Frank Langella is a much-lauded American actor, performing on stage and screen since the 1960s. His list of accolades is long and distinguished; most recently, he earned an Academy Award nomination for his role as Richard Nixon in the 2008 film Frost/Nixon. In 2012, Langella published a memoir titled Dropped Names: Famous Men and Women As I Knew Them, which shared his experiences living among the elite figures of show business. In an interview about the book, Langella was asked if he liked being the center of attention, and he replied that his attitude has shifted with age. After decades in the spotlight, he’s learned an important lesson: “You should live your life as you wish.”

In her popular 2013 book "Lean In," which shines a light on the importance of women in leadership positions, Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg presents the ideal attributes of a good leader. For Sandberg, there is nothing more valuable to an organization — be it a school, family, or Fortune 500 company — than when the people in positions of power can humble themselves enough to listen, learn, and digest new information.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edith Wharton’s ninth novel, “The Custom of the Country,” was published in 1913, the same year her 28-year marriage ended in divorce. At a time when divorce was still considered quite scandalous, Wharton explored the suffocating social mores of high society through the book’s protagonist Undine Spragg. Undine is an ambitious young woman from the Midwest who longs for a life of wealth and glamour, no matter the cost. This quote, while spoken in a flirtatious manner to the man who becomes Undine’s lover, reflects Wharton’s shrewd observations about women’s roles in society. Unlike her protagonist, Wharton was born into an affluent family, never had children, and never remarried following her divorce. Seen in that light, Undine’s life choices become a cautionary tale, and this quote echoes Wharton’s perhaps hard-won belief that making a break can sometimes be the best way to mend one’s sense of self-identity.