repressive forces must be tolerated which will ultimately wipe out all freedom
lest the right to dissent be imperilled
could well destroy the revolution. — Albert Meltzer

Life takes time. Death, however, reveals itself in an instant. — Brad Meltzer

Virginius Pass, go across the Talus slope and pick up the route through the notch, it is steep, slippery, brutal. — Karl Meltzer

Personally, I want to die in dignity but my passing celebrated jollity. I've told my executors that I want a stand up comedian in the pulpit telling amusing anecdotes, and the coffin to slide into the incinerator to the sound of Marlene Dietrich. If the booze up can begin right away, so much the better, and with a bit of luck the crematorium will never be gloomy again. Anyone mourning should be denounced as the representative of a credit card company and thrown out on their ear. Snowballs if in season (tomatoes if not) can be thrown at anyone uttering even worthy cliches like "the struggle goes on" and should anyone be prepared to dodge pieces of concrete confrontation.
If I have miscalculated, as a worthy clerical friend assures me I have, and there really is a God, I'd like to feel if he's got any sense of humor or feeling for humanity there's nobody he would sooner have in heaven than people like me, and if he hasn't, who wants in? — Albert Meltzer

Don't go to eighth grade ... don't talk about something old ... don't bring up old memories that have nothing to do with who we are now. THIS is all that matters! TODAY. — Brad Meltzer

Y'know what they call the person who does all the work but gets none of the credit? An opportunity. — Brad Meltzer

We all live best in our imaginations. — Brad Meltzer

Overwatch doesn't just bring together the legal and espionage genres. It merges family problems with professional ones, swirls in a major helping of murder and mayhem, and with a deft touch, reminds us why politics is-always-perso nal. — Brad Meltzer

The juice. All I'm asking is that you keep it away from this gossip woman, because if that story runs tomorrow and Ellen sees it - There's a click on my phone. — Brad Meltzer

When I was in that danger ... I felt like I was shaken awake ... after everything she made me feel ... I made a decision and went to sleep. Do you know what that's like - trying to go to sleep, and lose yourself in the hopes of burying the worst fears in your life? ... I wasn't in love with the past. I was terrified of my own future. — Brad Meltzer

Lust: Which senator once reached for a handkerchief in his pocket and proceeded to wipe his brow with a pair of women's panties? — Brad Meltzer

In moments of crisis, the reason people say that things move in slow motion is that the brain is struggling to process too much information at once. As a result, the brain slows it all down to digest each bit of emotion, pain, and reality. — Brad Meltzer

There is no better exercise for your heart than reaching down and helping to lift someone up — Bernard Meltzer

The "allies" of today would be the bureaucrats of tomorrow ... — Albert Meltzer

The fact that your patient gets well does not prove that your diagnosis was correct. — Samuel James Meltzer

An avowed feminist activist and an outspoken bisexual, DiFranco has been candid about the necessity of women musicians identifying with the F-word. "Either you are a feminist or you are a sexist/misogynist," she once wrote. "There is no box marked 'other'". — Marisa Meltzer

If you have learned how to disagree without being disagreeable, then you have discovered the secrete of getting along - whether it be business, family relations, or life itself. — Bernard Meltzer

Watch out for cliffs on the left. Fatal spot again. — Karl Meltzer

If I've learned one thing over the years, it's that every person you encounter brings out a different part of you. — Brad Meltzer

Remember, just because something hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it's impossible. — Brad Meltzer

When you believe in something, fight for it. And when you see injustice, fight harder than you've ever fought before. — Brad Meltzer

We're all being tested...That's what life is. — Brad Meltzer

When I was a Poet
Everything was Possible
there wasn't Anything
that wasn't Poetry — David Meltzer

Before you speak ask yourself if what you are going to say is true, is kind, is necessary, is helpful. If the answer is no, maybe what you are about to say should be left unsaid. — Bernard Meltzer

Take it from the former pastor: The true believers are the ones who'll burn you the worst. — Brad Meltzer

There's the life you live and the life you leave behind. but what you share with someone else - especially someone you love - that's not just how you bury your past. It's how you write you future. — Brad Meltzer

We make a great bad guy, and they all say they hate us. But at the end of every day, people want to trust us. Because we're their government. And people trust their government. — Brad Meltzer

Since the moment I saw her yesterday, I've been looking through the sparkly prism of exhilaration that comes with any old flame. But now, for the first time, I'm not just seeing what I want. I'm seeing what my friend needs. — Brad Meltzer

I mean, what's thematic? How to put it? Going back to, like, 1980, when I started writing poetry. Language itself became an issue. I'd even think about font as an aspect of text, you know, how something looks on a page. A lot of this is the product of a very solitary existence, it's like, language, I mean, you know. A lot of time spent alone in the creation of all of this stuff. — Richard Meltzer

