paulo on no

The Warrior Of Light And Resistance 
by Paulo Coelho 

The warrior knows that the most important words in all languages are the small words. 

Yes. Love. God. 

They are words that are easy enough to say and which fill vast empty spaces. 

There is, however, one word – another small word – that many people have great difficulty in saying: no. 

Someone who never says no, thinks of himself as generous, understanding, polite, because ‘no’ is thought of as being nasty, selfish, unspiritual. 

The warrior does not fall into this trap. There are times when, in saying ‘yes’ to others, he is actually saying ‘no’ to himself. 

That is why he never says ‘yes’ with his lips if, in his heart, he is saying ‘no’.