23 Quotes & Sayings By Oliver Gaspirtz

Oliver Gaspirtz has been a professional copywriter and freelance editor for more than 30 years. He has served as an editor and/or copywriter for such prestigious clients as Apple, Sprint, The New York Times, Time Warner, Barnes & Noble, and Virgin Records. As an award-winning writer, Oliver is the author of six books, including The Right Words at the Right Time: A Book of Inspiration for Business People, A Writer's Guide to Life: A Guide to Writing Successful Nonfiction Books, and The Writer's Life: A Guide to Creating a Career You'll Love.

1
Although I'm an atheist, I try not to crap all over people's belief in God. It may be nothing more than a placebo, a fairy tale that gives the hopeless hope, but sometimes a little hope is all people need to get through the day. Imagine a unit of soldiers under heavy enemy fire. They are told by their superiors to hold their position, even in the face of overwhelming fire power. The soldiers are being told that reinforcements are on the way, and that thought alone gives them the hope and courage to continue fighting, even if ultimately the reinforcements never arrive. I think some people simply need to believe that God is sending them reinforcements, to get through another day. Oliver Gaspirtz
2
I believe, if there is some sort of higher power, the universe is it. Whenever religious people ask me where the universe came from, I tell them that it has always been here, and was never created. The Big Bang theory is based on the fact that the universe is expanding right now. And if you rewind the tape, the universe appears to be shrinking. If you rewind the tape far enough, eventually the universe must be just one singular point. Or so the theory goes. But what if the universe has not always been expanding? What if it's pulsating, and one pulse takes trillions of years, and right now the universe is inhaling, and before that, trillions of years ago, it was exhaling?. Oliver Gaspirtz
Heaven is a place where all the dogs you've ever...
3
Heaven is a place where all the dogs you've ever loved come to greet you. Oliver Gaspirtz
Democracy's fatal flaw: There are more dumb people than smart...
4
Democracy's fatal flaw: There are more dumb people than smart people. Welcome to the new Dark Ages! Oliver Gaspirtz
5
Happy Endings are an illusion. Real life is filled with brief moments of fleeting happiness, but ultimately every life is a tragedy that ends in death and grief. Oliver Gaspirtz
6
A beautiful woman can have almost any man she wants. A rich man can have almost any woman he wants. Oliver Gaspirtz
7
Ordinary people are products of their environment and fit in. Artists transcend their environment and stand out. Oliver Gaspirtz
8
Our words are often only vague, inadequate descriptions of our thoughts. Something gets lost in translation every time we try to express our thoughts in words. And when the other person hears our words, something gets lost in translation again, because words mean different things to different people. "A long time" may mean 10 hours to one person, but 10 days to another. So when a thought is formed in my brain, and my mouth expresses it in words, and your ears hear it, and your brain processes it, your brain and my brain never truly see exactly the same thing. Communication is always just an approximation. Oliver Gaspirtz
9
Some guys like to undermine a girl's self-esteem with little verbal jabs. Eventually it all adds up. One bee sting doesn't hurt a horse, but enough bee stings can kill a horse. Oliver Gaspirtz
10
How love works: Proximity leads to intimacy, and intimacy leads to a relationship. In other words, people who are around each other a lot, get close, and end up hooking up. So it's no great mystery why bosses and secretaries or co-workers or classmates end up dating each other. Oliver Gaspirtz
11
Books like Twilight are not art. They are mass-produced crap that is meant to be consumed by the widest possible audience, for the largest possible profit. Oliver Gaspirtz
12
Good things you have to make happen. Bad things happen all by themselves. Oliver Gaspirtz
13
Imagine a wall that's green on one side and red on the other. You stand on one side and only see green. I stand on the other side and only see red. We'll both be right about the color we see, even though we disagree on what color the wall is. Being able to realize that the other person has a valid point, even if you disagree with it, that's maturity. Oliver Gaspirtz
14
The happiest people are not the ones with the best or the most things, but those who most appreciate what they have. Oliver Gaspirtz
15
A cow's heaven is a flower's idea of hell. Oliver Gaspirtz
16
Dogs will give you unconditional love until the day they die. Cats will make you pay for every mistake you've ever made since the day you were born. Oliver Gaspirtz
17
It's better to dance like a fool, than to stand around like an idiot. Oliver Gaspirtz
18
Dogs are angels full of poop. Oliver Gaspirtz
19
Free will? Either you follow the word of God, or you'll be punished with eternal hellfire. That's the same kind of "choice" an abuse boyfriend gives you: 'Either you do exactly what I say, or I'll beat the shit out of you. Oliver Gaspirtz
20
Just because everyone CAN publish a book these days, doesn't mean everyone SHOULD. The world doesn't need 1000 knock-offs of 50 Shades of Grey. I'm not so sure the world even needed ONE 50 Shades of Grey. Oliver Gaspirtz
21
A fish tank is just interactive television for cats. Oliver Gaspirtz
22
Life is like the ocean. You can either be the ball floating on the waves, or make your own waves. Oliver Gaspirtz