"Nature or nurture? A talent needs both."

"Disconnect from society's pressure to conform. Do things your own way."

"Progress isn't always good. There's a reason why 'breakneck speed' is described as such."

"Dive deep and make your discovery."

"Being gentle doesn't stop us fighting for our dreams."

"Old buildings whisper to us in the creaking of floorboards and rattling of windowpanes."

"Most of us, at some time or other, get sucked into the lifeless vacuum of work; the cogs of the corporate machine that we keep turning until one day, when we depart this Earth, we may earn the word 'lubricant' on our headstone."

"Preserve the spirit of a 'lost' age, when time moved slower."

"Life in the wild, as I'm observing, is about survival as much as pleasure."

"Only the present exists. The past is gone, and the future has not yet happened. There is only ever time present."

"Playing safe, hiding among the masses, will rarely get you noticed."

"We should be authentic: the 'real deal'. Neither a clone nor mimic be."

"Organic life cannot be far from water."

"A pen that has clocked up a million words, a lifetime's memories, is worth more than the centrepiece in a jeweller's window."

"Reality is just a matter of perception."

"Believe in something important. Pursue it wholeheartedly."

"A consultant: someone brought in to build a one-handled wheelbarrow."

"There's no point pretending to be someone or something we're not."

"Committing your thoughts and feelings to words is like putting your soul on a plate and hoping the diners will like what they eat."

"Character and purpose are directly linked to confidence and conviction. What links them? Courage " to be oneself, no matter what others might say."

"Be individual, break free from the flock to avoid the predictable midsummer haircut."

"Creative people need strong encouragement."

"Have a dream in your head and a fire in your heart."

"There's always an opportunity to fish for something " even if it's just for laughs or ideas."

"Time is not something to be killed. Doing so suffocates a part of us, writing off part of our life that could, or rather should, be spent doing something meaningful."

"The ever-increasing weight of responsibilities that enmeshes our lives keeps us locked into the system. We become the pulse that keeps the beast alive, but the cost is our own lives. The natural world around us shrinks, crushed beneath the suffocating might of work."

"Have courage to go your own way and fulfil the dreams that are unique and important to you."

"A traditionalist's values are gleaned from all that is good in the past."

"Life. It's about adventure, of having a dream and following it."

"Why should we change that which makes us unique?"

"There's no such thing as writer's block, so long as you've had plenty of time to think about what you want to write."

"Everything from the humble woodlouse to specks of dust moving through a ray of sunlight. Each tells a story."

"I write into an old book that smells of dust and whose pages are floppy with damp. Sometimes the ink splodges onto the paper, other times it will barely leave the nib of my pen."

"Fine Things are reservoirs for the heart."

"There comes a time in one's life, perhaps in middle age, when we stop and assess who we are, and the life we have."

"Friends can create our most cherished memories."

"Yearn for the opposite, to buck the trend, to be different."

"Time alone helps us to remember who we are."

"Having a fishing rod in your hand is merely an excuse to explore out-of-sight depths and reveal mysteries that previously only existed in dreams."

"I'm pretty sure I'm the only author who intends to take the longest possible route to a destination that will always be over the next hill."

"There's merit in being different, inspiration in being individual, courage in being unique, and freedom in being yourself."

"Eight months in the woods have hardened me, or at least firmed up my beliefs that if a man's going to fend for himself, then he needs to leave his credit card at home."

"Water is intrinsically linked to the mystery and excitement of discovering new worlds."

"Reality is in the ether, a blend of present-day experiences infused with one's memories and dreams. A life that is real to one is surreal to another."

"We are so blinkered by progress, so preoccupied with where we want to go and how fast we can travel, that many of us have lost the ability to simply 'stop'."

"Sentiments, as I have found, can be harvested from places where our memories are fondest."

"Satnav will get us quickly and all-too-predictably from A to B, but the path of life is more interesting when we're allowed to explore the side streets."

"It is the quietening of the day that most appeals."

"Be oblivious to city high-rises, work-related stress and microwave popcorn."

"Every layer of complexity creates greater distance from life's simple truths."