"Every infantryman in the Soviet Army carries with him a small spade. When he is given the order to halt he immediately lies flat and starts to dig a hole in the ground beside him."

"Emotional maturity is the ability to stick to a job and to struggle through until it is finished to endure unpleasantness discomfort and frustration."

"The sound of diesel fuel rushing through grimy pistons and cylinders below a morning-fogged window bored through his ears like a deep-water drill bit, and the thump of his own heartbeat cursed him for breaking one of his many rules."

"A disciple does not ask, 'How much can I keep?' but, 'How much more can I give?' Whenever we start to get comfortable with our level of giving, it's time to raise it again."

"Fortunate is the person who has developed the self-control to steer a straight course toward his objective in life without being swayed from his purpose by either commendation or condemnation."

"Just ticking boxes is not the ultimate goal here. Embracing a culture of teamwork and discipline is. And if we recognised the opportunity, the two-minute WHO checklist is just a start."

"The daily mindfulness, consistency, and discipline is ultimately more important than the amount of time. In other words, it’s more about quality than quantity. If you use 15 minutes effectively, you’ll accomplish more than you would be able to with two hours of unfocused, random actions."

"Once I get on a puzzle, I can't get off. If my mother's friend had said, 'Never mind, it's too much work,' I'd have blown my top, because I want to beat this damn thing, as long as I've gone this far. I can't just leave it after I've found out so much about it. I have to keep going to find out ultimately what is the matter with it in the end."