I've always had an abundance of material about the subjects of my biographies.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the richness of resources available for creating biographies.
Walter Isaacson reflects on his experience as a biographer, highlighting that he has always found an extensive amount of material to draw from when researching the lives of notable individuals. This suggests that great stories and insights can be discovered when examining the lives and contributions of extraordinary people, and it underscores the importance of thorough research in the field of biography.
In practice
In a lecture about the importance of storytelling, one might quote Isaacson to highlight how rich biographies can inform personal narratives.
I visited Jobs for the last time in his Palo Alto, Calif., home. He had moved to a downstairs bedroom because he was too weak to go up and down stairs. He was curled up in some pain, but his mind was still sharp and his humor vibrant
Polite and velvety leaders, who take care to avoid bruising others, are generally not as effective at forcing change.
for Steve, less is always more, simpler is always better. Therefore, if you can build a glass box with fewer elements, it’s better, it’s simpler, and it’s at the forefront of technology. That’s where Steve likes to be, in both his products and his stores.
What are the five products you want to focus on? Get rid of the rest, because they’re dragging you down. They’re turning you into Microsoft. They’re causing you to turn out products that are adequate but not great.
When there are multiple versions of a story, you really have three ways to go. You can pick the most sensational version. You can try to balance things in your gut to get to what you think is the honest truth. Or you can err on the side of kindness.
The people who invented the twenty-first century were pot-smoking, sandal-wearing hippies from the West Coast like Steve, because they saw differently,” he said. "The hierarchical systems of the East Coast, England, Germany, and Japan do not encourage this different thinking. The sixties produced an anarchic mind-set that is great for imagining a world not yet in existence.
As Americans, we rightfully place tremendous value on having a free and independent press. Our role as journalists is to give voice to the voiceless, and hold our leaders and institutions accountable. But the circle is only completed when that information is consumed by a free-thinking and engaged audience.
A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.
Men are born ignorant, not stupid. They are made stupid by education.
Don't let schooling interfere with your education.
There is one great advantage to being an academic economist in France: here, economists are not highly respected in the academic and intellectual world or by political and financial elites. Hence they must set aside their contempt for other disciplines and their absurd claim to greater scientific legitimacy, despite the fact that they know almost nothing about anything.
The junior high schools and high schools of America have forgotten to teach one of the most important courses of all. Investing.
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