Quotes

I escaped one time. In 1971 I was in the free world for six weeks.

Jack Henry Abbott

I am at this moment thirty-seven years old. Since aged twelve I have been free the sum total of nine and a half months.

Jack Henry Abbott

How would you like to be forced all the days of your life to sit beside a stinking, stupid wino every morning at breakfast?

Jack Henry Abbott

Because there is something helpless and weak and innocent - something like an infant - deep inside us all that really suffers in ways we would never permit an insect to suffer.

Jack Henry Abbott

At age nine I began serving long stints in juvenile detention quarters. At age twelve I was sent to the Utah State Industrial School For Boys... at age eighteen I was released as an adult.

Jack Henry Abbott

As long as I am nothing but a ghost of the civil dead, I can do nothing.

Jack Henry Abbott

The next time you want to hires someone and are evaluating performance and skill sets, look at the person's ability to get ready fast. When has she been really surprised (positively or negatively)? How long did it take her to integrate it and navigate a positive response?

David Allen

Sometimes the greatest gain in productive energy will come from cleaning the cobwebs, dealing with old business, and clearing the decks.

David Allen

So in order to achieve clarity and be fully and positively engaged in what you're doing, you must (1) know the goal or outcome you're intending and (2) decide and take the next physical move to propel you in that direction.

David Allen

Once a week, do a thorough review of all your projects in as much detail as you need to. If you do, your systems will work. If you don't, no system will work.

David Allen

My opinion is that anybody offended by breastfeeding is staring too hard.

David Allen

Mosquitoes can ruin the hunt for big game.

David Allen

'Land on Mars' as a project still comes down to something like 'Call Fred about the Mars budget proposal' that can be accomplished as soon and as easily as any other activity in our inventory of work at hand.

David Allen

It's hard to be fully creative without structure and constraint. Try to paint without a canvas. Creativity and freedom are two sides of the same coin. I like the best of both worlds. Want freedom? Get organized. Want to get organized? Get creative.

David Allen

If you want to catch fish, and really enjoy the sport, you will maintain your lures and line in some organized fashion. The best at it will always have their tackle ready.

David Allen

I've experienced (more times than I like to admit) avoiding slightly uncomfortable conversations with others I should have had on the front end and then endured much more excruciating ones on the back end.

David Allen

'I need milk' and 'I need to decide whether to buy this company' both tie up space in psychic RAM. The solution is simple. Write it down. Look at it. Do it or say to yourself 'not now'.

David Allen

Decide the outcome and the action step, put reminders of those somewhere your brain trusts you'll see them at the right time, and listen to your brain breathe easier.

David Allen

Beginning drivers seem to make a lot of jerky movements with the wheel. Actually they're making smooth movements to very short horizons.

David Allen

A complete and accurately defined list of projects, kept current and reviewed on at least a weekly basis, is a master key to stress-free productivity.

David Allen