If a man desires greatness then he must learn to be lonely. He need not separate himself from all companionship or relationship; indeed, without another’s love, the loneliness is likely to overwhelm him. But a great man must learn how to endure the responsibility his own actions bring; he must learn how to suffer the consequences without the soothing balm of blaming ancestry or fate. And for this reason, all great and precious things are lonely. -John Steinbeck