Haruki Murakami

“No matter how strong a will a person has, no matter how much he may hate to lose, if it's an activity he doesn't really care for, he won't keep it up for long.”

“No matter how mundane some action might appear, if you keep at it long enough, it becomes a contemplative, even meditative act.”

“I think it's during these voids, whether it's in a shower, in a long walk running, swimming, whatever it is that you're doing, where you get this like download, this very valuable download from your unconscious.”

“I stop every day, right at the point where I feel I can write more. Do that. And the next day's work goes surprisingly smooth.”

“Emotional hurt is the price a person has to pay in order to be independent.”

“The more obsessed you become with running, with reading, with writing, the more they're going to crowd out things that don't serve them.”

“To keep on going. You have to keep up the rhythm. This is the important thing for long-term projects. Once you set the pace, the rest will follow. The problem is getting the flywheel to spin at a set speed. And to get to that point takes as much concentration.…”