A.J. Darkholme is a talented Canadian author and poet from Winnipeg, Manitoba, known for compelling storytelling that explores themes of personal power, emotional mastery, and human transformation. Through works like the Exoskeleton System trilogy, Darkholme weaves philosophical insights into engaging narratives that challenge readers to examine their own emotional landscapes. His writing encourages individuals to recognize their inner strength and take control of their destinies. Darkholme's work reminds us that true power comes not from controlling external circumstances, but from mastering our internal responses to life's inevitable challenges.
"There is stability in walking an uncertain path, because you never allow yourself to be misled by what you think you know."
"Don't let the fact you haven't done something before convince you that you can't do it, or that it cannot be done perfectly the first time you try your hand at it."
"We're all blurry-eyed wanderers of time, and the unfortunance of it all is that we'd probably all go on to do great things if only we searched for what corrected and focused our vision instead of relying on our past " life's grand kaleidoscope " to help us find our way forward."
"Just because someone is a keyholder, does not mean they will always help you unlock the door you want to go through " no matter how much you think you deserve to go through it. Sometimes you just have to reach out and take it."
"Every choice in life sets us on a different path and carries its own set of "what ifs and consequences that we could worry about, but what's the use? Rather than plaguing our thoughts with the unknown, we should focus on and accept only what we do know " and all we know is the path we're currently on."
"Being an authority on paper does not immediately grant you authority over a group until it is earned by you and given by them."
"Far too many people allow broken egos and wounded prides to convince them to seek justice before they seek understanding."
"Always hear others out and remain open-minded the day you think you know everything is the day you have the most yet to learn."
"The values most important to us are always the most easily exploitable."
"Sometimes you just need to know when a fight is best saved for another day when the odds are more in your favour."
"Some people are born to hold keys, while others are born to use them."
"Life is what you make it and legacy is what you leave it. Stop trying to be perfect, stop waiting for perfection to find you, and start making your environment a product of you instead of the other way around."
"This day, you are free, because you have chosen to be free " and because of your choice, your days of insignificance are over."
"If something needs to be done, do it. If something needs to be said, say it."
"If you refuse to accept what is, and choose to see what could be, then you set a course for yourself that makes others take notice of you, respect you, revere you. It is then that they become objects of your destiny instead of you playing a support role in theirs."
"The power of an idea is never to be underestimated. Many a thought has survived long after its host has ceased to be. It is the power of an idea that no shield can defend against, nor sword divide, nor poison infect. As such, we must aspire to create ideas, rather than preserve life. In a sense, this is how we achieve true immortality and live on past our time."
"Our unity will always be a greater force with mixed ideals than if we demand that others change for us, to what we believe."
"Never overestimate the strength of the torchbearer's arm, for even the strongest arms grow weary."
“Presenting a humble façade gains trust; flattery appeals to ego; combine the two to gain an ego-based trust within someone, and you will find in your hands a judgment-clouding tool second only to love.”
"Sometimes it's best to trade an ideal for something more practical that you can guarantee."
"Trust is not a gasoline-soaked blanket that succumbs to the matches of betrayal, never able to be used for its warmth again; it's a tapestry that wears thin in places, but can be patched over if you have the right materials, circumstances, and patience to repair it. If you don't, you're always the one who feels the coldest when winter comes."
"My happiness with the future and the present depends on my ability to let the past go and make peace with it."
"Trust is always a risk, but when placed in the right people after a trial period where they prove themselves worthy of it, it is a reward transcendent of all the emotional mire that bogs down a person's potential."
"Words give inspiration, nothing more. You want redemption? The very thing you seek inspiration for? Fight for it like your life depended on it, because it always does."
"We are but cells living in a much larger organism, however, this does not make our existence less significant " for an organism without cells is no organism at all. We define it; we make it what it is. We are responsible for its health, its functionality, and above all, its purpose. A lone cell can restore the others, or a lone cell can spread a plague."
"Some people experience a life-changing sensation that transforms how they see the world after a near-death experience, but the way I see it, we're all dying " nay, we're all dead " and it is up to us to be our own self-necromancers to find some form of life and spirit to reanimate the corpse of a life spent wanting."
"Sometimes the heart can hear what the ears do not."
"It's not about being ready or feeling prepared all the time, sometimes you just have to do what you know you have to do. And when you do " you will always see that you're more ready and more prepared than you realize. Never doubt yourself or you may never do anything of significance."
"The mind thinks upon, processes, and remembers what the senses forget."
"We are not slaves of the past, nor servants of the present, but masters of the future."
"Perspective alone can make an experience positive or negative, but regardless of which you let it become, it can only have as much power over your outlook on life as you give it."
"The ignorance of the world often makes people believe that life should be black and white " that you must choose sides " and so the world of colourful gradients goes unadmired."
"It's amazing how just dressing differently can affect your influence; dress like a beggar and your assumed poverty gains you looks of contempt; dress in gold-lined robes and people are more willing to accommodate you; sport armour and you look strong, dutiful, and prepared."
"The path of destiny is not always paved smooth with gold."
"Most physical battles begin once mental ones have been lost, anyway. Conquer the mind, conquer the body."
"The lion does not need the whole world to fear him, only those nearest where he roams."
"Like tiny gods, all that we say and do holds a power so great that any one of us in any given moment can be responsible for the birth of a new civilization or the collapse of our own."
"Remain open-minded, even when you believe yourself to be a king among peasants. You never know what blessings can be gained or crises averted just by listening."
"What separates us into engineers and robots, puppeteers and puppets, kings and pawns, is not the status we hold at any given time among others - status is irrelevant; it is the level of ever-present awareness we have of a grey-matter tailor's tools [of flattery, persuasion, and cunning.]"
"Our knees get dusty from time to time, but when they touch the ground, we must never allow the dust to convince us that our submission in that moment is the acceptance of our defeat for an entire lifetime."
"They say you can't change the past despite the fact it never stops changing you " but that doesn't mean we have to sit back and take it. It may change us, but we have ultimate control over how we let it."
"When you're looking for a needle in a haystack, don't afraid to burn the haystack to save yourself from spending half your life picking through strands of straw."