Joseph Heller

"Politics is the art of compromise, which satisfies no one."

"War exposes the lies we tell ourselves about civilization."

"Motivation is temporary until it becomes discipline."

"Inspiration is the lightning that strikes when we're ready."

"Solitude is loneliness only when we feel we don't belong."

"Power is given by those who accept powerlessness."

"Strength is tested not in victory but in failure."

"We fear what we don't understand more than what we do."

"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that very existence of such a world is a form of rebellion."

"When you're dead, you stay dead."

"Some people are worth talking to and others are not; the trick is figuring out which is which."

"I want to keep my dreams, even bad ones, because without them, I might have nothing."

"Catch-22 says I can keep my sanity by doing anything, as long as I claim it makes me sane."

"The problem is that every institution tends to promote the least qualified people to the highest positions."

"I think I'd find it easier to turn myself into a butterfly than to understand the modern world."

"Nobody dies on the same day they were born, but everybody does eventually."

"The worst part about getting older is realizing how little you've accomplished."

"Wars are fought by the young for the mistakes of the old."

"You're sick and tired, and I'm sick of you being sick and tired."

"The most important thing is to keep moving, even when you don't know where you're going."

"People everywhere confuse what they read in newspapers with news."

"I'm not happy and I'll never be happy, but at least I know why now."

"Success is often the result of sheer stubbornness and refusal to accept defeat."

"The secret to life is pretending you know what you're doing."

"Fear is the only real enemy; everything else is manageable."

"Friendship is sustained by people who actually like each other."

"The truth is that everyone lies about almost everything."

"Work is what you do when you'd rather be doing something else."

"History doesn't repeat itself, but it certainly rhymes and echoes."

"The most dangerous thing in life is certainty."