Brad Meltzer Quotes

We are all ordinary. We are all boring. We are all spectacular. We are all shy. We are all bold. We are all heroes. We are all helpless. It just depends on the day.

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.

there's nothing more intimate in life than simply being understood. And understanding someone else.

In this world, there was nothing scarier than trusting someone. But there was also nothing more rewarding.

No matter how far we come, our parents are always in us.

It's the worst part of seeing old friends: when your rose-colored memories become undone by reality.

The worst lies in life are the ones we tell ourselves.

She dumped me for the worst reason of all. For absolutely no reason at all...I mean, if she fell in love with someone else, or I did something wrong, or I let her down in some unforgivable way...That, I'd understand, right? But instead, she said...it wasn't anything. Not a single thing. It was just me. I was nice. I was kind. We just...she didn't see the connection anymore. I think she thought I was boring. And the cruelest part is, when someone says something mean about you, you know when they're right.

Stories aren’t the beauty of what did happen. They’re the beauty of what could happen.

She wasn't tracking down her father to learn more about him. She was tracking him down to learn more about herself.

Nico was wrong. The Book of Fate isn't already written. It's written every day. Some scars never heal. Then again, some do.

...can I tell you something...? I don't think you're in love with the past. I think you're scared of the future.

There's the life you live and the life you leave behind. but what you share with someone else - especially someone you love - that's not just how you bury your past. It's how you write you future.

You tell them - you tell them there's a cost.....Every decision we make in life, there's always a cost.

For me, Superman's greatest contribution has never been the superhero part: it's the Clark Kent part - the idea that any of us, in all our ordinariness, can change the world.

We all live best in our imaginations.

So much harm comes into this world when the wrong thing is said. But that's nothing compared to the pain from what goes unsaid.

The only thing worse than remembering the past is the fear of reliving it.

I understand pain. I've lived with pain my entire life. But pain is nothing compared to betrayal. And betrayal is nothing compared to knowing that the javelin in your back was rammed there by the one person in your life you actually trusted.

The window on the right featured contemporary bestselling authors like Brad Meltzer, James Patterson, David Baldacci, Nelson DeMille, and others who make more money writing about what I do than I make doing what I do.

History doesn't choose individual people. History chooses everyone. Every day. The only question is: How long will you ignore the call?

We're all being tested...That's what life is.

Haven't you ever played Uno?... Sometimes you have to lose all your cards to win.

Life is filled with trapdoors.

All writers steal from their own lives.

People are more twisted than people think.

There are some people in your life who bring back old memories. And there are others - your first kiss, your first love, your first sex - who, the moment you see them, bring a spark...and something far more potent. They bring back your old life and with that, potential. And possibilities. And the feeling that if you were back in that time, life could be so very different from where you're stuck right now. That's the most tantalizing thing....I want my potential back.

You need to understand something Cal-in this world, we're not humans having a divine experience. We're divine beings having a human experience.

Every life has forks in the road. And sometimes, the tines of that fork stab deep.

Life delivers far less disappointment when your expectations are low.

Tell your story. That's the secret of immortality. The one true way to live forever.

There's the life you live and the life you leave behind. But what you share with someone else - especially someone you love - that's not just how you bury your past. It's how you write your future.

Don't go to eighth grade...don't talk about something old...don't bring up old memories that have nothing to do with who we are now. THIS is all that matters! TODAY.

I spend every day showing people the power of history. But history only has the power you give it.

Our fathers never leave us. Ever.

Y’know what they call the person who does all the work but gets none of the credit? An opportunity.

There's nothing wrong with wanting someone to save us - or admitting we can't do it all ourselves.

Some dreams linger for years. And some last forever.

...as your father, my instinct is to protect you ... Other people will want to protect you too. But remember that you are not a damsel in distress, waiting for some prince to rescue you. Forget the prince. With your brain and your resourcefulness, you can rescue yourself.

It's so damn easy to judge. But as Paolo knows from his niece, no matter how much you want someone back in your life, sometimes it's the letting-them-back-in part that hurts the most

Today, I don't believe in destiny. But I do believe in history...There's nothing more powerful than history...

...there are certain traits that God puts in each of us. There's no escaping them.

Sometimes a speech can make things better. This isn't one of those times.

It's rotten, okay? And once something's rotten, it can never be good again.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it’s at the end of your arm. As you get older, remember you have another hand: the first is to help yourself, the second is to help others. —AUDREY HEPBURN

Since the moment I saw her yesterday, I've been looking through the sparkly prism of exhilaration that comes with any old flame. But now, for the first time, I'm not just seeing what I want. I'm seeing what my friend needs.

The past may not hurt you, but it won't challenge you, either.

Haven’t you ever played Uno?” he asks calmly. “Sometimes you have to lose all your cards to win.

...I'm not saying I needed my life to be a symphony - I just never thought it'd turn out to be a country song.

Don't you know me by now, Angel? I never do what I'm meant for.

You may never make peace with your father. But you can always make peace with yourself.

You see, it doesn't matter if they're wrong. From 9/11 to recent shootings here in the United States, there's nothing more dangerous than a true believer on his own crazy mission.

A little threat of evil is always the far better way to fill the seats. But sometimes the monsters aren't who we think they are.

The point is, as death gets closer - what's so wrong with wanting someone you love to live forever?

