Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. - Helen Keller

People will forget what you say but they won’t forget how you make them feel. - Maya Angelou

They are one of the most unpleasant races in the galaxy - not actually evil, but bad tempered, bureaucratic, officious and callous. They wouldn't even lift a finger to save their own grandmothers from the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal without an order, signed in triplicate, sent in, sent back, queried, lost, found, subjected to public inquiry, lost again, and finally buried in soft peat for three months and recycled as firelighters. If you want to get a lift from a Vogon, forget it. They are vile and ill tempered. If you want to get a drink from a Vogon, stick your finger down his throat. If you want to annoy a Vogon, feed his grandmother to the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal. - Douglas Adams

Look within your fictional cultures at their day to day lives. And ask what’s important to them. Some holidays come up whole cloth out of your world’s history and cultural diversity. If it was important to their view of history, it’s important enough to have a day set aside for it, with reenactments, good food, and traditional music, dance, and acting. - Robert A. Sloan