“Almost everything that happens leaves its telltale marks,” he said. “If you teach yourself to see all the marks, you can always read the story.”

A man’s character is like his house. If he tears boards off his house and burns them to keep himself warm and comfortable, his house soon becomes a ruin. If he tells lies to be able to do the things he shouldn’t do but wants to, his character will soon become a ruin. A man with a ruined character is a shame on the face of the earth.

Always remember, Son, the best boss is the one who bosses the least. Whether it’s cattle, or horses, or men; the least government is the best government.

He said it would be good for me, as I grew older, to know that a man always made his troubles less by going to meet them instead of waiting for them to catch up with him, or trying to run away from them.

There are only two kinds of men in this world: Honest men and dishonest men. There are black men and white men and yellow men and red men, but nothing counts except whether they’re honest men or dishonest men. “Some men work almost entirely with their brains; some almost entirely with their hands; though most of us have to use both. But we all fall into one of the two classes—honest and dishonest. “Any man who says the world owes him a living is dishonest. The same God that made you and me made this earth. And He planned it so that it would yield every single thing that the people on it need. But He was careful to plan it so that it would only yield up its wealth in exchange for the labor of man. Any man who tries to share in that wealth without contributing the work of his brain or his hands is dishonest.

The lessons you remember longest are the ones that hurt you the most when you learn ’em. Do you follow what I’m tryin’ to tell you?

Sometimes it’s nicer not to talk when you’re near somebody you love.

You know, Son, sometimes a fellow has to take a licking for doing the right thing. A licking only lasts a short while, even if it’s a hard one, but failing to do the right thing will often make a mark on a man that will last forever.