In this life, y'ever notice that you face the same challenges again and again? We all do. They're challenges to your soul. We repeat them until we face them and master them. Yes we all have free will, but there're divine patterns out there, and the battle is to see them.

Do you not see that? That's what being family is - that's the best part - it's not tit for tat or who owes more, it's simply - when one hurts, so does the other; when one finds good, you share in that, too. That's family.

...history is a selection process - it chooses moments and events, and even people - it hands them a situation that they shouldn't be able to overcome, and it's in those moments, in that fight, that people find out who they are.

Most archivists don't like surprises. That's why we work in the past.

Dream big, work hard, stay humble.

Indeed, to this day, I think if you blame everything on the government, you're not just wrong, you're being reckless. It's as silly as blaming everything on the Freemasons, or the Illuminati, or insert-bad-guy-here. But I do believe that someone must ask the hard questions, especially of our elected officials as well as powerful men who become members of so-called secret societies. Remember: Governments don't lie. People lie. And if you want the real story, you need to find out more about those people.

life is a tragedy for those who feel and a comedy for those who think.

Just because you’re not dead doesn’t mean you’re alive.

Pam described herself as the person in fifth grade who got left behind when her friends got popular.

...but ever since she returned to my life...life doesn't make complete sense. But it definitely makes more sense than it used to.

From ancient to modern times, the human animal knows how to find fighting.

We may have heaven and hell in us, but we choose who we are. And who we fight.

I need the kind of help that comes with a side order of help.

Not every President is a great speaker. Not every President is a great thinker. But in the modern era, every single President is a master of one thing: eye contact.

Take it from the former pastor: The true believers are the ones who'll burn you the worst.

Life is a monster, Calvin. Especially when it doesn't turn out the way you hoped. But that doesn't mean you can hide from it.

That was the problem with being desperate. It always made you sloppy.

In the end, one detail is unarguable: There will always be those searching for treasure. Never forget: We are a country founded on legends and myths. We love them, especially legends of treasure. Looking for treasure isn't just part of being an American, it is America.

We all hate something from our past, Cal. That's why we run from it, or compensate for it, or even fill our van with homeless people. But when something like this happens-when your dad shows up-maybe there is a bigger purpose. 'What you intended for evil, God intended for good.' Genesis 50:20

the turkeys get you down.” He then slipped the note into

would all go tell their friends and neighbors and cousins and strangers in the supermarket that we went up for our baptism and sneezed in the holy water.

None of us are who we are on our very worst days,” he adds. “I know you know that.

And more than that, the United States of America was a whole new type of nation. Nothing like America had ever been tried before in the history of the world.

the juice. All I’m asking is that you keep it away from this gossip woman, because if that story runs tomorrow and Ellen sees it—” There’s a click on my phone.

that the most potent power in the entire world came from having power over someone else.

Let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure!

No civilian has been allowed to see the gold in Fort Knox since 1974, nearly 40 years ago.

It’s far easier to judge others than to judge yourself.

According to Benjamin Franklin, “He that can have patience, can have what he will.

there’s nothing more intimate in life than simply being understood. And understanding someone else.

Never forget, the greatest battle we’ll ever face is the battle within ourselves.

Remember, just because something hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

Be daring, be daring, always be daring. There is no big dream unless you dream big.

they can also be as manipulative as a James Taylor song. Sure, they're calming and bring you to a good place-but at their core, the whole goal of the damn thing is to undo you.

It’s not strength that makes the hero. It’s weakness. It’s the crack in the armor.

Comics are full of wounded people whose pain makes them stronger.

There’s a crack in our armor, and no fixing it. But Iron Man is proof that even broken hearts can still beat strong.

maybe the reason I wanted to solve everyone else’s problems is that there wasn’t anything I could do about my own.

After all, bragging and boasting aren’t honorable; what’s honorable is doing one’s duty and sacrificing oneself for a noble cause.

Follow me. I will lead the way to freedom.

History isn't written by the winners - it's written by everyone - it's a jigsaw of facts from contradictory sources. But every once in a while, you unearth that one original document that no one can argue with...

I was ripe for the first escapist avenue that came my way. I will forever be grateful that it came in the form of books. When my world became too much to handle alone, I always had a way out. Even if only for a little while.

...if you think the worst you'll get the worst, but if you think the best..." "and then everything will blow up in your face anyway. Don't you get the punchline yet? Its the great cosmic practical joke: Knock knock, who's there? Big kick in the Ass.

...this cryptic game of hide-and-seek is what makes it one of the greatest historical mysteries. So many of the symbols can be interpreted in so many different ways, there's always the possibility that all we're really looking at is a blank slate onto which anything can be read.

The most compelling and dangerous villains in life and literature aren’t so terribly obvious—it’s the ones who might try to do good, before fate deals them one too many blows. The ones who continue to believe, even in their darkest moments, that their motives are pure—that any destruction they cause to the ones they genuinely love is unavoidable.

But in an age of selfishness and cynicism, when empathy and generosity seem to be in short supply, it’s enough in the real world just to be a good guy, someone who doesn’t battle supervillains but who simply goes out of his or her way to make the world a slightly more decent place. Superheroes take the good and bad we can do and just magnify it to larger-than-life perspectives. Still, we find inspiration in them, just like we have since storytelling began.