Rob Kall: Quotations By Thoreau on Finding the Best Within Ourselves and Living It Originally Published on OpEdNewsWhen it comes to peak performance and finding the best in one's self, Thoreau was an unmitigated genius. Here is a large collection of quotations. For example, from his journal, "We live but a fraction of our life." It is extraordinary that one person could tap such a deep spring of wisdom and bring it to the surface for us all to process and be inspired by it.