Make measurable progress in reasonable time.
Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you.
If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around.
Better understated than overstated. Let people be surprised that it was more than you promised and easier than you said.
The reason that fiction is more interesting than any other form of literature, to those who really like to study people, is that in fiction the author can really tell the truth without humiliating himself.