1. “There’s zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas.”

2. “Spend your free time the way you like, not the way you think you’re supposed to.”

3. “The highly sensitive [introverted] tend to be philosophical or spiritual in their orientation, rather than materialistic or hedonistic. They dislike small talk. They often describe themselves as creative or intuitive.”

4. “Don’t think of introversion as something that needs to be cured.”

5. “The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting. For some, it’s a Broadway spotlight; for others, a lamplit desk.”

6. “At school you might have been prodded to come “out of your shell”—that noxious expression which fails to appreciate that some animals naturally carry shelter everywhere they go, and that some humans are just the same.”

7. “Stay true to your own nature.

If you like to do things in a slow and steady way, don’t let others make you feel as if you have to race.

If you enjoy depth, don’t force yourself to seek breadth.

If you prefer single-tasking to multi-tasking, stick to your guns.”

8. “Everyone shines, given the right lighting.”