Mike Royko

"I've never been one to chase trends or worry about what's popular. I just write what I see and what I believe."

"The best thing about being a journalist is that you get to be curious about everything."

"Chicago is an October sort of city even in spring."

"Most people are stupid. They're not doing much thinking."

"The world doesn't owe you anything. You have to take what you want."

"I believe in simple pleasures: a good meal, a good drink, good company."

"You can't trust politicians. They'll tell you what you want to hear."

"A newspaper's job is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."

"Life's too short to hold grudges."

"The only thing worse than a liar is a liar that's also stupid."

"Work is what you do when you have to. Life is what you do when you don't."

"Love is the only thing that makes sense in this crazy world."

"Don't take yourself too seriously. Nobody else does."

"Success is when you stop worrying about whether you're successful."

"The past is done. All you can do is learn from it and move forward."

"Courage isn't the absence of fear. It's doing what you have to do anyway."

"People are basically good. It's their circumstances that make them bad."

"You can't change the world alone. But you can change your corner of it."

"A good friend is worth more than money."

"Family is where you belong, even when you don't want to be there."

"Hope is what gets you through when everything else fails."

"Education is the only real investment you can make."

"Time is the one thing you can't get back. Spend it wisely."

"Freedom means nothing if you're enslaved to your own fears."

"Peace of mind is better than peace in the world."

"Nature always wins in the end."

"Art is what separates us from the animals."

"Science is just common sense applied carefully."

"Music is the language that transcends all others."

"Faith without reason is just foolishness."