Robert Persig

"Finally you understand that the real motorcycle you're working on is yourself."

— Robert Pirsig

American Author

1928 - 

In the final analysis, life is about growth and self-development.  We become who we are meant to be through our work.  In essence we are working on ourselves.  Everything else is a tool to help us become who we are meant to be.  Whether you paint, write or speak, you are involved in a process of self-development.  Are you learning the lessons that you are supposed to learn?  Or are you having to suffer through the same experiences over and over.  One of the best examples is the relationships that people develop.  How many women or men choose the same type of partner over and over again only to be hurt and rejected in the end?  Remember the person you are working on is yourself.  The only person you can change is yourself.  

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance took Pirsig four years to write and was rejected by 121 publishers before it found a home.  Because Pirsig had a day job writing computer manuals, he wrote the book between 2 am and 6 am.  More than 5 million copies of the book have been sold.