Simple can be harder than complex. Steve Jobs #pearlsofwisdom

One has to discover everything for oneself. And get over it all alone. Tove Jansson #pearlsofwisdom

Nobody wants to read about a good-looking happy person. Carrie Fisher #pearlsofwisdom

Never speak ill of yourself; your friends will say enough on that subject. Talleyrand, 19th Centaury French diplomat #pearlsofwisdom

People who say others are difficult are usually difficult themselves. Van Morrison #pearlsofwisdom

It’s a wonderful feeling when you discover some evidence to support your beliefs. Anon #pearlsofwisdom

The first thing to know in life is to see what one does understand and what one does not. Duke of Wellington #pearlsofwisdom

People will believe anything if you whisper it. Karl Kraus #pearlsofwisdom

I’m not young enough to know everything. Oscar Wilde #pearlsofwisdom

Nine times out of ten what sounds like a gaffe is really just a flash of normality in a scenario where normality is taboo. Hugo Rifkind

Conversation is dialogue. That’s why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet-Truman Capote

The enemy of the conventional wisdom is not ideas but the march of events. John Kenneth Galbraith #pearlsofwisdom

What really flatters a man is that you think him worth flattering. George Bernard Shaw #pearlsofwisdom

I would rather be terrified occasionally than supervised continually. American novelist Walter Kirn #pearlsofwisdom

Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle. Abraham Lincoln #pearlsofwisdom

Commercialism is doing well that which should not be done at all. Gore Vidal #pearlsofwisdom

Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things they don’t want to impress people they don’t like. Will Rogers #pearlsofwisdom

It is the summit of idleness to deplore actuality. Martin Amis #pearlsofwisdom

If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself. Einstein #pearlsofwisdom

What do book-keepers use for birth control? Their personalities. Joke, quoted in the FT #pearlsofwisdom