Seth Godin:

Should I write blog posts that increase my traffic or that help change the way (a few) people think?

When there's no commitment of money or time in the interaction, can change or commerce really happen?

An exchange:

Lisa: Look at all those beautiful shoes! I know they're made from animals but WOW!
Marge: Mmmm, if only I didn't already have a pair of shoes.

PJ O'Rourke:

I wonder, when was the last time a talk show changed a mind?

Sheriff Ed Tom Bell:

You can say it's my job to fight it but I don't know what it is anymore.

More than that, I don't want to know. A man would have to put his soul at hazard. He would have to say, okay, I'll be part of this world.

Richard Hamming:

If you do not work on an important problem, it's unlikely you'll do important work.

Caterina Fake:

Much more important than working hard is knowing how to find the right thing to work on.

Alon Halevy, Peter Norvig, and Fernando Pereira:

Follow the data.