Quote

From an interview with James Lee Burke. The whole thing'll just make you like him the more, I promise.

What's key to a successful life?

You do it a day at a time, I think. If I've learned anything it's that maybe you don't learn a lot. I feel as young as I was when I was 21. I'm probably a little more patient than I was then, probably less impetuous, but otherwise I think it's one of the great myths that age brings you great wisdom. What we learn ultimately, I think, is probably that the things that are valuable really are not purchased with money. It's like one of those admonitions that's true: Money keeps a mess of grief off your porch, but the things that really count are the things that you never can buy – family and friends, the good life.