History doesn't choose individual people. History chooses everyone. Every day. The only question is: How long will you ignore the call? — Brad Meltzer

Success is getting and achieving what you want. Happiness is wanting and being content with what you get. — Bernard Meltzer

I played Little League for one year. That was it. Then my mother realized I liked books and threatened my father. I owe her forever for that. — Brad Meltzer

Paperwork is the embalming fluid of bureaucracy, maintaining an appearance of life where none exists. — Robert H. Meltzer

The past may not hurt you, but it won't challenge you, either. — Brad Meltzer

Do you know the real secret of how Presidents become Presidents?" Before I can answer, he explains, "It's because they're good at getting people to do things for them. In fact, they're not just good at it. They're maestros. Virtuosos. To get that title of President, you need thousands of people doing thousands of different things, all for your benefit. It's a massive churning machine. And y'know what feeds that machine?" he asks. "People like you, Beecher. It's fed with your life, and your family, and your reputation. Because when things go wrong ... and they always go wrong ... the President isn't allowed to have that skunk smell around him. So when that happens, he doesn't just replace you. He crumples you up, tosses you out back, and ... chomp goes the woodchipper. — Brad Meltzer

Our fathers never leave us. Ever. — Brad Meltzer

You tell them - you tell them there's a cost ... Every decision we make in life, there's always a cost. — Brad Meltzer

I spend every day showing people the power of history. But history only has the power you give it. — Brad Meltzer

My sleep that night was restless and unquiet, haunted by the ungodly howls of the horrible creature. Its yellow eyes lingered in my mind's eye as I awoke the next morning, — Brad Meltzer

If I can't have a revolution, what is there to dance about. — Albert Meltzer

It's far easier to judge others than to judge yourself. — Brad Meltzer

And more than that, the United States of America was a whole new type of nation. Nothing like America had ever been tried before in the history of the world. — Brad Meltzer

The reason is that Chile is the brightest spot in Latin America. It has very fast growth, low unemployment. It privatized its Social Security system, which we in USA were unable to do. — Allan H. Meltzer

When you forgive, you in no way change the past - but you sure do change the future. — Bernard Meltzer

Those which might have some depth are corny enough to be hokey, and almost hokey enough to be folky, since folky is already so hokey anyhow. — Richard Meltzer

I love when I teach my son a good lesson. But I love it even more when he teaches me. — Brad Meltzer

But wouldn't [the Spice Girls] have shown a little bit more solidarity if they had at least called themselves feminists? The feminist activist Jennifer Pozner was more dismissive,writing that it was "probably a fair assumption to say that 'zigazig-ha' is not Spice shorthand for 'subvert the dominant paradigm. — Marisa Meltzer

I'm not saying I needed my life to be a symphony - I just never thought it'd turn out to be a country song. — Brad Meltzer

I didn't mind writing incoherently, up until about 1980, occasionally. But after that, I decided, might as well be articulate. And I found, though, that writing poetry affected my prose to the point where I never again wrote in one draft, and my prose just took longer and longer and longer. It took longer and longer to come up with an acceptable text. And that's probably one of the reasons that my output has slowed down. — Richard Meltzer

They can also be as manipulative as a James Taylor song. Sure, they're calming and bring you to a good place-but at their core, the whole goal of the damn thing is to undo you. — Brad Meltzer

Some people help thousands of people directly, like Marie Curie or Susan B. Anthony. Others help us by inspiring us, like Amelia Earhart. But you do have to help someone. — Brad Meltzer

Slavery as an institution that degraded man to a thing has never died out. In some periods of history it has flourished: many civilizations have climbed to power and glory on the backs of slaves. In other times slaves have dwindled in number and economic importance. But never has slavery disappeared. — Milton Meltzer

There is a fine line between a carefree spirit and a fear of failure — Brad Meltzer

There is no limit of degradation to which power cannot bring anyone even with the loftiest principles. We would hope that being unprepared for power, they would be ineffective. Their task is not "seize power" (those who use this term show that they seek personal power for themselves) but to abolish the bases for power. Power to all means power to nobody in particular. — Albert Meltzer

The window on the right featured contemporary bestselling authors like Brad Meltzer, James Patterson, David Baldacci, Nelson DeMille, and others who make more money writing about what I do than I make doing what I do. — Nelson DeMille

A lot of things appearing under my byline were written in one draft. But when I started to write poetry, I started getting fussy about every syllable. I wouldn't allow the work to be seen unless it felt perfect. Not clunky at all, no clunky syllables. So, really, for the printed page, it had to have a feeling of rhythmic and syntactic verisimilitude or something. — Richard Meltzer

Stories aren't the beauty of what did happen. They're the beauty of what could happen. — Brad Meltzer

Be daring, be daring, always be daring. There is no big dream unless you dream big. — Brad Meltzer