Quotations from Noel Coward Consider the public. Never fear it nor despise it. Coax it, charm it, interest it, stimulate it, shock it now and then if you must, make it laugh, make it cry, but above all never, never, never bore the living hell out of it. My importance to the world is relatively small. On the other hand, my importance to myself is tremendous. I am all I have to work with, to play with, to suffer and to enjoy. It is not the eyes of others that I am wary of, but of my own. I do not intend to let myself down more than I can possibly help, and I find that the fewer illusions I have about myself or the world around me, the better company I am for myself. I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me. It is discouraging how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit. Extraordinary how potent cheap music is. I'm over-educated in the things I shouldn't have known at all. My body has certainly wandered a good deal, but I have an uneasy suspicion that my mind has not wandered enough. Trust your instincts. If you have no instincts, trust your impulses.