Eric Steele > Eric's Quotes

“A journey will have pain and failure. It is not only the steps forward that we must accept. It is the stumbles. The trials. The knowledge that we will fail. That we will hurt those around us.
But if we stop, if we accept the person we are when we fail, the journey ends. That failure becomes our destination.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“Aim for the sun. That way if you miss, at least your arrow will fall far away, and the person it kills will likely be someone you don’t know.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“You want to change the world, Shallan. That’s well and good. But be careful. The world predates you. She has seniority.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“You cannot have my pain.”

“Dalinar—”

Dalinar forced himself to his feet. “You. Cannot. Have. My. Pain.”

“Be sensible.”

“I killed those children,” Dalinar said.

“No, it—”

“I burned the people of Rathalas.”

“I was there, influencing you—”

“YOU CANNOT HAVE MY PAIN!” Dalinar bellowed, stepping toward Odium. The god frowned. His Fused companions shied back, and Amaram raised a hand before his eyes and squinted.

Were those gloryspren spinning around Dalinar?

“I did kill the people of Rathalas,” Dalinar shouted. “You might have been there, but I made the choice. I decided!” He stilled. “I killed her. It hurts so much, but I did it. I accept that. You cannot have her. You cannot take her from me again.”

“Dalinar,” Odium said. “What do you hope to gain, keeping this burden?”

Dalinar sneered at the god. “If I pretend … If I pretend I didn’t do those things, it means that I can’t have grown to become someone else.”

“A failure.”

Something stirred inside of Dalinar. A warmth that he had known once before. A warm, calming light.

Unite them.

“Journey before destination,” Dalinar said. “It cannot be a journey if it doesn’t have a beginning.”

A thunderclap sounded in his mind. Suddenly, awareness poured back into him. The Stormfather, distant, feeling frightened—but also surprised.

Dalinar?

“I will take responsibility for what I have done,” Dalinar whispered. “If I must fall, I will rise each time a better man.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“If you could explain something perfectly, then you’d never need art.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“This is life. The longer you live, the more you fail. Failure is the mark of a life well lived. In turn, the only way to live without failure is to be of no use to anyone. Trust me, I’ve practiced.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“Pattern, you’re to be our chaperone tonight.” “What,” Pattern said with a hum, “is a chaperone?” “That is someone who watches two young people when they are together, to make certain they don’t do anything inappropriate.” “Inappropriate?” Pattern said. “Such as . . . dividing by zero?”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before pancakes -Lopen”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“You are not worse for your association with the world, but it is better for its association with you.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“Oh, child. The world is monstrous at times, and there are those who would have you believe that you are terrible by association.” “I am.” “No. For you see, it flows the other direction. You are not worse for your association with the world, but it is better for its association with you.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“It is my solemn and important duty to bring happiness, light, and joy into your world when you’re being a dour idiot.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“Love wasn't about being right or wrong, but about standing up and helping when your partner's back was bowed.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“Failure is the mark of a life well lived. In turn, the only way to live without failure is to be of no use to anyone.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“It is not perfection we seek, for perfection is impossible. It is instead consistency.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“… I can’t do it.” He smiled. “There are certain things I know, Shallan. This is one of them. You can. Find the balance. Accept the pain, but don’t accept that you deserved it.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“Funny, isn’t it, how so many of our stories start the same way, but have opposing endings? In half, the child ignores her parents, wanders out into the woods, and gets eaten. In the other half she discovers great wonders. There aren’t many stories about the kids who say, ‘Yes, I shall not go into the forest. I’m glad my parents explained that is where the monsters live.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“Failure is the mark of a life well lived. In turn, the only way to live without failure is to be of no use to anyone. Trust me, I've practiced.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer

“He’d once believed he had been four men in his life, but he now saw he’d grossly underestimated. He hadn’t lived as two, or four, or six men—he had lived as thousands, for each day he became someone slightly different. He hadn’t changed in one giant leap, but across a million little steps.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer